Colorado State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes--CSU 31, Utah State 24
10/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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COLORADO STATE HEAD COACH Mike Bobo
(Opening statement)
“What a game. Really proud of our guys, the way they fought. They continued to play through some adversity. I say it all the time, but you have to fight for 60 minutes and we talked about the locker room after the game, what we wanted to feel like and the only way it could feel the way you wanted it to feel is by giving everything you had for the guy next to you and to not look at the scoreboard. Honestly, we were in there right now, just trying to say the score at half, I could not even remember. I thought it was 21-10 but I guess it was 24-10. I told them, if we will play, we’ll continue to play hard and I thought we were playing extremely hard in the first half. The ball will bounce our way; it will happen and it did. Really proud of the guys, really proud of the defense how they played the second half. Really, that fourth quarter they had a couple passes, couple pass interferences, but we bowed our deck in plus territory and guys stepped up. We started to get pressure out of a four-man front. Really proud of the way they responded. Proud of the offense coming back and answering, Dalyn (Dawkins) with two touchdowns, finding ways to put points on the board, different ways with the run game and through the air. I’m proud of Nick Stevens coming in and playing well when he came in, to drive and getting us into the right plays in the running drive we had and delivering the ball to Michael Gallup on the third down, which is a big, big conversion for us. Just proud of the guys. It was a great atmosphere, wish more of the guys stayed around for the second half to see the game but, to walk out there at the start of the game and the stadium is full is a special feeling. I truly believe that we can build something special here. It takes time, it takes change, and I said this last year, but everything does not happen the way you want it. It is one victory for us, we have to go back and continue to do the things we have done day in and day out but I believe we will get there.”
(On the team being on a roller-coaster)
“It is football. You’ve been coaching long enough, there is always some ups and downs when you play a team that is a good football team (Utah State). I know both of us had a 2-3 record, but they were a good football team that played some good football teams and played them close. I talked about the script that I thought the game was going to go at the hotel today and then I said, guess what? It is not going to go exactly like that. They are going to make plays. There is going to be momentum shifts. How are we going to respond? And the guys responded extremely well. It is something you preach all the time about handling adversity, but to see your guys do that, makes you feel good as a coach.”
(On character, mental toughness of Nick Stevens)
“It is easier said than done how you are going to handle it. It is one thing for a guy to say the right things to you guys, the media, but it is another thing for the guy to live the right way and that is what he did from day one. He was not happy but he understood and he came out and worked out every day in practice, he prepared, he was a great leader, not only for Collin (Hill) but for the team because he put his personal agenda aside and he kept being a Ram, kept preparing, kept working. And I knew if he had this opportunity the guys would respond to it and he would play well because they saw how he handled the situation. So, really proud of him. Not sure on Collin (Hill’s injury), we will get an MRI on him in the morning; it is his knee. We will see what comes of the MRI but Nick has prepared and we will just see and I’ll let you know Monday.”
(On slowing down the running game and stepping up defense)
Well one we were getting a lot of empty and we made that adjustment to put Kiel Robinson at mike linebacker because they were lining up Lewis (Rayshad) at the number three receiver and kind of working our mike linebacker a little bit and he did a nice job in that. We started making some cover too late in the game which we played a lot of quarters and cover three. Cover two kind of confused him a little bit and guys made some great individual efforts, one-on-one battles that they won. One I can think of was the quarterback counter, we are basically blocked and (Evan) Colorito fought off his guy, tackled him for a two-yard gain but we did not give up. They kept making plays. They do a lot of stuff offensively, a lot of different formations, pose some threats, we have some pressure on them in a four-man rush, causing him to float some balls. And then we attacked their bubble screens. I have to watch the tape but who stood out to me was Justin Sweet all night. And I have felt Justin has had the ability, it is just him cutting it loose, and he did tonight. We talked about it being a physical game and having to win on the perimeter and he would. He was forcing it. He was coming off making plays and you saw those plays. Maybe it was just a stop, but we kept getting momentum and getting energized and feeding off each other.”
(On using the freshmen more Arjay Jean, Jamal Hicks.)
“Arjay Jean is a guy, when asked who I think would make a difference, I thought he would. Here’s a guy that at the beginning of the season was spending 95% of his time on the scout team and 5% on a little bit of a backup on the third down, what we call a cheetah package. But he kept working and now he is about 50/50. But the way he got better was he continued to work on the scout team and we had a one minute on Wednesday and Arjay Jean actually won the one minute by straining and getting through three blockers and we pointed out to the team that this is the kind of effort we need and said it today at the hotel that he was going to make a big play and he did tonight. Jamal Hicks had to come in and Braylin (Scott) had to come out had something with him, that I am not sure about his injury, and Jamal came in and Jamal is a guy that first got in last week and he’s a guy that we have been wanting to play a safety and sometimes coaches get a little bit tight putting freshman in there, especially at safety, but he’s a guy that will play more as the season goes on.”
(on how much the team needed the win emotionally)
“I have said it since I have been here, winning is good for team morale and losing is bad. But as a coach, you have to bring it back in every week and the message was, we have to take this as a positive. We have to keep this momentum as we go forward this week. That is what good teams do. One win does not satisfy you, you have to continue to work. But at the end of the day, we are going to continue to work anyways. That’s how I am built and that is how I will build my team that they are always going to fight and never quit.
(On Dalyn Dawkins performance)
“I told him he has to score, we are going to have a running back score. It was good to see Dawkins come out and play well. Telling the guys all week and at the hotel today, that I really felt good about our run plan, as much moving and slanting they do to get it in the right play we were going to have some holes and we did early on. You could see the holes early on in the game and they made some adjustments but the one thing that I wanted to do, we told offensive coaches, I wanted to stay patient. Stay patient to the run game, do not panic, keep playing, let’s make it a second half game and see if we can win it and we were able to do that. Defense rallied, we did not turn the ball over offensively, and defense got two turnovers plus a fourth down stop so really good to see.
(on getting behind in the first half the last 2 weeks )
“You just have to keep playing. Just because one team runs the ball on you and one team has success, that doesn’t define who you are as a defense and it doesn’t define who you are as a team. It’s how you respond and being resilient and the ability to bounce back. That is what our guys are doing. It’s taking time but you saw some fight tonight. Everybody here probably thought 24-10 (at half), they’re not going to do it maybe the people in the crowd but our guys didn’t think that. Our guys believed that we were going to find a way to win and that’s what I’m proud of”
(on the state of mind of the players tonight compared to last week and the halftime speech…)
“It was pretty much the same message. It’s the same message all the time. I believe you have to be consistent with your message of what you expect. I just felt there was buy-in and accountability for the guys that we were going to get it done. I thought we had a better week of practice. I told you all (reporters) this week…We had a better week of practice than we did last week and we had a good week of practice last week. If we do that, we’ll get better and the plays will start to happen and they did tonight. We beat a good football team but the thing I like is there is a lot that we can still improve on.”
(on if the big spark was the 60-yard touchdown play to Michael Gallup)
“Yeah he did. He had 7 (catches) for 140. About every time he touched it, it looked like he could take it to the house. I’ve said from day one, he’s going to continue to get better and better and better. He’s an explosive guy. We kind of simplified the passing game a little bit. We were throwing some play-action two-receiver routes. Collin (Hill) sighted up and hit him. We were a lot more productive on those plays than when he was kind of progressing. I thought the first half, they were so multiple up front and they move around and he was worried about protection, identifying that right and who is he hot off of. He was concentrating more on the front instead of the safeties. I thought we did miss some. So I said in the second half, I am going to dumb it down. We are going to run the ball and stay patient and we are going to throw it to this guy Gallup or we are going to throw it to this guy. That was able to work for us.”
(on the difference of the game plan from last week to this week )
“They’re a little bit different scheme than Wyoming. Wyoming is what I call safeties force. They let their safeties force them into tackles. People think that the offensive line has to block huge holes like they were tonight. I think those huge holes happen because of the movement and slanting that they (Utah State) do. If we could identify it, we were able to crease them some. Last week, I thought we blocked well at times. When safeties make 27 tackles (like Wyoming did), we have to do something at the running back position. We challenged those guys (CSU O-line) and they responded tonight.”
(on the first play for Nick Stevens’ coming in for Hill after the injury)
“That was Gallup’s fault (first incompletion after coming in). Gallup ran the route too deep. It was a RPO (run-pass option) with a zone read and a slant. Nick read it right but Gallup just took too long. If you hold it that long on a RPO, but the comeback on the third down after that, he hit the pass. We were hoping for zone man or cover two quarters. We got two-man (coverage) and the guy was covered but he (Nick) threw him open. I’m really proud of Nick and on the next touchdown drive, he did a lot of getting us in the right place. He understands what we’re doing. He’s (Nick) a calming influence on our offensive line. We’re doing some of those checks. I was calling plays pretty fast in the first quarter. We were pretty good but when we put a little more on Collin (Hill), we slowed down. There is too much conversation. Nick took control which was good to see.”
(on if Bobo was encouraged by the on-field leadership tonight after falling behind again)
“I was and that’s what we talked about. I might have mentioned it in here but I definitely mentioned it to our team. It’s got to be leadership. You can’t allow something like that to happen and that starts with me and it starts with the leaders on our team. I believe they did that…holding people accountable and not getting down and continue to play. That’s all you can do. People will make plays. Wyoming is a much improved football team that’s got safeties that are pretty good and they have one of the best backs in this league (Brian Hill). It was their night (last Saturday). The ball bounced their way and we didn’t respond well to that. We talked about good teams regain momentum because they focus on what they’re doing and focus on their job. Don’t worry about the things going on around them. I think we have a tendency to do that. We have a tendency to sometimes think ‘I’m doing my job.’ No, ‘do your job plus make plays,’ and you saw some of that tonight. You saw Justin Sweet doing his job and forcing it but getting off (blocks) and making a play. You saw Jordon Vaden in cover two see the quarterback going to the deep and coming off his guy and trying to have a pass break up. Not just doing your assignment but understanding what we are trying to do defensively. It was a good night for us.”
(on if the performance tonight is a natural progression as the season goes on)
“It is but it’s doing what we do in practice and taking it to the game. I see good things in practice. It’s pulling the trigger as a player. Go make the play. I am constantly preaching…Go make the play. We have good practices so we should have confidence. Go out there and play free. Play free and don’t worry about making a mistake. They’re going to happen but if we play free and play within ourselves, we’ll have a chance to make plays. I don’t think we’ve been playing as free. Some of that sometimes is when you call it and not allowing them to play free. I keep telling them…We’re going to call things to allow you to play free. There is no perfect call. It’s guys going out there understanding the call and playing free to have a chance to make their plays.”
(on the play that got Collin Hill hurt and Hill’s aggressiveness during that play)
“He slid earlier and we couldn’t get it converted. He slid too short. I think he was behind his pads. I mean we’re trying to win a football game and we talk about being physically tough and going to make that play. He was going to make that play. He did a nice job getting up in the pocket and making somebody miss. It’s unfortunate. I don’t know the severity of it. Injuries happen and he’s a guy that will respond if it’s something severe. I am not sure yet. I don’t know. He seems to be walking around on it pretty good but….”
(on who was going to be the quarterback after Hill’s injury)
“It’s Nick (Stevens). Nick has been the guy that’s number two even though Faton (Bauta) has been in every game but his play is more special packages for us. Nick was the back-up regular quarterback.”
COLORADO STATE PLAYERS
QB Nick Stevens
(on how hard it was to stay prepared and be ready for the moment after losing the QB job earlier in the season)
“I think it was definitely tough. I think it’s easy to get discouraged after something like that happens. It happens all the time around every position so I think it can just be a lesson for football and life to just keep grinding and keep pushing no matter what happens because you never know what’s going to happen. I think I did a good job preparing like I am the starter I have learned from the beginning here you have got to do that, you never know what is going to happen. I was able to come in and keep the offense going. Score tied up and I think that just the momentum carried us from there. We were able to get a couple of long runs on the next drive that really carried us. Credit to the whole offense, (Dalyn) Dawkins for that long run. Obviously the line and they were the ones that really carried us that last drive that we scored to bring us ahead.”
(on how big the second pass was after the first pass hit Michael allup in the shins, second pass had to feel pretty good for you)
“Yeah it felt really good for me. It looked different all week than it looked on that play. We ran it early in the game and it looked different at that point too. On that play I think Mike just adjusted and kept running and I hit him and I thought he was going to score. I told him on the sideline after that we should have scored, gave him a little grief. I think it was huge. It was a third down, I think it was huge for us because it would have put us back into a tied game and it kind of gave me confidence.”
(on how huge it was for the team but how huge for his confidence )
“Yeah, real big. I did not see exactly when Mike (Gallup) broke because the “will” (linebacker) came and he was in my face all I saw was it was at his shins. I was like darn that was a low ball. Then they called that play and I was like this could score because I know it was a good play but it just looked different and I kind of had to adjust on the fly. I think that Mike did a great job catching it and getting extra yards.”
(on his running fist bump with Izzy Matthews after Matthews scored touchdown)
“First I am curious to see how high I got with that jump. I felt like it was pretty good. It felt awesome. I know that again for the majority, I’m not sure if we passed, we passed it early on in the drive but the guys up front and the guys in backfield did a great job of taking us down the field on a few plays. Again Dawkins had a huge run. It felt really great just knowing that we were able to drive down the field. I want to say it was probably around 75 yards and score and go ahead. Our defense had been playing well and I knew they were going to come through with the stop and Kevin ended up catching the interception so that was really huge.”
(on was it different in the locker room at halftime this week than last week )
“Yeah, I think the biggest thing was we were only down by 14, it’s two scores, come out and get a stop on defense and then we will score on offense and be just fine. I couldn’t tell you, I think it was just a little bit better … the leadership urging guys, don’t get discouraged, I know we were down last week, we are down again but we can come back. Don’t doubt it and believe. That was an emphasis all week, no matter what happens believe. Believe in each other and believe in yourselves, and don’t let the guy next to you down. I think that helped us not give up and come back and get the win.”
(on why did people buy into the locker room halftime speech this week )
“Ya know if I had an answer for that we would be undefeated. I think we just did a good job. I think the biggest thing wasn’t the atmosphere in the locker room it was coming out and executing in the second half and not allowing ourselves to get down. I think last week we had the same feeling that we were going to come back we just didn’t execute in the second half I guess and so that was the difference.”
(on was this team mad or just more poised )
“I think more poised. There was a little bit of anger like we shouldn’t be in this position we should be ahead we are good team we should just execute and I think again there is an execution that ended up happening in the second half and that is what brought us back in the game.”
(on who were some of the leaders who stepped up in the locker room)
“The guys that you would expect. Kevin Davis, Jake Bennett, Fred Zerblis, Collin (Hill) was in there, ‘hey guys you know don’t give up we are good.’ The running backs were in there. Pretty much all the typical leaders you would expect.”
(on was it different going into the game in relief)
“Yeah someone said, I don’t remember who it is, somebody said coming in as relief like baseball. Feeling was a little different, I just knew we had to keep that drive alive and score. It wasn’t obviously a game on the line but you kind of had the feeling it was a critical situation. You are on their side of the 50 going into score and it was the kind of feeling that we have to score right here or else it is going to be really tough to come back. I just tried to stay calm and poised and do my job. I think that sometimes you can get ahead of yourself and try to do too much and if everyone on the field just says I am going to do my job then plays are going to be successful and productive.”
(on does this validate that you have handled this the right way)
“I think that I could play better but I think that when I went in I was prepared and felt like I prepared the start of the whole week. I knew what looks they were giving me and didn’t feel like I was just being thrown in their and didn’t know what to do. So I guess in a way, yes. I’m glad I did prepare the way I did early on in the week.”
(on Dalyn Dawkins performance)
“He ran hard. He broke a few tackles. Large chunk of that was the big run in the fourth quarter when it really counted. Good to see his hard work pay off. He is one of the hardest workers on the team to go over 100 is really good in a game so I am happy for him.”
(on his touchdown catch)
“It is obviously a momentum builder. We were running slants most of the game. Coach called my number and you have to produce. It was a good feeling and we have to just have more of it.”
(on the team’s needing more big plays)
“Yes sir. We had a lot tonight. Everybody played great tonight, and everybody had fun. I knew it was not that great in the start for everybody but we dug deep. We came out on top tonight.”
(on feeling the momentum change after his touchdown catch)
“Yes sir. Everybody had their emotions flying after that. The defense played well, and everybody gets a spark after that.”
(on the importance of tonight’s victory)
“We needed it a lot. It was a confidence booster for everybody. It was much needed.”
(on Nick Stevens playing after Collin Hill’s injury)
“That was great composure by Nick (Stevens). We need that. When someone goes down, someone has to step up. He did that for us tonight and that’s great.”
(on Nick Stevens losing the starting quarterback job and coming back strong)
“He lost it (the quarterback starting position), but he always showed up to practice, and he always showed up to work. That’s what he does best. His number was called tonight and he produced.”
(on the third down play before his score)
“We have to make plays. Coach Bobo told the wide receivers that we needed to catch the ball and that’s what we did tonight.”
(on the offense being able to be balanced)
“It means a lot. We have been working on it and it finally came tonight. All you can do is go back to the practice field and get better for next week. Once you get that balance attack things just start flowing. Defenses can’t react to just one thing, and now they have to worry about two things. It was good.”
(on the team making plays on both sides of the ball)
“Tonight, we had to make those plays. Everything has not been clicking for us the last few games and tonight we needed to do it. Tonight we did it and we are going to do it again next week.”
(on the team’s ability to play this week from last week)
“I think we had a good balance of the run game and the pass game. We look really good. The defense really bowed their neck in the second half.”
(on the team needing the victory)
“We needed it a lot. The losses were depleting, but we are very excited to get the victory.”
(on halftime adjustments)
“We are starting to get to the point where we have more energy in the locker room, and that’s what we were missing I think. Guys were getting down on themselves. We knew we were still in this game and we had a chance to win. We just executed in the second half.”
(on the vocal leaders for the team)
“KD (Kevin Davis) is always a leader. (Justin) Sweet stepped up on defense. On offense we had Nick Stevens come in, and he was ready. He was waiting for his shot and he got it.”
(on Nick’s Stevens performance)
“He did a great job. He is an older guy so he has been here and done this. It was exciting and he was all fired up.”
(on Nick’s Stevens effect on the offense)
“Guys are comfortable with Nick (Stevens). Everybody is pretty calm, and everybody knows that he can do the job.”
(on the struggles late in the first half)
“Coach Friend always talks about winning the first five in the half and the last five of the half. We need to keep working on winning the last five but I think we are good on our start.”
(on the need to make plays at the wide receiver position)
“Coach Bobo just trusted us. He aired out the ball and we made the plays. Michael Gallup made plays, Robert Ruiz made a few plays and it was just exciting.”
(on the importance of the win)
“We needed it a lot. It has lifted our spirits. We have been working since winter and I think we are definitely on the right track right now.”
(on his rush of 56 yards, and when he saw that he could break it open)
“I saw it on the play before. We ran it again and it opened up. I saw it right away and I knew it was about to happen.”
(on the change in the ground game for this week)
“I think from last week we just paid attention to the small details. We got it corrected and kept at it.”
(on how big the running lanes were)
“They were a lot bigger (in comparison to other games). I love it. Credit to the offensive line for that.”
(on the offensive stagnating late in the first half)
“The most important thing is that we finished. We definitely finished and we fought today. There were some things that did not go our way but that’s alright. We just kept fighting.”
LB Kevin Davis
(on the defense playing strong in the second half)
“That’s just a boost for our defense, it’s huge confidence. Just as young as we are to go out there in the second half of the game to shut out Utah State, and also give the ball back to our offense.”
(on what he was thinking on the interception he made that ended the game)
“Don’t drop the ball. It was too wide open, my thoughts were just don’t drop the ball, and get down.”
(on the excitement of ending the game with the interception)
“It was relief. It was something that we needed as a team. Guys believed today and that was huge. You could see it in their eyes. It wasn’t like any of the other games. Guys believed. We fed off of each other.”
(on the difference between the last two weeks of play)
“We went back to work, we grinded. Guys just bought in.”
(on being able to “play free”)
“I think we were having fun today.”
(on second half adjustments to Utah State’s quarterback)
“We adjusted with the middle safety just spying him when it was for sure run and when it was pass he (safety) just got deep. We made a couple of adjustments that worked out really well for us, and all credit to coach English and the defensive staff there. Just everyone else was coming off the field talking so we can make adjustments. Players trusting coaches and coaches trusting players on what they are seeing.
(on being able to “play free”)
“We were having a blast. Everyone was just flying around and making plays. The energy was just going from one person to the other. The energy flowed from the offense to the defense. When the offense could not pick it up a little bit, the defense picked it up. Everybody kept the train rolling, and when that’s going on it’s good for everybody. Special teams held up their end of the deal it was a total team win today, and that’s what we like to see.”
(on missing an opportunity on an interception)
“I had a great break. I saw it coming the entire time. I got my hands up, I was ready for it and I think it would be six (points). At the last second he (Braylin Scott) got his hand up and it deflected the ball off of my helmet. It was better than a completion and I was glad we were able to get off the field.”
UTAH STATE HEAD COACH MATT WELLS
(on what went wrong in the second half)
“It’s hard to get a grasp on 21 unanswered points. We can’t finish a drive off on offense. We can’t play the edge of the defense.”
(on the play of his younger players)
“I thought Gerold (WR Gerold Bright) showed up tonight and did some good stuff. Rayshad (WR Rayshad Lewis) made a few catches…I mean we’ve got a few newcomers. We’ve got some guys banged up and got some guys hurt. You know you’re kind of trying to go down and find some guys that can give you a spark and I thought certainly those guys, I thought, have played well.”
(on if the game got away)
“Yeah, it got away in the middle to the end of the third quarter. Same thing I said to you is we move the ball on offense and then we bog down. We get past the 50 to the 40 again, and it was mistakes getting made and not executing. Defensively they ran through us like, I mean like anything and we don’t contain and we don’t play the edge of the defense, those kind of runs are going to happen.”
(on what happened after halftime)
“They didn’t change much. The hardest thing was the field position. It was like we were backed up the whole third quarter. So you know, you’re trying to generate some field position in a backed up offensive setting and we couldn’t flip the field on punt a couple times. I mean they were playing on the plus-45 to the minus 45 almost the whole second half.”
(on how much reflecting and adjusting the team will do during the bye week)
“Well,you’re not going to go much extreme in the middle of the season when you’ve got three conference losses in a row by a touchdown, eleven points and a touchdown. I know it’s a matter of executing, it’s a matter of finishing and it’s a matter of making better play calls and putting our kids in a better position. Yeah there is going to be absolutely self-reflection. We always do that, self-scout on both sides of the ball. What are we good at? What are we not good at? Lean towards the things we are good at and it would be nice to get some guys healthy again and get some guys back with us.”
UTAH STATE PLAYERS
RB TONNY LINDSEY, JR.
(on his satisfaction in establishing the running game in the first half)
“The last two weeks, I was personally mad, and the whole line, they were upset. We didn’t establish the run and get it going the last two weeks. I think I had 20 rushing yards the last two weeks, so we wanted to make a statement tonight.”
(on if this was one of his most confident games)
“Yeah, I just had to get my swagger back and get confidence. I had a long talk with my brother, and he got me going.”
(on what he saw defensively from Colorado State that slowed them [Utah State] down as a team in the second half)
“Nothing really. We just hurt ourselves.”
(on if he feels like he can be a guy who can carry the load for every series or if he likes getting more of a rotation)
“I feel like I could be an every down back, because I catch the ball and do all of that. But we have other good backs too— LaJuan Hunt, Justen Hervey, and Devante, which he was out today. But we have other good backs too, so it’s not a downfall if I come out or not.”
(on what happened to the running game second half)
“We just weren’t executing. We were hurting ourselves.”
(on if he had a sense in the week’s preparation if it was going to be this kind of game for the Aggies and for himself)
“Yeah, all week I was pissed off that the last two games I had 15 yards. We weren’t getting going on the ground game, so I had to make sure tonight was a lot different.”
(on the 22-yard play during the second possession of the second half that caused a fumble)
“That’s on me. I was just trying to make a play and my second effort caused a fumble. I was just trying to make a play. But our defense held them after that and we had more chances after that.”
(on if he had help from teammates to help with the running game)
“Yeah, Wyatt [Houston], Joe [Palange], and Landon [Horne]. They all made it easier for me, so it definitely helps.”
(on moving forward)
“Of course, we have faith in our coaches. Me, Kent [Myers], all of the leaders—we are going to get these guys rolling and bounce back.”
FS JONTRELL ROCQUEMORE
(on what positives happened for him and the defense overall)
“We just had to snap back and get our minds right. Get focused, execute, get all blocks, and make plays. You know, that’s what we’ve got to do on defense.”
(on what was different from a defensive stand point during the second half and what Colorado State did differently)
“Nothing different. It was just plain on us. We’ve got to make plays. We’ve got to come out and get the same energy that we did in the first half, and I feel like when we do that, we play our best ball. Second half we didn’t come out how we should have and we left a lot of plays out.”
(on what he remembers regarding the 60-yard play and that score that brought Colorado State back into the game)
“Just execution. We’ve got to get them down. We’ve got to execute the play. We’ve got to just do better.”
(on if there was a problem with tackling tonight)
“I don’t think there was a problem tackling. I think there was a problem just going to the ball and just executing when we get to our men.”
(on if they did anything differently second half)
“With the second half, it was all for grabs. We had to play our ball and do what we’ve got to do. In times like that, it isn’t about trying to figure out what they’re [Colorado State] going to do, it’s about us. And second half, we should have looked at ourselves more instead of the offense.”
(on moving forward)
“Yeah. Like I said, it’s all about execution and worrying about defense, and that’s something we’ve got to get better on moving forward.”
(on the team’s reaction to tonight’s game)
“I mean everybody is banged up about it, but that’s nothing we can fix right now. That’s something we’ve got to look forward to and play these next couple of games, and play out the rest of the season and play Aggie ball.”
