Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre

Opening Statement
"We had an excellent practice today inside. Today's Halloween, so I'm glad [CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor] Neill [Woelk] didn't wear his Halloween mask. This is going to be a tough game at Arizona State. It's a really unique night there. They're honoring the servicemen and it's the Pat Tillman game. I'm honored that we're the team that gets to play in that and that our young men get to see that and understand it. They're bringing a bunch of families, so it's a unique night. They're wearing special uniforms. It's always great to honor our country and I'm glad that we're able to be a part of this game and the special meaning that's behind it."

On If He Has Ever Met Pat Tillman
"No I didn't. I've read a tremendous about him. I've told our players the stuff that I've read and the stuff that he stands for. I would definitely say it was uncommon. All our kids where 'Uncommon' bracelets and I think it's very uncommon what he did. He had a college degree; he was a great pro player making millions of dollars and he stops and wants to go serve our country. It was extremely sad and unfortunate what happened, but I know he set an example of what it means to honor our country. He understood that the freedom that we live is not free. We have freedom because people go and fight for our country and give us the safety and the ability to do all the things we can do, even being able to sit in this room and have the jobs that we have. America's a great place. I know we have all the different issues, but it's still an honor and a privilege to live in this country. Saturday night will be a neat thing for our players to see that and honoring him and all the other service people."

On The Results Of Steven Montez Being Benched
"I'm still young in a lot of areas. You keep growing up. I think as you get older you realize the more that you don't know. Sometimes young people are too young to understand what you're trying to do with them, how you're trying to help them and how you're trying to push them. There's all different kinds of ways to do that. Sam Noyer's a good quarterback and a good athlete too. I think Steven knows that also. I was excited about the way that Steven performed in the game. Like I said Saturday after the game, how he and Sam prepared all week long – the way they were focused, the way they were into it, the way they were both communicating with each other and me and other players and other coaches. Yes he might have been upset or angry, but he took that and focused it the right way. There was no pouting. He said, 'I've got to get better.' He took responsibility for it. I also think the team and the offensive line and the guys rallied around him on that too. It's not just him; everybody's got to do their part. Now we've just got to do it again."

On It Being The Last Time Coaching Against ASU Running Backs Kalen Ballage And Demario Richard
"Wow they're both excellent players, the one, two punch. They're powerful, big and athletic. I know Kalen and his family really well. We had a long recruitment. He was the first person I ever offered when I came here. When I first got here I was sitting here all by myself and they said there was a 10^th grade running back over in the Colorado Springs area. I said, 'Are you kidding me?' I got a hold of his coach and started recruiting him. I was hoping he was going to come here, but he chose to go to Arizona State. It's a great school and plays for a great coach in Todd Graham. It came down to both of us; he even signed like four days after signing day. I'm glad this is the last time we'll see them. They're excellent players."

On How The Receivers Handled The QB Competition And Adversity
"I think they've done excellent at it. As you notice around the world, the receivers sometimes spout off and these young men didn't. I'm pretty sure they've been frustrated. I'm pretty sure that coach Chev' (Chiaverini) has handled things excellently. He was a receiver himself and was very successful, so that was good. I haven't seen them complain about it. They just kept playing and playing. They really understand the team. They're mature young guys. A lot of them have been here four or five years, so they knew to keep working and keep fighting. They're all about us being successful, not just about them making their catches. I think that also helped Steven [Montez] a lot. If he had all those guys on him all the time, that would have been even harder to overcome. I think their leadership in that area – of just keep working, keep playing andkeep believing in the team – that made a big difference and hopefully it'll keep making a difference as the year goes along."

On The Cal Win Serving As A Reminder To The Team Of What They're Capable Of
"I definitely hope so. As a coach, I don't think we put a whole 60 minutes together and we didn't play well on the last couple drives. In the secondary we had a couple busts that gave them a score. We need to improve on that. It was good that they were throwing it on every down and they were doing some different things. I definitely think they understand they can do that. I think it gave the offense confidence that we can do multiple things. They're a good defense. They had their one star linebacker that was out, #1 [Devante Downs], who's an excellent player. College football is kind of funny I guess; all football is. They beat Washington State 37-3, we play them the next week and get beat 28-0 and then we beat them 44-28. It's young people that keep playing, keep believing, keep hoping and we keep coaching them, keep pushing them and keep loving them. Eventually things work out if they're talented enough and I think we've got some talent."

On If The Culture That He's Instilled Allows Them To Push Through The Tough Times
"I definitely think so, as far as what our upperclassmen are saying to the kids and how they're acting, what they're doing, how they're showing up on time, how they're working in practice and how I hear the captains and upperclassmen talk to the younger guys. That's all part of it. We still have a lot of season left and a lot of things that we want to accomplish. That was one more step in the right direction. We need to hopefully do that again Saturday. It's what have you done for me lately. We'll see again Saturday."

On Having Different Ways Of Encouraging Players Based On How They'll React
"It's all about individual relationships. I believe for anything to be successful that it's all about individual relationships. The hard thing about individual relationships is that it takes time. I can't meet somebody the first time and figure out how I'm going to do it or if they're going to trust what I'm telling them or if they're going to trust the decisions I'm going to make for them. It takes time and time's something that you can't hurry. I've gotten to know Steven [Montez] and a lot of the guys on our team. They know that I've always put what's best for them first and then the team. They understand that. Yes, I push buttons in all different kinds of ways. Once you develop a relationship and they truly know that you care about them, then they'll trust you. They might not like it, but they'll trust you. We've all been there. We've been pushed by people that we didn't trust, but we didn't do anything with it. We've been pushed by people that we do trust and it works out. That's how that goes."

On The Emergence Of Arizona Quarterback Khalil Tate
"He was there for a full year – a year and three games. I wish it would have been a year and four games. I'll see [Arizona head coach] Rich Rod (Rodriguez) individually down the road and tease him a little bit. Rich Rod's a heck of a coach. He did a great job recruiting that young man. He was a young man that played at Serra high school and played receiver and moved to quarterback the last 10 games of his senior year or something like that. He's done a great job. He played against us a little bit the year before as a mop-up and didn't quite look the same, but he was learning the offense. He just kept getting better and better. In all fairness to Rich Rod, Khalil was hurt a little bit in fall camp, from what I understand, and a little bit during the season. He really didn't get all the reps and just got thrown in there. I wish he would have been hurt a little hurt, for our sake not for his sake."

On The Possibility Of Khalil Tate Winning The Heisman After Missing Time At The Start Of The Season
"Yeah I think so, if they keep doing what they're doing with him. If you take out the first couple games and you do his stats then I think he's got like 395 yards a game if you take out the first two where he just played a little bit, which is pretty amazing. He's doing a great job. If they keep winning big games, I'm pretty sure he should definitely get there if they run the table."

On The Plan For Offensive Lineman Tim Lynott To Play A Lot At Center
"He took a lot of reps during spring practice. He took a little bit, but not a ton, in fall camp. Then we started playing him more and more once we realized who we were going to redshirt and what we were going to do. He played a full game against Texas State. We always felt like he could be a great center and could be a great guard. We didn't play him at center early, because it's a little bit harder. We felt like in his redshirt freshman year he could just play guard and be good at it, because of the snapping and all the calls you've got to do. Now he's learned all that and he's done well. We had the rain game at Washington State, it was a little bit rough for him with the weather and everything else. He's done well and played well last Saturday."

On If Cornerback Isaiah Oliver Is Capable Of Being A First Round Pick In The NFL Draft
"I think he's an excellent talent and an excellent player. I don't see all the other corners all over the country and the way people evaluate them. I definitely think he's a special talent, there's no doubt. Not only that he's a special talent, but he's extremely bright, has a great family and is a sharp young man. To me, he's the full package."

On What Makes ASU Wide Receiver N'Keal Harry Tough To Defend
"His size. He's so big and he's athletic. Sometimes guys that big and that strong – he's rocked up – usually they can't turn. They're tight. He can just flip his hips and turn and catch and get by people. The other thing is that he's really tough, so he doesn't see anybody coming at him. He's able to catch it and not take a hit. They even put him in the backfield and run him at wildcat. He's an excellent, excellent player. He has excellent ball skills. They've got him back there returning punts. Being able to track a ball like that as a big guy is hard to do and he's excellent at it. His ball skills, his size, his toughness, his athleticism and the way he's flexible and can bend makes him a special player."

On George Frazier's Play On Offense, Defense And Special Teams
"He does so many things and as a big guy, you notice it a lot when a guy has the ball in his hands as a receiver, returner, or corner, that type of thing. He's doing a lot of grunt work on the defensive line. He's making plays. He's doing a lot of grunt work at tight end. He's made blocks and catches. He plays on our special teams too. He's our wing on the field goal and the shield on punts. He plays a lot of positions and plays really well. He's a sharp young man. I do think he's underappreciated. Hopefully he'll get in on the mix of the Paul Hornung award. Usually it's skill guys but as many plays as he's playing, if they watch tape they'll see how much of an impact he is. Hopefully he'll get into the finalists for that. I think he deserves it."

On How Competitive The Pac-12 Is
"We truly are beating each other up. With us playing nine games, we truly hurt our resumé. Definitely if a team goes through our league with one loss and wins the Pac-12 championship game I believe there's no doubt they should get in the College Football Playoff. It's a phenomenal league with a lot of really great talent. There's a lot of really great athletes. There's a lot of excellent quarterbacks and playmakers. So, we are kind of beating each other up, but that's part of it. Hopefully, the committee's looking into that and understand that and see that. Hopefully we can get someone into the final four to show what we're all about."

On The Defense Having Fun
"You want them to have fun. But, in the game of football, winning is fun. You enjoy winning the game, making plays, and the offense is scoring. You feed off of each other. I think that gives you hope as the game goes along. I think that's what they felt on Saturday. We even had a couple special teams plays. There was a lot of energy and we kept the energy going. Cal made some plays too. I think that made it fun also. Everybody just playing, us making more plays. You want to do that. Hopefully, they do go out there and have fun. When they have confidence and they're freed up and making plays that makes it fun. I think Saturday afternoon when it's 60 degrees and sunny and Folsom is packed and we're scoring touchdowns and making plays is fun."

On His Top Three Halloween Candies
"First, I have to go with a Kit-Kat Bar. Second, Twix. My assistant upstairs Sheryl Voth is an unbelievable cook. So every time we win a game she makes these cupcakes and coffee cakes for all of us so we always enjoy Monday. She makes an unbelievable cupcake that has peanut butter, chocolate, and Reese's. It's phenomenal so I'll have to go with that as my third."

Wide Receiver Shay Fields

On The Performance From The Wide Receivers Against California
"Our performance was incredible. Everybody got touches whether they scored or not. It felt good, especially after nine weeks. That amount of big plays we had, it does fuel the team and it does spur the moment. It also gives us an edge for next week to know what we can do."

On Arizona State's Defense
"They're a physical team. Their corners are young but they're still good. They're some of the bigger linebackers that we've seen. Their defense is well coached. I feel like it will be a good matchup between their defense and our offense."

On Playing At Arizona State
"Every place is difficult, especially on the road. We're looking for our first win there so it would be incredible to get that."

On Quarterback Steven Montez's Ability To Spread The Ball Around Against California
"We always expect it to happen. The preparation we had this week with Coach Mac, separating that battle that he had. We knew from Monday that he was ready to go."

On Moving On From The Inconsistencies From The Previous Games This Season
"That just goes to staying level headed. You don't want to get too hyped. You also don't want to get to that low point that we had. It's about keeping the consistency at the offensive and defensive level."

On Coping Through Offensive Struggles Throughout The Season
"We just had to get back to the drawing board. Whether we had a good game or a bad game, we put that in the past and get ready for the next game. I know from experience that we just brush it off and get ready for the next game. The offense as a whole, we just get back to the drawing board. We practice and keep repetition going."

On The Players Preparing For The "Gold Games"
"When you have a record like we did (4-4), you need two wins to get to the bowl game. But the Gold Games are when you want to win all of them. Like Coach Mac says, 'The last four is what they remember.' They don't remember the first eight, the first seven. The last four is where you make your statement in the Pac-12."

On The Outcomes Between California, Colorado And Washington State
"The Pac-12 is a tough conference. Sometimes the cookie crumbles the way it does. It just happened to go like that."

On The Team's Mentality Shift Since Beating California
"I saw it last week. Everyone was in tune, everyone knew what the game plan was and everyone knew their assignments. It showed on Saturday. Hopefully we can keep it going."

On If The Win Against California Serves As A Reminder Of What The Team Is Capable Of
"It serves as a reminder for everybody. We know what we can do. It's just a matter of coming down to execution. We did that the best we have all year. We've just to keep it going."

On The Best Halloween Outfit In Shay Field's Life
"I'm not sure, I couldn't tell you that one."

Inside Linebacker Rick Gamboa

On Pac-12 Competition
"I just think it shows the kind of competition there is in the Pac-12. We have to come out every week to play. You never really know who's going to win. Any team could win any week. There's some times that there's going to be close games and big blowouts. You can't really expect how it's going to go. You just have to come out to play."

On Arizona State's Offense
"They have two really big running backs, Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard, both big physical running backs that can break out that have big play potential at any play at any time. They break a lot of tackles, make a lot of people miss. As a defense, and especially as a front seven, tackling and staying in our gaps is a big focus for us this week."

On Team Focus
"We all remember what we did on Saturday but we have to move on. At the same time, we know what we're capable of doing. We can win any game we play as long as we come out and focus on our side of the ball, whether it's offense, defense or special teams. As long as everyone is communicating and working together, all three phases are working together, we feel that we have a chance to win."

On Defensive Mentality
"Defensively, last week was one of the best games we've had throughout the year and I think as a defense, after that Arizona game we were reaching for the next two games. As captains, me and Afolabi [Laguda] and Derek [McCartney] all came together and talked to the defense and told them that we need to start having fun again. On defense, people weren't playing with passion or emotion and I think Saturday we showed that we were having fun. We were celebrating as a team and as a defense and I think that helped us."

On Momentum
"We just want to keep this momentum going. We know what we're capable of doing and I think that sense of urgency is there, especially for the seniors. They don't have too many games left, only three guaranteed. We want to help them get to that bowl game and that urgency is increasing more and more as we get closer to Saturday."

On There Being Less Pressure On The Defense Last Weekend
"No matter what it was, whether it was a tackle for a loss or a sack or a pass breakup, we just want to celebrate and go back to having fun. There wasn't too much passion or emotion. We were just worried about getting to the next snap, getting the next stop. With us relaxing more and not being so stressed out about having to get a stop and get their offense off of the field, that really helped us, especially enjoying and knowing that we have that chance to play and be on the field."

On Bowl Game Hopes
"We don't talk about it too much. We think about the game. We have that thought at the back of our heads that we're one game closer but really we're just focusing on the next game."

On His Top Three Favorite Halloween Candies
"Reese's pieces, all time first candy. M&Ms next and then Sour Patch Kids.