Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
Colorado Head Coach
Mike MacIntyre
General
“Saturday was a good day. It was absolutely a gorgeous day. I thought the crowd was loud and excited, so it was a lot of fun. Our players had a lot of fun. It was a tough game in the fact that our kids played extremely hard and had some opportunities to put the game away and we let them hang around. But that’s also a credit to them because they made some plays and did some good things of course. I thought it was a very physical game. It was physical football game and I was excited that we won. We had some guys step up like Brady Daigh, who had to take the place of Addison Gillam and some other guys that played in there. It was pretty hot so, we rotated a lot of young men especially on the defensive line. We played 9-10 different guys up there, which was good. Some of those young guys are improving weekly for us, which is great. Now, we’re getting ready to head off and play Cal Berkeley at Cal in our first road game in the Pac-12 this year. So, our guys are excited about it. (Cal) is a much, much improved football team, very, very good. Really, they should be 3-0, but everybody knows the whole story with that. So, they’re playing a lot better on defense. Their offense looks to me a lot like their offense did when (the coaching staff) was at Louisiana Tech. We used to play them at San Jose State. They’re clicking on all cylinders and their quarterback is throwing the ball on time and throwing it to spots and their receivers are getting there. It’s pretty impressive what they’re doing. So, it’s going to be a tough task for us. Our kids will be excited about playing and we’re looking forward to going up there and playing.”
On A Play In The First Half When Quarterback Sefo Liufau Thought A Pass Interference Penalty Should Have Been Called on Hawai’i
“Well, on that: you have to see a flag before you throw it up. And it wasn’t a pass interference on Shay (Fields). It was incidental contact. He went and they kind of tripped each other in a way. They don’t usually call those. It wasn’t hand contact. That’s one where we should have just kept running or throw the ball out of bounds in that situation. Nelson looked open for a second, but it’s hard to run and throw the ball across your body with people catching up. But, we learn from that and move on.”
On Limiting Cal’s Explosive Passing Game
“Well, one of the things is, they play really fast, it’s simple but it’s true, but as soon as the snap is over and you make the tackle you have to get up fast, look at the signal and be moving towards your position. They’re going to be snapping the ball extremely quick because they want you to get misaligned half the time. They do a good job of that. So, that’s one key from that. Then, you’ve got to play tight coverage. You’ve got to understand also that, when you they catch the ball, we have to tackle them in space and get them down. The thing that they’re better this year than they were last year …… Everybody talks about the passing game, but they’re running the ball well. They’re averaging 187 yards rushing. If they run for close to 200 yards then, they’re going to be extremely hard to stop. They’re got a good attack going, a good balance attack. So, we’re going to have to line up quickly, recognize the formations and play tight coverage and tackle the running backs well in the running game.”
On Cornerback Greg Henderson
“Greg’s playing well. He’s playing really, really well. He’s making plays for us and being aggressive. I thought that (cornerback) Kenneth Crawley is playing aggressive too. In today’s football, you have to play aggressive and also, we’re talked about it before, if you’re not playing aggressive, they’re going to complete 70 percent of their passes and it’s going to be a long day. If you’re playing aggressive, you’re going to have a few flags every once in a while but, their percentage is down. I think we’re down to teams only completing 49 percent on us, we need to keep that up. Now, the team that we play Saturday, if we can hold them to 49 percent, then we’re going to be in pretty good shape. The way they do it though, it’s a little bit tougher to do that at times."
On How Cal Might Respond After a Heart-Breaking Loss To Arizona Last Week
“I think the first thing you have to do is, and I’m pretty sure (Cal head coach) Sonny (Dykes) is doing it, you always forget …. You don’t forget but, you always get ready on Sunday or Monday to come back for the next week. That last game doesn’t really affect the next week. The only thing that does is injuries. You’ve got to figure out how you’re going to out your team together and what you’re going to play. And the team you’re playing next is a totally different team, usually defensively and offensively. You can’t let something like that linger on if you can help it. Any game that you lose on the last play of the game, any way like on a field goal or touchdown at the end, however it happens, you’re always a little bit more emotional afterwards. But, usually, it’s still a win or it’s still a loss. You’ve got to get over it either way. So, I think that those types of games stay in the media a little bit longer probably as far as talking about it. So, the young men have to put it out of their mind. But, I think they’ll definitely be ready to play either way.”
On Pac-12 Offenses
“I think there are a lot of similarities in this league. Different leagues have offenses that are similar to it. I still think it’s the quarterback that makes it go. But, I do think overall that our skill talent at receiver and those areas top to bottom is definitely one of the best in the country. You know, you could argue maybe about the SEC having better (defensive) linemen overall and all that type of thing, but I don’t think there’s anybody that has as much speed and quickness as our league has at the receiver areas and running back areas, and the way they spread you out and utilize it.”
On What Returning to Northern California Means To Him And A Number of His Players Who Hail From That Area
“I think going back, of course they’ll be some friends that come to the game and that type of thing, but ……. I think the second part of your question is true. We recruit a lot of young men from that area and we have a lot of young men on our team from that area. So, it’ll be good for them to go home and play well. It’s always good when they have more family in the stands. It seems like they’re more focused maybe. So, I’m excited about that for those young men.”
On The Team’s Identity After Four Weeks
“I would say that this team has a ‘never say die’ attitude to it. A lot of people say that, but what I mean by that is: They’re attitude is not just to finish the game good, they’re idea is to finish the game and win it. I think that’s the thing that we’re clicked over on, I really do.”
On Whether The Trip To Berkeley Is A Big Deal In Terms Of Recruiting
“Yeah, I think it is. Our name is going to be on television and be in the papers a lot more up there this week. So, we’re recognized, and I’m pretty sure they’ll be some kids at the game that Cal and us are both recruiting. It’ll be that type of situation so, it’ll be a big deal on that side of it, I definitely agree.”
On The 25th Anniversary of Sal Auenese’s Death And What It Means To The 2014 Buffs
“I think it’s very important. Sal’s locker is in our locker room. Our kids walk by it every single day. So, it’s not something I would have to bring up. They know that and they understand that. I’ll talk with (Athletic Director) Rick George and some other people as to how exactly we want to handle all of that. That’s a personal thing with the family but, they also see a picture every single day in our team meeting room of the team that year at Washington right after his death where they’re all pointing up and praying. So, that is something that is not just on our minds because this is an anniversary of the death. It’s something that’s on our minds and in our thoughts for every single day and for every single person in our football program.”
On Whether He Talks About That Moment With His Team
“I saying, it’s not something we have to bring up. I mean, we don’t bring it up and just talk about it. His son coached on our team last year. So, everybody knows a lot about it.”
On Whether Cal Throws The Ball Deep Down The Field More Than Any Other Team
“Yeah, they do throw the ball down the field but, they also throw it …. They throw it everywhere. When you throw it down the field and you complete it, it gets re-run on television more often. If it is thrown down the field and just falls to the ground, they don’t show those. So, they had a lot of big plays the other night in the football game. They have some big play capability receivers and can make a lot of things happen. Jared Goff is throwing the ball very accurately, especially down the seams. He’s very, very accurate.”
On Stephane Nembot’s Progress At Right Tackle
“He’s improved. I think there have been some tough days out there for him of course, but he’s improved every day. He’s getting more and more of an understanding of what’s going on in the game. He’s understanding how people are trying to attack him. He’s understanding where his help is, so to speak, where the quarterback is setting up and where his landmark is. I definitely think that Stephane is improving. He works extremely hard at it.”
On Cal’s Defense
“Their defense has played really, really well except for the fourth quarter. They’re probably tired of hearing that also I would imagine. Art Kauffman is their defensive coordinator and I know Art really, really well. He used to live across the street from me when we coached together at Ole Miss. So, I know Art and he does a great job. He’s been to a lot of places. Last year he was at Cincinnati and he had the #19 defense in America. So, he does an excellent job. They know exactly what they’re doing, and they get lined up correctly. If you see their communication, I think they’re really improved. They have everybody back and healthy too, which has helped them personnel-wise. I think their defense is drastically improved from last year.”
On The Offensive Struggles In The Second Half Vs. Hawai’i
“We made good yardage on first down. Except for the first drive, we had good yardage on first down. We were gaining four to five yards on every run. Our problem was, the next down. We either missed, or we missed the throw, or we ran a wrong route. We just kind of never got on rhythm. We got some first downs and then, we kind of got off kilter, we got off a rhythm. We were not trying to be conservative. We had a couple of throws down field that didn’t go as well as we’d like, we weren’t trying to be conservative at all. We did feel like we could run the ball on them some and we made some runs. We just never busted through and never got on rhythm. We had a couple third down plays where we were just off here and there that would have kept drives alive and helped us be able to move in and score for us. They did a good job with some things, keeping us off rhythm and we hurt ourselves some also.”
On Whether The Plethora Of High Scoring Teams In The Conference Affects His Game Planning
“No, we have to score more points if we’re going to win more football games in the Pac-12, there’s no doubt about it. And we need to keep improving on defense. We need to make them kick field goals like we did last week. We’ve got to make them kick field goals and we’ve got to cause more turnovers. When we cause turnovers, we need to capitalize on them. When we make good, long kickoff returns, we need to capitalize on them. When we make good returns on punts, we need to capitalize on them. We did not do that as much Saturday as we’re going to need to in order to beat some of these teams that we want to beat coming up.”
On Whether Liufau Struggles With Throwing To His Left
“I think he has missed a couple throws to the left and that’s something that we’re definitely working on it every day. He’ll get better on it as he goes. I think sometimes, that’s easy to say when you’re watching it. If you’re really watching the film, there might have been a lineman in the way, he might have had a target type-thing. Now, definitely, all quarterbacks miss some throws, it’s not just Sefo. Sometimes the window is tight, sometimes the guy might run the wrong route at the wrong depth. It could be a combination of those types of things happening. We just have to get in better rhythm.”
On Whether He Thinks The Offense Needs To Be More Wide Open When Matching Up With The Kind Of Offenses That Reside In The Pac-12
“I kind of go by the way of the game. I’m trying to go on the game. Our punter is awesome at pinning the people down there if we can do that. But, if we’re not stopping them very well or if I feel like they kind of got us on their heels, we’ll probably go for it more on fourth downs to keep drives alive. I thought the other day there were a couple of times where I felt like, instead of kicking a real long field goal or punting it, we had opportunities to make it. We think we were 2-for-3 on fourth downs, the shortest one we didn’t get, the other ones we did. I felt like our team needs that and I still think that we have to score touchdowns more often instead of settling, so to speak. So, I think you have to think a little bit more aggressively in today’s football than you used to, I really do. So, that’s why we do that. I’ll kind of go into the game and be thinking about some things. I’ll kind of look at it. Also, I felt like our defense was doing pretty good. So, it’s kind of a feel situation. But, definitely in the Pac-12, you better score a few touchdowns if you’re going to win some football games.”
On The Positives And Negatives He Has Seen From His Team Through Four Games
“I think the young men’s mindset, their focus and their intensity is at a level to be successful in every game they’re playing now. I see that in practice, I see that in their attitudes, I see that on the sidelines. So, I think that’s important. I think that’s extremely important. Any football game, especially in the Pac-12, it’s pretty much a roller coaster and you have to be able to play thru that positively and negatively. So, I see that. I think we want to be able to score points, we want to be able to rush the passer a little bit better. Those are a couple things that always keep you up at night. I do think we’ve improved our tackling, I definitely do. I think we’re going to miss some tackles but I think we’ve improved our tackling in the open field. I think offensively we’re able to move the ball on good football teams when we’re in rhythm. I think we have guys that can make plays for us in space and even when they’re covered, they can go up and make a play. So, I think that gives me an advantage of knowing that we can make some plays and do that.”
On the Play Of Spectacular Wide Receiver Nelson Spruce
“Well, Nelson, like I was saying before the season started, I think is an elite Pac-12 receiver. Everybody didn’t believe me except for Nelson, and our team knew that of course. I think he’s a really good football player. We’re able to move him around. He’s very bright, he can play all the different spots. We’ll keep getting him the ball and I think he’ll be able to keep getting open. So, we have to be able to do that. He’s a good player. People started rolling to him as early as the second game. So, I mean they’ve been trying to double him some and he’s still making the plays. That’s a credit to Brian Lindgren and Troy Walters for being able to utilize him and work with him. Our other receivers are good too. I mean Shay Fields is making a lot of plays, D.D. (Goodson) is making a lot of plays, Tyler McCulloch is making plays. So, that’s good for us.”
On the 20th Anniversary of ‘The Catch’ To Beat Michigan in 1994
“I see that every day too. That’s on the wall in our meeting room. It’s impressive. 1994 correct? I was coaching at UT-Martin. So, that’s where I was. I remember seeing it on ESPN re-runs that night after the game, pretty amazing to say the least. I can’t believe how far he threw it. That still boggles my mind, 70 yards in the air. Not many people would even try that because the guy can’t throw it that far usually. Kordell Stewart was pretty much a freak wasn’t he?”
Quarterback Sefo Liufau
On How Cal Has Changed Since Last Year’s Meeting
“I don’t think they’ve changed a lot in terms of scheme purposes but, they play a lot more together and they’ll be a lot tougher this year."
On Evaluating His Performance Against Hawai’i
“I think I played pretty well. Obviously we had two picks, I thought I had pass interference on the first one. So, I’m not some guy who throws into triple coverage. Obviously, the offense kind of struggled in the second half but, I think overall, looking at missed throws and missed reads, I think I played a pretty good game.”
On Whether He Thinks He Is Taking As Many Hits As He Did Last Season
“I don’t know. I haven’t been counting the amount of hits. They do take their toll but, I mean it’s part of the game. It’s not going to take me down or take me out. In terms of this year versus last year, I can’t really say. I’d say it’s pretty similar.”
On How He Feels Physically Going Into Cal
“I feel good. It’s just another week, another week of preparation for a good team in Cal. They have an Explosive offense, and a really sound defense. All the guys are getting prepared and they’re getting ready to go.”
On Whether He Thinks He Has Been Effective In The Running Game
“I think I’m taking it when the opportunities are there. Obviously, it’s not always going to be there and sometimes we have designed runs. I think I’ve done a lot better this year compared to last year. So, in terms of taking it when it’s there, I think I’ve done a lot better.”
On How Angry Cal Might Be Coming Off Their Last-Second Loss To Arizona
“Losing a game like that is obviously frustrating for any team, not just Cal. I expect them to play really well and really hard, especially at home and especially coming off what happened last week. But, I don’t expect them to think too much about last week. I expect them to be a mature team and really come out and just focus on us.”
On Whether Their Might Be An Added Incentive To Beat Cal For The Second Year In A Row
“No, we just want to win every game. We don’t want to say ‘Hey, we beat them last year. We should beat them again.’ Our mindset should be we just want to win every week and go 1-0. That’s how we’re going into it.”
On How The Secondaries in The Pac-12 Might Stack Up To Those In The Other Conferences
“I can’t really compare to be honest. I don’t watch really football outside of watching film because I can’t watch just football to enjoy it anymore. But, the Pac-12 (defensive backs) are really good. You have to give them credit, they make plays. You saw that against (Arizona State). I don’t watch any film from the other teams around the nation but, the Pac-12 (defensive backs) are good.”
On Incorporating the Tight Ends Into The Passing Game More
“You just take what’s there. The tight ends are still there, still in the game plan but, we’re going off what the defense gives us. If they’re going to cover the tight ends, then that leaves other spots open for the running backs and receivers. If they’re going to start playing safe for (Nelson) Spruce or Shay (Fields) for example, then we can go back to our tight ends. It’s just what the defense gives us every week.”
On George Frazier’s Role In The Offense
“He’s a unique player. He’s going two-ways right now. He’s doing a lot better coming out of the backfield and catching the ball. You guys saw that he can catch and continue to run, I guess yards after the catch are what you guys call it. He’s a big play guy and we’re looking to use him more.”
On Improving On First And Second Down In Order To Set Up More Manageable Third Down Situations
“Obviously, we need to just execute more on first and second down, whether it be run or pass. We have to be able to get four or five yards on each down, that way we can just keep moving and not worry about getting the third downs. I’ve never heard of third down being called the ‘QB down’ but, we just have to be able to make plays. Coach (Brian) Lindgren always says ‘A good (quarterback) makes plays on third down’ but, we didn’t make enough plays on third down last week.”
On Whether He Thinks Teams Might Start To Double And Triple Team Nelson Spruce
“I mean, it’s possible. If you want to really stop a big threat like Spruce, that’s one way to do it. I don’t think teams will be able to with the other receivers that we have. But, if they really want to, then that’s their choice.”
On Whether He Feels More Comfortable With Passing Opportunities In The Red Zone
“I think so. And I think that comes with time in the system more and just taking what the defense gives us. I just take what the defense gives me and if I see Spruce one-on-one, then obviously you’re going to like that matchup ten times out of ten. But, it’s just kind of based off what the defense gives us."
On Whether Teammates Have Continued To Fire Each Other Up On The Bench Like They Did So Successfully At UMass
“Yes, I have seen that continue. It’s definitely important. Each guy on this team is important and everybody has a role. Terrence Crowder) does a really good job of keeping everyone in the game, keeping everyone focused and pumping the sideline which really helps us.”
On The 25th Anniversary Of Sal Aunese’s Death
“I wouldn’t say it was a big factor today with everyone. It was a little bit. He’s a special memory and a great guy from what I’ve heard. I talked to his nephew a little bit in remembrance of him and what he did here. It’s definitely important to remember those kinds of people.”
On Whether He Feels The Offense Will Have To Score A lot Of Points This Week
“No. We have a good defense and the defense can definitely stop them. I’m not worried about that. Obviously, yes, the offense has to put points on the board. You want touchdowns but, it’s not like we’re trying to go for a shootout here. I trust our defense and trust in our offense that will be able to execute. Obviously, we didn’t execute last week like we should have in the second half. But, we went in and made the corrections coming out and we’re ready to play.”
Defensive Back Chidobe Awuzie
On Cal’s Wide Receivers
“None of their receivers are slack offs. All of them run big routes, all of them run fast. The quarterback is a hell of a quarterback so we’re going to have our hands full this week and we just have to step up to the plate as DB’s and stop the best.”
On Not Allowing Hawaii Any Touchdowns On Saturday
“It’s something to build on. We’re getting better. We still gave up four field goals and they got in the red zone four times. So, we’re just trying to build off of that and we have to keep on stopping them. That’s the big thing we have been harping on since I got here and now we’re actually starting to do it so it’s just been finding identity on our defense.”
On How The Defense Is Preparing For Saturday’s Game
“We like it when quarterbacks throw, I’m not going to lie. We pride ourselves on getting picks or PBU’s or turnovers. That’s what our defense prides itself on. When a quarterback throws it up like that we want to just make plays on the ball and try to get picks. We’ve been practicing a lot today already on the deep ball and trying to get it out so it’s something we’re practicing this week and we’re going to try to get it.”
On What Makes Pac-12 Offenses So Good
“Every week, you're getting a different type of offense. Most of it is spread but every week, we have to prepare in a different type of way and not everyone’s running the same offense. A lot of them are running gun and spread and passing a lot so we just have to prepare every week differently. It makes it really hard.”
On The Growth Of The Defense
“We’re getting a lot of confidence. We’re kind of getting our swagger. We’re trying to stop quarterbacks from stopping the ball, simple as that. We’re doing a good job of that so far so we have to keep that rolling through the Pac-12 and get a couple of Pac-12 wins. In the beginning of the season, you always have those little things that you need to work on. You know, run fits were a big thing during the Colorado State game. After that week, we did a lot on run fits and after that we started doing a little more on pass coverage. We need to put it together for all four quarters just like last year so that we can beat this team.”
On Greg Henderson
“Greg [Henderson] has always been like a big brother in the secondary helping people get settled in their positions and stuff like that. He’s a great leader by example and if you look at him, you can just look at his techniques and look at how you’re supposed to play the position. During that week of practice last week, he was doing a very good job of press and blocking down our receivers in practice when showed up in the game. So, it all started with practice. He’s great, he practices good and he plays good.”
On Cal’s Increased Talent This Year
“They had a new coach so they’re just getting into the rhythm of things a little more, the tempo has increased. I Think those players have even gotten better and the quarterback has gotten better so we’re the same too. We had a new coach last year and we’re getting more comfortable which is why you’re seeing such a change in our defense. It’s going to be a good match up because we like to compete for the ball and they like to throw it so, it should be a good game.”
On Cal Quarterback Jared Goff
“I think we go up against the very best quarterback every day in practice, Sefo [Liufau], he throws the ball on the money. But Jared [Goff]is a great quarterback just like every other Pac-12 quarterback. But I think Sefo is the best quarterback and we go up against him every day.”
On Cal’s Heartbreaking Loss Last Week
“Most of the most heartbreaking games are at the end of the season and so I didn’t really have a game after that until next season but those heartbreaking games really hurt. I know they [Cal] are going to come out really fired up because I know their coaches have them ready this week. They’re going to try to take us down so that sucks for them. They’re going to try to play hard and we have to play harder.”
On Going Back To His Home State
“They [Cal] recruited me. It’s just another game. There’s just going to be a little more friends, a little more family out there. It’s good to be going back to California of course but it’s always a business trip. The only thing on my mind is to get that Win. I’m expecting 15+. Something like that.”
On His Personal Growth
“My freshman year, I wasn’t really technique based. I was really relying on my athleticism. this year, I watched film of last year and I was really disappointed in myself. On the off season, I worked really hard and came to my coaches and they got me on the right track. Now, I’m watching more film and using more techniques to make more plays.”