Colorado State University Athletics
Steve Fairchild postgame quotes
8/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 31, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Colorado State Head Coach Steve Fairchild
On his assessment of the CSU offense tonight
"The first half... our third down was awful. It seemed like we were trying to convert all third and 11's, and based on a sack or a penalty, we got ourselves into a rut. I thought the kids played hard. We played physical."
On Billy Farris' first start
"There's a couple of things that he'd like to have back, but he's a good, smart, tough kid. He's good enough to win games."
On whether he thought his team was physically worn down in the fourth quarter
"I'm very disappointed we didn't win this game, but the things I wanted to come out of this game were, did we play physical and did we play together? I didn't want to be a soft football team, and I didn't want to hear any bickering. And I was really pleased in both those areas."
On how he thought the team responded to big momentum shifts
"Good and bad. Our defense played very well, in the first half especially. We did some good things. We fought hard. I can't say enough, I like our kids. We have a chance to be a good football team if we play like we did tonight."
On whether he was surprised by CU's pressure
"I was, and it's surprising. I thought we'd run the ball decent, and it looked like at times given the situation they had some safeties on or near the line of scrimmage a lot. For the most part, I thought our line did a good job on the run. I didn't think we'd struggle in the protection area like we did. Those guys are pretty good rushers with speed, and we knew that. But I thought we'd hold up a little bit better. Five sacks I think? You're not going to win very many football games like that."
On what he thought was the game's turning point
"That drive (18 plays, 74 yards, 7:11 TOP). We were hanging on a little bit, but we got out-played. When they put together that long drive, it kinda sealed it."
On the play of Gartrell Johnson, and whether he's solidified himself as a starter
"I thought Gartrell ran hard. I like what I saw from him. But, no, I still want to rotate all those guys. "
On what he learned about his team
"Like I told them before the game, I just want them to play, play as hard as you can. I thought we did that. I liked our effort, and I liked our toughness. We played a decent, physical brand of football. We gotta play obviously a lot smarter. We got to be better on special teams. I don't think we were very good on third downs. I know we weren't very good on sacks. And I think we had too many penalties. And against a good team, you're not going to win like that."
On his first game as a head coach
"I was not nervous. I was excited like the players. This is a great environment to play a game in. It's a crying shame we're not back here every year. Somebody's got to spoil that. Everybody likes it. The players like it, the coaches like it. It's a great environment and it's a great game."
Colorado State Players
RB Gartrell Johnson
On younger players now with experience heading into Week 2: "I think it's huge. This was a big game and there were a lot of people watching so they got the jitterbugs out. We're going to come out next week and have a good game."
On whether the offense is capable of more big plays: "Oh, yes. The senior leadership we have. The big-play guys we have, like John Mosure and myself and Dion Morton. Rashaun Greer stepped up big today. We've got a lot of playmakers; we just need to put drives together."
RB John Mosure
On differences between 2007 CSU-CU game and 2008: "With our new coaches this year, everybody has bought in. Now it's important for me to help my team out every way I can."
On what CSU takes from this game: "We need to cut our mistakes. We hurt ourselves in the game. That's really all we take because we all stood by each other and we all love each other. We're going to go forward from here. We're going to try to go one-on-one with Sacramento State next week."
On whether Josh Smith's kickoff return for a TD inspired the Rams: "When I saw him return it, I said, `Dang, we've got to answer.' My mindset going into the game was to do whatever I can to help my team out."
On whether the series leaving Invesco Field at Mile High is disappointing: "Not really because it'd be nice to get a win at Folsom in their territory. But we just know they're going to come back to Fort Collins our senior year, that's going to be an amazing game. Wherever we play, it's always a big rivalry. I don't care where we play. We can play in the parking lot, like Coach says."
FS Klint Kubiak
On what CSU takes from this game: "It's not fun to get beat by a rival like that. But we're not hanging our heads; we've got a whole season ahead of us. And I think we've got a pretty dang good defense. We can contribute more in the special teams area. We just shot ourselves in the foot there."
On being disappointed with outcome: "It's very disappointing. We expected to be in this game and win this game. First half we had some chances. We got down and the defense got the ball back. We were excited about that. We just continued to kick ourselves in the special teams area. So we've gotta fix that. But I'm not worried. We're going to be a good team."
QB Billy Farris
On his feelings going into game: "Surprisingly, I wasn't very nervous. I felt good going in. I felt like as the game went on, I kept feeling better and got more and more comfortable."
On what he can take into Game 2 of the season: "A lot more confidence. I'm not going to have to feel it out throughout the game. I feel really confident now, having gotten my first start under my belt playing in front of a ton of people. I'm ready to go now."
On CU's defense and its pressure: "I knew they had a good D-line. So I wasn't surprised. But I didn't expect it as much."
On third-and-long downs throughout the game: "Yeah, we need to eliminate that. That's one thing we've really got to take care of. We can't be in third-and-longs as much as we were tonight."
On CU limiting TE Kory Sperry (two catches, 11 yards): "We were expecting that, and we knew we were going to have to go to our young receivers. That wasn't unexpected at all."
On CSU's play: "We can be a lot better than we were. We have a lot of talent on this team, but I thought we did pretty well tonight. Obviously, we've got a lot of learning and a lot of things we can get better from. But I think that we will and I think our next game we're going to come out and really get after them."
On his first career TD pass, to Dion Morton: "Oh man, it was great. It was so exciting. I was jacked after that pass. It was a lot of fun. That's what you play for right there."
