Colorado-Nebraska Quotes
vs
Wyoming
Sep 20 (Sat)
8:15 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
General
“I am really proud of our players. They did a phenomenal job of just continuing to play the next play. We were never looking at the scoreboard and played for each other. It was all about execution. They showed a lot of fight. We are the best conditioned football team. Our team is built in the weight room. We talk about that and take pride in it. We knew that if we just continued to play the next play and keep scratching, we would get back in it. We knew we would eventually wear them down and then break them at the end and that is what happened. Hats go off to our players and our coaches for keeping their poise and continuing to work with our young men. The belief on this team is huge. It really means a lot to them. We have the best fans in the country. It was extremely loud, and our team fed off of it. They never gave up on us. We had so many former players here and it means so much to them and everyone affiliated with the university. We have great pride here and great tradition. We have great facilities. There is not a better place in America to be a head football coach, in my opinion. We had some big time recruits here and they could really feel the passion in this place, in this community and on this campus. It was a great day for the Buffs. My hat goes off to our entire organization and our administration. It was a team effort by everyone involved.”
On Improving From Week 1
“I thought that we would make our most improvements from game one to game two. It was just the aggregation of marginal gains is really what it came down to throughout the week. Just everyone getting a little bit better at what they needed to do and with what their job was. It was rest and recovery, technique and fundamentals, and how we practice and how we meet. We were able to improve throughout the week. By the time we got to the game, we were confident with what we could do. We felt like we had a good plan. (DC) Coach (Tyson) Summers did a great job putting together a plan for these players that was something they could execute for four quarters, sixty minutes and would give us the best chance for these guys to play fast and play physical. I was really proud of the defensive effort. It was a great team win where we played complementary football. A week ago, it was the offense who carried us until the defense could get back in. That's what good teams do and we feed off of each other. Special teams was stellar. We had some huge punts. We play field position football and just believe in what we're doing. We stay patient and eventually we will wear people down. That's what happened today. It was just a great example of playing complimentary football.”
On OC Jay Johnson’s Flea Flicker Call
“Jay Johnson has called plays for a long time. It was a great play call at an opportune time. It was great execution. That's what you have to do. You have to be able to make plays in critical situations and have a competitive greatness. Be at your best when your best as needed. That was an example of that. My hat goes off to Jay and our offensive staff for that call and for other calls throughout the second half that gave our kids a chance. Then execution by our players. Just believing in what we're doing and executing at a high level in crunch time.”
On If He Was Ever Concerned Down 17-0
“No. These are long games now. They are 60-minute games, four quarter games. You have to stay with it. I've been doing this a long time. There's no such thing as a safe lead in college football. We all know that. We just continue to play. We talked to our players at halftime and said, ‘They gave us their best shot. Whatever the best that they could do, we saw it in the first half.’ We were able to make our adjustments and come back out and exert our will on them play in and play out. Then as a football team, we were able to wear them down. There is no need to get nervous. You just want to play the next play.”
On Experiencing The Nebraska Rivalry
“I felt it and it feels good. Not everyone gets a chance to do this, play in these rivalry games. This is what makes college football great. Players come here to CU and want to be Buffs because they want this experience to be able to compete at the highest level in these rivalry games, where it's important, with so many people and you got so much on the line. We had a great atmosphere. Our students were outstanding. The fans were great. It was loud. We fed off of our fans. We could feel the intensity of this game going into it. Our guys were able to stay focused on the task at hand. We were focused on execution. This win means a lot to so many people. We don't take that lightly. We were going to play hard.”
On Being Well Conditioned
“They just never stopped. We really pride ourselves on our conditioning. Our GPS numbers this week we're higher than they were last week, every single day. We came out on Fast Friday. We were fast yesterday in practice. Our numbers were high. Our guys looked quick. I knew that we were in great shape. I knew that Nebraska would have to come here in our place at altitude and have to play 60 minutes. We we're ready for that. There's no doubt in my mind that our guys are going to continue to work and do what it takes to be prepared for these games. These are four quarter, 60-minute plus games where we have to be at our best. We have to be able to grind through the ups and downs and the momentum swings in the game and continue to work and come out victorious through preparation, hard word, being in great condition, and just having a huge belief in what we're doing.”
“I am really proud of our players. They did a phenomenal job of just continuing to play the next play. We were never looking at the scoreboard and played for each other. It was all about execution. They showed a lot of fight. We are the best conditioned football team. Our team is built in the weight room. We talk about that and take pride in it. We knew that if we just continued to play the next play and keep scratching, we would get back in it. We knew we would eventually wear them down and then break them at the end and that is what happened. Hats go off to our players and our coaches for keeping their poise and continuing to work with our young men. The belief on this team is huge. It really means a lot to them. We have the best fans in the country. It was extremely loud, and our team fed off of it. They never gave up on us. We had so many former players here and it means so much to them and everyone affiliated with the university. We have great pride here and great tradition. We have great facilities. There is not a better place in America to be a head football coach, in my opinion. We had some big time recruits here and they could really feel the passion in this place, in this community and on this campus. It was a great day for the Buffs. My hat goes off to our entire organization and our administration. It was a team effort by everyone involved.”
On Improving From Week 1
“I thought that we would make our most improvements from game one to game two. It was just the aggregation of marginal gains is really what it came down to throughout the week. Just everyone getting a little bit better at what they needed to do and with what their job was. It was rest and recovery, technique and fundamentals, and how we practice and how we meet. We were able to improve throughout the week. By the time we got to the game, we were confident with what we could do. We felt like we had a good plan. (DC) Coach (Tyson) Summers did a great job putting together a plan for these players that was something they could execute for four quarters, sixty minutes and would give us the best chance for these guys to play fast and play physical. I was really proud of the defensive effort. It was a great team win where we played complementary football. A week ago, it was the offense who carried us until the defense could get back in. That's what good teams do and we feed off of each other. Special teams was stellar. We had some huge punts. We play field position football and just believe in what we're doing. We stay patient and eventually we will wear people down. That's what happened today. It was just a great example of playing complimentary football.”
On OC Jay Johnson’s Flea Flicker Call
“Jay Johnson has called plays for a long time. It was a great play call at an opportune time. It was great execution. That's what you have to do. You have to be able to make plays in critical situations and have a competitive greatness. Be at your best when your best as needed. That was an example of that. My hat goes off to Jay and our offensive staff for that call and for other calls throughout the second half that gave our kids a chance. Then execution by our players. Just believing in what we're doing and executing at a high level in crunch time.”
On If He Was Ever Concerned Down 17-0
“No. These are long games now. They are 60-minute games, four quarter games. You have to stay with it. I've been doing this a long time. There's no such thing as a safe lead in college football. We all know that. We just continue to play. We talked to our players at halftime and said, ‘They gave us their best shot. Whatever the best that they could do, we saw it in the first half.’ We were able to make our adjustments and come back out and exert our will on them play in and play out. Then as a football team, we were able to wear them down. There is no need to get nervous. You just want to play the next play.”
On Experiencing The Nebraska Rivalry
“I felt it and it feels good. Not everyone gets a chance to do this, play in these rivalry games. This is what makes college football great. Players come here to CU and want to be Buffs because they want this experience to be able to compete at the highest level in these rivalry games, where it's important, with so many people and you got so much on the line. We had a great atmosphere. Our students were outstanding. The fans were great. It was loud. We fed off of our fans. We could feel the intensity of this game going into it. Our guys were able to stay focused on the task at hand. We were focused on execution. This win means a lot to so many people. We don't take that lightly. We were going to play hard.”
On Being Well Conditioned
“They just never stopped. We really pride ourselves on our conditioning. Our GPS numbers this week we're higher than they were last week, every single day. We came out on Fast Friday. We were fast yesterday in practice. Our numbers were high. Our guys looked quick. I knew that we were in great shape. I knew that Nebraska would have to come here in our place at altitude and have to play 60 minutes. We we're ready for that. There's no doubt in my mind that our guys are going to continue to work and do what it takes to be prepared for these games. These are four quarter, 60-minute plus games where we have to be at our best. We have to be able to grind through the ups and downs and the momentum swings in the game and continue to work and come out victorious through preparation, hard word, being in great condition, and just having a huge belief in what we're doing.”
On Trust Between Coaches And Players
“That tells me that the players trust our coaching staff and what we're asking them to do. They trust our program and our process what we're telling them to do and what we're asking them to execute on a play in and play out basis. When we communicate to our players and say, ‘Here are the issues, here are the solutions to the problems, this is what we need to go out with and this is what we need to do to go out and be successful. They understand and believe in what we are telling them. They can go out there and they can do it full speed. They can be bought in 100% and go out there and compete. I'm really proud of this group. From day one, they've embraced our new staff, our new culture and what we're building here. They want to be relevant. They want to be significant. We took another step today.”
On Celebrating With The Fans
“That was a big game and that was a big win. I think everybody knows that. We share it with our fans. We had a lot of support out there today. It was built up since the day I got here, December 5th. There has been a lot of support and a lot of passion for us. It's an opportunity for our players and our coaches to be able to share in this moment with our students and with our fans. It was special for us.”
On Fan Support
“There was a lot of red who left here disappointed. Our fans were loud. I never sensed that they had any type of advantage. Our fans were loud. They were very supportive. We fed off of our fans. Our students were great. This is what makes CU a special place. I think you have to have tradition and facilities. This place has outstanding facilities. We have a great football tradition here. This is a football town. Football is important to a lot of people. We understand that and you could see that out there today. You could feel it from the moment we stepped onto the field until the very end when those fans rushed the field. It was just a great atmosphere for college football. I can't imagine it being better anywhere else.”
On QB Steven Montez
“Steven looked like a veteran quarterback. Football is one of those things where it doesn't always go your way. The ball bounces funny and crazy things happen out there at times. Steven showed poise, he showed patience, trusted his teammates, trusted the plan, trusted the coaches, and it became about execution. I was really proud of him. He led us and he hung in there. I saw him throw the ball away. I saw him be patient. I saw him do things that good players do. That's what good quarterbacks do. They hang in there. Your quarterback has to be your number one competitor. He competed at a very, very high level, all the way to the very end. My hat goes off to Steven. I believe in him as a person and I believe in him as our quarterback.”
His Message At Halftime
“My message to the team was that they gave us their best shot and we hadn't even scratched the surface of what we could do on either side of the ball. It was just a matter of playing the next play, never looking at the scoreboard, doing what we do, believing in each other, playing harder, hitting a little bit harder and executing. When we went out into the tunnel those guys were energized. They were ready. They were ready to play ball. Our guys want to play football. We had an opportunity in the second half to come out and put our best foot forward. We did that.”
On The Run Game
“Our line was coming off the ball, giving those guys some room to work. We were able to get some yards after contact and take care of the football. They looked like a real hungry group of guys that were determined to advance the football against their (Nebraska’s) will. We were able to do that. Like I've said before, you need to be able to run the football when you want to. When you need to, you need to be able to have a ground game to make things work. You don't ever want to be one dimensional. We've got good backs. We’ve got a good line that plays hard. They are cohesive. Our receivers block in our run game. We saw that last week. We need to be able to run the football. We got the guys to get that done.”
On Preparing The Team For Pressure Situations
“I saw it last week and I've seen it in practice. We try to make our practices harder than the games. We put these guys under pressure situations. We coach them aggressively. They never flinch. They just keep coming back for more. They did that last week as a football team. I knew that they would do it today. That's just how they're built. Our team is built in the weight room. We want to be best conditioned. We believe in each other. We are a very unselfish group. You play for the man next to you. We want to play football the way the game was meant to be played. There are lots of things that we can clean up. I think our best football is still ahead of us
“That tells me that the players trust our coaching staff and what we're asking them to do. They trust our program and our process what we're telling them to do and what we're asking them to execute on a play in and play out basis. When we communicate to our players and say, ‘Here are the issues, here are the solutions to the problems, this is what we need to go out with and this is what we need to do to go out and be successful. They understand and believe in what we are telling them. They can go out there and they can do it full speed. They can be bought in 100% and go out there and compete. I'm really proud of this group. From day one, they've embraced our new staff, our new culture and what we're building here. They want to be relevant. They want to be significant. We took another step today.”
On Celebrating With The Fans
“That was a big game and that was a big win. I think everybody knows that. We share it with our fans. We had a lot of support out there today. It was built up since the day I got here, December 5th. There has been a lot of support and a lot of passion for us. It's an opportunity for our players and our coaches to be able to share in this moment with our students and with our fans. It was special for us.”
On Fan Support
“There was a lot of red who left here disappointed. Our fans were loud. I never sensed that they had any type of advantage. Our fans were loud. They were very supportive. We fed off of our fans. Our students were great. This is what makes CU a special place. I think you have to have tradition and facilities. This place has outstanding facilities. We have a great football tradition here. This is a football town. Football is important to a lot of people. We understand that and you could see that out there today. You could feel it from the moment we stepped onto the field until the very end when those fans rushed the field. It was just a great atmosphere for college football. I can't imagine it being better anywhere else.”
On QB Steven Montez
“Steven looked like a veteran quarterback. Football is one of those things where it doesn't always go your way. The ball bounces funny and crazy things happen out there at times. Steven showed poise, he showed patience, trusted his teammates, trusted the plan, trusted the coaches, and it became about execution. I was really proud of him. He led us and he hung in there. I saw him throw the ball away. I saw him be patient. I saw him do things that good players do. That's what good quarterbacks do. They hang in there. Your quarterback has to be your number one competitor. He competed at a very, very high level, all the way to the very end. My hat goes off to Steven. I believe in him as a person and I believe in him as our quarterback.”
His Message At Halftime
“My message to the team was that they gave us their best shot and we hadn't even scratched the surface of what we could do on either side of the ball. It was just a matter of playing the next play, never looking at the scoreboard, doing what we do, believing in each other, playing harder, hitting a little bit harder and executing. When we went out into the tunnel those guys were energized. They were ready. They were ready to play ball. Our guys want to play football. We had an opportunity in the second half to come out and put our best foot forward. We did that.”
On The Run Game
“Our line was coming off the ball, giving those guys some room to work. We were able to get some yards after contact and take care of the football. They looked like a real hungry group of guys that were determined to advance the football against their (Nebraska’s) will. We were able to do that. Like I've said before, you need to be able to run the football when you want to. When you need to, you need to be able to have a ground game to make things work. You don't ever want to be one dimensional. We've got good backs. We’ve got a good line that plays hard. They are cohesive. Our receivers block in our run game. We saw that last week. We need to be able to run the football. We got the guys to get that done.”
On Preparing The Team For Pressure Situations
“I saw it last week and I've seen it in practice. We try to make our practices harder than the games. We put these guys under pressure situations. We coach them aggressively. They never flinch. They just keep coming back for more. They did that last week as a football team. I knew that they would do it today. That's just how they're built. Our team is built in the weight room. We want to be best conditioned. We believe in each other. We are a very unselfish group. You play for the man next to you. We want to play football the way the game was meant to be played. There are lots of things that we can clean up. I think our best football is still ahead of us
Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost
Opening Statement
“I just want to go back and to work. I wish I could start right now. I told the team I put this one on me, we got to find a way of seventeen nothing at halftime to win the game. Offense had chances in the third quarter to put the game away and didn’t. Defense played great in the first half and made some big mistakes in the second. I’ve only been a part of a few as tough as that one. I’m heartbroken for the kids because they worked their butts off this week. I congratulate them, because they could have quit. They outplayed us in overtime and in certain stretches of the game, and I’ve got to do a better job. We all have to do a better job.”
On Deciding To Run Instead Of Pass in Overtime
“Well, to be honest with you we were talking for five minutes before overtime started about what our best runs were. They got a field goal, I didn’t want to risk throwing an interception or losing the ball. We picked two of the runs that we thought were the best. I knew before the series started that we didn’t have our kicker so it was just us trying to run the plays that would hopefully get us three or four yards. We had trouble running between the tackles again today so a lot of our runs had to be wide. They did a good job stopping them, they put us in a third and long – thought we called a safe pass just held onto the ball for too long. I don’t know what the odds would say with a backup kicker making that length of a field goal or going for it on fourth and fourteen. But that’s not a good situation to be in.”
On The Cold Start To The Third Quarter
“The guys were ready when they came out of the locker room. Right from the start we didn’t get lined up for the first play right so we had to burn the timeout, that wasn’t a good start. We killed two drives with penalties again. I’ve got to go back and see those, I didn’t see them. You know, we got to have a killer instinct about us and finish drives. I really felt in that game that when they started coming back, that’s when we started clicking on offense. You know, in this offense we need some big plays too and we got two really big ones today. But not what I’m used to getting in calling this offense and we’ve got to find ways to get some more chunk plays so we’re not having to grind out twelve play drives.”
On How Colorado Adjusted To Be Successful
“I don’t know if it was adjustments, they looked the same as they did in the first couple different formations. They widened their backers a little bit. Coverages were the same, everything was the same. We scored on three of our four drives in the first half and then we went zero for four in the second half. I didn’t think it was an adjustment thing, we just didn’t execute and they played well.”
On The Fumbled Kick Return By CU Late In The Fourth
“We’ve got to put the game away there too. Last year we were bad at four minute offense, and that led us to take too big of a chance on first down, that was a bad decision. Now I want to be aggressive and try to put the game away and they were in a different look than what we were expecting. Then we got a penalty which is a bad way to start a four minute drive. It would have taken a couple first downs with two timeouts at that point to kill the game, but that’s what good teams do.”
On Whether Or Not The Team Held-up Physically In The Second Half
“I think the offense was fine, we left the defense out there a lot again in the second half because of the misfires on offense. The defense looked tired on a few of those drives, the one where they walked in. We’ve got to go back and look at the tape, we were subbing on that one. I didn’t see what our defensive coaches said they subbed and the refs should have stopped it, I don’t know what happened for sure there. There was a couple of times that we looked tired but I don’t think that was a major problem today. We just had a hundred chances to finish that game off.”
On Maurice Washington
“Maurice played well, obviously had some big plays. I think a couple of times he has to run it up in there a little tougher. Adrian the same way, we made some bad mistakes again out there particularly in the second half and we are still a young offense but that is not an excuse. A lot of these guys have been in the offense for a couple years now. We’ve got to find more of a running game however we do it.”
On The Importance Of Not Getting Sacked In OT
“We do clutch, we do overtime ad nauseum in practice. You know the situations there, can’t be holding the ball back there, obviously we got to do a better job coaching it. That last drive, two times this week we had fifty seconds on the clock minus forty and need a field goal to win with one timeout – so same exact situation twice this week and a dozen times in camp. As a play caller you kick yourself, you should have run something else. We picked two of the plays that have been working and we thought that they would work against the way that they have been lining up the whole game and they didn’t. Then we made a bad call or a bad decision on third down.”
On If He Would Have Gone For It On Fourth Down If There Wasn’t A Sack On Third Down
“I’m not a statistician, coaches were saying both things on the headset. You know we don’t have our kicker, I don’t really have a play call for fourth and fourteen. I think that you have to get lucky to get that. I do trust Issac as a football player, he punted well today, this isn’t on him.”
On Not Finishing The Game Strong, Especially Looking Back At Last Year
“I have only been a part of a couple that are tougher than this. As a coach you try to stay calm on the sideline and do your job. It was tough today because of the emotions. After the sluggish start to begin the third quarter I think our offense kicked it into gear. A couple times we needed them to. We didn’t play well at the same time offensively and defensively in the second half. This is one of the hardest losses I’ve been a part of.”
On His Receivers
“I got a lot of faith in Kanawai (Noa), the ball didn’t seem to be finding him right now so we’ve got to make it happen. Didn’t get it to JD (Spielman) enough, Wan’Dale (Robinson) did some good things when we got it to him, we have to get it to him more. There were times we didn’t protect, we as coaches can’t scheme these guys open all the time. Colorado doesn’t scheme Shenault all the time, he just gets open. We are doing the best we can to get these guys in situations, we got good enough players there. I would go to battle with JD, Kanawai, Wan’Dale and the rest of those guys anytime. We got to be sharper.”
On What Went Wrong
“I don’t know, its not an emotion thing. The guys were more amped up and ready to go at the start of the third quarter than I think they were the first quarter. I’ve got to go back and watch the tape. I know two of the drives we got a chop-block and holding that killed the drives. The first drive started terrible with us not getting the play called right and getting the players on the field right. That’s on us as coaches. You know one more score and it’s twenty-four to nothing, I think the stands would start emptying out. Instead, we are dealing with the noise instead of them dealing with the noise. I can’t thank Nebraska fans enough. They were a difference in that game and to the people that traveled out here, I promise you guys this is going to get better.”
Colorado Players
QB Steven Montez
ON THE GAME CHANGING 96 YARD PLAY-“That just took guts to even call that on our own five; just shows guts from Coach Johnson in the booth and send it down to us. We got the exact coverage we wanted, they were in quarters. That’s what we wanted it against. We knew they thought that we were going to hand it off and run it handed off, got the pitch back, KD was screaming wide open so I just tried to give him a decent ball for him to run with.”ON HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS-“I mean, we just kind of got it together. We all kind of just calmed down and started to play outside ourselves. We just took the coaching we were getting on the side line and applied it and good things happened for us.”
ON THE LARGE AMMOUNT OF NEBRASKA FANS-“I mean that’s credit to Nebraska fans, they travel really well. There was a lot of red in the stadium today, but I mean there was a lot of black and gold in the stadium which we love to see. I’m almost positive that our fans are definitely louder than there’s. I mean, take that as you will. To be honest, I think they talked themselves right out of the game. I think they came in too amped up. Before the coin toss they were talking trash, they were at the bottoms of the piles talking trash. They were spitting, they were doing dirty stuff.”
ON THE ATMOSPHERE OF WINNING TWO GAMES-“I mean this is a great win, but this is win number two and that’s exactly how we’re going to take it. We have 24 hours to enjoy it and Sunday comes we’re watching the tapes and Monday comes and we’re back at it ready for Airforce to come in here. And Air Force is a great team now, real tough and physical. 24 hours, That’s all we got to enjoy this. It was a great win for the program but it’s just win number two for us. This takes me back. It takes me back to 2016 when we have beaten Utah for the south title. I mean these are just lifelong memories you won’t forget. I mean it’s a burst of adrenaline just so many things are happening around you. And you’re so happy with your teammates. It’s just really something you can’t explain with words.”
ON HOW CONDITIONING GAVE AN ADVANTAGE-“I think that our conditioning played a role in this game, especially in the second half. I think Nebraska was a little bit tired here at altitude which tends to happen. I think that we use that to our advantage we run into quick pace type offense and then slowing it down a little bit when we want it to really control the tempo. The second half was huge for us. We got them on their heels and kept them there.”
ON HOW THIS WIN WILL DRIVE THEM FORWARD-“I mean the biggest one is the last one. That’s the kind of mentality you got to have especially playing this game at this level. This is the biggest game, biggest when that we got up to this point in the season. And next week, God willing, we will do the things we are supposed to do against Air Force, then so on and so forth. It’s all just a process and you got to respect the process and you have got to be serious about the process.”
ON THE CLOSING SEQUENCE WITH BROWN-“Tony’s been running those go-balls in fall camp every single day, running them to perfection. We completed a ton in fall camp. When I saw matched up out there they were middle open so they had the single receiver side doubled. They were bracketing our inside receivers so I knew I had a one-on-one with Tony Brown in the corner and I knew if I gave him a good enough ball he would come down with it.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE IN THE SECOND HALF-“They played lights out. Shout out to the big guys up front. They played their butts off in the second half. I mean they came out and we ran the ball, we had a ton of time to throw the ball which gave our playmakers time on the perimeter. I can’t say enough good things about what the O-Line did today.”
ON MANGHAM’S PERFORMANCE-“It was huge. The way we play offense we kind of run the ball up the pass and make them get into a little but of midfield closed, make them respect the box a litte bit. And we started gashing them and they started to respect it and we started to get single matchups on the outside which is exactly how we get those big completions down the field.”
ON LOCKER ROOM ATMOSPHERE-“The locker room? It’s nuts. People are throwing water everywhere. Dancing, music at full blast it’s crazy.”
ON MONTEZ FAMILY BACK IN EL PASO-“I hope they would want more. I hope they wouldn’t see this and think, “he’s had a great time here in Colorado.” I mean we’re trying to string together some wins here. So we’re excited about what we’re doing. We’re excited about the offense. We’re excited about the new coaching staff and we’re ready to play another fame of football next Saturday. Obviously, shout out to my brother Raymond, shout out to my dad, shout out to my mom . My mom was here. My dad was in Odessa.”P
LB Nu’umotu Falo, Jr.
ON LOCKER ROOM ATMOSPHERE-“The atmosphere was great. This is what we expected you know? We didn't really see anything else happening besides us coming out with the victory. We knew it was going to be a dogfight, we knew it was going to be a fourth quarter fight. Who knew it would have gone into overtime, but we were ready for it. We prepared ourselves since January, Since we got here with Coach (Mel) Tucker. The atmosphere right now is what we're what we're building on for the rest of the season.”
ON HOW TEAM KEPT THEIR HEADS UP AT HALFTIME-“Football is a team sport, it takes everyone on the team for the team to win. Whether you're traveling or not, it's a team sport. Starting from Monday practice every every guy has to be locked in. Starting from day one of practice for the week Nebraska and going on throughout the week. You know guys are trying to trying to lock in and see what they can do. It's just people on the team getting each other to really, really push each other instead of the coaches pushing us really is just the players pushing each other.
ON HOW IT FELT TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE GAME-“I try not to look at myself as an individual, I do everything for the team. Everything is for the team. Football, like I mentioned a team sport. Whatever I do doesn't really contribute to myself, I see that as a team step. What I did out there was really just to help the team win.”
ON HOW TEAM CAN KEEP THIS MOMENTUM-“Keep doing what we’re doing Honestly. I think this team knows exactly what we have to do, and if we just keep doing that then I think we're going to be very successful. The team doesn't see us really losing anything but it really starts with us. It starts with us going out there on Monday and having a great mindset to going out there and and winning the day and then going throughout the whole week and getting ready for game day.”
ON IF THIS COACHING STAFF HANDLES TIGHT SITUATIONS BETTER-“Each coaching staff is different. We know this this coaching staff has prepared us since the day they got here. Coach (Mel) Tucker has been preaching what he preaches, and he didn't wait till fall camp. he didn't really waste any time. The situations that we go through in practice, we know that we've gone through all of them since coach got here. I really think he’s done a great job preparing for it.”
ON HOW TEAM KEPT THEIR HEADS UP AT HALFTIME-“Football is a team sport, it takes everyone on the team for the team to win. Whether you're traveling or not, it's a team sport. Starting from Monday practice every every guy has to be locked in. Starting from day one of practice for the week Nebraska and going on throughout the week. You know guys are trying to trying to lock in and see what they can do. It's just people on the team getting each other to really, really push each other instead of the coaches pushing us really is just the players pushing each other.
ON HOW IT FELT TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE GAME-“I try not to look at myself as an individual, I do everything for the team. Everything is for the team. Football, like I mentioned a team sport. Whatever I do doesn't really contribute to myself, I see that as a team step. What I did out there was really just to help the team win.”
ON HOW TEAM CAN KEEP THIS MOMENTUM-“Keep doing what we’re doing Honestly. I think this team knows exactly what we have to do, and if we just keep doing that then I think we're going to be very successful. The team doesn't see us really losing anything but it really starts with us. It starts with us going out there on Monday and having a great mindset to going out there and and winning the day and then going throughout the whole week and getting ready for game day.”
ON IF THIS COACHING STAFF HANDLES TIGHT SITUATIONS BETTER-“Each coaching staff is different. We know this this coaching staff has prepared us since the day they got here. Coach (Mel) Tucker has been preaching what he preaches, and he didn't wait till fall camp. he didn't really waste any time. The situations that we go through in practice, we know that we've gone through all of them since coach got here. I really think he’s done a great job preparing for it.”
DT Mustafa Johnson
ON RALLYING TOGETHER IN THE SECOND HALF-“We stayed together. We never had a doubt in our minds that we we’re going to lose the game. We stayed positive and kept pushing each other. We knew we weren’t going to quit, we were going to fight this game to the very end, and that's how it came out.”
ON DEFENSIVE HALFTIME ADJUSMENTS -“We just go with our coaches, they are seeing stuff we are messing up on, and I think the players are locking on to some of that kind of stuff. I wish we could come out better, but it’s all about finishing it in the end. It’s all little things, little critiques that we can get better with. It’s a game of inches, so we’re going to do whatever we need to do to get it done.”
ON THE FINAL FIELD GOAL-“I was ecstatic. Next thing I knew all the fans were running on the field, hitting me and what not. It was amazing. I honestly have never been a part of something like that.”
ON HOW SPECIAL THIS GAME WAS-“This game was way bigger than last year’s game. This year we had all of our fans right here with us, and not just the fans who could make it. So, there was definitely a big difference from this year and last year. Today, it was loud and we could feel all of the energy.”
ON ENJOYING THE WIN-“I was not apart of the chanting towards them at the end of the game, I was not apart of that. But I love the way it felt. I happened to be walking through campus on Friday with all of my senior gear on, and Nebraska fans were booing me, so it’s great being able to send them home with a loss.”
ON KEEPING THE MOMENTUM GOING-“We have to trust our coaches. We have to trust our coaches and execute what they tell us to do. That’s what it’s coming down to, just execute what they tell us to do. Our coaching staff has a lot of experience, and they know what they are talking about, so we just need to trust them and do what they tell us to do.”
ON THE LOCKER ROOM AT HALFTIME-“Everybody kept their heads up. That’s what I was worried about when everyone was walking in because we were down seventeen to zero going into the half. It could have gone one of two ways, we could have either tucked our tails in and gotten ready for the second half, or we could have kept our heads up, gotten behind each other, gone through our adjustments, and be ready to come out and play the second half, which is what we did.”
ON DEFENSIVE HALFTIME ADJUSMENTS -“We just go with our coaches, they are seeing stuff we are messing up on, and I think the players are locking on to some of that kind of stuff. I wish we could come out better, but it’s all about finishing it in the end. It’s all little things, little critiques that we can get better with. It’s a game of inches, so we’re going to do whatever we need to do to get it done.”
ON THE FINAL FIELD GOAL-“I was ecstatic. Next thing I knew all the fans were running on the field, hitting me and what not. It was amazing. I honestly have never been a part of something like that.”
ON HOW SPECIAL THIS GAME WAS-“This game was way bigger than last year’s game. This year we had all of our fans right here with us, and not just the fans who could make it. So, there was definitely a big difference from this year and last year. Today, it was loud and we could feel all of the energy.”
ON ENJOYING THE WIN-“I was not apart of the chanting towards them at the end of the game, I was not apart of that. But I love the way it felt. I happened to be walking through campus on Friday with all of my senior gear on, and Nebraska fans were booing me, so it’s great being able to send them home with a loss.”
ON KEEPING THE MOMENTUM GOING-“We have to trust our coaches. We have to trust our coaches and execute what they tell us to do. That’s what it’s coming down to, just execute what they tell us to do. Our coaching staff has a lot of experience, and they know what they are talking about, so we just need to trust them and do what they tell us to do.”
ON THE LOCKER ROOM AT HALFTIME-“Everybody kept their heads up. That’s what I was worried about when everyone was walking in because we were down seventeen to zero going into the half. It could have gone one of two ways, we could have either tucked our tails in and gotten ready for the second half, or we could have kept our heads up, gotten behind each other, gone through our adjustments, and be ready to come out and play the second half, which is what we did.”
WR K.D. Nixon
ON HIS FLEA FLICKER TOUCHDOWN-“I want to give credit to the coaches. Coach Johnson he called the play, I just did my job.”
ON NEBRASKA FANS LEAVING THE STADIUM-“I don’t know how to answer that, because we can't talk bad about other opponents. But I just want to focus on my team. I'm glad we got the win.”
ON THE MEANING OF HIS LONG TOUCHDOWN CATCH-“Honestly, I mean, we practice it like every day in practice. So It's really just a play that I just had to you know, execute that’s what coach talks about 24/7, execution, execution. Don’t worry about the other team, just do your job man. Basically, making that play really just made me happy because I know what type of player I am. If I make a big play, I know the team will get excited. And that's all we need other players to make plays and once we all make plays, we all feed off each other.”
ON WHAT THIS WIN SAYS ABOUT THE SEASON-“I'm going to tell you the truth we won back in summer workouts. We had the hardest summer workouts I’ve had in my life. So credit to the strength staff, credit to coach Tucker for telling them do that but also it's a big win, it’s a big rivalry. We really don't understand the rivalry because we are from different states. But once we knew we had this game we knew that we had to step up.”
ON WHAT COACH TUCKER SAID AT HALFTIME-“I mean, honestly, Coach Tucker is one of the players coach. That's something that we all love about him. So he really just came in and said, hey, you're doing the right thing, just keep being you. That's what we like as a coach. You know, you don't want to come into halftime and just be told you're messing up or you're doing the wrong thing or you're not connected. He came in a positive, talked to everybody, crunk everybody up and so we went out there and we just knew. I told Nate, I said, I got you, you got me. And in the second half, it was history.”
ON WHAT WAS DONE DURING THE OFFSEASON-“Honestly, just relentless strength you know, you heard coach talk about it, 24/7 is not a joke. I don't think anybody outside this football team could play with the Colorado Buffaloes. I guarantee you anybody on another college football team would quit because it’s just how hard it was, and we all stick together and that just showed in fourth quarter we didn't win today, we won back in summer workouts. Back when Coach Tucker came in December 4th. That's what some people don't understand that's why we’re happy, but at the same time it’s 24 hour roof. We know right back tomorrow we have to be here for treatment and get back to work so we’re waiting on that moment.”
ON NEBRASKA FANS LEAVING THE STADIUM-“I don’t know how to answer that, because we can't talk bad about other opponents. But I just want to focus on my team. I'm glad we got the win.”
ON THE MEANING OF HIS LONG TOUCHDOWN CATCH-“Honestly, I mean, we practice it like every day in practice. So It's really just a play that I just had to you know, execute that’s what coach talks about 24/7, execution, execution. Don’t worry about the other team, just do your job man. Basically, making that play really just made me happy because I know what type of player I am. If I make a big play, I know the team will get excited. And that's all we need other players to make plays and once we all make plays, we all feed off each other.”
ON WHAT THIS WIN SAYS ABOUT THE SEASON-“I'm going to tell you the truth we won back in summer workouts. We had the hardest summer workouts I’ve had in my life. So credit to the strength staff, credit to coach Tucker for telling them do that but also it's a big win, it’s a big rivalry. We really don't understand the rivalry because we are from different states. But once we knew we had this game we knew that we had to step up.”
ON WHAT COACH TUCKER SAID AT HALFTIME-“I mean, honestly, Coach Tucker is one of the players coach. That's something that we all love about him. So he really just came in and said, hey, you're doing the right thing, just keep being you. That's what we like as a coach. You know, you don't want to come into halftime and just be told you're messing up or you're doing the wrong thing or you're not connected. He came in a positive, talked to everybody, crunk everybody up and so we went out there and we just knew. I told Nate, I said, I got you, you got me. And in the second half, it was history.”
ON WHAT WAS DONE DURING THE OFFSEASON-“Honestly, just relentless strength you know, you heard coach talk about it, 24/7 is not a joke. I don't think anybody outside this football team could play with the Colorado Buffaloes. I guarantee you anybody on another college football team would quit because it’s just how hard it was, and we all stick together and that just showed in fourth quarter we didn't win today, we won back in summer workouts. Back when Coach Tucker came in December 4th. That's what some people don't understand that's why we’re happy, but at the same time it’s 24 hour roof. We know right back tomorrow we have to be here for treatment and get back to work so we’re waiting on that moment.”
WR Tony Brown
ON HIS GAME WINNING CATCH HIS SENIOR YEAR-“You know, I didn’t play well before that or the series before, obviously I dropped a catch in the end zone. My teammates were telling me to pick myself up, you know, Montez is going to come back right to me, I picked my head up, had confidence in myself. When the play was called, you know, I knew it was coming to me, you know, so I had to make a play for my teammates. You know, where's my teammates? You know, so that's what I had to do to add expectations for myself to make that play.”
ON WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO TRANSFER-“Definitely, not playing a year was pretty tough for me, but I use that year to work on my craft and get better. And, you know, I have a lot of expectations for me this year, you know, stepping up my game, you know, playing any role that coach wants me playing.”
ON HIS MONTEZ BRSHING MISTAKES ASIDE-“You know, obviously, we had a bit of a start, but we made our adjustments, you know, me and him sat down, we talked about locker room, you know since we have that chemistry it was just made but you know, with all the receivers, the running backs, the whole offense, you know, we knew what we had to do. So We just had to talk to them and get our mind right and we came out in the second half, and we got it done.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS-“I would just say, you know, just knowing what we got to do, you know, we see the type of defense that they run, we have a play set up. We made those adjustments in the locker room, we saw what they were doing in the first half, We made those adjustments and like I said, we just got it done.”
ON WHAT IT FELT LIKE TO TRANSFER-“Definitely, not playing a year was pretty tough for me, but I use that year to work on my craft and get better. And, you know, I have a lot of expectations for me this year, you know, stepping up my game, you know, playing any role that coach wants me playing.”
ON HIS MONTEZ BRSHING MISTAKES ASIDE-“You know, obviously, we had a bit of a start, but we made our adjustments, you know, me and him sat down, we talked about locker room, you know since we have that chemistry it was just made but you know, with all the receivers, the running backs, the whole offense, you know, we knew what we had to do. So We just had to talk to them and get our mind right and we came out in the second half, and we got it done.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS-“I would just say, you know, just knowing what we got to do, you know, we see the type of defense that they run, we have a play set up. We made those adjustments in the locker room, we saw what they were doing in the first half, We made those adjustments and like I said, we just got it done.”
ILB Nate Landman
ON WHAT THE DEFENSE WAS SAYING TO EACH OTHER-
“Yeah you know, the offense struggled a little bit but in the second half, they came out and played hard. I think as a defense we played a hard four quarters and overtime, every snap, you know, and that's credit to our defensive line and secondary. You know, we didn't really give up too many things, and they beat us on explosive plays on the edge. Martinez was able to extend drives with his feet and those were our halftime adjustments and once we were able to get those you know they couldn’t run in the middle or get on the edge. And you know, I think we had three or four three and outs getting our ball back to our offense and once they got rolling they couldn’t be stopped.”
ON WHAT IT WAS LIKE PLAYING IN THAT ENVIRONMENT-“It kind of reminded me a little bit last year. You know, there was a lot of red but there was a lot of CU support too and I you know, I love how small our sidelines are, we have the support right there. You know people cheering us on and whether it gets quiet or super loud, you know, we feed off the energy, and I think by having that crowd and that support it really pushed us to get that win for our CU fans because they show great support and you know, the history of this game is awesome. And we have we had a lot of old players in our locker room and you know, they were talking to us and we wanted to get that win not only for us but for our fans and the history of this program.”
ON IF IT WAS MOTIVATING TO SEE ALL THE RED-For me yes, you know, I try to block, you know when I'm playing out there I block it out. But seeing that missed field goal at the end and seeing our fans rush the field, it's a feeling that you know not many people have experienced having played in that game and to bring that home, that win home for boulder was just amazing.”
ON WHAT IT MEANS TO SEE HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS WORKING-“You know, this is what I expect out of our defense. You know, we didn't know how it would work last week given that we had a lot of young guys playing and a lot of rotation in our defense but I think that's a credit to us believing in our coaches and really buying into what they're teaching us and executing their calls. And you know, having those young guys, it takes a little bit but you know they adapted well and you know we didn't do as well as you wanted in the first half but the second half we dominated and those are due to those adjustments.”
ON HOW IMPORTANT THIS WIN IS-“Yeah definitely, you know, our coach told us all week, we're going to take our biggest strides from week one to week two and I believe we did that using this game as kind of a base. Now and improving on this week and using the third game as a base now, I think you know, we just want to focus on one game at a time but having this win in the back of our mind and knowing that we're a team that can come back from adversity and you know, play all four quarters a game and if we have to, overtime and get the job done.”
“Yeah you know, the offense struggled a little bit but in the second half, they came out and played hard. I think as a defense we played a hard four quarters and overtime, every snap, you know, and that's credit to our defensive line and secondary. You know, we didn't really give up too many things, and they beat us on explosive plays on the edge. Martinez was able to extend drives with his feet and those were our halftime adjustments and once we were able to get those you know they couldn’t run in the middle or get on the edge. And you know, I think we had three or four three and outs getting our ball back to our offense and once they got rolling they couldn’t be stopped.”
ON WHAT IT WAS LIKE PLAYING IN THAT ENVIRONMENT-“It kind of reminded me a little bit last year. You know, there was a lot of red but there was a lot of CU support too and I you know, I love how small our sidelines are, we have the support right there. You know people cheering us on and whether it gets quiet or super loud, you know, we feed off the energy, and I think by having that crowd and that support it really pushed us to get that win for our CU fans because they show great support and you know, the history of this game is awesome. And we have we had a lot of old players in our locker room and you know, they were talking to us and we wanted to get that win not only for us but for our fans and the history of this program.”
ON IF IT WAS MOTIVATING TO SEE ALL THE RED-For me yes, you know, I try to block, you know when I'm playing out there I block it out. But seeing that missed field goal at the end and seeing our fans rush the field, it's a feeling that you know not many people have experienced having played in that game and to bring that home, that win home for boulder was just amazing.”
ON WHAT IT MEANS TO SEE HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS WORKING-“You know, this is what I expect out of our defense. You know, we didn't know how it would work last week given that we had a lot of young guys playing and a lot of rotation in our defense but I think that's a credit to us believing in our coaches and really buying into what they're teaching us and executing their calls. And you know, having those young guys, it takes a little bit but you know they adapted well and you know we didn't do as well as you wanted in the first half but the second half we dominated and those are due to those adjustments.”
ON HOW IMPORTANT THIS WIN IS-“Yeah definitely, you know, our coach told us all week, we're going to take our biggest strides from week one to week two and I believe we did that using this game as kind of a base. Now and improving on this week and using the third game as a base now, I think you know, we just want to focus on one game at a time but having this win in the back of our mind and knowing that we're a team that can come back from adversity and you know, play all four quarters a game and if we have to, overtime and get the job done.”
Nebraska Players
QB Adrian Martinez
ON NOT FINDING RHYTHM IN FOURTH QUARTER-“I can’t sit here and point at one thing I would have to go back and watch the film. But the offense needed to put it away at that point and make something happen and we can’t afford that type of quarter and those possessions. We couldn’t help out our defense and be good teammates.”ON EMOTIONAL SWING DURING HALFTIME-“We were 17-0 at halftime and I think a quality of a good football team is not letting that get to you. There are a lot of significant events but you have to keep your head level and play your game and I think we could probably do a better job of that as a team.”
ON ENDING UP ON THE LOSING SIDE AGAIN-“We let our fans down and we let Coach Frost down and we wanted to win this game. We wanted this game. We had that mindset coming in and we lost. Plain and simple. We’re going to have to bounce back and that’s tough. But like I told the guys in the locker room, remember this feeling, and let’s not feel this again. This stuff will happen but good teams will bounce back. That’s where my heads out right now. Obviously I feel terrible. We wanted to win this game.”
ON THE TURNOVERS-“I think whether you’re home or away turnovers is a stat that means a lot. It could be the tell of the game. It’s something I have to do a better job of and offense needs to do a better job of. Obviously, the three turnovers came from me and that’s something we’re going to continuously work on and get better at. We know that good teams can’t turn the ball over that much and expect to win the game.”
ON THE OVERTIME SACK-“I got stopped. I’ll have to look back on film but it kind of got me in the middle of a bad spot. You got to make things happen. I’m not going to sit here and make excuses for anything and that’s on me. But the snap was freaking 5,000 feet over my head? I don’t care, there’s no excuses. That’s a lesson to myself. Who cares where the snap is? I’ve got to make the play.”