Colorado Buffaloes College Football Pregame Quote, 11/22/2021

Had a good practice today. Obviously, it’s a short week it was not a typical Monday so it was a combination of a Tuesday style practice and, you know we got a lot to make up, you know in terms of game planning and try and get ready for a Friday afternoon game. So far so good. Recapping the game, I think we talked about that mostly already in my post game press conference. You know, there was some good things you know on both sides of the ball. Obviously we’ve got to play more efficiently offensively. I did mention about the big drive that I think was really important that we were able to do and accomplish in a 90-yard, six minute or so 14 play drive and get seven points that was really critical to get that opportunity done and execute it.

And I think the end of the game like you saw with our defense they bent but didn’t break. You know, best thing about what I felt our defense did this game that we haven’t done in you know quite some time is you know, we had four turnovers and you know scooped and scored a touchdown, which was the early part of the first quarter. We had two interceptions that were really fantastic plays and another fumble recovery so you know, there’s definitely some positive signs that the defense and build on. I’d say right now the biggest issue that we both are working on on both sides of the ball is third down. You know, we’re not getting off the field on defense and we’re not staying on the field offensively so we got to be better than those two areas. So, we’re going to work on those things and get ready for a great game plan versus Utah this week who we know is a very good football team.

On third down stop issues defensively:

I think there’s some coverage things we got to really clean up, I think that was the biggest culprit. You know, by the way, we did have three sacks in the game, which we haven’t had that either. So we had some really good things defensively that did occur in the game, but third down was, you know, some coverage things that we need to definitely clean up. I see that being really the biggest focal point of that. And we do have some young guys playing so we got to make sure we’re doing systems that they’re familiar with and that they feel like they can perform. We’re really scrutinizing that on the defensive side, really utilizing the things that our players can do well and not try to put too much on their plate.

On Robert Barnes and Jack Lamb making big plays:

They were, you know, grad transfers that came here and probably didn’t start the season in the hopes of what they were expecting, which was being you know starting members and being an integral part of our defense. But like you said Adam, they have evolved and really have caught up to speed and through the process of sometimes it’s injury. You know, when Nate (Landman) went down, you know, we had to use three or four guys in different packages to you know really fill that void when that happened. So, now that they’ve both been playing extensively these last four or five weeks you can see that their abilities and their comfort level is really starting to flourish right now. They’re triggering faster and they’re playing faster. So, that’s been a big silver lining for us defensively is you know, with Nate’s injury and him not being able to play those guys have eventually kind of been caught up to speed and are starting to make some plays that they’re capable of making.

On getting emotional after the game:

That’s interesting. I am I would say reserved, I won’t say stoic I would say I’m reserved. But believe me, I’m boiling inside. I’m just focused, you know, I’m really focused in games. You know, I’m thinking about the strategy of the game, you know, when is there an opportunity for us to make something special happen? You know, there’s always a number of things that we’re trying to accomplish. You know, there’s special teams you know plays that I like that we’ve been working on all season trying to find the right moment for those things. So, it’s a number of things that I think about in the course of the game along with what’s going on you know play-after-play.

But what happened in the locker room is that the team was really excited, I was excited that they had a hard fought win. And, you know, their confidence is getting better, you know it’s getting better. We struggled at times. Matter of fact you know, two weeks ago you know, we’re winning the game and we come out in the second half at UCLA and we just didn’t have any answers and nobody rallied to really stop the bleeding and then this week we found someone that could start making some plays and everybody started to to rally with.

You know, this team is learning to become a team. You know, they’re learning to be able to cover up for areas where one side of the ball is struggling or, you know, a poor special teams play, which we haven’t had many. But they’re starting to understand that you know anything can happen at any moment that changes the complexion of the game and this game was definitely that way. You guys all had the stat sheets. You know the team that had all the yards and you know all the first downs and third down conversions they didn’t win the game. Well, we played smarter, you know, at the critical times and we took care of the football. We were opportunistic in getting turnovers and then we had to score when we needed to score. So those are elements that I think teams learn how to do, and we’re starting that process of learning how to perform in those difficult moments.

On Nikko Reed’s impact:

His confidence and attitude is off the charts, he came in that way. When he was here this summer you know, he wasn’t intimidated about ‚Äòwow, this is college football, I made it, you know, I got all these teammates I know they’re good players,’ he came in saying that ‚ÄòI fit right in and I can compete, I can help this team put me in coach. You know, I can showcase what I can do,’ and really, literally, ever since he stepped on the field he’s had that attitude and he’s been able to perform you know in the fashion that he exudes about himself. So, him making that play in the end zone, you know, he’s done that in practice. You know, he’s done it with some of our best receivers. So, he’s just a really true competitor and we all trust him. You know that’s hard to do when he’s a true freshman, you go ‚Äòoh, shoot’ in some critical moments of games, but he always has a knack of being around the football and being in position when he’s covering people and he’s been making plays. And you know, you haven’t even seen him as a returner yet. Wait until he returns and he may have a chance to do that, actually, he will have a chance to do that this week because of Brenden being out, Brenden Rice. So you’re going to see, you know, a little bit more of what Nikko Reed can do because he’s a dynamite athlete and he’s very confident, very confident.

On WR’s Chris Carpenter and Ty Robinson playing bigger roles:

They’re going to have to. Montana (Lemonious-Craig) went out two weeks ago and now Brenden (Rice)’s out. Chris Carpenter had a big third down catch that was really critical (in the Washington game) that was part of the 90-yard drive (to go up 20-10 in the fourth quarter). It was good to get his confidence going. He’s going to play with Chase (Penry) and Ty (Robinson) and you still have Daniel Arias and you still have Dimitri (Stanley) too. We still have a very capable, very confident group (of receivers). They know they can make plays. We’ve got to put them in positions and make plays and execute good offense. But we feel we have the capabilities to do that.

On Utah improving throughout the season:

I believe Utah’s got better every week of the season. They had some struggles early. I think it was right around week six or seven that they just started to click. Defensively, they’re playing as good as they’ve played all season. They’re very stingy on that side of the ball. They are confident and they play well. It’s a great system on defense. Offensively their quarterback (Cameron Rising) that came in and replaced (Charlie Brewer) early in the season has developed an aura of himself within their offense because he’s a dynamic player. He will take off and run it when he has opportunities to do that. He’s been able to throw passes and create big chunk plays with their system. They do a lot of things with their tight ends and receivers. They have a great balance in the run game too. They’re a difficult team to defend on the offensive side. (Rising) is playing really well and defensively they’re playing really well. That’s the reason why they ended up with that win last week versus Oregon, and they had a punt return for a touchdown.

On Utah being a football program for CU to model itself after:

I don’t know if it’s to model (a program) after what they’re doing. I think if (head coaches) get a chance to be at a place for a long period of time, your foundation of what you are as a program gets really established. You have years of classes that go through that program that have a great feel of what the expectations are and the systems of what they play defensively and offensively. When you have older seniors that can help coach the underclassmen about what it looks like and continue that pattern of growth year after year, it gives you a chance to have a great, stable level of success.

That’s not taking anything away from Coach Whittingham. He’s an excellent coach. (His success at Utah is) what we all aspire to do once we get a chance to get our foundation set in a program and start building with recruiting classes and start having the natural ascension through your program. Seniors (are) able to help coach the younger players and (a coach can) rejuvenate (the program) year after year. We’re in the beginning stages of that. We had a half-year ago, which really doesn’t count in my opinion, because it was a COVID year. This year is that year (where) you’re building that strong foundation. One thing I’m proud about with this team is that they have a lot of fight in them. We’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to continue to bring them in and develop them better, so that they can do things at a higher level of consistency. I think that’s coming. I feel we’re heading in the right direction.

On coaching the players through adversity:

You still have to coach those moments as they come up. I referenced earlier about the UCLA game and how poor the performance was in the second half. That was something we talked about quite a bit from Monday through that whole week prior to Washington that I believe helped us sustain a level of consistency and effort that gave us a chance to win the game last week. It’s our first time working together (with this group of players) and go through these ebbs and flows of the season. You have to coach them through all those moments about how this should have happened and ‚Äòthis is a great job right here,’ which we had a number of those issues that came up in a positive way last week. You still have to continue to bring them along with understanding that (those issues come up in) a typical Saturday in college football. You’re going to have some adversity so how do you handle that adversity? How do you get back on track? There’s get back on track calls offensively and defensively that you made to try to get your team settled down from a coaching perspective. It’s marching through every one of those experiences and talking about it and giving them the solutions as we get out of it. Those are the things that are starting to show in some of those difficult moments now.

On learning how to win on the road:

We have to learn how to win on the road. We haven’t done that. We were 4-2 last year and we had two road wins. We had two home wins and we had two losses — one was at home, and one was on a road in the (Alamo Bowl against Texas). I call that a road game because it wasn’t in our stadium. We have had some discussions on that. That’s going to be a major point going into this offseason about what that looks like and reference a lot of the games we had this year where we probably had a chance to be in control of where we didn’t finish for one reason or another. Those are things we’ve got to talk about and (we need to) understand that our performance when we’re on the road is something where you don’t have the home crowd. You have things that are against you from an environment standpoint, but you have to utilize that as a source of strength. That’s something that this team will learn over the course of the offseason. We’ll show a better effort on those things, particularly on road games in the future.

On this week being a litmus test for the offensive line:

Each week has been a great litmus test for our offense. We still have a lot of work to do there even though they’ve made some levels of improvement. I didn’t think (the offensive line) played particularly great last week. We didn’t protect as well (in the Washington game). We did some good things, not to the level where it was. We need to make sure that that we’re playing solid throughout the game. I believe this (game) is going to be a great test for both (the offensive and defensive) fronts. Their offensive line is a big offensive line. Their left tackle (Bamidele Olaseni) is as big as anybody I’ve seen in college football. It’s going to be a challenge for Carson (Wells) and the (defensive ends) rushing off their left tackle. He’s a big kid and very talented. They have good size up front on both sides. It’s going to be a great challenge for both of our fronts, offensively and defensively.

On if players will play:

ILB Nate Landma: A chance (he will play).

OLB Guy Thomas: A chance (he will play).

DL Janaz Jordan: There’s a chance. He had a sore shoulder, but he’s feeling good today. He practiced today, so we’re hopeful he’s (able to play).

DL Justin Jackson: He’s out of concussion protocol.

OLB Jamar Montgomery: He’s out of concussion protocol.

ILB Jack Lamb: He probably will not play. With his injuries, he’s probably a couple weeks away, so he’s probably not going to be able to play.