Quotes from the UH-NMSU game

HA = Honolulu Advertiser
HSB = Honolulu Star-Bulletin
AP = Associated Press
LCSN = Las Cruces Sun-News
RMN = Rocky Mountain News

Quotes from the UH coaches:

About how winning is the key to the BCS chances, JJ said:
"As long as we win, that will take care of itself." (AP)

About Colt, JJ said:
"Colt is a pretty good quarterback. He does a lot of good things and I'm happy he got it done." (AP)

"wasn't at his best, but it's hard to say with six touchdowns you're not at your best." (HSB)

"Colt was not at his best tonight, but six touchdowns is still pretty good." (HA)

About RGM's 58-yard TD reception from a short pass, JJ said:
"You saw Ryan's speed on that one." (HSB)

About winning one game at a time, JJ said:
"We just got to keep plugging along. I told the team turnovers and big plays were going to be the difference in the game. I was concerned early, but the kids focused and got the job done." (HSB)


About RGM and his career-high 195 receiving yards, WR coach Ron Lee said:
"His number was called tonight. He dropped a couple or he would have had over 200 (yards)." (HSB)

About RGM's 42-yard TD receoption from a simple out route, Ron Lee said:
"He's so fast. That was just a 3-yard route and like that he took it all the way." (HSB)


Happy with how his defense played, GM said:
"I was very happy with the way we tackled and played overall." (HSB)

About their goals for the game, GM said:
"We wanted to get turnovers. We wanted to make them earn what they got, and play good on third- and fourth-down situations." (HSB)

"We set some goals of what we had to do to win. Turnovers, third and fourth downs, our normal goals. (We wanted to) make them earn what they got. They're the best offense that we played. I'm just really proud of our guys." (HA)

"We knew we had to make them earn what they got. Turnovers are a big key in a game like that." (HSB)

Note: NMSU had 3 INTs, and converted just 5-16 on 3rd down and just 1-4 on 4th down. Great job by the D!

About the importance of being able to constantly rotate fresh defensive linemen to keep up the pressure, GM said:
"It made a lot of difference. We played 10 defensive linemen. The way they had us running back and forth to the sidelines on those screens, we needed 'em. We had a plan on what we had to do, and our players made plays." (HSB)

Note: I think that a big key is that UH is *10 deep* on the DL! That really demonstrates the enhanced recruiting they have done on the defensive side...it is showing up in the games!

About Keao Monteilh, who suffered a serious left shoulder injury when trying to tackle the NMSU WR as he was scoring their only TD, GM said:
"He's probably our most improved player." (HSB)

Quotes from the UH players:

About being 8-0, Colt said:
"It's an awesome feeling. We've come a long way. To think about my first year, to be 8-0 right now ... and, to be honest with you, I feel the season is just getting started." (HA)

About how they have been stopping themselves on offense, Colt said:
''I don't think anybody has ever stopped us since I've been here. We stop ourselves. If we limit stopping ourselves, it's scary how good we can be.'' (AP, RMN)

About being just 2 short of Ty Detmer's TD record, Colt said:
''It's never been about records or stats. This year more than ever, it's all about the 'W.' We want every win so bad.'' (AP)

"What I learned last year is don't pay any attention to records or stats. ... (But) it is a great honor." (HSB)

About how he doesn't think about the records, Colt said:
"What I learned last year is as long as I don't pay attention to them, chances are I might beat them. As long as I don't think about it I should be all right. ... Unless you guys keep bringing it up." (HSB)

"I never think about any of that stuff. The only time I think about it is when somebody brings it up." (HSB)

"What I learned last year is that (you) don't pay attention to records or stats. This offense and this team is not about that, but about the 'W.' That is our mentality." (HA)

When an interviewer read off his stats and complimented him, Colt pointed out he also had:
"...And one (interception) and fumble." (HA)

About his INT on his first pass, Colt joked:
"Hey, I've thrown 10 interceptions, one more can't hurt." (HSB)

About how NMSU had a solid defensive scheme against them, Colt said:
"The came out with different zone looks, they tried all-out blitzes and they did a really good job of disguising their defenses. They were tough, but we did what we had to do and our defense came out and did a great job, too." (HA)

"They gave us different kinds of zone looks, man looks. They blitzed sometimes all out. ... But we had a good game plan coming in and the receivers did an unbelievable job." (HSB)

About how their offense will switch from just trying to avoid mistakes to going for it, Colt said:
"Our mentality is about to switch and it's just about being on the full-on attack and let the dogs loose and just let it go." (AP)

"Right now I think our throttle is in neutral. Our mentality's about to switch to full-on attack. We've got nothing to lose. It's not about making mistakes, it's about kicking butts." (HSB)

About how they haven't reached their potential yet, Colt said:
"I don't think we've hit our stride yet. We came closer today but you could see our defense gave us a ton of opportunities to score and we kind of messed up some of those opportunities." (HA)

"People might be happy about these kind of offensive numbers tonight, but we're not happy. That's because we know we can do a lot better." (HA)

About how the tough part of their season is about to start, Colt said:
"To be honest with you, it seems like we got the job done the first eight games and now the real season starts vs. Fresno. My ankle still hurts, that's just the way it is. I got leg-whipped and stepped on, but hey, I played through it." (HSB)

Passing the compliments he was getting to his WRs, Colt said:
"I think this year we had a great scheme and the receivers made big plays. I think it is more of a receiver day than a quarterback day." (HSB)

"This was the best game I've ever been involved in as far as making plays with our receivers. They were unbelievable tonight. They did a great job getting to passes even when I was throwing behind them." (HA)

About the man-to-man coverage their WRs had, Colt said:
"We took advantage of that. Today was all about the receivers. They made great catches (and) running after the catches. It's just unbelievable how good they are. They made me look really good today." (HA)


About how their offense is operating efficiently but hasn't peaked yet, RGM said:
''It's like second nature now. Now we just go out and have fun." (AP)

"We still haven't played our best game — not even close." (HA)

"We still haven't played our best game -- not even close. Either offense or defense, we still make some small mistakes and hope the best comes out in one of those big games coming up." (HSB)

About his 13 catches for 3 TDs and a career-high 195 receiving yards, RGM said:
"I feel if Coach Jones calls a route, I'll get open one way or another." (HSB)

"I wasn't necessarily the guy we were going to go to tonight, but I kept getting open and (Brennan) kept getting it in there. That's the great awareness that he has and since we all know the system so well, we know that he'll take advantage of whatever opportunity we have." (HA)

"Once I'm on the field, I believe no one can guard me one-on-one. I know that is how all of our receivers are." (HSB)

About how he did during the bye week that inspired him, RGM said:
"I went to see 'The Lion King' and got a little Simba action. That was my motivation." (HSB)

About all of his drops in this game, RGM said:
"It's something I don't do. I was too anxious to get up field and start running. I've got to catch it first." (HSB)

"I can correct it." (HA)

HA Note: "he has an excuse. He has been playing despite a sprained left thumb that is wrapped heavily during games."

About passing Ashley Lelie for career TDs and receptions, RGM (who only has played 30 games so far for UH while Lelie played 36) said:
"I heard so much about him and watched some film of him. He's a first-round draft pick, so it's a nice accomplishment." (HSB)

About the records he could set at UH, RGM said:
"To tell you the truth I have never been a record guy. I'm sure when I'm done and get a chance to look back on them it'll be nice, but I'm just enjoying the winning." (HSB)

About how his high school team went 0-10 during his senior year, RGM said:
"Trust me, records don't mean anything if you're not winning. I experienced it first hand." (HSB)

About his 42-yard TD catch from a pass in the right flat, RGM said:
"When the ball comes my way, I try to make a play. I've had a goal since I was little. I feel every time I touch it, I can score. I'm going to continue with that goal and hope it works out." (HA)


About their offense, Bess said:
"Once we got in the game, we were like a machine." (AP)

Bess said that they have to remain:
"humble and hungry. The moment we get bigheaded, that's when things will go downhill." (AP)

After his 2 TDs in this game Bess tied for the UH career record with 38, and Bess gave credit to his teammates:
"I thank my quarterback and offensive line. When it comes down to it it's a team game. I want to thank my teammates who put me in position to make plays." (HSB)

After getting his 36th TD pass from Colt, Bess (7 catches for 112 yards in this game) said:
"It's not about me and Colt. It's about our offense being prepared. It's the way we practice, and the way defenses play against us. Coach (June Jones) shows us so many things to be ready for. When we get into a game, we're seeing everything we practiced against all week." (HA)


About his 14-yard TD catch for the first score of the game, Jason Rivers said:
"We practice that all day: fade, stop, fade stop. It's called '15.' He throws it however he wants and I just run." (HA)


About playing despite his right hand being fractured (he plays with a padded brace), having a stomach virus the past 3 days, and suffering a deep bruise in his right quad, Adam Leonard said:
"God got me through it. I'm dealing with a lot. I'm a little under the weather. I'm thankful God gave me the ability to play." (HA)

About how he returned from his right quad injury to tackle the WR 2 yards short of a first down on 4th-and-4 with the score 36-13, Adam said:
"I was at the right place at the right time. My defense does a great job of putting the quarterback in a situation where he has to get rid of the ball." (HA)

About the importance for their D to hold NMSU to a minimal amount of points, Adam said:
"It was way important. People don't look at how the game went and look at the score and don't know how good we are. We want to prove every week that we can stop each and every team because this is a great offense when they have (quarterback Chase) Holbrook at the helm. We just wanted to prove we could stop a high-powered offense." (HA)

About the contribution their defense made to this win, Adam Leonard said:
"We want the pressure to be put on us. We don't want to make these games into shootouts where we just win by one or two points." (HSB)

About how their D wants to be tough and make their opponent into a finesse team, Adam said:
"We want to play aggressive. We don't want a team to out-tough us. We want to make sure we hit them harder than they hit us. That's what we proved tonight. We made them more of a finesse team. We played tough Warrior football." (HA)

About being 8-0, Adam Leonard said:
"It feels great. We have to focus on our next game so we can be 1-0 against our next opponent." (HA)

Note: Adam had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and an INT and was nominated by UH for WAC defensive player of the week.


About how he defended the 4th-and-1 play by NMSU on their 2nd series that gave UH the ball back, Solomon Elimimian said:
"I know I was there. I should've intercepted it. I should have had two interceptions tonight, but it was just like a turnover." (HA)

About how they executed their game plan on defense, Sol said:
"Coach's scheme was to limit the drag routes and pressure the quarterback. We got a couple hits on him and it affected him. Everybody arrived at the ball. We felt we knew what they were going to do, and we adjusted properly." (HSB)

"I feel we did a great job reading our keys that we've been working on the past two weeks. We did our assignments and played smart football tonight. (NMSU) has a great quarterback, but we knew they had that option to run as well with two good running backs." (HSB)


About how they used their bye week to prepare for NMSU's offense, Michael Lafaele said:
"We had two weeks to prepare for them. They're a tough team. We came out and put a lot of pressure on them." (HA)


Jake Patek suffered a stinger injury, but added:
"I'm healed." (HSB)


After they got 3 INTs off deflected passes, Keao Monteilh talked about the "tip drill":
"We practice it once in a while, we do more ball drills, but maybe those couple times we practice it, it helps out." (HSB)

About how their defense was prepared for this game, Monteilh said:
"We studied tendencies and what they like to do out of certain formations, and going against a pass offense every day was a plus for us. We were ready." (HSB)

About his INT off a Sol Elimimian tipped pass, Monteilh said:
"I was actually coming in to hit the guy and Solly tipped it and I dove and it was in my hands. The two interceptions I had (this season) Solly tipped both of them, so I told him, 'I'm going to follow you wherever you go.' " (HSB)


About their play on defense in the game, Desmond Thomas said:
"We knew they were going to get passing yards, but the way we played tonight, I was just amazed. We came with what our coach calls a 'kick-A' attitude." (HSB)


About his extensive playing time at nickel back in his first game since his PCL injury, Mouton said:
"It felt real good, I played a lot more than I thought I would. We knew they were going to put up yards, but the big thing was points. Stopping them from getting in the end zone was the biggest key." (HSB)


About how their margin of victory is important for the BCS, JoPierre Davis said:
"We have to make every play we can possibly make. It's how much you win by, too." (HSB)

About his INT return for a TD to get them to 50 points, Davis said:
"Just going for the ball hard just got me a pick and I'm blessed. I saw nothing in front of me and it was like when I was playing running back in high school. I was going to go score." (HSB)

"I just wanted to tackle the guy. I was so aggressive about my tackling that it paid off for me. I just got the tip." (HA)

"I was coming up on him to tackle him and make a play, but he dropped (the ball). Luckily, we've been through enough tip drills that I was able to come up with it and I just took off. It's what I've been waiting for all year." (HA)

About how he wanted to take advantage of his playing time, Davis said:
"We don't get too many opportunities because the guys playing in front of us are doing so well, there's no reason to take them out. Once we get some little dirty work, once we get in the game, we're going to try our hardest." (HA)

"It can be frustrating, but we have so many talented seniors on this team that I can't get mad. I just want to make a play when I have the opportunity." (HA)


About his 14-yard sack early in the 2nd quarter, Karl Noa said:
"I basically came in free because Adam (Leonard) did a good job of picking up two guys." (HA)

About how GM's game plan freed up the DL to rush the QB, Noa said:
"Basically, Coach gave us the freedom this week because he wasn't really a running quarterback. I think we did a good job of getting after him, especially in the first half." (HSB)

About how they still have 4 more tough games during the regular season, Noa said:
"We still have a ways to go, but the boys stepped up tonight." (HA)


About his missed extra points broke his streak at 50 for the season, with his last extra point miss coming against NMSU on 10/21/2006, Dan Kelly said:
"Tonight was a little out of character. It's ironic (that the miss came against the Aggies) but it's not anything that anybody else is doing. It happens and it's all on me." (HA)

About how he'll bounce back from his miss and start another streak, Kelly said:
"I never plan to miss one and I don't plan to miss another one for the rest of my time here and, if I play professionally, for the rest of my career." (HA)

Quotes from NMSU:

NMSU head coach Hal Mumme said that his team played:
"terrible. When you make a poor effort against a great team, you end up with that kind of score." (AP)

About how they didn't get anything out of the early INT and fumble recovery they had, Mumme said:
"Not doing anything with those turnovers was indicative of our whole night. We did not play together as a team at all. We'd have 10 guys out there playing and one who didn't want to play. Or we'd have somebody that didn't want to make a hit or a block or didn't want to catch the ball. We played offense a little. We played defense a little. And we got our asses kicked by a great football team. There's no excuses. It was bad coaching and bad playing." (HSB)

Praising UH, Mumme said:
"I think Hawaii is a really good team. They're fast and they're a lot bigger than I thought they'd be. I thought they'd be a lot smaller without (Melila) Purcell and those other guys." (HSB)

Unhappy with their OL for not adjusting to the speed of UH's D, Mumme said:
"We're not happy with the way the O-line played. Watching the game film, it was obvious that they never caught up with the speed of the game." (LCSN)

Asked if Holbrook suffered a concussion on the play that led to him being taken out of the game, Mumme said:
"We don't know. It was a blow to the head. We'll know more later in the week." (LCSN)

About how UH's defense was better than they looked on film, Mumme said:
"I thought they were better than they looked on film. They did have 15 days to get well and we had four. They're definitely a great team and have great speed. Their front was a lot more physical than I gave them credit for. I don't know if some of that was because we played like we were asleep, but they still played well." (LCSN)

LCSN Note: "Mumme said that Hawaii ran exotic blitz packages and even dropped defensive ends into coverage to curtail NMSU's penchant for throwing screen passes to its wide receivers. The Warriors came off a bye week prior to Saturday's game and Mumme said that the added time off was apparent in Hawaii's preparation for the Aggies."

About how they had to settle for FGs, Mumme said:
"We moved the ball. We just didn't put it in endzone" (LCSN)

Asked when the loss of Chris Williams was evident, Mumme said:
"It was pretty glaring in the redzone." (LCSN)

About how their defense played well, Mumme said:
"The defense got us a couple turnovers. Heck, if you make Hawaii punt you played pretty good." (LCSN)

About having to play Nevada on Friday, Mumme said:
"I wish we didn't have to play on Friday. We won't get a lot of work in, and we don't know who our quarterback will be." (LCSN)


About how they needed to score off their 2 early turnovers, NG Ray Manumaleuna said:
"Those two turnovers were very good, and if we had been able to score (off of them) or if we got some more as the game went along, it probably would have made a difference." (HSB)


About the game, Manumaleuna (who played at Kahuku High) said:
"Coach told us that we didn't perform to our best and that he doesn't want to hear excuses. Hawaii is a good team and they played better than us. We gave it our all, but now it's time to focus on Nevada (on Friday night). We're trying to make a bowl game and we need to win three more games to do it. We've gotta regroup. It was a privilege to come back here and play. I thought I'd never be able to come back and play here. A lot of family and friends came to the game, and (the rest) of the fans were good to us, but it would have been great to win it." (HSB)


About playing on special teams and at FB at the end of the game, Dylan Moss (LB at St. Louis) said:
"I wasn't going to play much at linebacker this year, so the coaches gave me an opportunity to switch over. I looked at that as a green light to get on the field more. It was a dream of mine to come back and play here. It sucks that we didn't do better than this. We did the best we could, but it could have been better. Coach told us that we're responsible for our own actions, but to keep our head up." (HSB)


Other Quotes

About how he can't watch the defense play, Colt said:
"Whenever I feel I find myself rooting for the defense, sitting there watching every play, it just seems like I jinx the defense. It seems like when I'm not paying attention, the defense gets a big turnover." (HSB)


About how he won't eat eggs or bacon on game days, Colt said:
"It's just something as a kid, my dad on my first two football games, he got me eggs and bacon and we got blasted, so I never ate eggs and bacon since then ever again." (HSB)


Asked if he does anything special during their winning streak, Colt said:
"Umm, no man, just trying to ... not lose." (HSB)


About how he has to lace his right shoe before his left, sophomore LB Josh Rice said:
"(It goes back to) high school. Just started doing it, and if I put my left shoe on before my right I'd feel funny and have to take them off." (HSB)


About how he changed his pregame eating routine after his freshman year, RGM said:
"One thing I did change -- when I was a freshman, I used to barely eat, because I didn't want to be stuffed before the games. Then I realized we don't play until three hours after we eat, and every game I used to be hungry right before the game starts. Now I make sure I get myself as full as possible and by the time the game starts I got the energy to play at the highest level." (HSB)


About how he wears his wedding ring (he got married in July) under his glove during games, Karl Noa said:
"Ever since I started putting on gloves (this season), I've been wearing my ring under the glove. If I take off the gloves I'm sure to take off the ring. Just to have my wife (Kehau) with me." (HSB)

About how he also watches film from past games, even from last season when they used a different alignment, Noa said:
"Just to see and go through what I was thinking at that time, get back into that mentality I was in when I was playing well. I do that from time to time." (HSB)


About how he uses visualization techniques before the game, Adam Leonard said:
"Before the game, I relax, don't really listen to music, but just think about what's going to happen, and just visualize myself making big plays in the game, doing great things." (HSB)


Praising the job that Stephanie Lum did as Warrior mascot, Vili Feheko said:
"She did great. I told her it looked like she had been doing it for years. I think she was surprised at the reaction she got from the crowd." (HA)