HSB = Honolulu Star-Bulletin
UH = University of Hawaii Athletics website
NV = University of Nevada Reno Athletics website
RGJ - Reno Gazette-Journal
NA = Nevada Appeal
MN = Maui News
AP = Associated Press
WB = The Warrior Beat
---------------------- Quotes from the UH coaches ------------------------------
Praising Colin Kaepernick, Mac said:
"He's just an outstanding player." (UH, NV)
About how the injury to Richard Torres hurt the defense, Mac said:
"We lost Torres early which was big. We had to go to some different packages." (UH, NV)
"(Losing Torres) really hurt us because he was big in our package. Early we were controlling their run because we were getting an extra man to the option. And when Torres went down it sort of took us out of our package." (HSB)
About how they improved through this loss, Mac said:
"We lost the game but got better as a football team." (UH, NV)
About how their interception in the end zone was a big play in the game, Mac said:
"The problem was it was inside the 20. It was a big turnaround." (RGJ)
Proud of how his team played in the game, Mac said:
"At a time like this what you have to do is you have to fight through the trouble. I think they stood up today. I think they played to the end. I think they fought against an excellent football team." (HA)
About their struggles this season, Mac said:
"You have to fight through the trouble." (UH, NV)
About how his team has dealt "amazingly well" with their adversity this season, Mac said:
"The players and coaches are very close, even though we're going through as much adversity as a program probably can. But the world is a tough place and everybody is going through adversity right now. It's through adversity that your character is tested, and I see a lot of character on this team." (HA)
About how they do not complain about the injuries, Mac said:
"There has been a rash of injuries such as I've never been around before. And these injuries are to guys who are outstanding players and leaders on this team. The thing is, when somebody gets injured, nobody sits around and complains," he said. "They get up and play. If a starter goes down, the next guy stands up and takes responsibility. That's what we do." (HA)
Proud of how they made the Hawaii Bowl last year, Mac said:
"We scrambled to get to the bowl game. I don't think people realize what we had to do to get to a bowl game last year." (HA)
About the losses they suffered after the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Mac said:
"The 2007 Sugar Bowl team was a good team, but everyone from that team is gone and they weren't replaced. Last year, we lost all of our offense. This year, we lost almost all of our defense. You can't win consistently without consistent players, and we didn't have a stockpile of players because we didn't recruit that year." (HA)
About how they have had to teach their inexperienced players a lot this season, Mac said:
"At Washington State, three-fourths of the team had never been on a (game) trip, so we had to teach them how to travel. In Vegas, a lot of them had never stayed away that long, so they had to learn how to handle that." (HA)
About how he's used to the pressure to win, Mac said:
"In our profession, you get evaluated every weekend. In my career, I've been evaluated every Saturday and Sunday, so I'm used to it." (HA)
About how they didn't make enough plays after the start of the game, Mac said:
"The important thing is making plays, and we were making them early and there were some we didn't finish." (HSB)
About their turnovers, Mac said:
"Yeah, we made mistakes, threw 2 interceptions and missed a field goal." (UH, NV)
''Yeah, we made mistakes, threw two interceptions and missed a field goal." (MN, AP)
About how their future is bright, Mac said:
"I think we are going to continue to get better." (UH, NV)
About how Alex Green's 10 carries for 70 yards might earn him the starting RB spot or at least more playing time, Mac said:
"As a coaching staff, we're going to have some discussions. But he ran the ball real hard and we'd like to find a way to get him in there more." (HA)
About how Green needed to improve on his blocking and is getting better, Mac said:
"He really looked good. We know he can run. He needs to get better on the blocking, but he is getting better." (HSB)
About not going for it on 4th-and-2 from the Warriors' 45, Mac said:
"If we don't get it, we'll be in pretty bad position. If it had been fourth-and-1, I would have gone for it. ... We were pretty much playing good defense. I thought we'd put it on the defense." (WB)
About not going for it on 4th-and-8 while down 14 points, Mac said:
"What was it — 8, 10 yards? If we go for it, and don't make it, we don't get anything. (By kicking) we get a field goal, at least." (WB)
Praising Jovonte Taylor's big-play potential, Ron Lee said:
"He has that big-play potential. But he's had some nagging injuries that he has had to fight through. It was one thing after another for a while but the main thing is he has been getting in practice time lately. That wasn't happening earlier and it was hard from him to get better when he wasn't able to practice. But he has stepped it up and it shows." (HA)
About how it is frustrating that they cannot finish drives even though they can move the ball down the field, Ron Lee said:
"We've always known we could move the ball. It's frustrating because we don't finish. It's always one thing or another." (HSB)
About how they can still make the Hawaii Bowl if they win the rest of their games, Nick Rolovich said:
"We don't want to be telling (players) about bowl games, but it is possible if we get a win and get on a roll. As coaches and players, we all feel it could still happen. Mack believes in us. He
doesn't enjoy losing and I know he's trying to win. He's not looking the other way, and as a staff we know it's unacceptable the way we've been losing." (HA)
About the 4-yard TD pass to Taylor to cut the deficit to 28-21, Rolo said:
"That throw-and-catch to Jovonte was big time. There was little window and (Moniz) got it in there." (HSB)
RGJ Note: "As former Nevada coach Chris Tormey exited the Hawaii locker room after the Rainbow Warriors' 31-21 loss to the Wolf Pack on Saturday, he had three guests waiting for him. They were old friends -- a husband and wife with their young child -- from the time Tormey spent as Nevada's head coach earlier this decade."
After seeing the young child, Chris Tormey said to his parents:
"He's getting big" (RGJ)
Tormey said that it was not strange to use the visitor's locker room in Reno because he had done so when he coached Idaho:
"But it was good to see some old friends." (RGJ)
About his 4 years that he coached at Nevada, Tormey said:
"I loved the people in Reno. But it was a struggle from start to finish. If I had to capsulate it, that's what I would say. It was a struggle from start to finish." (RGJ)
About shaking hands with Chris Ault after the game, the man who fired him and took over his job, Tormey said:
"I just shook his hand and said, 'Good job.' I told him I would like to touch base some time." (RGJ)
About how he'd love to be a head coach again, Tormey said:
"I'd love to have that opportunity again, but first thing's first: we have to find a way to win." (RGJ)
Happy with the effort the Warriors gave in the game but unhappy with the result, Tormey said:
"I think (the losing has) been tough for these kids, but I thought they competed their hearts out today. They laid it out on the line, but we got beat by a better team. We probably made too many mistakes to win the game, but nobody ever plays an error-free game. We would have needed to play an error-free game to win today." (RGJ)
--------------------- Quotes from the UH players -------------------------------
About how they need a win to get their confidence back, Bryant Moniz said:
"It's rough with the number of guys who have gone down. Every loss hurts. We've got our backs up against the wall — maybe even behind the wall — but we've got to find a way to get a win and get our confidence back." (HA)
About how his INTs were clostly, Moniz said:
"I think our team played good overall, but a few plays make a difference. Those two interceptions, those turned out to be 14 points for the other team. (Pilares) got a good release off the line of scrimmage and I thought he would be open. I put too much touch on the ball, kind of guided it, should have just threw it." (HSB)
HA Note: "Fifteen minutes after the final whistle, quarterback Bryant Moniz was inconsolable, his brown eyes moistened with emotion, his voice reduced to a quiver. Moniz was slumped over a laundry bin, awaiting his turn to explain yet another error-filled setback for the Warriors."
Blaming himself for the loss, Bryant Moniz said:
"I'm just bummed. I take this loss on myself. Those two picks turned into two (Nevada) touchdowns. I could throw 40 good passes. But if two aren't there, that could make a difference. The only numbers that matter are on the scoreboard." (HA)
Consoling Moniz after the game as Moniz was blaming himself for the loss, Alex Green said:
"It's not on Mo. We're all in it together." (HA)
About how the losses are frustrating, Green said:
"It's so frustrating. We practice hard all week, we come out there and bust our tails in the game and it's still a loss. It's frustrating. We just have to keep working harder and harder and harder." (HSB)
About how he's been working on improving his blocking, Green said:
"I've been working hard on that, trying to learn from (Jayson) Rego, Leon and the others." (HA)
About how he got 10 carries in this game, the most of any Warrior RB this season, Green (who regularly got 20 carries in a game at his JC) said:
"That felt good. I liked getting the ball like that (yesterday), but I'll do whatever the team needs." (HA)
About the confidence they got from their quick 14-0 lead, Jovonte Taylor said:
"We felt we had the game." (UH, NV)
About his 71-yard TD catch and run, Taylor said:
"Good execution is what it came down to." (HA)
"I knew from the (defensive back's) angle I could go and there was plenty of daylight." (HA)
"It was a simple hitch route. The DB was playing hard, inside man and I just hitched up and caught the ball and he took a bad angle, and before you know it I was up the sideline. I've been waiting for plays like that since Day 1. I've been waiting to make big plays and today was that day." (HSB)
About the big plays he made in the game, Taylor (6 catches for 109 yards and 2 TDs) said:
"The coaches told me they needed me to make some plays, especially now that (Bradley) is out for the year." (HA)
About his ankle has been hurting him since it was injured in the UNLV game, Taylor said:
"I'm still fighting through that right now. For the most part, it's still there. That's something I'm going to be dealing with the whole year. I just have to keep sucking it up." (HSB)
About how the loss hurts more than his injured ankle, Taylor said:
"The loss hurts a lot more than the ankle. The ankle I can deal with, the loss is hard. It hurts, it really does." (HSB)
About the game overall, Taylor said:
"We didn't make enough plays after the first quarter." (UH, NV, MN, AP)
"We came out and executed, but before you know it we started breaking down." (HSB)
About their struggles in the red zone on offense, Taylor said:
"We just couldn't finish in the red zone. Our defense played a good game; our offense just couldn't get into the end zone" (UH, NV)
About how the losses and injuries are mentally draining for the team, Inoke Funaki said:
"We're trying to dig deep but you can just feel it. We're trying to plug away but there are a lot of things — the losses, the injuries — going on subconsciously. It can be mentally draining. Sometimes it's like watching yourself go downhill. Once one bad thing happens — like we turn the ball over or we give up a big play — it's like 'Not again!' Your heart drops." (HA)
About how the team supports Mac, Inoke said:
"As the main guy, he's the one who gets criticized the most, but he's always been there for us and we're definitely there for him. There is a lot of frustration and discouragement right now, but we've come together to try and find solutions. Negativity is like bacteria, and we're trying not to let it infect us." (HA)
About how their struggles can be a valuable learning experience, Inoke said:
"If we can get through our personal struggles, if we can stay together and find a way to win, we'll be better because of the experience. The will is there, we're just looking for the way." (HA)
About how Nevada players would yell out a sound that resulted in 3 false-start penalties for UH, Aaron Kia said:
"They were doing that the whole game. We were all jumping. We can't blame anybody but ourselves." (HA)
About the four penalties he was assessed, Kia said:
"I think some of the penalties called were not penalties." (WB)
Kia said that 3 OL might jump early and he'll be penalized because:
"there's a target on my back. A lot of the focus was on me."
Asked why he's watched so closely, Kia said:
"I must be a good-looking guy." (WB)
About how they tried to focus their D to stop Kaepernick but weren't able to do so, Blaze Soares said:
"We tried to key on (Kaepernick), but he's an extreme athlete. He's one of the best I've ever faced. We've never seen anybody like him. He takes two strides to go 5 yards." (HA)
About how Kaepernick is hard to stop, Corey Paredes said:
"It's tough to stop him. It's the two-to-one ratio: one step for him is like two of our steps." (HA)
About being called offsides on the kickoff that would have resulted in a touchback when the score was 28-21 (instead, Nevada ended up getting the ball at the 45 yard line), Chris Black said:
"I think it was a bad call, but I should have been more alert. I have to see it on film, but I don't think I was (offsides)." (HA)
About being told to squib kick the ball right after he had kicked the ball 8 yards deep in the end zone for a touchback, Scott Enos (who ended up kicking the ball out of bounds on the squib kick) said:
"It's tough, especially when you're coming off the field with a touchback, and you have to re-kick it, and you're 5 yards back." (HA)
About the 42-yard FG he missed, Scott Enos said:
"I just pushed it right." (HA)
About the high snap he had that resulted in Dunnachie's 7-yard punt, Luke Ingram said:
"Bad snaps happen, dude." (WB)
-------------------- Quotes from the Nevada coaches --------------------------
Happy with their defense, Nevada head coach Chris Ault said:
"I thought our defense stood up and did a nice job today. We made some improvements. We made some critical, consistent plays. We came up with some major turnovers. We were struggling all year but we overcame adversity today." (UH, NV)
"We've been struggling all year on defense. That's (one of) the best passing teams ... that we've faced. We needed to see results. The defense stood up." (RGJ)
"Take away the first two (drives) and the defense made nice improvement today. They made plays and they did it consistently." (RGJ)
"Take away those first two touchdowns and our defense made some nice improvement today. Coming into this game we needed to see some results and some improvement on defense and we did." (NA)
"The defense made big plays and they did it consistently." (NA)
Unhappy with how their offense played, Ault said:
"We were off. Although we had 312 rushing yards it seemed like 190. I am disappointed in our execution and the fundamentals; we have done well all year, just not tonight." (UH, NV)
"The offense, I thought, was off all day. Kap was very average on our audible system and execution." (RGJ)
"If you would have told me we had (312) yards I would have said it was more like 185, 190. That's how quiet it was. That's nothing to sneeze at. That's hard to do." (RGJ)
"If you would have asked, 'What do you think you rushed for today?' I would have said it was 185-190 yards. When I saw it was 312 I couldn't believe it. But it was a quiet 312." (NA)
"Our expectations are this high. I'm just disappointed in some fundamental things that we had been doing well all season. Kap's audibles were not on the money today. We just got in a rut and
couldn't get out of it." (NA)
Praising UH, Ault said:
"They played well and hard, they are the best passing team we've played since Notre Dame." (UH, NV)
''They played well and hard, they are the best passing team we've played since Notre Dame (which beat Nevada 35-0 on Sept. 5)." (MN, AP)
Very upset about their fumbled punt return, Ault (who felt that Taua should have called for a fair catch) said:
"That was the second time that happened and it will be the last." (UH, NV)
"I'm really upset by that. We work harder on special teams than we ever have in my career. We put him in there for a reason. ... It won't happen again." (RGJ)
About their two interceptions, including the one that Miller made in the end zone, Ault said:
"As a whole the defense came up with some big interceptions. Doyle's interception down in the end zone was big." (RGJ)
------------------ Quotes from the Nevada players ----------------------------
About the win, Colin Kaepernick said:
"Another win, another win in conference, offense didn't play as well, but we got that win." (UH, NV, HSB, MN, AP)
"It's another win. We're undefeated in conference." (RGJ)
About how they didn't have as much success on offense like they did in their recent games, Kaepernick said:
"Offensively we weren't in rhythm like we have been the last few weeks." (NA)
"We played well when we had to." (NA)
About their final scoring drive (8 plays, 5 minutes of game time, and the game-clinching FG), Kaepernick said:
"We wanted to end it in a touchdown. But all in all, we did what we thought we would." (UH, NV)
"We said we were going to go down there and try to run the clock out. Our defense shouldn't have to go on the field again. We didn't quite do what we wanted to do. We wanted to end it with a touchdown, and walk off the field like that." (HA)
"We played well enough to pull out the win." (HA)
Praising their OL, Kaepernick said:
"Our offensive line, they have been dominating up front, I think everyone knows that if our offensive plays well up front, we will have a better game." (UH, NV)
About how his 2 TDs rushing and 2 TDs passing put him at more than 200 career points in each category, which only 5 other players in D-IA history have done, Kaepernick said:
"I didn't know that. It's just the design of our offense. The quarterback gets a lot of accolades in any offense. It shows how good our offensive line has been since I got here and how good the players are around me." (RGJ)
Happy with the win, Vai Taua said:
"Most of all, it was a win. We have a lot of work to do but we definitely played alright." (UH, NV)
About how their offense needs to improve, Taua said:
"We played all right on offense. But we have some work to do." (NA)
About their last drive, Taua said:
"There were six minutes and I knew we had to hold the ball for as long as we could." (UH, NV)
"We knew we had to hold the ball as long as possible and get points out of the drive." (HA)
About how UH didn't want him, Taua said that UH recruited him:
"For a little bit. They said I was too small." (HA)
"They told me I was too small (during recruiting). They talked to me for a little while." (HA)
About how they wanted to beat UH to enhance their chance to make the Hawaii Bowl, Taua said:
"There was a lot of talk in the locker room about it. A lot of the seniors went (in 2007) and they've been telling the others guys about it." (HA)
"The guys who went say Hawai'i is the best game to go to." (HA)
About how this win gets them closer to a bowl game, Taua said:
"We've still got to win some games but this was a big one." (HA)
About his 30-yard TD catch and run on a screen pass (his first reception TD this year), Taua (who had a game-high 127 rushing yards on 19 carries) said:
"I was kind of tired. I got some nice down-field blocks. We needed a big play." (RGJ)
About the muffed punt he had early in the second quarter, his second muffed punt of the season, Taua (who didn't return punts for Nevada before this season) said:
"It always happens whenever I try to take it (for a return). I had room. I was trying too many moves too fast." (RGJ)
About Miller's interception, Taua said:
"Those are momentum shifters when you get a turnover, and that was a big momentum shifter. That's big for the defense and it gets the offense juiced." (RGJ)
About the game, Doyle Miller said:
"I felt the defense and the offense played really well. We ended up doing what we needed to do in the fourth quarter to get the win." (UH, NV)
About his first start, Miller said:
"Nerves come with it. But when you are in the game, we relate back to practice." (UH, NV)
About how he was surprised that the QB threw that ball that he intercepted, Miller said:
"I was just re‐routing my guy. I was surprised the quarter back even threw it." (UH, NV)
About how his teammate Bethea tackled him to prevent him from taking the INT out of the end zone, Miller said:
"I was thinking about taking it out, but I saw a lot of guys coming at me. Then I decided to take a knee and he decided to tackle me." (RGJ)
About tackling his teammate Miller in the end zone after his interception, LB Mike Bethea said:
"That was a first one. In practice I tackle them sometimes but that was the first one." (RGJ)
About Miller's interception, Bethea said:
"He picked off that same pass like five times this week in practice. It was nice to see something go from practice to field. It set a different tone on defense for the game." (UH, NV)
"That was huge. They had a nice little drive." (RGJ)
"That was huge. Doyle probably picked that pass off about five times in practice. It was nice to see something go from practice to the field." (HA)
"Doyle probably picked that pass off about five times this week in practice, and it just was nice to see something go from practice to the field. Like I said, they score that touchdown, that's a big touchdown. It gives them the momentum ... that probably set a tone for the defense on finishing the game." (RGJ)
"You know, Doyle picked off that (same type of) pass about five times in practice this week. It was nice to see something go from the practice field to (the game)." (NA)
Happy that they held UH to 21 points, LB Mike Bethea said:
"This is the No. 3 offensive pass team in the nation. It was nice to make plays and held them down 21 points." (UH, NV)
About how the defense got together after UH went up 14-0, Bethea said:
"We just got everybody together on the sideline and said, 'Is this a game where somebody scores 70 points or are we going to step up? We stepped up and did the job." (NA)
About his first career TD, Tray Session said:
"I was really excited. I didn't know if I scored or not, because my face mask was in my face, but once people started congratulating me I knew I scored." (UH, NV)
"I was real excited. At first I wasn't sure if I scored. When I got up my facemask was all up in my face and I couldn't see." (RGJ)
Session said that he was going to call his brother (Oakland Raiders WR Samie Parker) to tell him:
"I finally got in the end zone." (RGJ)
About how they finished the game well, Session said:
"Coach Ault always talks about finishing and I feel that we started finishing in the third and fourth quarter. When we all play together, we are a very strong team." (UH, NV)
Praising their defense, Session said:
"I'm proud that the defense was able to bounce back." (UH, NV)
"Our defense kept us in the game." (NA)
About their offense, Session said:
"Start fast and finish is our motto. We started out slow but we were still able to finish." (UH, NV)
"We struggled on offense a little bit but we also got the job done." (NA)
"You know, it's hard to score 70 points every week. We played well down the stretch." (NA)
Happy to get a win over UH for the first time in his college career, Jared Silva-Purcell (who was their long snapper and on the kickoff units) said:
"It means a lot, it's a big win for the team. Every year we came short, so it feels real good." (HSB)
--------------- Other information about the game ----------------------
Ferd provided this stat:
"Opponents have scored on all of UH's last eight turnovers while the Warriors have scored on but three of their foes' 14 all season." (HA)
About how he will evaluate Mac after the season, JD said:
"I'll make an evaluation when all of the information is in at the end of the season, just as I do for every coach." (HA)
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