Sunday, October 25, 2009

Quotes from the Hawaii vs. Boise State game 10/24/09

HA = Honolulu Advertiser
HSB = Honolulu Star-Bulletin
UH = University of Hawaii Athletics website
IS = Idaho Statesman
IPT = Idaho Press-Tribune
AP = Associated Press

------------------ Quotes from the UH coaches -----------------------

Giving credit to BSU and praising their OL, Mac said:
"You've got to give a lot of credit to Boise State, they are an excellent football team. I made some notes of things I really believe in. We're a young team and were trying to get better. I thought our whole offensive line did an incredible job today." (UH)


About how BSU took advantage of their mistakes, Mac said:
"Boise's a good football team and I thought we played with them physically, but they took advantage of our mistakes." (HSB)


Citing their OL as a positive in this game, Mac said:
"You look at the score and some people say a lot of negatives. I look for the positives. We only allowed one or two sacks. They are the 16th ranked defense in the country." (UH)


About playing their 4th-string QB Shane Austin, Mac said:
"Were down to our fourth QB and I thought he came in and did as good as he could. He doesn't get a lot of reps in practice, but he got some today. " (UH)

"We were down to our fourth quarterback. I thought he came in and did as good as he could." (IPT, AP)

"I think he's a talent and a good quarterback, but this is too soon to throw him into the ballgame." (HSB)

"It's a tough deal. Your fourth-team quarterback doesn't get any reps. (Although Austin has practiced with the second team since the Louisiana Tech game, when Moniz was thrust into a starting role). It's basically he was back there watching, and all of a sudden he's gotta go in and play. How would you like to do that?" (HSB)


About losing Moniz to a concussion, Mac said:
"We were moving the ball, and then our quarterback goes out. That's a tough deal." (HA)


About how the game got out of control, Mac said:
"Things piled on us early." (IPT, AP)


About Shane Austin entering the game after Moniz was injured, QB coach Nick Rolovich said:
"Obviously, it's a tough situation for him to be in. With Bryant going down, Shane had to step in, but (Boise State) is a good team with a good defense. He doesn't get a whole lot of (repetitions) at practice and remember he started out as our No. 4 guy." (HA)


"It's never ideal, but you gotta be ready to start whenever. That's the toughest defense we've seen so far. I have to give them some credit. I think we just hurt ourselves a little bit." (HSB)


About Austin did OK in the game and should improve after this playing time, Rolo said:
"I thought he did OK, thought he had a little bit of nerves. He took some chances and got a little desperate at times, but he did some good things for his first time playing in a Division I game and I think he'll get better from here." (HA)


------------------ Quotes from the UH players ------------------------

About the tough loss, Shane Austin said:
"The loss is tough on us all. To work so hard in practice all week and the game result is a loss. All we can do now is go back to the film room and see what we need to do to get better. Come out on Monday and get to work and prepare for Nevada." (UH)


About how they did a lot of things well in the game, Austin said:
"There were a lot of things we did well in this game. We need to correct our mistakes and get better." (UH)


About playing in his first game, Austin said:
"Theres always those first game jitters, but I got one game under my belt and the monkey off my back so now its time to get to work and get better." (UH)


"I always kind of had that in the back of my head. I figured my first game would be against a big-time team, maybe Boise State or USC next year. I never knew for sure, but I always had that feeling, even (Friday) night. I told myself, 'Just get your mind right, because you might be going in.' " (HSB)


''There's always those first-game jitters, but I got one game under my belt and the monkey off my back so now its time to get to work and get better." (AP)


About how their offense drove down the field in his second drive until his INT in the end zone, Austin said:
"We put together, I felt, a pretty good drive and their defense made a great play on it. We've got to give a lot of credit to the Boise State defense. They're a great program. The safety made a great play on it. It was up for grabs. I thought we had the touchdown at first." (HSB)


About how their offense did not execute, Greg Salas said:
"We turned the ball over a lot on offense. We didn't get it done again. It comes down to execution. Once again, we were not executing like we should be." (HA)


About how he knew that BSU would try to strip the ball to cause fumbles, but he fumbled on his first touch on their first drive, Leon Wright-Jackson said:
"I should have covered up the ball better. Boise State is known for stripping. Everybody knows that. They're a technically good team. ... That's my fault. It's kind of like a brain fart." (HA)


About how BSU took advantage of their mistakes, LWJ said:
"They're a good football team. Give them a chance, and they're going to score. They're very disciplined. We made a lot of mistakes, and they capitalized on it." (HA)


About how BSU capitalized on their mistakes, Alex Green said:
"We hurt ourselves over and over. Boise State's a good team. They keyed on our mistakes and the scoreboard showed it." (HSB)


About their TD in the 4th quarter was important for their team morale, Jon Medeiros (who caught the TD pass) said:
"It was the fourth quarter and all of us felt like we needed to make a play out there, we needed to get on the board. We had our opportunities earlier in the game, but we didn't execute like how we wanted to, so when we got down in that red-zone area again, we had to take advantage of it." (HA)


Praising how Shane Austin played, Medeiros said:
"I think he handled things pretty well. He seemed cool, calm, collected. Now that he has game experience, we need to jell with him as a receiving corps." (HSB)


About his play in the game, Medeiros said:
"I just wanted to execute well. We came out with the mentality that we're going to put up points tonight. It didn't happen. Offensively, we made a lot of mistakes, but that's things that can be fixed." (HSB)


About how they can build off of that late TD, Kealoha Pilares said:
"We can build off of that for next week, but I just think that we need to stop beating ourselves. Everything that could have went bad, went bad. It's kind of hard to win when we have so many turnovers like that." (HA)


About how they did well on third downs early in the game, Richard Torres said:
"Coming into this game coach told us that third down plays will be crucial. That we need to stop them on third downs and get our offense on the field. We were doing exactly that in the first part of the game, we came in fired up. In the end we had a couple missed assignments and blown coverages which led to big plays. You can't do that against a team like Boise State. The defense played their tails off tonight." (UH)

''Coming into this game coach told us that third down plays will be crucial, that we need to stop them on third downs and get our offense on the field. 'We were doing exactly that in the first part of the game, we came in fired-up. In the end we had a couple missed assignments and blown coverages which led to big plays. You can't do that against a team like Boise State.'' (AP)


About how their players need to stick together, Torres said:
"We have to stay together, tighten up as a family. Now it's just us against the world. As long we've got each other, we can get through anything." (HSB)


About attending his first game since his injury and two surgeries, Greg Alexander said:
"It's not too painful now, more annoying. There's peaks and valleys, but I'll be all right." (HSB)


-------------- Quotes from the Boise State coaches -----------------

Crediting the turnovers their defense got for enabling them to win at Aloha Stadium, BSU head coach Chris Petersen said:
"This a very hard place to play, and I think six turnovers is the reason that we were able to get such a commanding lead. I give credit to our defense; when we play like that on defense we'll be hard to stop." (UH)


Praising their D for the turnovers, Petersen said:
"When our defense gets six turnovers , we'll be be hard to beat. They were flying around. Very physical tonight. Really thought they stepped up their game." (HA)

"Six turnovers is the reason we were able to get such a commanding lead. We play defense like that and we'll be hard to stop." (HSB)

"Six turnovers is the reason we were able to get such a commanding lead. When we play like that on defense, we'll be hard to stop." (IS)

"Tons of credit to our defense. If we play that way on defense, we will be hard to stop." (IPT, AP)


About why they had to play Kellen Moore all game, Petersen said:
"We only have two quarterbacks; (backup QB) Mike (Couglin) got dinged on his one carry and they wouldn't let him go back in the game, so we had to play (starting QB) Kellen the whole time." (UH)

"We only have two quarterbacks and (Coughlin) got dinged on his one carry. (The doctors) wouldn't let him go back into the game." (HSB)


About giving freshman RB his first carries in a college game (he ended up with 23 carries for 122 yards), Petersen said:
"We didn't know really what to expect out of Matt (Kaiserman). It was really good to get him in there and get him some meaningful carries, get him into a rhythm, and he did a very nice job." (UH)

"Matt's practiced well the last couple weeks and it was really good to get him in and get him some meaningful carries, get him into a rhythm and he did a really nice job." (HA)

"We didn't know really what to expect out of Matt. Matt probably didn't know. He's been out so long. He practiced well the last couple of weeks and it was really good to get him in there and get him some meaningful carries. He did a really nice job. He was patient in there, finding his seams and falling forward most of the time." (IS)

IS Note: "After the score, he was greeted by plenty of teammates who know the determination Kaiserman has shown to become a part of the program and get on the field."


Praising his players for staying focused in Hawaii, Petersen said:
"This is a hard place to play; the guys did a great job of really focusing in and being mature about it." (UH)


About the 115 yards and 3 TDs that Titus Young had receiving, Petersen said:
"He's an explosive player and he helps us stretch things so we can get it going underneath." (HA)


Unhappy about their mistakes (6 fumbled snaps including one for a safety and 2 unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties), Petersen said:
"If we can eliminate some sixth-grade penalties and figure out how to snap the ball, we might be in business." (IS)


About how they have had a problem with fumbled snaps all season, Petersen said:
"We'll get it fixed. That's all I can tell you. We will fix it for sure." (IS)


Asked why can't both TCU and BSU go to BCS bowls this year, Petersen said:
"You need to solve that for us. I don't know." (IS)


Asked if both BSU and TCU would go to BCS bowls this year, TCU head coach Gary Patterson said:
"If we could win out and Boise could win out, you'd have two teams that are pretty good football teams, this might be one of those years that this might get done. Obviously, that's not how (the BCS) does things, but if we were to ever do things for the right reasons, maybe it might get done." (IS)


--------------- Quotes from the Boise State players -----------------

About their pass to TE Tyler Shoemaker for their first TD of the game, QB Kellen Moore said:
"They brought the heat. We had a nice little design to get Shoe in the flat. They were coming all out, and I found him." (HA)


About the big cheer from the crowd when UH got a safety to make the score 44-2, Kellen Moore said:
"that was interesting. But you get points (so) you have to be excited about that." (HA)


About their 6 fumbled snaps, Moore said:
"Couple me, couple centers. … That's certainly something we've got to clean up." (IS)


About the pass their punter Brotzman threw, Moore said:
"He's been doing our can drills as a quarterback. We throw cans into the back corner of the end zone on Thursdays. He's been struggling the last two weeks." (HA)


Praising the way their defense played against UH, second year QB Moore said:
"It was huge. It's the second year in a row they've played well." (HA)

"We got things rolling, which was nice, and we got in a rhythm and the defense played well. That's two games in a row this defense has played well (against Hawaii)." (HSB)


Praising how Titus Young played in this game, Moore said:
"Titus is doing a great job for us, not just in the vertical game, but some short stuff and he's able to create some things and make some stuff happen." (HA)


About how they needed to play well in this game after struggling for their previous 2 games, Moore said:
"We needed this win for ourselves. We don't feel like we played that well the last two weeks." (HSB)

"We needed a big victory for ourselves. We certainly feel we didn't play up to our potential the last two weeks, and I think we can feel pretty good about our performance and get at it on both sides of the ball and we're excited about that." (IPT, AP)

"We just needed a big victory for ourselves, I think. We certainly feel like we haven't played up to our potential the last two weeks and we feel pretty good about that performance (against Hawaii). We were able to get after them on both sides of the ball." (IS)

"We just needed a big victory for ourselves, I think. We certainly feel like we haven't played up to our potential in the last two weeks and we feel pretty good about that performance. We were able to get after them on both sides of the ball and we're excited about that." (IS)


About how their offense played well in the game and enabled a lot of reserves to play, Moore said:
"Had some good protection and we mixed it up real well. We got a lot of variety in there and got a lot of guys involved and it was good stuff." (HSB)


Proud of the way their team focused on the game, Moore said:
"We're really proud of how we came out here. It's a totally different environment than we are used to. If you relax too much, you get into the vacation atmosphere. I think we focused well." (IPT, AP)

"We're real excited about the way we played, especially coming out here. It's certainly a different environment than we're used to. If you relax too much you get into the vacation-type atmosphere. But I think we focused well." (IS)


About breaking their 2-game losing streak at Aloha Stadium, Moore said:
"It's always a tough trip here. We're excited to come out like this." (IS)


About how they need to eliminate their mistakes but are happy with the number of points they scored, Moore said:
"There's still little mistakes, details, we'll always look at that stuff. But any time you're able to put up points like that, you're happy." (IS)


Happy that Matt Kaiserman finally got to play, Moore said:
"It was nice to get Kais rolling there a little bit. He's been waiting for about 10 years. It's big." (IS)


About preparing to play even though he hadn't played since high school in 2006, RB Matt Kaiserman said:
"They told me to be ready and the last thing you want to do is come in unprepared. You practice all week and I practiced for two and a half years for this. You got to be ready." (IS)


About finally getting to play and becoming their fourth rusher to go over 100 yards this season, Kaiserman (23 carries for 122 yards and a TD in the game) said:
"It wasn't perfect, but I felt like I was out there competing at my best level. For that, I'm happy." (IS)


About finally getting to play, Kaiserman said:
"It's hard to describe exactly what I'm feeling right now. I don't think it's quite set in yet. I told myself, if anything, good, bad or ugly, to get my shoulders downhill and break some tackles and by no means to go down on first contact. And it happened that way." (IS)


IPT Note: "Kaiserman, a Skyview graduate, had not played in a game since 2006 when he suited up for the Hawks. After grayshirting the 2007 season, Kaiserman redshirted last season and missed the first six games of this season because of post-concussion symptoms."

IS Note: "Kaiserman impressed during spring practice this year, but suffered a concussion during fall practice that kept him off the field for the first six games of the season. He was cleared to play against Tulsa, but did not see action in that game. But this week, he got a sense that he might be needed. Backup running back Doug Martin was battling a pulled muscle and reserve Jarvis Hodge did not make the trip to Hawaii because of a death in his family. That left starter Jeremy Avery and Kaiserman on the depth chart at running back."

About how they hadn't used their fake punt play for a while, punter Kyle Brotzman (who completed a shovel pass for 30 yards in 2007) said:
"It's good to see it get use. I wish we could've gotten some points out of it." (HA)

"It was nice since we've had it in our toolbox for the last three years. It's finally nice to get to use it. I wish we would have come up with some points after, though." (IS)


About his 72-yard punt on his only punt in the game, Brotzman said:
"They've got two (returners) back and they were pretty shallow. We've been emphasizing hitting it long, getting our guys to cover and getting our net average back up. … I decided to put it over their heads." (IS)

IS Note: "The boot helped the Broncos improve to third in the nation in net punting. Brotzman would rank second in the nation in punting (47.1-yard average) if he had enough attempts to qualify."


About how they can audible out of the fake if the other team is prepared for it, Brotzman said:
"We check out of it if they cover something we don't like." (HA)

Remembering how they lost the last time they played UH in Aloha Stadium, safety Jeron Johnson (2 INTs and a fumble recovery) said:
"The last time we came on the island, we got whupped on pretty good. It feels good to get a 'W' over here." (HA)


About the INT he got on a deep pass over the middle for Medeiros, Johnson said:
"That was my assignment all game long — the 3 vertical. He threw it right to me." (HA)


About how they practiced stripping the ball after not getting a turnover in their previous 2 games, Johnson said:
"We've been practicing all week on stripping the ball out and creating turnovers, and not just having them handed to us. We created turnovers." (HA)

"It was just capitalizing on opportunities. We've been practicing all week on stripping the ball out. It was creating turnovers and not having them handed to us." (HA)

"We just capitalized on our opportunities. The key was creating turnovers and not just having them handed to us." (HSB)

"It just motivates you to get another turnover. If somebody gets one, you want to get a second. If someone gets a second, you want to get a third." (HSB)

"You get one, you want to get another one. You get two, you want to get another. That's how it was all night. We just kept fighting, trying to get the ball." (IPT, AP)


About being lined up 15 yards from the line of scrimmage and being told to keep everything in front of him, Johnson said:
"It worked perfectly." (HA)

"(BSU assistant Justin) Wilcox came up with a good game plan for our defense. It worked perfect for me. I complained a little bit because I thought I wouldn't see much action all week. I got a lot of action, (though) not with making tackles that I want, but I want the ball in my hands more than anything." (HA)

IS Note: "Safety Jeron Johnson said that he complained all week about the defensive game plan. Defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox had him playing center field - "deep as the deepest" receiver was Wilcox's mantra to Johnson - and Johnson worried he wasn't going to be involved enough for his liking. No need to worry. Johnson finished with just one tackle, but he had two interceptions, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery."


About how his job was to line up deep and read the QB, Johnson said:
"It worked out for us." (HA)


About taping the words "Non" and "Stop" under his eyes during the game, Johnson said:
"Just non-stop all night, relentless. That's the attitude you have to have all night." (HA)


About the 9 points UH scored, Johnson said:
"We definitely wanted the shutout, but we got the 'W,' so that's all that matters." (HA)


About how this was their 4th road game in their last 5 games, Johnson said:
"It was definitely draining on our bodies - with school, missing a lot of school, and traveling. And it's not like we were going to Idaho State. We were on the road pretty far. We stayed mentally tough and got through it. That's football. There's going to be obstacles placed in front of you." (IS)


About the turnovers they created (after not getting a single turnover in their past 2 games), nickel Winston Venable (6 tackles and a forced fumble) said:
"You can stress it in practice, but you can't really ask for them. You've got to make it happen." (IS)


About defending UH's receivers 1-on-1, including Greg Salas, the 223-pound Venable said:
"I'm not the typical DB type. We did more man coverage than I probably ever played in my life. Man coverage is not easy." (IS)


About how this is a good win for their fans, Venable said:
"It's a good win for the fans to show we can put together a solid win." (IS)

"It's a good win for the fans to see that we can put together a solid win where people aren't stressing as much." (IS)

IS Note: "Venable did just fine. He finished with six tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup."


Asked if voters will use TCU's win over them in the Poinsettia Bowl last year to put TCU over BSU in the pools, Venable said:
"That's out of our control. What we can control is winning these six or seven games we have left. We know our next opponent. If we don't get by them, we're out of the picture. We'll go game by game and inch by inch." (IS)


---------------- Other notes from the game ---------------------

Dave Reardon wrote about Coach McMackin:
"He even said that he believes his players won the war in the trenches, and that if it hadn't been for nine turnovers -- actually, Coach, just six, and that's important -- things might have been
different.

Even if it's just a slip of the tongue, saying that your offense lost the ball three more times than it did is insulting to half of your team. It's also insulting to the fans to tell them via the media that Shane Austin isn't getting practice reps at quarterback when he's been getting the second-team snaps for three weeks.

Yes, any sensible person would agree with you that it was too early for Austin, a fourth-string, sophomore former walk-on, to be out there, especially against Boise State. But don't imply he hasn't had any work with the first team when he has." (HSB)

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