Postgame Quotes

Sept. 7, 2014

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POSTGAME QUOTES

Boise State 37, Colorado State 24

Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014

Colorado State Head Coach Jim McElwain

Opening Statement

Our guys competed. That was a good football team we played. We just didn’t answer the bell when we needed to. Our first play was pretty good but we had to settle for a field goal. You have to score touchdowns when you’re down there, especially against a team like this on the road. We didn’t get that done. As I told our guys, I believe in this football team. We have some really good players; we will be back and learn from it. We will be back. 

Is this a fair representation against the top teams in this conference?

We’re going to win games. These guys came in here and had a lot of energy. The crowd was great and got behind them. And yet at the same time you can’t shoot yourself in the foot either against a good football team. You can get away with it sometimes in some games but in this case, their good players really showed up. The running back, the receiver, the quarterback--who we knew could run. (Hedrick) ran against us last year if you remember that. And he did again this year. It took us awhile to get into rhythm offensively. 

On tackles

(Colorado State) really did (take a nosedive this week). For the most part we kept the ball in front of us. I was disappointed in the way we triggered. We didn’t take the fight to them, they kind of took it to us. I really think what we need to do is we need to be the attackers. We do at times and our guys get after it a little bit, and sometimes they’re reading a little too much. At the end of the day (Boise State) still beat us. 

On the offensive line

These guys are pretty decent up front. I think the thing that got us early was the speed. I thought we did a decent job early, keeping them off balance a little bit, which we played with pretty good for the most of the game. But when you simply can’t run it bad things are going to happen. And we couldn’t run it. I think that their linebackers were shooting some gaps and we were hanging on some blocks, some double teams. That’s what it looked like, having not seen the film. We were getting beat at the point of attack. And it will be a great lesson for those young guys. And we will come back and be able to play.

On Grayson’s record-setting night

That’s good, that’s fun. But in a loss, for us to be good we have to be balanced. But I did see the receivers take a step in the right direction from last week. They showed a little bit of their speed. Garrett did a pretty good job keeping his eyes down field. I don’t think we’re built that way, to throw it every play. I really don’t.

On beating to the edge

You can tell on film that Boise State was going step-for-step with Ole Miss. They are pretty decent players and that’s a good football team. The quarterback, from the week before, didn’t throw any to us. We didn’t really get any turnovers, I thought Trent (Matthews) had a great pick in the end zone. That’s a tough one, (Dee Hart) hurt his finger on the fumble. We just didn’t have the spark at that position this week and a lot of that is because of the guys in blue.

On bouncing back

It’s a measure of where you’re at as an organization. I’m willing to bet each one of you have had disappointments in your life at some time. The key to it is learning from the setback and seeing how much more you can look forward. That’s where we’re going to have to be. We’re going to get in late on Monday and have a long film review of this. I think there are some great teaching moments and then we will put a plan in to get ready to go. This is a good team and there are a lot of good things in the future for this team. And it starts next week. I just hope we get a lot of people out to come out and support.

Did you sense guys had too much of a sense of urgency?

It comes back to doing your job. The one thing I didn’t see was any quit. That Air Force game we played (in 2012), I still have nightmares about that one. The misery that I was a part of was quit. These guys don’t. You can see them scrapping to the end. Maybe I should have held off on the onside kick until the next time we scored but we just needed something to happen. But with that being said, I never saw one guy quit and that’s why I like them. 

On the similar loss to Boise State last year

I think they took it to us pretty good. They handled it. My hat is off to them. I certainly wish we did get a piece of them, to be honest with you. You just have to keep moving forward.

On converting third downs

Getting the ball in the explosive playmakers hands is really when we’re most successful. I call it the fun down. The second and medium down that you can kind of do some things with. We had some busts. But at the same time some of those busts were because Boise State is a good football team. 

Colorado State LB Max Morgan

Were they able to push you around?

It’s hard to say because I haven’t seen the tape yet. You have to give (Boise State) a lot of credit for their game plan and their effort coming out from the beginning. Not happy with our performance, obviously, but we will get some work out of it.

What was the difference between last week and this week?

They have a special back and we prepared for him all week. We knew he was good in open field and he was going to be work to get down. But luckily this is football and we  have another week next week to work on it.

How much of a setback is this?

It’s hard to say because it’s so early in the season. We’re lucky enough to have a lot of ball left to play. We have to come back refocused and positive. It’s disappointing but you have to give (Boise State) credit for what they’re able to do. I know I have great faith in every guy in this locker room and what they can do. It’s disappointing but not devastating.

What’s the hardest part about their offense?

It’s what we preach about, integrity of the defense and front-to-back takes 11 guys, and there is a reason there is 11 of us out there. They did a good job in certain situations, but we have a week to get better and we’re going to use it.

Colorado State LB Aaron Davis

On the loss

We don’t look at it as a setback, but we’re going to look at film and go from there.

On Jay Ajayi

Definitely give credit to him. But we have to wrap up and work on it this week during practice. They are strong runners. It’s on us to get those guys down.

On coming out with aggression

We definitely (need more). Coach always tells us “fast starts” and we work on that every day. Today we didn’t come out fast. We have to work on that. We need to watch this film and get our corrections.

Is it frustrating that these fast starts haven’t clicked yet?

Yes, last week and today we came out but (Boise State) started fast and had some tempo. But it hurts to see us start out like that.

On team morale

I think we had a few missed assignments and we have to execute those defensively. Like I said, I can’t say much until I watch it and we get the corrections.

Why is Ajayi so hard to tackle?

He likes to bounce it, even if we would contain guys he likes to bounce it around but it works. He’s a big, strong guy. I give a lot of credit to him. But it’s on us to get him down and tackle him.

On Hedrick’s night

That’s on us up front, keeping out of pass rush lanes. We have to keep him contained.

Boise State Head Coach Bryan Harsin

On Matt Miller:

I’m very happy for Matt Miller. Any time you break a record in anything, especially a record held by Austin Pettis, it is very significant. I’m very proud of him. 

On being back on The Blue and the fans:

It was good to be back on The Blue, that was exciting. I thought the fans were great, it looked like a sea of blue in every pocket and every seat. Bronco Nation was in full effect, that place was rockin’. It was definitely an advantage for us. You can tell when teams come in there and see the color schemes, the fans, and the interactions throughout the game, it makes a huge difference. 

On the Win:

At the end of the game, I addressed the team and talked about things very similar to last week. We now have 24 hours to celebrate and then we move on. I liked the fact that we got a win, I liked the fact that these guys worked and deserve the opportunity to win. Things went our way and the fact that we were able to do it at home on The Blue with that type of fan base was exciting. It was a good start for us in our conference as well. 

Boise State WR Matt Miller

How it feels to be the All-Time Reception Leader:

Nothing’s changed for me, and I’m glad we got the win tonight. I wish it would have been a little bit easier for us, as we kind of had to battle there at the end, but I was happy to get out of here with a win.

Changes in offense compared to week one:

I thought we finished drives a lot better in the red zone. We just had that attacking mentality, but we still have a lot of work to do. I think we’re going to see that tomorrow watching film. There are some small details to clean up and then we will be a very explosive offense. 

Boise State RB Jay Ajayi 

Thoughts on role after two games: 

It’s been great getting a lot of opportunities to touch the ball and make big plays for the team. It’s been really fun seeing how my role has developed from last year to this year with the different style that we’re doing. 

On running the ball early:

Like we always say, “the run helps the pass and the pass helps the run.” When we’re running hard in the trenches they’re going to have to pack the box and allow Matt (Miller) to get deep. We were able to hit an explosive play and go get a touchdown. 

Boise State Nickel Corey Bell

What was effective tonight:

The run game was really what we focused on this week after they (Colorado State) had 266 yards last week. We had some special packages to make sure we were able to stop the run and get into the back field early on and I think that worked out. I think that we obviously need to work on the pass game a lot more still. 

Safety Darian Thompson 

On where the defense goes from here: 

We started fast, and there’s still some things we need to improve on like finishing. Overall, when it comes down to it, we got the W. I’m excited about that. 

On making a statement in the first Mountain West game:

With the first Mountain West game and home game, the crowd was rockin’, everybody was ready to go and they wanted to see what we had. 

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