Colorado State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
12/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo
On the last play of the game…
“Football is like life and it has learning experiences. We all make mistakes. Guys are in the moment and it will be a learning experience for everyone. You hear coaches say it all the time, that wasn’t the one play that cost us the game. There were a lot of opportunities offensively, defensively and special teams to go for the jugular and get the knockout punch, but we weren’t able to do that. We put ourselves in that situation and it happened and it hurts. It is something we will move on from and we will get better and stronger from it.”
On the season as a whole…
“I thought we got better throughout the year and improved in all areas as a football team and became more consistent. We have to get the killer instinct and we have to know how to go for the jugular. We have to get that stop defensively and when we get it we have to put it in the end zone. Too many times we let momentum slip out of our hands and momentum can be a dangerous thing if you can ever gain it. We will have to figure that out. You can say it’s because of a new coaching staff and it’s something we have to do a better job of instilling in the offseason where we know what it feels like to be in those situations and how to grab that momentum.”
On Nevada’s kickoff returned for a touchdown…
“It was still early in the ball game and when you give up an explosive play like that, it hurts. The ball game wasn’t over though. We still had a lot of football to be played and we had opportunities where we didn’t execute in the red zone. You have to give Nevada credit. Those two defensive ends in the pass rush do a nice job and make you feel uncomfortable, and that’s what you want to do in the pass rush. It’s not always about sacks, you just want to make them feel uncomfortable. I thought Nick (Stevens) showed a lot of toughness and fortitude, and he continued to put us in a position to make plays, and we did that. We came back and took the lead, but weren’t able to hold the lead. We work on that a lot and we just didn’t finish. Time ran out and we would like to have one more snap, but we didn’t.”
Colorado State wide receiver Rashard Higgins
On the game…
“I might not sleep tonight, but other than that, there are definitely things I can improve on. We practiced hard coming into this game. We put in a lot of hard work and dedication not only then but during the season as well. We really wanted to get the seniors a win to send them out right, but life goes on and you have to live with it.”
On breaking the Colorado State receiving record…
“Coming to Colorado State, I never would’ve imagined that I would be close to the record. It’s a huge accomplishment that I set out for.”
Colorado State defensive lineman Joe Kawulok
On the defense and Nevada RB James Butler…
“Towards the end we were not tackling. We needed to do a better job containing the big plays. He is a good, hard runner and you have to give him credit. They fought the whole game.”
On not being able to pull out the victory…
“It’s never easy losing especially when it’s the last game of the year. I still think that there is a lot to be proud of with this group with all these seniors. Week four or five we could’ve given up but we kept finding ways to win. It’s tough that the streak had to end tonight.”
Nevada head coach Brian Polian
Opening statement…
“Well that was fun. I know on a national scale there was a little bit of snarkiness about the fact that as the bowl pairings began to present themselves, we ended up with two conference opponents playing each other, and obviously that’s not ideal, but it was a really fun football game. There were plays made on both sides. It was a good night. I imagine it was fun to watch. I imagine my father got some more gray hair.”
On playing in a bowl game…
One of the things we talked about with our team from the moment the bowl matchups came out was that we wanted to be grateful. We wanted to be appreciative of the opportunity to get another chance to compete. We were not going to be in any sense disappointed about how everything played out. I want to publicly acknowledge and say thank you to the folks from the Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl because they treated our kids wonderfully. This was a great experience. It was a great bowl. This game is going to grow and be a really good destination for people.
On the victory…
“I’m very proud of our team. To finish with a winning record was important to me. We had a lot of ups and downs this year. But we finished the year with a winning record and we finished with a bowl win. For some reason, those have been hard to come by at our program. I’m very thankful for these coaches. I’m very thankful for these seniors, these players. This is my first win as a head coach in a bowl and that’s incredibly meaningful and I will remember these guys forever for it. We talked last night in the hotel how, in our business, football seasons kind of mark time. You remember where you were coaching when you brought your first child home. This group gets to mark time with a bowl win.
On the change in play callers…
“Jim Hofher did a great job filling in as our play caller tonight. We had a good plan. Obviously there were some plays that we left out there. Ultimately we found a way. The last drive was a thing of beauty. Three and half minutes to go, three time outs, no need to start chucking the ball all over the yard because that’s not who we are. We felt if we could get a decent start on first and 10 we could get it going.”