Colorado-Oregon Quotes
Sep 20 (Sat)
8:15 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
Obviously, I’m very disappointed with how the game turned out tonight. It was a little bit of what we saw last week with penalties—14 penalties for over 100 yards. You can’t beat a good team like that because that was a good team we played. We had turnovers and we weren’t efficient in the red zone. There was a scenario right before the half where we had an opportunity to go down there and get points. We got the ball to the two-yard line with an opportunity to score, and we’re going to get the ball to start the (second) half. We end up coming out with nothing after turning the ball over. Then we get an undisciplined penalty when we’re ahead of the sticks on defense. They move the ball down field and score right before the half. Then we turned the ball over on back-to-back series coming out of the locker room. That’s where you get blown out. It’s disappointing. It’s really a heated situation and guys are frustrated. Guys want to win but the answers are with the simple truths. That’s what I told the team. We have to take this time on the way back to really look within ourselves individually, and you can’t lie to yourself, and just figure out ‘hey, what do I have to do to get better?’ Don’t try to justify something that’s not real...face it up. As long as we do that, we’ll have an opportunity to get better from this. Some times as we try to get to where we need to get to, unfortunately, you have to go through it. That’s what we’re doing right now. We’re right in the middle of it. We’re going through it.
Q: How demoralizing was that sequence where you have an opportunity to pull to within seven and all of a sudden, it’s a 21-point lead?
COACH TUCKER: We used to call it the 10 minutes to victory…the five minutes before half and the five minutes after the half. There are a lot of game decided in that period of time. Obviously, we go into halftime and know we’re not out of it but against a good football team, when we make mistakes like that and we allow things like that to happen, it’s going to make it really tough.
Q: When was the last time you were involved in a game like this?
COACH TUCKER: Our first year at Georgia, we went to Ole Miss (in 2016) and we got it handed to us pretty good. That same team was playing for the national championship the very next year. Our goal is to win every single game that we play. We feel like we can beat every team on our schedule but any team on our schedule, we can lose to, as well. My experience in these type of situations is that it’s a very tough road to go down but we have to go down this road. There is no shortcut to success and where we want to get to. It really tests your character and your mettle, individually and as a team. It really puts you up against it and you have reach down and make tough decisions about where to go from here, how to handle it, how to get better. And that’s our plan. We’re going to do that and at some point, we’re going to have the type of football team we need to have here. The sooner we figure it out, the sooner we’ll have that team.
Q: What goes into being an efficient, red zone offense?
COACH TUCKER: You can’t mistakes. Everything happens quicker in the red zone so you have to be very sharp. If you can run it in, that helps. We were actually moving the ball on the ground. It sounds cliché but it’s really true. When you get on the plane, turn on the film and go to those plays, it’s so simple. It’s so simple. It just rips your heart out. All we had to do was do that or this guy just had to do that, and then we score. It’s plain as day. They’re probably saying the same thing on defense when they give up a play. If this guy had just done this job, we would have been fine. That’s what makes football such a great game because it’s the ultimate team sport and everyone has to do their job on every play. When that doesn’t happen, you lose that play. At the level we’re playing and the stakes we have, you’re going to pay for mistakes.
Q: You’re moving the ball and it’s 3rd and 1, was there thought to just keep pounding the ball?
COACH TUCKER: I’m not in the second-guess business. I don’t think that’s a good business to be in for me as a coach. Looking at a game from the media’s standpoint and you don’t have success, maybe that’s what should happen…to question what happened. But for me, I don’t go down that road. I don’t think it’s productive.
Q: Did the official explain why Jalen Harris was ejected?
COACH TUCKER: The official came to me and told me (Harris) threw a punch. I told him I thought I saw that and I told him I thought it was a good call. I talked to Jalen about it. He came up to me in the locker room and said ‘Coach, that was me. That was my fault and I made a mistake.’ If you can own up to it and not lie to yourself, there’s a pretty good chance it won’t happen again. Having the discipline to do your job in the crunch on a consistent basis is how you become successful. It’s consistency in performance. I hate the undisciplined penalties so whatever I have to do to eliminate those and get those cleaned up, I will get that done.
Q: What was the thought in keeping Steven Montez in the game in the fourth quarter?
COACH TUCKER: We were trying to get something going and trying to have some positive plays. Guys were still playing hard and fighting to move the ball. We had some opportunities. We were going for it on fourth down trying to score and then we pulled (Montez) at the end to get Tyler (Lytle) some work. I don’t think that’s unusual. They’re still playing hard over there. We’re playing hard and trying to get some work down. (Montez) was into it and competing, trying to make something happen. We’re going to learn from it and move on.
Q: Did Oregon do anything different that you didn’t see on film?
COACH TUCKER: No, I didn’t see anything that was drastically different. They pretty much do what they do and they do it well. That’s a really good football team with a lot of experience and a lot of talent. They’re very well coached and they play hard. Going into the game, I said ‘I like that team. I like the way they play.’ They’re going to win a lot of football games. It’s one of the best teams in the country.
Oregon Head Coach Mario Cristobal
OPENING STATEMENT
Thank you to you guys for being here. I appreciate you hanging in there tonight, and I certainly appreciate the fans. I know Friday nights are tough. People are trying to get over here from work and whatnot. There’s a lot of stuff going on, but the fans, like always, showed up at Autzen strong in a way that only Autzen can do. They were enormously impactful in our game tonight, so we were really fired up to see them. We were also certainly fired up to see Johnathan Stewart. That’s a big running back. It was great to see him, and our guys were really excited to see a guy like him show up. We want to continue along the lines of getting our alumni back here to see all the things that we are doing.
Q. I wouldn’t ordinarily start with injuries, but there were some players that were significant. Jacob Breeland obviously was on crutches. Jevon Holland appeared not to be walking good. What’s the update on those two?
COACH CRISTOBAL: There were a couple more injuries as well. We think that Troy Dye and Jevon Holland’s injuries are pretty minor. We’re going to further assess Jacob Breeland, so as soon as we get word on that, we will get that to you guys.
Q. Steven Montez had only two interceptions all year. It’s been well documented how well he played here last time. What do you think the key was to taking his normal game and just throwing that completely out with four interceptions?
COACH CRISTOBAL: It’s really interesting to study him, because, as I’m sure you know with analytics, he’s a great football player. His completion percentage in tight windows is arguably the best in the Pac-12 and one of the best in the country. The key is that you’ve got to effect the quarterback and you’ve got to set edges in the run game. Our guys did that, and when they couldn’t get there, the discipline of our back end, as you saw, was instrumental in taking away some of the crossing routes and some of the spot routes. It really made it difficult for him and that combination has been core for us this season so far. It’s really been effective.
Q. I asked you about explosive plays on Monday, and you said they are instrumental in terms of scoring on drives. How do you feel like your offense was able to show that big play ability tonight?
COACH CRISTOBAL: Justin really made it a point of emphasis this week to take his preparation to a different level and those guys around him as well. We went over closing in on some really big plays, and today, we saw him in all different facets. We saw him in the run game, the pass game and some of the play action stuff, so it’s a trend we want to continue.
Q; Jevon Holland came off and Haki Woods just came in and just completely popped a dude on the line in what I think might have been the first play and had several more plays like that. Even MJ Cummingham came in and made some plays when Troy Dye was out. What sort of effect does that depth on this defense give you guys, especially in those types of situations?
COACH CRISTOBAL: This time of year, it’s going to be tough to be successful without it, and it all goes with the way you practice. These things are obviously eye-openers, right? When you watch film with your team tomorrow, you’ve got MJ there and Haki there. How many times in a walk thru, and it was time to get your reps, were you completely prepared to make sure when this moment came up that you were ready to go and play at a high level? That happened, and so now, it’s live action – it’s for real, there’s production, and there’s a successful performance or a successful play. It all relates back to the way we practice and the standards that we hold our players to – that our coaches hold our players to, and more importantly, the standards that our players hold themselves to. But yeah, he did pop.
Q: When those two go out and Colorado is one yard away from getting it to 17-10, but then you get the turnover and went down and score, and suddenly, it’s 24-3. Then, you come back and get the pick. In that three-minute stretch of game time, it went from being really close to suddenly you were able to pull away. Can you talk about that timeframe?
COACH CRISTOBAL: They are a high-powered offense and can score a lot of points. We didn’t know exactly what to expect. We know we are doing some really great things on defense and knew that tonight was going to be the biggest test of them all. Our offense knew that we have been close to making some really big plays, and that tonight, it had to happen. There was going to be very little wiggle room if they happened to get their offense going. That three-minute span was a 21- or 28-point swing. It certainly gave us momentum.
Q: It seems like game-in and game-out Jaylon Redd is scoring touchdowns for your team. Can you talk about how big of an asset he is for your offense?
COACH CRISTOBAL: We think that he is a great player. We think that he has proven that week-in and week-out. I can’t emphasize how tough he is. I’m talking about mentally and physically, because that guy gets more than nicks - he taken some physical shots and just finds a way to fight through. He doesn’t miss a rep in practice. That guy legitimately is one of our leaders on this football team, and it’s great that it’s showing up in his play.
Q: Verone McKinley had two interceptions and also tipped a ball tonight. Can you talk about what you have seen from him and what sort of indications he has given you throughout the season in practice?
COACH CRISTOBAL: Verone is one of the smartest players you will see. He knows everybody’s assignment. He understands exactly where to drop. He understands route structures as it relates to formations and personal groupings, and down and distances. I help the offensive scout team run plays against the defense, and as I’m getting the play ready, Verone is like shouting out what it is. It’s like that guy must be looking at the script or something like that, but he’s not. The guy really is a student of the game, and all of his hard work is really paying off. He has the confidence of his teammates.
Q: During the last two weeks, Cyrus Habibi-Likio had two of the most meaningful carries of his career when the game was closer. He’s either converting or he’s scoring. What has changed most recently? You talked in the spring about him having to assert himself to earn a bigger role. But, the last two weeks you've put him in, and he's delivered.
COACH CRISTOBAL: I don't think much has changed. I just think we have to find ways to get guys more touches. I mean you look at our football team, and a great example is Brady Aiello. Brady is a heck of a player and for us, we treat them as co-starters. Dallas Warmack and him split time. One of them is on the field, and if you go down the line with the wide receivers, it's the same kind of stuff. It's the right kind of balance, and everyone is getting their reps in. It's Cyrus' turn- he's earned it, and he's making the most of it.
Q: Coach, there's obviously the four interceptions, and you talked about some of the guys in the secondary individually. Can you just talk about the unit as a whole? They shut down one of the best receivers in the Pac-12 today.
COACH CRISTOBAL: They were excited about it. I think they know the caliber of player they were playing against, they knew the challenge and these guys looked forward to it all week. These guys play with a lot of confidence, and it's not false confidence. They have confidence because of the way they work and the amount of technical and fundamental stuff they do with Coach Heyward and Coach Donte. If you look at these guys from the middle of their sophomore year on, every single game, they're just getting better and better and better. So, I'm really happy for them, really proud of them and, again, I think they're just scratching the surface.
Q: Tonight was your best rushing total of the year and your best yard per carry of the year. What just clicked for the team offensively and led to this success?
COACH CRISTOBAL: Well, I think we're building upon what we did last week. Part of it is that it was designed well, and most importantly, the guys up front they did it well. They blocked it well, CJ Verdell saw it well, and we're starting to get in sync - it's paying off. We chip away at the run game, and, eventually, once you get it right, it's really working. Certainly, tonight it hit on all cylinders.
Q: This defense is really making a name for itself. I'm just wondering how much you think they've grown from the beginning of the year - just intelligence wise, finding all the right places, and talking and communicating. I'm also wondering about the fine line of being too aggressive with the penalties tonight- I think it was 10 penalties for over 100 yards?
COACH CRISTOBAL: think there's a clear line. When it's an aggressive penalty like a legitimate high-effort play that you went lights out and you misjudged something by a fraction, I say we can live with that, but you don't ever want to live with the careless ones. That's when the line is crystal clear, and you can't cross it in the situation where it could swing the thing one way or another. If you look back at us at during spring ball, you saw a complete transformation defensively the way it's taught, coached and the amount of pride taken by the players is still the most impressive thing. These guys attack it, and I get to watch it every day. So, I'm certainly excited for what is to come.
Colorado Players
Steven Montez
On How Things Got Out Of Hand - “I think bad plays just compounded on each other. If you go back and watch it, just play after another bad play, a mental mistake, and other mental mistake, a missed assignment. It just kind of stacked on top of each other and it kind of got out of hand. I’m not going to sit here and take credit away from Oregon, I think they’re a really good football team. They have a really good defense. There were a lot of plays that if we could’ve fixed, they would’ve gone our way. But some of those 50-50 balls, it’s a tip interception. You can’t control everything. Sometimes those plays go your way, sometimes they don’t."
What Sticks Out As The Most Frustrating Thing - “We have to play better. That’s the only thing that sticks out to me. We have to have have fewer mental mistakes and be careful with the ball."
What’s The Vibe Of The Team - "I think people are upset and feel like we could’ve come out and had a chance. We just didn’t make enough plays. Oregon made a lot more plays than we did. We have to take that for what it is and get ready to go play Washington State next week. It’s the same 24 hour rule we’ve been talking about all year. You go back, watch the film, you think about all the things you wanted to take back, then you forget about it and starting studying Washington State. Once we get into film study on Monday, we’ll be alright. A lot of guys are already putting this one past us, which is good."
On Deion Smith - “He played well, he had burst to him, he was finding holes, making cuts and finding daylight. I think he played really well."
Nate Landman
General - “I just think this team’s so competitive, that I don’t think we’re out of the game until we hit triple zeroes. The fourth quarter was tough seeing it come away from us and things not going our way. We didn’t play as disciplined as we wanted. I love this team, the way we compete and continue to play.
On If This Loss Hurts More Than Others- "It’s not the first time we’ve lost, we’re doing to prepare the same way. It’s the 24 hour rule, we’ll learn from that film and mistakes and we did some good things, as well. We’re going to take it just like any other loss and prepare for Washington State next week. You have to treat it the same. A loss is a loss. Obviously this wasn’t as close as some of the other ones, but I think we did some good things out there. And we also did some bad things. Football is a game of up and downs, credit to them, they played a good game and in the end came up with more plays than we did. Coaches are doing a great job, I just think, myself included, we need to get a little more clear leadership and have that come from wishing. But I think we’re a great football team and I’m excited to get back to work and prepare for next week."
Laviska Shenault
General-“It’s definitely frustrating not being able to do what I love to do. Just my history and going through what I’ve been going through, that’s part of the game, I just have to help the team any way I can. I’m going to get on this bus and think about. We’re going to have a little sit down, talk as a team and get some things straight to play the best we can play."
On Things Spiralling - "The game of football, things happen. Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t."
On Teams Being Physical - “It’s normal, it’s football, I just have to figure out how to maneuver my way through it. It felt good to be out there making some plays. It felt good to actually get back with the team and be on the field making plays, it definitely felt good.”
Mikial Onu
General-“We’ve got to be better. Unfortunately, we’re able to get things going on offense, defense or special teams. We have to get back to the drawing board. Credit to them, they’re a good team, they played fast and physical. We have to learn from this experience. I think I want to be a better leader, we have to come back better this week. I know, me personally, I’m coming in Monday and working harder than Iv’e worked in my life, I don’t want to go through something like this again. You can’t only be a leader when your’e up, you have to be a leader all the time. IN the fourth quarter of a game, you have to keep fighting. I felt like we came out a little flat. We have to come out faster, we have to play our brand of football. We’re going to get better. We got beat today, really bad. Leadership will only take you so far. X’s and O’s we just got dominated. We can’t let stuff like that happened. I think we played better as a secondary today, we have to get back into the meeting room, watch the film and turn the page."
Deion Smith
General-“It’s tough to have a loss, but it felt good to get in there with an opportunity to do my thing. I tried to proved a spark and do my thing.”
On Running Game-“I feel like the running game was ok but it can always be better. We’ll get back into the film room tomorrow and see how we can do that. It doesn’t really feel different, pretty much the same. I prepare all week, so by the time you get to the game it feels like a routine."