Arizona State Head Coach Herm Edwards
On the game plan heading into today:
“We knew coming in, this was a very good offense that we were facing. We were going to have to score some points. Defensively, I did not think that we were going to allow them the first four-or-five possessions to go down and score on us. I think we only made them punt once early in the game. In the second half, we kind of slowed them down, only gave them ten points. Not a lot of pressure on the quarterback and when you do not have pressure on the quarterback, (Steven Montez) can pick you apart. He did a nice job moving the ball on us.”
On team's mentality throughout game:
“I think we knew we were down early and then we got it tied up. In the third and fourth quarter it became a they score, we score, got it to thirty-one, both teams. Then it was just a matter of who is going to have the last possession. They had the last possession and were able to kick the field goal and then we were never able to get the ball back. You have to give them credit, they have a really good offense. It was a scoring game, going into this, we knew we had put points on the board. We gave them a couple too many.”
On the play of Colorado's Steven Montez:
“He did a nice job extending some plays. He has a nice arm, he can throw the ball and made a lot of plays. The un-announced plays when he left the pocket, they stayed alive downfield and made some throws. But they were good on third down, I think both teams fared pretty well on third downs. When you get into these types of games that you have been in them your whole life, you know this is a scoring game, if the defense can make a stop-or-two. We were driving and they made the big pick. When we got into position to have an opportunity to kick a field goal or score, but they made a big play and you have to give them credit.”
On importance of establishing the running game in preparation of next week:
“That helped us, we got the run game going and now we play the Cal Bears and they are pretty good on defense. They have a stout group of guys up there. It is good to get the running game going, especially when you go on the road, you are going to have to try to run the ball against good defenses on the road.”
On how the team will prepare for California:
“It is the first time these guys have lost all year. How we regroup is very important, I talked to them after the game tonight. It is a short week and we start practicing again on Monday and then we leave on Thursday. It is a very short week, we have to get some things in. We have to get some things straighten out too, especially on defense. We have to play a lot better if we are going to contend and try to win games.”
On his team's game plan for Cal:
“We will have to try and solve that mystery here tomorrow. We will be here late, there is no doubt about that and get a game plan where we feel where we can have some success. I know that Cal’s quarterback (Chase Garbers) is a pretty good athlete, he can run. Quarterbacks that can run always pose a problem for you. "
Arizona State Quarterback Jayden Daniels
On how frustrating the loss is:
“It’s very frustrating. Nobody likes losing...It could’ve been 34-34 instead of 31-34. So it’s very frustrating, but we can’t dwell on it. We have to just move on to Cal."
On the offense’s biggest need for improvement:
“I mean today you see we kind of picked up as offense and find our rhythm now. So we just have to keep building off of it. I don’t see anything like the number one need, we just have to keep building some things.”
On the offensive line’s performance:
“They did a great job, being able to hold up the power on line. You see the changes...you see the improvements, we’re just building off of it. We just have to get ready for Cal. Tough loss."
On continuing to throw a lot of deep passes:
“We know the type of receivers that we have. They have a freak ability that I say nobody in the country could guard them, so we just have give them a chance. The first two (overthrown passes) in the first half, I overshot them so - those are plays that could have changed the outcome of the game. So really just taking more shots, open up the defense more.”
On if Colorado’s defense changed late in the game:
“Not really. We had everything there, we had a game plan. It was just a matter of missed throws, missed assignments. In the second had they started bringing a lot more pressure, tried to get me off my spot. So I mean just sitting there and sticking to the game plan. I feel like we did a pretty good job of it and (there were) just a couple plays that could have made the difference in the game.”
On if he felt a sense of urgency after Colorado went up 14-0:
“Not really. They had the quick 14 points but I knew the defense at one point was going to get a stop or something was going to change..."
Arizona State Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk
On his message to his teammates going forward in conference play:
“Just keep fighting, just keep fighting. This team has a lot of fight. We know we’re better than that team we just lost to but now we just need to keep fighting, just keep doing what we do. Continue to go out to practice and just practice hard.”
Arizona State Defensive Back Evan Fields
On what the defense wasn’t prepared for:
“We have to do a better job when they go tempo of getting line up faster. That’s probably the biggest thing, I feel like once they started going fast we didn’t have enough urgency to get lined up, so they got us out of place and made some plays like that.”
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
Opening statement:
"I'm really proud of our guys. It was a hard-fought win for us. We had some injuries but guys stepped up. It was that next man mentality. It was a team win, offense, defense, special teams, everyone pitched in. I'm proud of our coaches getting these guys to play coming off a very tough loss to Air Force and it's just a credit to the competitive character of this football team."
On overcoming injuries during the game:
"We believe in our players, our coaching staff and the players believe in us and what we're doing. They've been bought in since December 5th when I got here. Credit to our players those are the guys out there doing it, and getting it done and they stepped up and continued to make plays on both sides of the ball and special teams."
On Colorado's defense making a stop late in the fourth quarter:
"Our guys looked fresh, I thought we could have gone another quarter or half or whatever was needed. We talked about it before the game. I wanted the game to go down to the wire, and I wanted us to be able to win the game at the end. I told them that. That's what I wanted to see. I wanted to prove that we could beat a good football team on the road in a tight ball game and that we could get the job done. The kid's believed, we believed in them and conditioning does play a factor obviously." Colorado Quarterback Steven Montez
On being part of a fun game:
“It was definitely fun to be a part of. I’m just really happy about our guys coming out and executing. Phenomenal job. O-line played fantastic, receivers played great. A couple of guys got hurt, big guys came in when their number was called in big parts of the game.”
On rallying past injuries throughout the game:
“It was just everybody was really confident in themselves. We were really confident in ourselves, no matter if we’re 1, 2, or 3s, doesn’t matter, we’re confident on everyone on that sideline. They can come in when their numbers’ called and perform at a high level and they did. Credit to everyone and when everyone came in once some of our star players ended up getting hurt.”
On Tony Brown’s performance:
“He’s extremely talented. Just super hard-working guy. He just worked his butt off and now is his time. He’s starting to get touches and show everyone he’s a dynamic player. Very excited for Tony, very happy for Tony. I hope to see him do this all year.”
On putting together the offense:
“We always wish we could be better. I’m sure we’re going to see on film plenty of mistakes that we can fix when we see them on Monday. This is definitely what we wanted to put on tape and wanted to show everybody that we’ve been doing. We look like this every day in practice. We’ve had that focused and that execution and for some reason, it just wasn’t clicking when it came to the games. Tonight, everything just kind of came in place and we just played a really clean, executed game.”
On the game plan heading into today:
“We knew coming in, this was a very good offense that we were facing. We were going to have to score some points. Defensively, I did not think that we were going to allow them the first four-or-five possessions to go down and score on us. I think we only made them punt once early in the game. In the second half, we kind of slowed them down, only gave them ten points. Not a lot of pressure on the quarterback and when you do not have pressure on the quarterback, (Steven Montez) can pick you apart. He did a nice job moving the ball on us.”
On team's mentality throughout game:
“I think we knew we were down early and then we got it tied up. In the third and fourth quarter it became a they score, we score, got it to thirty-one, both teams. Then it was just a matter of who is going to have the last possession. They had the last possession and were able to kick the field goal and then we were never able to get the ball back. You have to give them credit, they have a really good offense. It was a scoring game, going into this, we knew we had put points on the board. We gave them a couple too many.”
On the play of Colorado's Steven Montez:
“He did a nice job extending some plays. He has a nice arm, he can throw the ball and made a lot of plays. The un-announced plays when he left the pocket, they stayed alive downfield and made some throws. But they were good on third down, I think both teams fared pretty well on third downs. When you get into these types of games that you have been in them your whole life, you know this is a scoring game, if the defense can make a stop-or-two. We were driving and they made the big pick. When we got into position to have an opportunity to kick a field goal or score, but they made a big play and you have to give them credit.”
On importance of establishing the running game in preparation of next week:
“That helped us, we got the run game going and now we play the Cal Bears and they are pretty good on defense. They have a stout group of guys up there. It is good to get the running game going, especially when you go on the road, you are going to have to try to run the ball against good defenses on the road.”
On how the team will prepare for California:
“It is the first time these guys have lost all year. How we regroup is very important, I talked to them after the game tonight. It is a short week and we start practicing again on Monday and then we leave on Thursday. It is a very short week, we have to get some things in. We have to get some things straighten out too, especially on defense. We have to play a lot better if we are going to contend and try to win games.”
On his team's game plan for Cal:
“We will have to try and solve that mystery here tomorrow. We will be here late, there is no doubt about that and get a game plan where we feel where we can have some success. I know that Cal’s quarterback (Chase Garbers) is a pretty good athlete, he can run. Quarterbacks that can run always pose a problem for you. "
Arizona State Quarterback Jayden Daniels
On how frustrating the loss is:
“It’s very frustrating. Nobody likes losing...It could’ve been 34-34 instead of 31-34. So it’s very frustrating, but we can’t dwell on it. We have to just move on to Cal."
On the offense’s biggest need for improvement:
“I mean today you see we kind of picked up as offense and find our rhythm now. So we just have to keep building off of it. I don’t see anything like the number one need, we just have to keep building some things.”
On the offensive line’s performance:
“They did a great job, being able to hold up the power on line. You see the changes...you see the improvements, we’re just building off of it. We just have to get ready for Cal. Tough loss."
On continuing to throw a lot of deep passes:
“We know the type of receivers that we have. They have a freak ability that I say nobody in the country could guard them, so we just have give them a chance. The first two (overthrown passes) in the first half, I overshot them so - those are plays that could have changed the outcome of the game. So really just taking more shots, open up the defense more.”
On if Colorado’s defense changed late in the game:
“Not really. We had everything there, we had a game plan. It was just a matter of missed throws, missed assignments. In the second had they started bringing a lot more pressure, tried to get me off my spot. So I mean just sitting there and sticking to the game plan. I feel like we did a pretty good job of it and (there were) just a couple plays that could have made the difference in the game.”
On if he felt a sense of urgency after Colorado went up 14-0:
“Not really. They had the quick 14 points but I knew the defense at one point was going to get a stop or something was going to change..."
Arizona State Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk
On his message to his teammates going forward in conference play:
“Just keep fighting, just keep fighting. This team has a lot of fight. We know we’re better than that team we just lost to but now we just need to keep fighting, just keep doing what we do. Continue to go out to practice and just practice hard.”
Arizona State Defensive Back Evan Fields
On what the defense wasn’t prepared for:
“We have to do a better job when they go tempo of getting line up faster. That’s probably the biggest thing, I feel like once they started going fast we didn’t have enough urgency to get lined up, so they got us out of place and made some plays like that.”
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
Opening statement:
"I'm really proud of our guys. It was a hard-fought win for us. We had some injuries but guys stepped up. It was that next man mentality. It was a team win, offense, defense, special teams, everyone pitched in. I'm proud of our coaches getting these guys to play coming off a very tough loss to Air Force and it's just a credit to the competitive character of this football team."
On overcoming injuries during the game:
"We believe in our players, our coaching staff and the players believe in us and what we're doing. They've been bought in since December 5th when I got here. Credit to our players those are the guys out there doing it, and getting it done and they stepped up and continued to make plays on both sides of the ball and special teams."
On Colorado's defense making a stop late in the fourth quarter:
"Our guys looked fresh, I thought we could have gone another quarter or half or whatever was needed. We talked about it before the game. I wanted the game to go down to the wire, and I wanted us to be able to win the game at the end. I told them that. That's what I wanted to see. I wanted to prove that we could beat a good football team on the road in a tight ball game and that we could get the job done. The kid's believed, we believed in them and conditioning does play a factor obviously." Colorado Quarterback Steven Montez
On being part of a fun game:
“It was definitely fun to be a part of. I’m just really happy about our guys coming out and executing. Phenomenal job. O-line played fantastic, receivers played great. A couple of guys got hurt, big guys came in when their number was called in big parts of the game.”
On rallying past injuries throughout the game:
“It was just everybody was really confident in themselves. We were really confident in ourselves, no matter if we’re 1, 2, or 3s, doesn’t matter, we’re confident on everyone on that sideline. They can come in when their numbers’ called and perform at a high level and they did. Credit to everyone and when everyone came in once some of our star players ended up getting hurt.”
On Tony Brown’s performance:
“He’s extremely talented. Just super hard-working guy. He just worked his butt off and now is his time. He’s starting to get touches and show everyone he’s a dynamic player. Very excited for Tony, very happy for Tony. I hope to see him do this all year.”
On putting together the offense:
“We always wish we could be better. I’m sure we’re going to see on film plenty of mistakes that we can fix when we see them on Monday. This is definitely what we wanted to put on tape and wanted to show everybody that we’ve been doing. We look like this every day in practice. We’ve had that focused and that execution and for some reason, it just wasn’t clicking when it came to the games. Tonight, everything just kind of came in place and we just played a really clean, executed game.”