Quotes
Colorado Head Coach Gary Barnett
General
“The most obvious thing is that one team responded to the challenge of this game and one team did not. My team did not and I take full responsibility. I did not see this coming in any way. I didn’t see it in our preparation. We got out-coached, out-played, and my hat goes off to Coach Callahan and the whole
On where things went wrong
“We hardly could get a first down in the first half. We put three points on the board and gave up a number of big plays in the pass game. Part of that is execution and the coaches have to take responsibility for that. We’re as much a part of that as the poor execution.”
On
“That was one of those plays in the game that happens in rivalry games. Alex (Ligon) didn’t hear a whistle; I didn’t really hear a whistle. The line thought the ball got snapped as he was calling for a time-out. That was a big play in that drive.”
On where to go from here
“Right now I have a bunch of kids who are hurting emotionally and some seniors who have been so terrific for this program and this University. They’re hurting and my mind is with them.”
On possibility of a QB change
“We discussed it at one point but we felt like our best chance to come back and win this football game was with Joel (Klatt).”
On
“They just played harder and better, more than anything else. They had a couple of wrinkles that we hadn’t seen, but that wasn’t the game. (Zac Taylor) is a terrific competitor, he gets rid of the ball and we could not get any pressure on him. They did a great job picking up the pressure and he made plays. Cory (Ross) had a great game as I knew he would. I knew he would play his heart out and they found ways to get the ball and we couldn’t stop him.”
On whether or not the game was out of hand
“There was never a point when I didn’t think we could win the game, until the fourth quarter, probably.”
On importance of special teams play
“We didn’t play very well on special teams. We got out-played and I was concerned.”
On what to tell his seniors
“I don’t know what to tell them, I really don’t. I just expressed my pride in them, pride in what they’ve done. Even though we’ve experienced a bittersweet loss, that doesn’t reduce how proud I am of what they’ve produced. I just feel so badly for them, that they had to go out on a game like this. This was atypical of the way they’ve handled themselves.”
On student section actions
“They probably felt the same frustration that all of us felt today and they just had some things they could throw. They’re just a microcosm of what we were feeling inside as well and we just couldn’t do anything about it.”
On the way his team played
“I’m really proud of the way our kids played. I’m proud of the way that they kept their composure during the warm-ups. I’ve been in football for a long time and I’ve never seen anything like that. I was really disappointed, but our kids kept their composure. This was a total team effort. The special teams, defense, and offense all rose to the occasion today and met the challenge and I can’t say enough good things.”
On victory
“What better way than today to put it all together. A performance like this on the road, against a division leader, one that is 5-0 at home, is huge. We were underdogs coming in here and our kids jut played. It’s a great win for our football team, a great way to finish the season and go into a Bowl game and I couldn’t be any prouder. To win in the style we did on the road, in front of
On defensive play
“(We were) superb in every sense. Our coverage was very exact. They (
On play of QB Zac Taylor
?’He’s a smart, intelligent quarterback. He makes good decisions on the move and he doesn’t turn it over. If he doesn’t have an answer, he finds the answer. That’s what I’m most impressed about is his ability to create and find.’
On
“This is a fine
On pre-game confrontation
“I’m very disappointed. I’m just happy our kids kept their composure. It got out of hand. The huddle was right there where we were warming up at. I didn’t think it was necessary. I don’t know if the league or commissioner will do anything about that, but I don’t think it’s necessary to be taunted and to try to intimidate an opponent. I don’t think that there is any place for this in this sport.”
On
“I was excited for our fans. The support that we got today was unbelievable. They care and they believe. It’s great to be here at
Colorado Buffalo Players
QUINN SYPNIEWSKI TE
GENERAL- “Stunned is just the perfect word to sum up tonight. It is disappointing to have to sit back and watch to see what happens to us in the future based on the game tomorrow. It comes down to a combination of things, like not executing, not having fun and just having a lot of little things hurt us.”
ON
ON HAVING AT LEAST ONE MORE GAME IN CU CAREER- “It is always a great opportunity with one game left to have a chance to go out and prove yourself and go out on top.”
AKARIKA DAWN LB
GENERAL- “The major problem was us battling and hurting ourselves, we were not executing, we were not in the right coverage and not doing what we needed to do, which allowed them to take over.
ON HAVING TWO WEEKS TO PRACTICE- “We had two weeks of good practice, we felt like we were prepared and ready to go. They did exactly what we were expecting them to do, but we did not get it done on our part when it came time to be on the field.”
ON
ON WATCHING TOMORROW’S IOWA STATE KANSAS GAME- “Of course I will be watching, we will see what happens so hopefully an get in and take care of business with that.”
GARY MOORE OL
GENERAL- “It all comes down to not showing up to play and not producing. I don’t know why it happened, before the game and in the first drive of the game I thought that we were going to win, and it all went down hill from there.”
ON LACK OF RUN PRODUCTION- “We haven’t run the ball like we did in the first few games of the season and that is on the offensive line. I am not happy with that at all.”
JOEL KLATT QB
GENERAL- “We definitely felt like we had a better team than what showed up tonight, I still believe that and we will have a game or two to write the ship. It was very strange, we had a good week of practice, I thought that we did a good job going out in the first quarter and getting points on that drive. After that we kind of sputtered the whole game.”
ON
ON
HUGH CHARLES TB
GENERAL- “It is frustrating to have things go down hill like that, especially after the first two weeks we really expected to run the ball. We haven’t run or blocked like we have liked. We have been trying to get the running game going because it spreads the defense out and helps the passing because it creates an open field.”
JAMES GAREE DL
GENERAL- “We knew that they were going to abandon the run and go to their west coast offense. Bottom line is that we just didn’t. We need to figure out where we are going to be, and make the best of it.”
ON BIG 12 NORTH- “If they (
Nebraska
DEFENSIVE LINE COACH JOHN BLAKE
General ? “We changed up some things for this game to match up our personnel better. We put two strong guys inside on the (defensive) line, and two very quick guys on the outside. I do not think it threw
General ? “I felt in the K-State game that our team started to come of age, but this week we definitely did. Our senior leaders, and our coaching staff had this team ready to play, and they did everything anyone could have asked of them.”
OL JARED HELMING
General ? “We played four quarters together. We knew what had to be done today, and we came out ready to do it. We were just so pumped up for this game and then with the incident at the 50-yard line combined with tenacity of these fans, it just added to the fuel of our team.”
C KURT MANN
General ? “Towards the middle part of our season, we were not where we wanted to be as a team. At that point we knew we had to change some things. Our team started to motivate each other more, as well as develop some of the younger guys, so we could give other teams different looks. The past couple of years have been a struggle, but as in today games are a lot more fun when you lead and can set the tempo.”
LB COREY MCKEON
General ? “The entire Buffaloes team was tough before the game, talking trash and acting as if they have always owned this division, but we came out with heart, with fire, and our team pounded them from start to finish. We played the best game as a whole team this season. We knew what they were going to throw at us, and we game planned around that. Ultimately our offensive and defensive lines controlled the tempo and the pressure on both sides of the ball.”
DE JAY MOORE
General ? “We have been toying with our lineup the whole year, trying a lot of different players at a lot of positions just so we could see how our team fit together. I think in the past weeks we have figured out the small things more, and have been able to concentrate on playing as a team. Today we just wanted to get at them from the start, and that is exactly what we did.”
On Pregame Conflict ? “We were just so fired up these entire two weeks, as the t-shirt said, we wanted to” restore the order” and get husker football where it belongs. When they started talking trash at the 50, I think it was their mistake, and it only gave this team more fuel to come out and win.”
On QB Zac Taylor ? “He had a great game today, probably his best of the season. He took a lot of shots, but he is a fighter, and he kept getting up and providing this team with a spark. All week we planned to pass on them because they both have a small secondary and coach Gilmore knows some of their weaknesses.”
On Receivers Coach Ted Gilmore ? “Coach Gilmore sat our team down and gave us a lot of information on these buffalo players. He knew something about every single player on that sideline, and in the end that gave us an advantage in the trenches.”
LB Bo Ruud
General
“The thing I learned from the past two weeks was that the offense is starting to click on all cylinders. ?Restore the order’ is our motto and we want to be back on top of the Big 12.”
On defensive strategy
“We made the right blitzes at the right time. It caused them a lot of pressure and they made some bad choices.”
On pre-game confrontation
“They came over close to us. We didn’t want them to come on our side of the field.”
On coming in as underdog
“A lot of people say negative things about us, but today we played at another level, a level that we have been trying to get to and it finally came out today. It was our best game we have played at
On gratification
“It feels very good right now. They are a top team in the Big 12 North. You could tell that we wanted to be out there more. After the first quarter, I could tell that they didn’t want to play with us that game. We were playing with enthusiasm, a lot of heart and a lot of fire. I think that showed. I didn’t see the fire in them.”
QB Zac Taylor
General
“It’s unbelievable. This is finally the game that we have been working towards. We had a good game all around, start to finish. It just makes it even better that it was at
On the play of
“We just never lost focused on what we were doing. We got them on their heels early and we just knew that we could keep putting the ball in the end zone. I definitely felt like I was in a zone. We were running all over the field. We stopped the No. 1 team in the Big 12 North and at the start of the second quarter, we definitely felt like we were on a roll. The defense was giving us great field position.”