Colorado State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
10/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 30, 2010
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CSU Head Coach Steve Fairchild
General: "We ran the ball, which makes life easy. I thought our offensive line played a physical game and I thought our backs hammered it in there. When we do that, it opens up everything for Pete Thomas and the receivers. We had good balance. Defensively, I thought we played well. We got them out of there on third down probably more often than we have any other time in the year. Other than opening up both halves with poor play on special teams, which put our defense in a hole, I thought we did a good job out there today. The key was running the ball, which opened up everything else."
On bouncing back from last week's loss at Utah with a win: "We're practicing like we believe we can be pretty good. I think we all know we still have a long way to go, but we're taking steps. There are some very good players out there for us, and we're gaining experience. Anytime you can have a game like this it helps everybody."
On keeping the team on its toes, not back on its heels: "No question. We haven't been tentative; we haven't practiced like a team that lacks confidence. I think we all expect this (winning) to happen. It hasn't been happening every game, that's for sure, but I like the way we're going about our business, and again, I think there's a lot of talented kids out there."
On the performance of RB Leonard Mason: "Leonard's like Gartrell (Johnson). I didn't realize that he had three touchdowns, which is the first time we've had a back do that since he (Johnson) was here. He was finishing runs; he's the body-type back that can wear defenses down. I think they (New Mexico) got tired of tackling him, and that's the way we like to play football here at Colorado State."
On not overlooking winless New Mexico: "We've been practicing well and we're playing good at home. I think we're going to be a very good football team at some point. Win or lose, we have the same mode of operation. We'll turn this around, enjoy this tonight and hopefully be smart and show up again on Sunday and get to work."
On a solid rushing performance by several running backs: "It's good to have Raymond (Carter) back with his explosiveness. Chris (Nwoke) has played solid. Chris is raw, but he brings an energy and a toughness on and off the football field, which works well. He needs reps, so that's why in the second half we kept pounding away with him. I think the more he plays, the more he'll settle into our style of offense."
On crediting the offensive line for the performance of the running backs: "I thought they did a phenomenal job. You never know; we'll probably throw on the tape and it won't look as good as we thought, but it looked like we were blocking well and physically taking control of the game.
"I think it (offensive line) has progressed each game this season. Again, I'll say it: I thought last year our offensive line was one of the best in the country, and I think this group can be as good or better."
On answering New Mexico's opening touchdown with a touchdown: "It was big. We open up the game and they return the ball up to the 50, and then get a big pass play on us and next thing you know it's 7-0. But we came back. Lou (Greenwood) made a big play. We made some big plays on third and fourth down. But Lou played well. I thought Pete Thomas did a nice job of staying in the pocket. That touchdown was probably as key as anything we did in the first half."
On the defense only surrendering seven points after the opening drive: "I thought they did well. The biggest thing we did was we made some third-down stops. When we do that defensively, things go good. When we struggle on third down, it's usually a long night for us."
On the difference once New Mexico QB B.R. Holbrook was removed from the game due to injury: "I don't think it was that different. Obviously, they had a little more dimension in the zone-read running the football, but they are who they are."
On Tony Drake at running back: "We're playing him a little at receiver and a little at running back. We just have to find what he can handle right now and get him some touches, but he's dynamic with the ball in his hands."
On TE Eric Peitz's injury: "I don't think it's a big deal (Peitz returned to the game). He's had a nagging shoulder injury, but it's been good; we've been able to get Matt Weems and (Ben) Tedford and those guys a lot of reps in practice. Eric's a very smart kid. He's a very smart player, and he's played a lot of snaps. He's a tough kid getting back in there."
New Mexico Head Coach Mike Locksley
General: "It was a very disappointing game for us. This was one of the few games that I've coached in that I felt our team just got outmanned. We were physically beaten at the point of attack. They ran the ball very effectively against our defense. Offensively, we didn't do a good job of protecting our quarterback. We got our quarterback knocked out. All I know is that we've got to find a way to come back to work on Monday and continue to develop our players."
On speed being an issue for the Lobos: "It's hard to tell. I think that they ran the ball pretty well today. We didn't tackle well. One of the things we've been able to do the last few weeks was play the run and today they imposed their will on us up front."
On his defensive scheme on the long passes: "I haven't had a chance to look at the tape just yet. Typically we're in some kind of middle-field-open, whether it's quarters or Cover 2, based on the route concept."
On having Stump Godfrey incorporated into the game plan throughout the week: "I don't know if it necessarily helped. Obviously we always want to go in with a plan for him, but again, our offense gets watered down some when we do play the freshmen because of all of the pressures we typically see because of the freshman back there. When we kept B.R. (Holbrook) upright, he was able to make a couple of plays earlier in the game. We didn't protect very well and we got our quarterback knocked out of the game and we've got to do a better job of protecting him."
On Stump Godfrey's performance: "It's early, but I think he made progress. I thought in the passing game, we were able to expand a little bit and get him a few more throws. He made a couple of throws that he hadn't made in games. So I thought he showed some progress but obviously not enough with the way the game ended."
On the status of B.R. Holbrook: "It's early but right now he's beat up. He's got a knee, now he's got a shoulder, on his throwing arm. We've got to get the MRI to just see how bad it is."
CSU Players
RB Tony Drake
On playing WR and RB, whether it's frustrating: "Not really. It is just a team-effort thing. Everybody has got to play their part, play their role, and do their job, and that is what I did today. They put me at running back and I make plays."
On being comfortable with either position: "I'm comfortable with both because I played both in high school. It is just a project thing, just getting it down pat and I'll be good."
On what he saw on the double-reverse touchdown: "I just saw green grass and I ran to it. That's all."
RB Leonard Mason
On whether getting back on the field felt good: "More than you can imagine."
On what he was thinking when he got his first carry (12 yards): "That it could be my last, so I had to do something spectacular."
On his three-touchdown game: "It felt good; shout out to the O-line."
On the improvement of the offensive line: "They're a lot better. I personally think they get better every game. We struggled a bit last week, but we are getting it together. "
On his 38-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2: "I wasn't expecting that; it just opened up. Shout out to the O-line."
On whether he just hits the hole not knowing what lies ahead: "Yes sir. Let the beast out; beast mode."
On whether the beast came out tonight: "Yes he did."
LB Mychal Sisson
On responding after first drive by New Mexico: "After first drive we stepped up and said we're not going to let that happen anymore and came out and proved it."
On how valuable it was to have the offense answer New Mexico's first score: "It was great. You always want the offense to respond back after we get them the ball. As long as they respond every time we give them the ball it'll be great."
On energy coming into the game: "We had a lot of energy coming into this game. We felt we had a chance to dominate this team so we came out and did just that."
On what he's going to be for Halloween: "I don't even know what I'm going to do tonight. I might just stay in and chill."
On how tough it was to prepare for all of New Mexico's quarterbacks: "It was kind of hard, but our scout team did the best they could do, and we we're ready for everything."
OL Weston Richburg
On how much it helps the offensive line when the RBs get big gains: "It makes it a lot more fun, a lot more enjoyable. Chris (Nwoke) almost had 100 yards, so that was great. It just makes it a lot more fun to be in there and having those guys go for long runs."
On Leonard Mason: "He runs with a lot of heart, and I really admire that from Leonard. It's fun to have him in there because I know he's going to give his all and try to run some people over. I'm looking forward to seeing him the next three games."
On how much easier it is to pass protect when the defense doesn't know what's coming: "When we start off like that, it makes it easier. They did a great job pass rushing. It was tough but we stuck in there and I think we blocked them pretty well."
RB Chris Nwoke
On what he thought when he saw Leonard Mason get his big runs early: "It's great. There was some holes and we all were hitting them. When a back got a good run, we went to go cheer on our counterpart and it was great stuff."
On Leonard Mason taking out one of the New Mexico defenders: "Yeah, I saw that. He was running real hard, and that just makes everybody else run real hard when they get their chance."
On how much he thinks he has grown: "I've grown a lot. It's real good to get a start in, gain some composure, get comfortable in there and develop game-time speed. It's real great getting some starts."
On the offensive line: "They're working real hard for us; we got to thank them for getting some big holes."
On his game compared to Mason's: "Every game I try to go real, real hard and every game Len goes hard, and this game he was definitely beastin' it out."
QB Pete Thomas
On looking happy: "We won the game. It was a complete team effort, and when we can run the ball like that things are going to turn out good. So why wouldn't I be happy?"
On importance of offense responding to New Mexico's first TD: "All week we talked about starting fast. New Mexico went down and punched it in the end zone; they had a great first drive. But we were real confident on offense that we were going to go down and punch it in.
"We got three games left, and we have to win all three games to get to a bowl game, so it begins Saturday against San Diego State."
On offensive line: "They're great. Coach (Pat) Meyer is a great O-line coach and the O-line works really hard. They showed in practice what they can do, and they showed after the second or third game, after we got gelling, what they can do."
On Weston Richburg: "Weston is getting a lot more comfortable making calls. Weston is a great center now and he is going to get better just like our whole offense."
On Leonard Mason: "I can tell by the way I hand the ball off to him that he runs with authority and he is not going to be denied. He's probably the biggest running back we have and he runs the ball hard. I'm confident in all our running backs that they'll get it done, and they showed it today."
On going home to San Diego: "I'm real excited to play in front of family and friends but it's obviously not about me and how many people are going to be there. It is about getting a win and staying bowl-eligible and it's going to be a real hard game because they have a real hard offense and defense and they play well at home."
On amount of people at San Diego State game for him: "There's going to be a lot of people there from my high school. My mom is one of 10, and I have 60 first cousins. That's just first cousins; it doesn't count their family and friends."
New Mexico Players
SS Bubba Foster
On adjustments in the second half: "The difference in the second half was we came in and made a few adjustments ourselves. The D-line getting the fronts right; they gave great effort. That helped tremendously in downfield tackles. This was good for our D."
On the loss: "It's real disappointing. It was heartbreaking. To be at 0-8 is real heartbreaking. We gotta come together as a team and regroup for next week."
On QB Brad Gruner cutting his hand before the game carving a pumpkin: "That did hurt. Brad is a good attribute to this team but we had to keep moving on and go with the guys we had."
On regrouping for next week: "It is tough and tougher. That is when leaders have to step up and you have to persevere through tough times."
QB Stump Godfrey
On getting playing time: "It meant a lot to come out and learn how to play with the guys around you. They called my number. I did what I could to get us a win but obviously I didn't get us a win. So, next week we gotta work hard and come out and play again."
On his offensive package: "It helped a lot when I was going in and coming out. Then when I stayed in there the whole time, the game slowed down. I started knowing my reads and seeing the defense."
On arm strength: "It's the last thing, delivering the ball accurately. You have to know where reads are and you have to deliver the ball."
On regrouping from the disappointing loss: "It will be tough, but our team is great. They have great character. They'll come back Monday and work hard and take it over. They'll come in Monday and be ready to play. They will give us a great look and a great effort on Saturday."
