Colorado State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
11/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 15, 2008
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Colorado State Head Coach Steve Fairchild
General
"We're certainly happy as players and coaches to come away with the win. I think, and we tried to say this to our football team: The month of November, the last month of the season, a lot of teams plateau off or get worse. I think we really had a good month. We really improved and even made some ground in that week of practice against Air Force, even though, unfortunately, it didn't show. But I think we're playing our best football right now. I was proud of our kids and I think all three phases obviously contributed to this win. Any time you can hold a team to not scoring a touchdown, you're going to win that game. I was so darn proud of our offense. It's easy to cave in and not run the football against that scheme and, I guess, Gartrell was the first back to go over 100 this year on them and, somebody told me it was the first rushing touchdown they allowed in nine games. So we did not relent to that and I'm proud of our football team in that regard."
On whether this was one of the defense's better performances of the season
"I think so. And I still think it goes together. I think our offense controlled the time of possession, which helps our defense. If you give in to not running the football against this team and you start throwing a lot and have protection issues, then your defense plays a lot of snaps, which isn't good. We were able to keep our defense out of there for the most part, which contributed to them playing as well as they did."
On not having to go down to the last second to decide the game
"I wish it would have felt relaxing, but for some reason it went right down inside of 2 minutes and I still was nervous about the outcome of the game, I guess because of onside kicks and what have you. Any time you get into a 3-minute offensive situation where they know you're going to run it, they're going to make you run it in the last couple of seconds, instead of having to punt that ball away, you can convert and get the first down and kneel on it, that's such a moral victory for your line and your backs and those type of guys, and I was proud of our team to see that happen."
On whether this was the best game that the offensive line played this year
"They've been playing well all year, but yes, I believe we only allowed one sack against a team that thrives on sacks. We did change protection schemes and so forth, but having said that, if you would have told me when I woke up this morning that we were only going to allow one sack and that our backs would go for 140, you're going to beat a lot of teams doing that."
On not allowing a score at the end of the first half
"It was huge. It allowed us to not go behind. I got somewhat frustrated. In the first quarter we had guys running open down the field and we're missing them and we go for it on fourth down and we don't get it. We left a lot of points out there in the first half, but we were still able to get the lead coming into halftime so we felt pretty good about ourselves."
On whether he felt that WR Dion Morton made his touchdown catch on first glance
"I did, yeah. I couldn't tell whether his foot was down, but I could see that he caught it."
On holding New Mexico TB Rodney Ferguson under 100 yards
"What did we hold him to, 85? They're trying to run it and we held him to 85 and Gartrell went over 100, so you got to be happy with that."
New Mexico Head Coach Rocky Long
General
"No, we didn't play good on either side of the ball today. Colorado State seemed like they played with a little more enthusiasm than we did."
On trying to get a touchdown late in the first half
"That's my fault. I put way too much stock that our quarterback had matured to the point that he could handle that. We had taken 3 seconds to play before that and they were in man coverage and we had a guy open. So, I took a chance and we told them if it's man coverage, throw it in there and see if you can get a touchdown. If it's not, throw it away in 3 seconds. They played zone and he didn't throw it away so that's my fault"
On whether there was a letdown entering halftime
"I don't think that made any difference whatsoever. You can't miss a field goal. We'd already missed one and careened one off of the upright. So, we could have missed it. It didn't make any difference."
On whether CSU was doing anything differently than expected
"No, they weren't doing anything special. I mean, they ran the ball on us pretty well, too, and they weren't doing anything special there except they were blocking and we weren't getting off blocks and we weren't blocking them very well and they were getting off blocks. That's the reason the running game doesn't work. There wasn't anything special that anyone did scheme-wise."
On finishing drives
"We haven't been able to put the ball in the end zone, that's for sure. If you take one game out of our season where we scored a lot of points, I bet that's the lowest point total we've had in the 11 years I've been the head coach."
On kicking a field goal down 20-3
"That made it two scores but the real reason for doing that is because if you saw the last two plays we had on offense we had absolutely no idea what we were doing."
Colorado State Players
DE Tommie Hill
On all three phases of the team working together to get a win: "Everyone played solid today. We had some plays when we needed to, we stepped up. It was a good win. It's a good feeling."
On the feeling of win in the long run: "It's one of our goals that we wanted to achieve and we were able to do it. So, we got one next week to get where we want to get to and one after that."
On the next game (Nov. 22 vs. Wyoming) being biggest game of career: "Yeah. I mean it's the one we have to win. It's a must-win to get to a bowl game. And after that one, if we win that one, the next one will be the best one.
On lopsided score: "We knew what their offense was going to do. They shift their formations and throw a lot of different personnels at you. So we knew what they were going to do. Coach (Larry) Kerr had us pumped up and ready to go. So we were able to stop them and give our offense a chance."
On Senior Day win: "Any win is a good win, but it's a special feeling to cap off your career here at Hughes Stadium with a win that can project you toward your goal at the end of the year."
RB Gartrell Johnson
On his own running: "I know I need to make a play and make a play for the team to get something going and just fulfill that spark. It's just great. And I knew we needed to get a first down to finish off the game. So I just try to run hard and get the first down and win the game."
On Senior Day win: "A win is always a great way to go out. Everyone wants to leave on top."
On importance of Wyoming game: "It's a big game. We're playing for the (Bronze) Boot. That game is going to be a hard-fought game. No one's going to lie down. No one's going to give `em any yards; it's going to be a hard-fought game. "
WR Rashaun Greer
On what was working well for the Rams: "I think both run and pass. Gartrell (Johnson) was running good and getting our run game going. And our pass game opened up a lot, too."
On the win helping the Rams achieve goals for the 2008 season: "We want to get two wins, but you can't look past one game. We just wanted to get this one first and then work on going into Wyoming next week and getting that one."
TE Kory Sperry
On Senior Day win: "It's definitely nice. Anytime it's your last game and you win at home, it's nice. To me, I'm not the type to get sentimental about the last game here. We gotta move on. We've got one more game then we'll have the postseason if we win."
On Wyoming being the biggest game of the season: "Every game is the biggest game. No matter what team it is that week. Today, the biggest game was New Mexico and next week it's going to be Wyoming. We're going to prepare for them and enjoy the win tonight; tomorrow it's over and move on to Wyoming. That Border War, we want that Boot. We want to keep that Boot."
On CSU facing pressure heading into Wyoming: "There's a lot that rides (on the Wyoming game). But we're not the kind of pressure team. We go out there, we have fun. We practice hard. We do things right. And Coach Fairchild's the one who will keep us in line and that's how we are. We have a lot of confidence on offense and defense, as you can tell, like today. We're going to go out there and all we're going to do is play as hard as we can and make no mistakes and have less penalties and we win."
LB Jeff Horinek
On CSU coming out of the second half and stopping Rodney Ferguson: "We knew he was a good back; he's a heck of a good back. He'll probably be playing on Sundays. But we knew that we could probably stack the line against him and make (New Mexico) go to the pass game. And we were able to do that and we ended up having some success."
On thoughts of being one game away from a bowl after finishing 3-9 in 2007: "We expected more than that. Just because we had some bad times in the past doesn't mean we didn't expect much this year. But we gave ourselves an opportunity to get to a bowl game. Now, we got to go up north do what we can against (Wyoming).
QB Billy Farris
On getting Johnson the ball: "We definitely wanted to get the run game going and we wanted to hit some big plays and we missed some open ones, but you know, that happens. But we came out with a win so that's good."
On Johnson's 100-yard rushing game: "That was really nice. And I've got all the respect in the world for Gartrell. He's a great player. He plays hard every time and he's just a team player. And I feel like that's what we're really starting to get to is just a whole team effort. Nobody's really selfish on our team."
On winning on Senior day: "It's really cool. It didn't come down to that last-minute deal. I think New Mexico beat us the last two years on a field goal and it was nice to go out there and get a victory. I don't know how many times we've done that this year, but every time we do it, it's really, really nice because the guys are having fun and it's a good deal.
"I couldn't ask for anything more. You couldn't ask for anything more. It's the greatest feeling in the world."
On the play of the offensive line: "They did a great job. They did a really great job holding up. They came up after last week and told me, `Hey, we've got you this week.' They took care of me this week. The O-line did a great job."
On what a bowl game would mean for CSU: "It would be huge. That was my personal goal for our team going in; just to get to a bowl and win that bowl game so we could get a ring, and nobody can take a ring away from you."
New Mexico Players
QB Brad Gruner
On how CSU's defense kept the Lobos out of rhythm: "I think a lot of it had to do with me not being able to perform. I think they did exactly what we thought they were going to do. The line blocked great and a lot of it I put on myself. There were a lot of plays that I could have made that I didn't."
On the last drive of the first half: "We had two wide open touchdowns right before that play that I missed. So it should not have come down to third down, but when it did I should have been smart about it and threw it away and gave ourselves a chance to put points on the board."
NT Wesley Beck
On the play of the defense: "I think we played good in some areas. We gave up a little in some areas, but overall we played a pretty good game. I think that we fought hard and we didn't quit. We needed some plays here and there, but I feel like as a defense as a whole we played pretty good."
On stopping the CSU offense: "I think it was just ourselves today. I give a lot of credit to their offensive line; they blocked pretty good today. We just stayed on our blocks a little too long today. We let him (Gartrell Johnson) find holes and instead of getting off blocks and making a play, we just stayed on our blocks too long. But all the credit to them and their offensive scheme.
On the overall season: "I think it has been an up-and-down season. Some areas we looked great in, but some we were just OK. I think we had a great team and it is sad to see that our season ended this way. I wanted to see our senior class get to another bowl game, but it didn't work out that way. We never quit and we never lost faith in our coaches. The coaches kept giving us a good scheme every week and we kept playing to the best of our abilities. Sometimes the ball didn't fall our way. OLverall it's a little disappointing not going to a bowl game. The effort, the heart, everything was here. The ball just didn't go our way."
WR Michael Scarlett
On not scoring a touchdown: "Just execution. We practice these plays every week. It comes down to whichever team executes better."
On what the young players learn from this season: "Just to remember how it feels. Use it for energy in workouts, and to look back on this and get better from it. It's all you can do. "
On going into the locker room without a score on that last first-half drive: "It's a momentum thing, I mean if we would have scored we would have been on a higher note. But we didn't come out with anything and it hurt. We had to look at how we played in the first half and talk about it and chalk up plays and just hope that we can pull it out in the end."
RB Rodney Ferguson
On the last drive before halftime: "It's always a letdown when you can't get into the end zone as an offense."
On how they were able to move the ball between the 20s but not in the red zone: "If I knew the answer we probably would have scored. It just needs more work. Like I said, if we would have had a little longer of a season maybe it would have worked. I think we did the best we could today. We just didn't come out on top today."
On the fumble on the handoff in the fourth quarter: "Just a misunderstanding between us two. Like I said, it should be ironed out. If we had another week or two it would be ironed out, but it's over."
On not being able to go back to a bowl game: "It is frustrating, but that is what I have to deal with. Things happen for a reason and we are sitting where we are sitting for a reason. The team next year has to look at this season and learn from it and play better next year."
On what he takes out of this season: "I know as a team, as a person, and as a group we got better. Regardless of how our season looks and how our record looks we got better as a team. We were a close team this year."
KR Ian Clark
On how the special team couldn't help the offense get going: "For the most part we started pretty slow. The offense can't score and we can't keep it out of the end zone. I feel bad for the seniors. I feel like I am losing a bunch of brothers today and I wish that I could have done more myself to send them out on a happy note. Unfortunately we had to send them out this way."
On playing with injuries: "It is definitely pretty difficult, but it is something that is expected from my teammates, my coaches and myself as well. I'm sure that my other teammates that are playing with injuries feel the same way. So it is something that you just have to live with and it is part of football."
