Quotes from the UH-Utah State game 10/23/10

HSA = Honolulu Star-Advertiser
SLT = Salt Lake Tribune
DN = Deseret News

Note: Neither the UH Athletics website nor the Utah State website had any postgame quotes.

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

About how they want to earn their bowl spot as early as possible since they weren't able to get the bowl bid last year, Mack said:
"We really want to get that seventh win (for bowl eligibility) as soon as possible. Last year we didn't get it and I felt so bad about that. So we want to get it as early as we can. That's one of our goals. And we want to win as many as we can." (HSA)


About David Graves scoring a TD on special teams to open the scoring in the 2nd half and give them a 21-7 lead, Mack said:
"I call him my utility guy." (HSA)


About holding Utah State to just 181 yards, Mack said:
"That was one of the best defensive efforts, if not the best, that I've been around for a long time." (HSA)


About using their "Belly" running play (inside run with zone blocking), Rolo said:
"Gordy (Shaw, UH's line coach) printed shirts that read: Play as a nickel, not five pennies. Belly is the best definition of that statement. It takes five (blockers) staying together and just zoning stuff off." (HSA)


Praising Alex Green, Rolo said:
"We know we have a great back in Alex. When he gets to that second level, there are big plays to be had." (HSA)


Praising Alex Green, RB coach Brian Smith said:
"He did a great job of turning it into another gear and finishing the run. We have a saying: Don't get hawked. That means, don't get caught from behind." (HSA)


About how Utah State's offense worried them since they use dozens of formations and had a bye last week, Dave Aranda said that they were:
"giving us ulcers with every play. We knew we were going to go crazy trying to match up with everything they would do." (HSA)


About how their defense didn't allow Borel to get to the outside, Tony Tuioti said:
"That's what we call our quarterback trap." (HSA)


About what their defense thought when they were up 14-7 at halftime, Rich Miano said:
"Hey, if we don't give up a score, they (the Aggies) can't win." (HSA)


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


About how winning is fun, Bryant Moniz said:
"There are two reasons you play football: To have fun and to win. If you're getting your butt kicked, it ain't fun. So you might as well win. We're winning, and with winning comes fun, and we're enjoying it." (HSA)


About not letting the defense "hawk" him (catch him from behind), Alex Green said:
"Coach Smith is always telling me that. I try not to get hawked. I try to avoid (defenders) going for my legs." (HSA)


Not having any problem running in the rain, Green said:
"I don't mind football weather. Whether it rains, snows or there's sunshine, you have to play the game." (HSA)


About taking off his visor when the rain started, Green said:
"With the rain hitting (the visor), I couldn't see that much. After that, I played football. I could see clearly." (HSA)


About how they aren't thinking about how they could get a winning season guaranteed with a win over Idaho, Greg Salas said:
"We're not thinking about anything else but Idaho right now. We haven't done anything yet. We're not going to stop until we get a WAC championship." (HSA)


About how his 1-handed TD reception in the 4th quarter wasn't one of his top 5 career catches, Greg Salas said that it:
"wasn't that far up there (among his best). I've done better in practice." (HSA)


Greg's brother Danny said about the catch:
"He did better in our living room." (HSA)


Agreeing with his brother, Greg said:
"Yeah, I used to do it at home with the football, break things and get in trouble." (HSA)


About dropping a pass in the 3rd quarter, Salas said:
"I thought I had it (in the third quarter), but it slipped right through my hands. I hope that (touchdown) made up for it. Coach Mack said it did, so, then, I guess it did." (HSA)


About causing the punter to fumble that led to Graves' TD, John Hardy-Tuilau said:
"I saw the ball fumbling around, and I wanted to knock it loose. I saw (Caldwell) didn't have possession of it, and I just hit him." (HSA)


Asked if he knew that his first points for UH would come on a fumble recovery on special teams, David Graves said:
"Not me. I really didn't think that's where my first touchdown would be." (HSA)


About playing special teams since he's a freshman and 4th-string at QB, Graves said:
"I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the team, and the coaches said they'd try me on special teams." (HSA)


About how the Utah State punter fumbled after being hit by John Hardy-Tuilau, letting him grab the fumble and run 6 yards for the TD, Graves said:
"We had a block on, we were rushing and when John Hardy tackled him it (the ball) popped right into my stomach. It was perfect. My only thought was: 'end zone!'" (HSA)

"The ball popped right to me. What else would I think but to take it to the house?" (HSA)

"I saw that play in my mind before it happened. I'm always visualizing things that could happen in the game. I was thinking about the best thing that could possibly happen, and that was the best thing that could have happened." (HSA)


About getting his first 2 INTs of the season, Corey Paredes said:
"Finally getting one, then two, was really satisfying." (HSA)


About how he almost got a 3rd INT with 12:26 left in the 4th quarter, Paredes said:
"I wish I could have gotten that one, too." (HSA)


Asked which INT was his favorite, Paredes said:
"My first one, because I've waited a while for it." (HSA)


About leaping for his second INT, Paredes said:
"I felt him (Lloyd) go behind me, and I knew he was a big guy. So, I knew I had to jump as high as I could to try to get it."  (HSA)

"The tight end was pretty big. I saw the ball, and I jumped as high as I could, and I made the catch." (HSA)


Paredes said that the funny thing about that INT:
"is I'm not exactly known for my hops." (HSA)


About injuring his ankle when he landed after making the INT, Paredes said:
"I landed wrong and it (the ankle) rolled up on me. It is pretty sore right now." (HSA)


Not letting his injury bring him down, Paredes said:
"I'll be OK." (HSA)


Hoping that people will give them respect now, Paredes said:
"Hopefully, people will start to give our defense a little more credit." (HSA)


About earning their Hawaii Bowl bid during homecoming, Kaniela Tuipulotu said:
"We have a chance to do it (get the bid) during our homecoming, which is a big opportunity." (HSA)


About how they took away Utah State's weapons, Tuipulotu said:
"We took away their weapons." (HSA)


About Nevada not giving them respect after last week's win, Tuipulotu said:
"We felt like we did it, not them. Maybe some people don't want to give us credit where credit is due. But we played hard tonight. Our coaches schemed them, and we came out swinging." (HSA)


--------------------  Quotes from the Utah State coaches ----------------------

About how the rain limited Diondre Borel, head coach Gary Andersen said:
"I thought (the rain) bothered Diondre tremendously. Hawaii must have reacted to it a lot better than we did." (DN)


DN Note: "Punter Peter Caldwell fumbled a snap early in the third quarter that was scooped up by Hawaii's David Graves and gave the Warriors a commanding 21-7 lead to start the second half."


About how their football program is having difficulty now, Andersen said:
"I know exactly where this program sits, I see it every day, I study it every day and I am with the kids every day. These crowds have been great each week. I know we had a big storm today, but I also know football. If you play at a high level they will be there until the last snap. They would probably still be out there right now, but it went a different way for us today. Once again, I know where this program is and one day they will be there the whole time. It is a cloudy time right now." (DN)


About how his young players give him reason for optimism for their future (*9* of their 11 players on defense at one point were freshmen), Andersen said:
"I love the competitiveness of those kids. Those are tough kids and they have that look in their eyes. They are good players." (SLT)


About how Borel is struggling because they lost their top 2 WRs and top 2 RBs, Andersen said:
"I've said all along that if Diondre has a supporting cast, he can be a great quarterback. If he doesn't he can struggle, and he struggled today." (SLT)


About how UH is the better team, Andersen said:
"Obviously, there isn't a whole lot to say. The better team won today." (SLT)


----------------------  Quotes from the Utah State players ----------------------

About how a lot of their fans let the stadium at halftime when they were down just 14-7 due to the rain and cold, TE Kellen Bartlett said:
"It felt dead in the stadium and that's demoralizing. We don't ever let the crowd get into our heads at all; either home or away the crowd is always a non-factor. They threw a big punch at us in the third quarter and we had a hard time getting back up from it. It kinda stunk not having the crowd out there." (DN)


About how the third quarter is crucial and UH won that quarter, Bartlett said:
"The third quarter is the most important quarter. That's the quarter you go out there and establish your dominance and decide who's going to win this game. We played a better team and they went out and established that." (DN)


About how they have to put this game behind them, Bartlett said:
"I don't think anyone expected this. It's going to be tough, but this is something that we're all going to have to put behind us. We have to bury it deep in our memories and try to forget it." (SLT)


About UH dominating them in the second half, Bobby Wagner said:
"I couldn't even explain it.In the second half their offense turned it up a notch. We didn't really come ready to play in the second half. It hurts." (DN)


About how UH is better than their team, Wagner said:
"We ran into a better opponent. We have to go back to the meeting rooms and rebuild. We have a big game against Nevada next week, and we have to give it our all for all four quarters. Today, we didn't do that." (SLT)


-----------------  Quotes from others  ---------------------

Looking forward to inviting UH if they beat Idaho next week, Hawaii Bowl Executive Director David Matlin said:
"The Warriors are proving to be one of the most exciting teams in college football this season. Daryl Garvin (associate executive director) and myself plan to be at the UH-Idaho game in an official capacity representing the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. We look forward to watching Coach (Greg) McMackin and the Warriors compete for bowl eligibility."  (HSA)

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