Colorado State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
11/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2008
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CSU Head Coach Steve Fairchild
General
"We're obviously disappointed that we weren't able to win the football game tonight. We definitely had our chances. I liked our effort. I liked the way we played physical and showed up tonight. I think our kids certainly believed we could win this game. Having said all that, it was a close game. We had our chances but we didn't make enough plays to get it done."
On former players coming back to participate
"Joey Porter was around, so was Kevin McDougal. We had some guys around this week that are in the NFL. I've said all along that there is a great football tradition at Colorado State that we should all be proud of. I sure really enjoy it. I welcome all those former players to come back. I think it's good for them and I think it's good for our football team. So we had a bunch of guys around."
On whether this game reminded him of the old days in the WAC
"I'm not sure what it reminded me of. It was a football game that was definitely winnable. We certainly played hard. I think our kids really believed they could beat BYU. We just didn't do enough to get it done. Having said all that, it's a loss and we feel bad about it. But we got to get back to work. We still have three games to go and there is still some stuff out there for our football team."
On whether it seemed like BYU had an answer for every adjustment CSU made
"I liked what our coaching staff did on both sides of the ball."
On positives to take from this game
"The first thing I said to our football team is that there is no real solace when you lose a football game. I do know in my heart where we started from and where we are now, that I like our direction and I like where we're going. We just have to get back to practice and keep plugging along. Nobody said it was going to be easy."
On the success of the trick plays
"Well, we got a whole bag full of them that we've tried since spring ball. We got plenty more, I'll tell you that."
BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall
General
"It came down to which team could execute one more play than the other to win the football game; certainly plenty of mistakes that occurred by both teams on both sides of the ball to make it interesting. I don't think that it can be discounted that this team keeps finding a way to win football games. We just continue to improve on them as we go, but at 8-1 we are going to enjoy the plane ride home"
On the outlook of the game with all of the mistakes
"Certainly, what I've learned is that wins are just too hard to get. Early in the year when we were being compared to the top 10 in the BCS, it was taking away the fun of just playing and coaching football. We're doing the best we can with the players that we have and they are trying as hard as they can. It's back to the grass roots of why we do this. I won't let anything over shadow that, because it is too hard to win football games."
On whether he expected his offense to score on the last drive
"No question. That is just who they are. Uncharacteristically was the mistake on the play before. I despise that one. When we have the ball we are so proficient and they were poised and confident and I believed that they could do it and certainly they did."
On if he said anything to quarterback Max Hall before the last possession
"I didn't say a thing to Max. I try to stay out of Max's way on game days. I let him do his thing and he's better like that."
On tight end Dennis Pitta's play
"Dennis Pitta had some catches that were just phenomenal. Again, when you are getting hit like he was and your helmet is coming off on critical situations, it was just an amazing football game. Each game takes on a life of its own and that one seemed to take five hours. It was an amazing game and I credit our team for finding a way to win."
On how the defense stepped up in the end
"I think the defense improved. People will look at the score and not think that they improved, but I do. I think they played the run decently and I think they made some critical plays in coverage. There were some times when there were turnovers in our zone and it took some gadget plays for them to score. And that could be a good thing when it takes those type of plays to score points. But we weren't close to them, so we will have to learn to cover those better. It's literally a step-by-step process with these kids as we help them grow and get better."
On how BYU was running out of bodies in the secondary
"Stephen Thomas played corner for the last quarter, maybe quarter and a half. We just moved him to corner last week because of injury and transfers. He did the best he could."
On how Hall succeeds when he spreads the ball around, but this game featured Collie and Pitta
"I think he was, just based on trust. It just shows that in normal downs the distribution is there, but in critical situations he is more comfortable there. That is maybe a trust thing."
On if he was surprised on how the offense had trouble on third, and fourth and short
"I was. I certainly wouldn't have called and allowed us to go for it if I didn't think that we wouldn't be able to move the ball. It was surprising to me."
On the special teams play
"It was a breakdown. Besides the special teams, they were a lot of mistakes in the game that lead the game being like it was. At some point I'll be able to reach this particular team with clean play and execution to where they are able to separate themselves. But until then they are learning the valuable lessons that when you make those mistakes, games turn out like they do. They don't have to be like this but right now we are choosing for them to be like that, either through how I'm coaching them and preparing them or just their precision and attention to detail."
On balancing being critical and celebrating the win
"I'm not going to balance it. I'm going to celebrate and enjoy the win, just because so much goes in to them. When the next week hits, each and every day we'll try to teach. But until then there is too much that goes into this to try to be critical right now. The players know what they need to do to get better; it's not like they are surprised. They are anxious to hear what we have to say, so Monday we'll start again to try to make them better."
On how CSU scoring fast at the end of the game helped
"Certainly. We had a choice defensively, even though it only happened in one play, we were going to be very aggressive and make it go one way or the other. Our plan was to force the tempo there, it just took one play."
CSU players
On liking personality of team: "We proved a lot when we play the tough teams. We can't just dwell. We've gotta move on. We've just gotta show up, no matter who our opponent is. If the opponent's good, we've gotta show up."On playing tough opponents in past three games: "Even though we didn't win `em all, it kind of shows a statement to the rest of the conference, these last few games, that we're out to play. We're a different CSU and you're gonna have to show up and play."
WR Dion Morton
On matching BYU scoring drives: "Not to take away from our defense, but I definitely think that we kind of thought it was gonna be a shootout, me personally, I kind of felt. Because, their offense picks apart what the defense does and they're coached real well on offense. So we just kind of had to match point-for-point, yard-for-yard, and I think we did that pretty well tonight."
On leaving 1 minute, 44 seconds, on clock after his TD in fourth quarter: "I definitely kind of thought about that, but at the same time, anytime you can score is a positive thing. So it just kind of puts the defense in a good situation to get a stop and unfortunately we didn't."
On difficulty of moving on after this loss: "We can't let it stop us. We've just gotta move forward. Like Coach said, next week we've got another opponent in front of us. We've still got a chance to go to the bowls. We've just gotta go to practice next week and let it go."
QB Billy Farris
On liking how the Rams have been playing the past three games: "Definitely. Offensively and defensively; for the most part. I feel like we're really coming together as a team. And if we can keep growing and getting better, and take a lot from this game, we're going to be a really good team by the end of the season."
On what it would mean to get win at Air Force: "If we can beat (Air Force) and get back on track right now, it's going to be huge for all of our team and we're going to get a lot of momentum and a lot of steam leading into our last two games. So it's a big one."
On leaving 1:44 on clock after CSU score in fourth quarter: "(BYU's) got a great offense. You've gotta give it to them. They're a great team, a great offense. They played really well. That's the way it happens sometimes. It just hurts when you're that close to beating a ranked team or an elite team in our conference and it just doesn't happen for you. So it's just heartbreaking."
On what CSU was going to have to do to put ball in end zone tonight: "Keep the ball away from (BYU). Our plan was just to kind of keep the ball away from them because they're at the top of the Mountain West in each category -- rushing, passing and all those things. So we were just trying to keep it away from them and score more touchdowns than them. We just couldn't pull it out."
On most disappointing part about loss: "To get a touchdown by Dion Morton, a 47-, 50-yard touchdown on the first play of our drive, which is big, big for this team, big for this program, and we let `em off the hook at the end of the game."
On plan for rest of season: "Just keep playing hard. If you keep playing hard, you'll get positive outcomes. We played hard tonight; we just really let it go."
LB Jeff Horinek
On team tonight: "We had a lot of confidence we were going to be able to come in and take it to them. We started off well, but at the end of the day they were able to get that upper hand."
On most disappointing part of loss: "We had several chances to just outright win this game. But on defense we just weren't able to stop `em. Give them credit; they've got a heck of an offense. They've got some good running backs, great receivers and a solid quarterback. So it's just tough."
On CSU play in past three games: "I thought against Utah we didn't play too well. I mean we fought well but they took it to us. Other than that, you know TCU and BYU both times I feel like we should have came out with the win. So no, I'm not happy with it. I'm not really into moral victories. I'm kind of too old for that. I want to win. I want the program to build and build and build, but I want to be there right now. I'm too old to be thinking about building."
On liking CSU play: "I feel like we're in a great position to where we can make a bowl game. We've got three games left, three very solid opponents, but also three winnable games. It's also nice that they're close to us; it's not like we have to get on a plane and travel. I do like where we're at. I do think we could be much better, though."
BYU players
WR Austin Collie
On TE Dennis Pitta: "Dennis is a playmaker. He is always going to make plays. We have been in this situation so many times before as a team that we know we're going to come through."
On the offensive play options: "If you concentrate on Dennis we can just go to me and if you concentrate on me, we just go to Dennis. Then we can go to Harvey and then go to Mike. We can just go to so many other guys. We just did a great job in doing that today."
On the offensive game: "It does feel good and your head starts to grow even more. But, you know, overall it was just a great offensive showing and a great team showing."
On the final 2 minutes: "We had just been preparing for this moment and we kind of have the tendency to get into these situations a lot. So, we've been in this situation before and respond every single time. I think practice makes perfect and we've practiced the 2-minute for a while and that's something we've really shown some emphasis on. That's exactly what we did tonight, dig deep and know it's not over."
On the defense and Colorado State: "When the defense needs to make plays, they make plays. They showed that tonight and I think as a whole team we had a great game tonight. I just think Colorado State is a great football team and they brought their best."
TE Dennis Pitta
On WR Austin Collie: "Austin had a big first half with three touchdowns and a bunch of catches. That's going to happen if they just single cover you. He's a tough guy to cover."
On his game-winning play: "You know, Max threw a great ball, high and away. Fortunately, I was able to go up and make a great play and barrel in to the end zone."
On the ride home: "To get to celebrate like that with your teammates and the guys you work so hard with each day, there's nothing like it."
On the season thus far: "I just think the last few weeks, we've learned a lot about our ball club and we fight `til the end and we're never going to quit. We got humbled a little bit at TCU and we went back to the drawing board and really focused on working hard. Teams have had good game plans against us and they've been able to put up some points. But fortunately we've been good enough to respond and come out with wins."
QB Max Hall
On the win: "I want to win by two or three touchdowns and be sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter. But, when it comes down to it, we make the plays that we need to to win the game and that's what we did tonight."
On the final minutes: "We practice it so much. In 2-minute drills it's something we go over and over. I felt pretty confident going out there and I think by that time in the game, late in the fourth quarter, I knew exactly what they were going to run. I knew exactly what coverage they were going to do. That's what they did and we were able to take advantage of it."
On TE Dennis Pitta: "Dennis caught that long pass over the middle and we realized, `Hey, they are leaving him open over the middle and we can take advantage.' Dennis had a big second half and we needed him to win the game."
On the close win and final play: "I think you enjoy it more. When it comes down to the wire, the game's on the line, the team needs you to make a play and it happens. This is a game I'll remember for a long time."
RE Jan Jorgensen
On the summary of the game: "Crazy. I think that's the best way to sum it up. It was a crazy game. Both teams just left it all out on the field and that's why you play football - for opportunities of playing games like this."
On his MWC record-setting sack: "The one that set the record, I've got to give credit to the guys around me. They were trying to throw a screen pass and covered it well. The quarterback had nowhere to go with the ball and I got him. The second one I got, I was just coming off the edge and coming around fast. He reached back to throw the ball and I knocked it out of his hands. His hand hit me right in the face mask. So, I just got to give the credit to the guys around me covering. They did a great job allowing me to get there."
On the defense: "We made plays when we needed to. I think that's the biggest thing. A big part of what they did against us was mistakes and penalties, trick plays, not playing our assignments on trick plays. There was a couple of times when they did move the ball well against us and I got to give the credit to them but there were also times when we got tricked and made mistakes. We know we have to get better but we made the plays we needed to to win."
On the defensive game and Colorado State: "It's kind of difficult sometimes. Those guys did a great job today on changing things up and going play-action and things like that. When Colorado State does something like that, it makes it harder as a front to get a really great pass rush. So the second half it seemed like we could get a little bit better, but we do need a little bit more. We've got to give a lot of credit to Colorado State on keeping us off our game a bit."
On the game injuries: "We didn't think about it. At least I didn't and I don't think anybody else did. I think everybody was focused on the game at hand. We have trust in the backups and we know they are very capable of playing. So, we just went out there and played our game."
On the offense and team: "You got to love our offense. I love those guys. Those guys have done an amazing job the last couple of weeks in picking up the slack and going down to score when we needed to win games. You know, I can't say enough about those guys and it just shows the heart that this team has. Even though we don't play our best game at times, we're still fighting to the end."
