Quotes from the UH-SJSU game

HA = Honolulu Advertiser
HSB = Honolulu Star-Bulletin
AP = Associated Press
SJMN = San Jose Mercury News
SFC = San Francisco Chronicle
CCT = Contra Costa Times
DS = Daily Spartan
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Quotes from the UH coaches

Proud of Colt for leading them back despite the field conditions, JJ said:
"He showed what he's made of. He's a very competitive kid. I felt bad for him because the conditions were so terrible. If he had better conditions, I don't think it would have been a close game. He has mud on balls, can't grip it real good, can't get in a stance to throw it. It was just one of those deals." (AP)

"I felt bad for him. The conditions were so terrible. Had he had better conditions, I don't think it would have been a really close game." (SJMN)

"He showed what he's made of. He's a very competitive kid and I felt bad for him because the conditions were so terrible." (HSB)


About how this type of win does more for his team than winning a blowout, JJ said:
"I'm of the belief that winning these type of games does more for you than winning a game 70-0." (AP, HSB)

About Blaze playing despite re-injuring the shoulder that had forced him to miss games earlier this season, JJ said:
"He sucked it up and played through it." (HSB)

About the character of his team, JJ said:
"I just know we had a lot of character. When we went down 35-21 I just grabbed everybody and I said, 'Look guys, if we come back and win this game, it will do more for us as a team, and you, Colt Brennan, than anything could ever do in your life. He got it together and put it together and got it into the end zone and we won the game." (HSB)


Praising RGM and the rest of their WRs, WR coach Ron Lee said:
"He was pretty amazing, all our receivers were. Wet, muddy conditions like these really test your quarterbacks and receivers." (HA)


About how he got his defensive players together when UH scored with 3:53 left and were still down a TD, GM said:
"We were all talking. We knew we had to get the ball back for the offense, and they'd score, and we'd win the game." (HA)


Quotes from the UH players

About how he struggled in the game but was not going to give up, Colt said:
"This has kind of been my life the last four or five years, bouncing back from adversity. I didn't play the best game, but at no point was I going to give up. I made plenty of mistakes, but I knew that if I did what I was supposed to do, and we had those opportunities we could win this game." (HSB)

"I didn't play the best game but at no point was I going to give up. I made plenty of mistakes, but I knew if I did what I was supposed to do at the end of the game we could win and we did that." (AP)

"I made plenty of mistakes. But I knew that if I did what I was supposed to do at the end of the game when we had those opportunities, we could win this game." (SJMN)

"I didn't play the best game, but at no point was I going to give up. I knew that if I did what I was supposed to do at the end of the game when we had those opportunities, that we could win this game." (DS)

About how the muddy field hurt their offense, Colt said:
"When they're coming out of their breaks, they can't speed cut or else they'll slip and fall. They have to come out under control. When they do that, you can't really throw the ball as hard. Little stuff like that made it hard. ... The elements are what they are. It's part of football." (HA)

"The elements played a factor a little bit." (HSB)

About how they heard the SJSU fans chanting "Over-rated! ... Over-rated!", Colt said:
"We heard all of them. Definitely." (HA)

About how his teammates believed in him, Colt said:
"Obviously after four, five, however many interceptions I threw, I was flustered. I was frustrated. But that's why it's a team game. The team believed in me. They never, like, looked at me and said, 'Oh, he's screwing up.' They just said, 'We got you, Colt. We got you.' They said, 'Keep believing, Colt.' " (HA)

About how their overcame so much to get this win, Colt said:
"We kept saying, 'Believe. Just believe.' It's amazing, the character of this team. All of a sudden, a fumble, we got a chance to tie it up, and we knew once it got into overtime it'd be over. Obviously you want to clean up the interceptions and a lot of the negative stuff, but to overcome those adversities and come out with a win says a lot about this team." (HSB)

About what they thought when the D recovered the fumble to give them a chance to tie the game late in the 4th quarter, Colt said:
"We almost knew then, when you sit there and tell everybody, 'believe, believe, believe,' it just seems there's not a reason to believe. But then all of a sudden, before you know it, an opportunity presents itself, and you're right there. That's what it's all about. We realized, 'Oh, my God, we can do this.' " (HA)

About how they knew they would win if they sent the game into overtime, Colt said:
"I knew if we'd gone to overtime, that we could win this game. With only 25 yards to go to score, you know, with our defense playing the way it did, we knew all we had to do was go to overtime." (HA)

About the win, Colt (who threw a UH-record 75 passes, completing a UH-record 44, for 545 yards and 4 TDs) said:
"Even though we didn't play as good as this other team, we knew when to step it up and get the victory." (HA)

"It was a total team victory." (HSB)

About the fumble the D forced with 2:56 left in the game, Colt said:
"That was the game. That gave us our shot for overtime." (HA)

Unsure how this game affected his Heisman chances or their BCS chaces, Colt said:
"I'm not sure. It's such a weird dynamic, the whole Top 25 and all that stuff. You watch a (Southern California) team lose to a Stanford team, and you watch some of these quality teams that aren't as good as the team they're playing, but they get the upset." (HSB)

About what JJ told him, Colt said:
"Coach was telling me, 'If you can come back from this, it will define you as a quarterback.' " (SFC)

Praising his WRs, Colt said:
"There were plenty of mistakes, but I knew that if I did what I was supposed to do and we had those opportunities we could win this game. We have the best receiving corps in the nation." (HSB)


About how they never gave up, RGM said:
"The dream is never dead. No matter what the score is, no matter how many ticks are on the clock, the dream is never dead. We set our goals. We're going to continue our mission. We're not going to let anybody stop it." (HA)

Asked how many passes he caught (he had a school-record-tying 14, with 175 yards and a TD), RGM said:
"I really don't; none at all. I was upset about the one I dropped. I wanted to make up for that." (HA)


About how he needed to make plays for their team, RGM said:
"I just knew that when they came to me (with passes) I had to catch them. I had to make plays when we needed them." (HA)


RGM added:
"the veteran players wanted to show the younger guys to keep on believing, that we weren't done yet and that it is how you respond that determines who wins." (HA)


About how he wears eye black under his eyes representing his parents (Sheila and Alvin, "Pop" and "Mom"), RGM said:
"they're always behind me. They're my left and my right, they come to all our road games." (HA)

About their 97-yard drive with 7:18 left, RGM said:
"I knew I had to make plays. You come my way, I'm going to make plays." (HA)

Praising their fans at the game, RGM said:
"And the fans. It's amazing how they follow us. It was like UNLV again. We need them and they help us." (HSB)


About the win, Bess said:
"That was just one step. We haven't eaten yet. This was just the appetizer." (HA)

About what he told Colt in the huddle, Bess said:
"I told Colt: 'Poise, poise, poise.' He repeated that phrase. He was getting frustrated, but I told him: 'We're here for you.' " (HA)


About how the field hurt their WRs on their routes, Hawthorne said:
"Our speed cutting was different on the worst field we could possibly play on. It was tough." (HA)


About how his game-winning TD catch in overtime last night might be the biggest of his career, Jason Rivers said:
"Because I'm a senior, it's a WAC game, and our season could've been done tonight." (HSB)

About how the win said a lot about their team, Rivers said:
"This says a lot about our team. We've been in this position with other teams and we came out on top and everyone believes we can." (HSB)


About how nobody panicked in the game, Hercules Satele said:
"Purdue last year and LaTech this year. We've been in this situation at LaTech and we came through with it. We worked too hard in the summer to give up and that was our mentality the whole game." (HSB)

"As you can see, we had a few mistakes. But we trusted each other, and they (the fans) believed. Our defense helped us out real great and we just never quit." (HSB)


About his INT in overtime that ended the game, Newberry said:
"I was thinking about it all the way. I knew it was coming at me. I wanted him to throw it my way." (HA)

"I had great position almost the entire game, but I gave up that one for six. I just wanted to redeem myself for my team. We just kept believing, believing." (HSB)

Note: This was Newberry's 2nd 2-INT game of the season.


Unsure about how the voters will judge their win, Adam Leonard said:
"We won in a fashion that kind of shook us up a little. We don't know how the AP or coaches (voting in the polls) feel about this win, but we're just glad we got it." (SFC)

About how they never thought the game was lost, Adam Leonard said:
"Who said we were dead? Not us. We don't think that as a team." (HA)

About recovering the fumble with 2:56 left in the 4th quarter, Adam said:
"All I thought about was wrap up that ball and let's get our offense back on the field to win this thing. We wanted to give them the ball so they could do their job and get us into overtime." (HA)

"I just saw the ball on the ground, and as a defense we talk about turnovers at a key time in the game. Blaze made a great hit on the ball carrier." (HSB)

Focused on recovering the fumble and not even thinking about trying to run with it, Adam said:
"I was just thinking just get the possession, don't worry about a big (return) play, get it back to offense." (HSB)


About the fumble he caused late in the 4th quarter, Blaze said:
"The coaches told me we needed a big play, and I went in there. I saw the fullback coming at me, and I just had to whack him with all I could. I didn't go for the strip. I went for him. It was like poker. I went all in." (HA)

"Coach (Greg) McMackin told us we needed a big play. So, I knew I had to hit him, so I hit him with everything I had. When I heard him, I knew he felt it. He let out a big moan and I knew the ball was loose." (HA)

"Our team needed a big play out of me, Coach Mack (defensive coordinator Greg McMackin) told me that going on the field. It just so happened the fullback ran my way, the D-line did their job, and it was just me and him." (HSB)

"I saw the fullback, he's looking directly at me. I knew he was coming my way, so I already knew. I went with all my power and all my might and I went crush him. I heard him when I hit him, I heard him -- he felt it. Nice square hit." (HSB)

About having to miss their first 4 games and have limited playing time in their previous 2, Blaze said:
"I had a lot of frustrations. So it was good to unload on somebody." (HA)

"I was so tired of not being able to contribute that I really wanted to unload on somebody. It made me feel good." (HA)

About the play in which Callier fumbled, Blaze said:
"When they gave the ball to that fullback, I knew he was coming my way." (HA)

About how he will play in the NMSU game despite re-injuring his shoulder vs. SJSU, Blaze said:
"I'm not going to let that keep me out. I'll be there." (HSB)


About hitting the extra point to tie the game and send it into overtime, Dan Kelly said:
"You can't ice the iceman. It's just like any other kick. I did my job." (HA)

Quotes from SJSU

Disappointed with the loss, Tomey said:
"It was disappointing to lose to Boise State and this was even more disappointing. We played our butts off and that's good for us. But we lost and that's not good for us." (AP)

"The Boise game was disappointing, but this was more disappointing. I feel like the players do. We let one slip away." (SJMN)

"We had a great shot tonight, but the facts are that Hawaii made plays in the fourth quarter to win and we didn't. So they get the credit." (SJMN)

"It hurts like hell. For all we've been through this year, I think that was a tremendous effort. But you can't console yourself by the effort. You've got to finish in this game." (SJMN)

"The great thing about football is it feels like this. There's no almost. You did or you didn't. This wasn't about Colt Brennan or Hawaii, this was about us trying to stay in first place." (HSB)

"We thought we could win, and we had a chance to win. We just didn't get it done in the fourth quarter. You just have to hate the feeling, and if you hate it enough, you won't let it happen again." (SFC)

"We thought we could win. We had a chance to win. We just didn't get it done in the fourth quarter." (DS)

"For what all we've been through this year, I think that was a tremendous effort." (DS)

"We had a great shot but we didn't finish. You've got to finish. You just can't dissect a game like that and say this is a key play and that's a key play. The facts are … they made plays in the fourth quarter to win." (DS)

Praising Lowery, Tomey said:
"His two returns got us back in the game when we weren't doing much offensively." (HSB)

About the fumble late in the 4th quarter, Tomey said:
"I'm not into picking that play out and making that young man in that play feel bad. Maybe that's your job, but that's not my job. My job is to pick our guys up after something like that and let them know I love them and that I appreciate what they did." (HA)

About how they had not fumbled all season, Tomey said:
"This football team has played almost seven games and that's the first fumble we had this year. We were the only team in the nation without a fumble." (HA)

Note: It was their first fumble in more than 450 offensive plays!


About how they have to learn to finish games, Kevin Jurovich (2 TD receptions in this game) said:
"We have to learn how to play with a lead. We had a chance to put them away and we didn't get it done. It hurts to lose, but Hawaii made the plays when they needed to." (AP, CCT)

About his 7 catches for 117 yards and 2 TDs, Jurovich said:
"I don't really get too concerned with my individual stats. We didn't make plays down the stretch to win. That's what I'm angry about." (HSB)

"I don't really get too concerned with my individual stats. I obviously didn't do enough. We didn't make the plays down the stretch and that's what I'm angry about. We have to learn how to win and play with a lead." (DS)

About how their offense started rolling after Lowery scored his 2nd TD, Jurovich said:
"I'm not sure what it was. The second half it seemed we started clicking." (HSB)

"He's a great player. I see it every day in practice. Him and Christopher Owens -- those are two of the best cornerbacks I see." (HSB)


About the loss, Tafralis said:
"It hurts me more than I could ever describe to you. But it's over. We can't change it. I can't change anything I did." (SJMN)

"It's a loss. It hurts me more than I can ever describe, but it's over and I can't change it." (DS)

Praising Lowery for his punt return TD and INT TD to tie the score at 14-14, QB Adam Tafralis said:
"Dwight single-handedly brought this team back into the game." (SJMN, DS)

"Dwight single-handedly brought us back into the game. I wasn't doing anything." (HSB)


About what they can learn from this game, All-America CB Dwight Lowery said:
"We did everything we could to win this game. What we have to take away from this is, we can compete with anyone on our schedule. When the opportunity comes, we just have to make plays. I don't know whether it's because we haven't been in situations like that at crunch time or what. But everybody should be fighting to make the last plays, the plays to win the game." (SJMN)

"The biggest thing is we have a lot of young guys on this team. We can't hang our heads after this game." (SJMN)

About Colt, Lowery said:
"I don't feel like we had him frustrated. But he was aware of how good we were and how it wasn't going to be a walk in the park for him." (SJMN)

About how their secondary played well, but didn't get the job done, Lowery said:
"We did a good job, four interceptions. But we just didn't get the job done." (SJMN)

About his punt return for a TD, Lowery said:
"Any time you can make a big play in the kicking game is huge." (SJMN)

"Just like in practice, we try to make their punt team get to the middle of the field. That's exactly what happened." (HSB)

About his INT for a TD to start the 2nd half, Lowery said:
"If they score on that drive, it's 21-7. That really changed the momentum." (HSB)

Praising backup safety Andrew Ryan, Lowery said:
"When the (first-teamers) are out there at practice, he's the type of guy who will be 20 yards back doing his footwork and working on his reads. I think his hard work goes together with what you saw tonight." (HSB)


About how they had practiced for the exact play in which he got his INT, backup safety Andrew Ryan (who played in their nickle and dime packages) said:
"The whole practice week we had repped my first interception. I knew that the backside post was coming. Colt threw the ball right there." (HSB)

Proud of how their DBs played (even though Colt had 4 TDs and 545 yards!), Ryan said:
"I think our secondary can go out there and go against any quarterback and receivers in the nation." (HSB)


About how Fiesta Bowl scout Steve Horrel was impressed with UH, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said:
"He was impressed with the comeback and how they found a way to win a game that had seemed to have gotten away from them." (HA)