Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins
General
“At the end, we were able to make a few plays. Unfortunately, I wanted to go the whole game without punting. I’ve had a few of those in my career, starting to feel that whole ‘we can do what we want to do on offense’ mentality. Couple glitches here and there; I love Mason (Crosby) and it’s great for him to knock field goals, but we’d like to convert some of those into touchdowns and to be able to get to that next level, but overall, I was pretty happy with it.”
On offensive rhythm
“In basketball, if you get one shot every three minutes, it’s tough to get into a rhythm. It’s hard for an offense and it’s hard for an offensive coordinator too. What happens is you get constricted, thinking ‘We can’t waste a play,’ ‘We can’t have a bad play,’ and then you lose a little bit of your creativity and the guys don’t play relaxed.”
“Today, I thought Mark (Helfrich) was able to get in there and get in a rhythm and really dial it up and be fancy and make some adjustments and go ‘Let’s go here.’ It was good for him as a play caller and it was good for our offense as well. They didn’t get all hung up on every play being exactly right.”
On QB Bernard Jackson
“He did a great job. He really did. There were a few instances there where coach (Mark) Helfrich had a few choice words for him. The nature of our program, and particularly quarterback, is you really seek perfection, and there were a couple of times I thought he didn’t get some things, but overall I thought he did really well.”
On TB Mell Holliday
“Tough runner. He really is. He’s got good vision and he’s a bulldog in there. But again I think some of that got started up front with our O-line. They did pretty good, too.”
On C Mark Fenton
“Being a senior, for all he’s done and gone through, it was great to see him battle back and get in there. (Chris) Strausser was able to roll him in there.”
On PK Mason Crosby
“It’s interesting as you go along in the growth of your program, you have great fans, and we talked about this earlier on here. When we send Mason out, everybody starts screaming and yelling, but I guess that’s the nature of it. We would not like to have that, but Mason’s used to it, so it’s not tennis. It’s probably a little different than what we normally have, but Mason’s used to it.”
On the seniors winning their last game at Folsom Field
“I was happy for the seniors to go out on a winning note at Folsom Field. That’s big, and there’s a lot of tradition here and I think that’s awesome. I think it speaks to the fact that, despite all the adversity they’ve had, they’ve never given in, ever. They kept coming back and kept battling.”
On the team’s penalties
“We’ll find out tomorrow when we hit the grass, what’s going on with those penalties.”
On going into the last game of the season against
“You certainly want momentum and you certainly want to come into that thing on a good note. Lord knows, we’ve had to strap it on every week and battle the big L. The guys have done a great job of that, and it certainly is a lot easier when you get a win.”
On if players are guaranteed spots next year
“I’m one of those guys where it doesn’t matter if you’re 2-9 or 9-2, and I seriously mean this. Once the year is over, it’s over, and there’s no returning starters. We’ll sit down and find out who wants to lift, who wants to go out and do extra things and throw and in spring ball and who can make plays. I just think the notion of grandfathering in or granting emeritus status to anybody is not a healthy way to grow a football team.”
“Once the season’s over, it’s a full-blown race for every guy and every position to prove they want to play next year.”
On the possibility of trying to get K Mason Crosby another field goal late in the game
“At that point, we just wanted to get out of the game. I told him, ‘Hey, if we get a chance.’ He hit one from 65 in practice the other day and he just missed on a 68-yarder, so we were hoping he could bang it through.”
On trying to catch balls that came to the sideline
“That’s why I played fullback. I dropped two today, so I’m going to pay for that in film tomorrow. There’s a reason why when the ball had to go to the fullback, I’d switch with the tailback.”
Iowa State
General
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On Being Affected by the Week’s Events
“To me, those kind of things are just excuses. We had just as much preparation time as
On the Play of FB Ryan Koch
“We wanted to give him a shot. He doesn’t have tailback speed, but he’s got toughness, heart, and we just made a decision that we’re going to use him more. Josh (Johnson) is going to be a heck of a player in the future, but he still has big eyes on game day and Ryan doesn’t. He’s very confident, tough, hard-nosed, and we hope for a chance to get (Stevie) Hicks and (Todd) Blythe back for their last game next week.”
On Mason Crosby
“He’s the best kicker in the history of college football. If he was over on my sideline I would have given him a shot too (at a 65-yard field goal). I’ve heard he has made over 70-yarders in practice, so that’s routine for him. We bring out the best against Mason Crosby I guess. He’s a great player and it was an honor to coach against him.”
On His Career at
“It’s been a great 12 years. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to the Big 12. It’s been a great 12 year run. I just want something real good for these seniors and this football team here at the end. But, it’s been a great run and I’ve loved every minute of it. You may think I’m crazy for what we’ve gone through here at
On What He Expects From His Last Home Game
“I hope there’s just a tremendous reception and support for these seniors. I want it for the seniors. It’s my last shot and there will be a lot of emotion, but this is for the kids that will put on the uniform for the last time. I’ll coach again, but they’re only going to get one more chance to play at
Colorado Players
QB Bernard Jackson
ON OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE—“It started up front with the offensive line, they came out and set their dominance early and we just went from there.
“Like I said, it starts up front, the offensive line gave me protection all day and I was able to make my reads. After that it was just guys making plays, Patrick (Williams), Alvin (Barnett), but it all started up front.”
ON WIN—“It feels good to get out of here with a win like we did. Without our offensive line it wouldn’t have been possible, but they came out and we got it done.”
ON PLAYING RIVAL NEBRASKA—“The rivalry with
GENERAL – “I didn’t make it look easy out there, the “O” line made it look easy. That’s exactly how our offense is supposed to work.”
ON GETTING STARTED EARLY – “That was something that we have practiced all week. We had to get on top of them early and take it from there.”
ON THE OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE – “I give all the credit to the “O” line. They had a lot to do with my success this afternoon. There were some plays that I was trying to call for myself, not to be selfish or anything, but just to have some extra fun. We did pretty much what we wanted to do the entire game and were successful at it.”
ON WIDE RECEIVERS – “They did exceptional. They had maybe two drops. They did a fantastic job today.”
ON LINCOLN – “That’s a big deal around here. It’ll be my first start in Lincoln so it’s going to be exciting.”
ON CARRYING MOMENTUM TO NEBRASKA – “This is a big push. If we play like we played today, it’s hard for us to be denied. We just have to come out fast, finish fast and execute how we’re supposed to execute and how we know we can execute and we’ll be alright.”
ON HIS PLAY – “I was more relaxed. I think last week I was trying to worry about doing too much and I told myself to just relax and play with the offense. Good studying and preparation worked out.”
ON THADDAEUS WASHINGTON WINNING BUFFALO HEART AWARD – “Congratulations to Thaddaeus. That’s tremendous.”
ILB Thaddaeus
ON THE BUFFALO HEART AWARD—“It’s great, there are so many words going through my head right now I can’t even say how great this makes me feel. Especially because it’s chosen by the fans, and to think that the fans think of me in that way, and to contribute to the tradition of
ON WINNING LAST GAME AT FOLSOM FIELD—“We had a hard time this year, frustrating at times and it was important to the seniors to go out on a winning note like that. It means a lot to me that the team came together to send us seniors out on a win. It showed a lot of character in my teammates. We asked them to come out for the seniors and have a great game and that’s what they did. That showed that they care about the seniors a lot and we appreciate that. We have been down for a while, but we’re up now.”
ON DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE—“The defense came out strong today, we had a good game plan and we played well, and so did the offense.”
ON DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WINS AND LOSSES – “It’s been the same push the whole year. We just have to keep on working hard but when it’s time to make plays, you have to make plays. That’s what we did today on defense and offense.”
ON NEBRASKA – “Nebraska always comes ready to play. We have to go to Lincoln and be ready to go in there and play and try to win a ballgame. It’s going to be a great feeling, just being in Lincoln, with all the red all over, and it’s just an awesome field. The last time I was in Lincoln, I came out with a great feeling. I had two interceptions and I gained a tackle, so it was great.”
ON IMPACT OF ALL BLACK UNIFORMS – “We just focus on being a family. We have really realized that today and we just came out playing for each other and that was very important.”
ON OFFENSIVE PLAY – “It was great. We know that on defense and as a team that we can score, but we haven’t been doing it the whole season. Today, they came out and doing what they had to do and it was great to see them have success.”
OG Brian Daniels
ON OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE—“We just played together and stuck with it all game. We threw the ball deep early and that opened it up for the rest of the game. We knew going in that we would be able to run on them.”
ON OFFENSIVE LINE PERFORMANCE—“I think we just played together today, they didn’t bring a lot of additional pressure. They usually just sent four or five guys on the rush and we they do that we should be able to provide protection and the time that Bernard (
TB Mell Holliday
ON HOME FINALE—“I think that all of us felt that because it was our last game at home for all the seniors we had a big push to go out and get the win and send the seniors out on a good note, myself included. I just went all out all day.”
ON WIN PROVIDING MOMENTUM FOR NEBRASKA—“I think this week made us have more confidence, because we were playing for more than a win, we wanted to get a good thing going so we can get momentum going into our game with conference rival Nebraska. This week was like Texas Tech, everything was clicking offensively.”
ON 100-YARD RUSHING PERFORMANCE—“This one feels a lot better than my last 100-yard rushing game, because it was on the division I level.”
ON 52-YARD RUN—“I was hoping to score, but I took so long to get going. I had to break some tackles before I got open and the bad thing is that I out ran the safety only to be caught by the linebacker.”
ON IOWA STATE DEFENSE—“Actually, we thought the aggressive play by their linebackers would open up the offense. They crowd the line a lot and that play action would work and it did. Their linebackers hit pretty hard, but oh well, I broke some of their tackles too.”
SS J.J. Billingsley
ON GETTING BACK ON THE FIELD FOR FINAL HOME GAME—“It feels real good to play again, I made the decision to play around Tuesday because I has been practicing all week and my knee felt good all week. The first defensive possession I was a little rusty and trying to do too much but I calmed down. I felt good today and even better being able to leave with the win.”
ON DEFENSIVE PERORMANCE—“It felt good, but I think we let some points get by, that last field goal and touchdown we shouldn’t have given them, they should have finished with seven.”
ON WIN PROVIDING MOMENTUM FOR NEBRASKA—“I think this win provides a huge push for Nebraska because after our first win against Texas Tech our confidence was up so high and now this will push into our rival game with Nebraska.”
ON COACHING STAFF KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT IN NEBRASKA—“I don’t know if they know how big it is, but at the same time I think they know because they hear about it all the time from the people that have played and coached in games there.”
WR Patrick Williams
ON TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION—“It feels good, I couldn’t be more excited. B-Jack (Bernard Jackson) threw a great ball, the offensive line gave us great protection and we drew it up on the sideline and we connected on the field.”
ON OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE—“This is what it could have been all year, if we are clicking. The media has said that we have no deep threat, but today I think we proved that, that isn’t necessarily the case. The coaching staff did a great job; I would put them up there with the best in the nation.”
ON GAME AGAINST NEBRASKA—“It would be awesome to get a win against
PK Mason Crosby
ON 65-YARD FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT—“I was a little disappointed about it, I hit it about as good as I thought I could I just got a little too much height. You usually don’t complain about height, but I needed a little more drive and a little less height. Hopefully I’ll get another chance next week.”
ON SCHOOL RECORD FOR MOST POINTS AGAINST ONE OPPONENT—“I just heard about that record, and I know that the 65-yarder was the only missed kick I had against the Cyclones (
ON KICKOFFS USUALLY GOING FOR A TOUCHBACK—“Yeah, I don’t usually think about not kicking it for a touchback but I always try to get good height. So if it doesn’t go for a touchback then at least it sets up our coverage team in good position to prevent a good return.”
WR Alvin Barnett
ON TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION—“It felt really good, my first touchdown reception we worked on it all week in practice and when Bernard (Jackson) called the audible at the line it just opened up, we connected and then celebrated.”
ON IOWA STATE DEFENSIVE BACKS—“We talked about that they bit hard on play action and double-move routes, so on that opening play when we ran a double route I got open after the first move and B-Jack threw the ball well, he threw it well all day for that matter.”
ON WIN PROVIDING MOMENTUM GOING INTO NEBRASKA—“It should be real big with momentum and allowing us to send the seniors out on a good note. All week the coaches focused on perfection, we still have a few mistakes we need to be fix but we should be good.”
Iowa State Players
QB Bret Meyer
ON PREPARING FOR GAME AFTER HEAD COACH MCCARNEY’S RESIGNATION—“We had some time, obviously it’s tough when something like that happens. We had some distractions, but we game planned just the same as any other game.”
ON HEAD COACH DAN MCCARNEY—“We just have one more game together. Next week it will be emotional for a lot of people, but I think we are going to have a fun week together. This week we had a lot of fun, I think we will just try to do that again next week.”
ON THE GAME PLAN—“I think we were just seeing what we could do well early, and obviously if he’s (WR R.J. Sumrall) doing well then we will keep going with it. But with him (Sumrall) being a senior, coach just wanted to give him a chance, and I think definitely he has earned it.”
ON HOW THE GAME GOT AWAY FROM THEM—“The big play was it. The play where we didn’t get the interception was a big turning point. That’s just how it went the last few games. The offense starts out well and then we just kind of lull around for the last few quarters and then it’s too late.”
MLB Tyrone McKenzie
ON HEAD COACH MCCARNEY’S RESIGNATION—“I think what happened during the week didn’t help us out with our mental state going into the game. We made a lot of mental mistakes; easy stuff they went over in practice that we knew how to do, we just didn’t fit it right. With all that stuff, you have to put it aside. From the first hit, you just have to keep playing football.”
ON MENTAL MISTAKES—“The mental mistakes killed us out there. All of the guys out there wanted to win for Coach McCarney and send him out good. We just have one more chance to do that. We just have to go out there and practice and work hard and stay focused. Whatever goes on this week, we just have to put it to the side and worry about football. It was close off the start. We made a mistake here and there. It’s just mental stuff, the kind of stuff where guys are talented enough to get it done, they just didn’t do it and that’s how it was.”
ON PREPARING FOR NEXT WEEK—“It’s going to be very emotional knowing that every day is like your last day with Coach McCarney. I’m sure everyone’s going to be fired up for this big game we have ahead. Missouri’s a good team. I’m hoping that everyone’s going to be emotional and have a heck of a game.”
FB Ryan Kock
ON PLAYING TAILBACK—“I didn’t really know coming in if Scales (RB Jason Scales) could go or not, but they just called my number and I did the best I could. The line did a great job today. They told me I would go in on right before the first offensive series. I always practice a little at tailback to be ready. So obviously, I know they system. I have been here for five years so they had trust in me.”
ON COACH MCCARNEY’S RESIGNATION—“I don’t know how much it affected the game. We had a lot to play for. It was a real disappointing loss, but you have to give it all you got. They are going to not try and let it be a distraction and do the best they can do to keep it normal for us seniors. We need to play for them (the coaches).”
C Scott Stephenson
ON OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCE—“We just came out and didn’t execute very well today.”
ON FINAL GAME—“I hope next week brings a win. I am itching for a win right now. I don’t want to finish up my senior season 3-9 with zero conference wins. It would be nice to leave the school with a win.”
ON COACH MCCARNEY—“He acted the same as he always did. He composed himself very well. In front of the team, he is high spirited and he lets everyone know everything is alright, and that is why a lot of the guys like him. He sees us as a family. We have all been around him for a long time and are sad to see him go. He is like my father away from home.”
WR Austin Flynn
ON BURDEN OF COACHES RESIGNATION-“A little bit. But none of us felt a lot of pressure, because Coach McCarney is truly an unselfish coach and he takes a lot of pressure off his players.”
ON THE ENERGY OF THE SIDELINE-“College football is a game of momentum. It’s like a giant snowball. Today, even with the added emotion it never started for us.”
ON COACH MCCARNEY-“I really respect his coaching and I respect him as a person. I hope that he remembers how much he in his 12 year career. I hope that all his players remember him as a great coach and friend.”
LB TYRONE MCKENZIE
ON DEFENSIVE MENTAL ERRORS-“There were a lot. As a defense we were misaligned on a lot of Colorado’s big plays. Anytime that happens for any defense it’s going to be a long day and things tend to go wrong.”
ON THE DISTRACTIONS-“It was tough to play with all the emotion from this week and still be focused on playing smart football. I thought that the emotion would rally us as a team, but it seemed to distract us more than help us.”
ON PLAYING MISSOURI NEXT WEEK-“It’s good to play at home. It should be a very emotional game and the last game for Coach McCarney. We will go out there playing with a lot of spirit and confidence to win.”
