Barnett's Tuesday Press Conference Quotes - University of Colorado Athletics

BOULDER? University of Colorado head football coach Gary Barnett held his weekly Press Conference Tuesday at the Dal Ward Athletic Center. He recapped last Saturday’s game against Missouri, as well as this week’s upcoming showdown against the Iowa State Cyclones. Quarterback Joel Klatt also talked to reporters after the gathering. The following are quotes from the session:

Head Coach Gary Barnett

ON MISSOURI GAME? “It was really a solid performance by a lot of people. We did a great job on the offensive line. (Wide receiver) Stephone Robinson’s contributions really give us another dimension to our offense?a dimension that we have been looking for and trying to develop. I think we can continue to build on that, and Stephone is excited about his role. Defensively, it was another solid performance. (Defensive end) Maurice Lucas is a true freshman that stepped up and played a tremendous game. (Cornerback) Gerett Burl also played very well. I was really proud of a number of guys on the defensive side?(linebacker) Brian Iwuh, in particular, playing hurt won a plaque for his play. I felt like we took control of the game offensively and defensively and played really well.”

ON IOWA STATE GAME?“We are still in a position to control our own destiny. This is a dangerously close game if you look at the stats. Iowa State is a team that could be 9-0 without any hesitation. They lost (running back) Stevie Hicks for two or three games in there. If they had Hicks, this team probably would be 9-0 at this time. We see them as the second-best team we have played in our league right now. Their quarterback is probably the second-best quarterback we’ve seen this year and their running back is probably the best we’ve faced. Defensively, this team is extremely solid. If you look at the stats, we are a yard or two yards apart in virtually everything. The amazing thing to me is the number of interceptions they have. This is a big challenge for us to go play in a hostile environment on the road at night. Iowa State is still in the picture (in the Big 12 North), so this is really a big test for our football team. I know our guys are up for it and our coaches are up for it.

ON BOTH TEAMS’ SCHEDULES? “The schedule is what it is. When I looked at the schedule, initially I recognized in Iowa State and Kansas State how difficult it is to play in those places. I knew that we were going to have to be a good road team. We just have to get our act together this week and be prepared. We know we are going to get their best game. I think it will take our best game so far to win this game. We will have to play well all across the board.

“When I looked at Iowa State’s schedule at the beginning of the year they had the schedule laid out for them. That was the ideal schedule for them to get to the championship game. They didn’t play Oklahoma, they didn’t play Texas and they didn’t play Texas Tech. That’s a pretty good set up. The loss of Hicks cost them some games, but now that he’s back they are a completely different team.”

ON BALANCE ON OFFENSE?“Part of the balance of our offense has allowed us to maximize everybody in our offense. The only area I feel like we need to be stronger in is the rushing game. Going into the game Saturday, we weren’t going to force any issues; we were just going to take what they gave us. They gave us some things in the running game and the passing game which we were able to take advantage of. I would have to look and see how many drops we have, but we’re nowhere near where we were a year ago.”

ON ONLY COMMITTING FOUR PENALTIES SATURDAY? “I don’t know what to attribute the lack of penalties to. We just made a lot fewer mistakes and we did a better job of focusing on a lot of things. It makes it an easier and cleaner game from our standpoint when we don’t have big plays wiped away.”

ON IOWA STATE OFFENSE? “(Wide receiver) Todd Blythe is really consistent. He is so tall that you can (easily) get the ball up to him. What I am impressed with is (quarterback) Bret Meyer’s accuracy. He throws the ball high or low when it has to be. He is extremely mobile, but they don’t feature him in the offense like Brad Smith or Reggie McNeal. With Hicks, their offense is very balanced.”

ON VB LAWRENCE VICKERS?“Lawrence is one of those guys you can always count on. What I liked about Lawrence is that he made a lot of nice reads and ran north and south. He ran hard and low and gave us some power inside. There are games where he carries four or five times and he has been effective.”

ON PK MASON CROSBY AND P JOHN TORP SHOULD?“They are really good players. It’s hard to see a lot of kickers and punters so you usually end up going on stats more than anything else (when voting for national awards). Crosby, because we’ve tried him in a lot of long field goal situations, doesn’t have the percentage as high as some guys, but he’s got the distance numbers. John Torp has been incredible inside-the-20. I can’t imagine any team having anyone better than those two.”

Quarterback Joel Klatt

ON IOWA STATE? “I think all of our team goals are ahead of us. They way that this team plays and prepares, I don’t think anyone is going to take anything for granted when we go out and play a very good Iowa State team. This week is important for us nationally, as well as in the division. You have to respect the way they are playing, but we have to focus all week, cut down on our mistakes and play hard. If those things happen then hopefully we will have a chance to win the game.”

ON WR STEPHONE ROBINSON? “I don’t think we had a missing ingredient (in our offense). I know it hurt us when (wide receiver) Blake (Mackey) went down because we lost a presence on the perimeter. Stephone gives us a chance to flick the ball out when they load the box. And if they defend that then we can run the ball. We can present a lot of problems to a defense and he just poses one more.”

ON IOWA STATE DEFENSE? “I think they do a great job upfront and their defensive backs don’t get out of position. They force the quarterback to make good decisions and when you do force the ball you will get in trouble.”

ON IMPROVEMENT OF WIDE RECIVERS FROM LAST SEASON? “We worked extremely hard since the off-season making sure everybody is on the same page. I think you can see it paying off this year with the efficiency we are having in the passing game.”

ON OFFENSIVE BALANCE? “We pride ourselves on being balanced and efficient. When you do that it provides a great picture from my seat because they defense has to play base. They can’t load the box or just defend the pass.”