Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-Colorado State Postgame Quotes
Fresno State-Colorado State Postgame Quotes
Colorado State at Fresno State
Bulldog Stadium
Oct. 29, 2020
Kalen DeBoer, Fresno State head coach
Opening Statement...
"I could not be more proud of these guys. Great team win, great response. I was not sure what we were going to get walking into the team meeting on Sunday, but it took me about a split second to realize what this team really wants and that they really want it bad. They have shown that. I knew we were hurting after last week's first week loss, but they came out on Monday with some energy and focus and I knew right then we had a chance to make a big step from week one to week two. I am proud of the coaches for some great adjustments throughout the game and the guys for executing it and think we rattled off five straight scores after being down 10-7. We never wavered, we didn't waver after the first week's loss and we didn't waver throughout the course of this game. Never flinched, just kept fighting, scratching and clawing and that is what we are priding ourselves on. Bulldog tough. Super proud of these guys and the staff, we got a locker room full of guys who are really fired up. We need to be able to carry this momentum and keep getting better. We still have a long ways to go, but you see glimpses of what we could become."
On quarterback Jake Haener's improvement...
"I think you step back from it after week one and it was easy to see what led to our demise last week. He was conscious of it all week long. He puts enough pressure on himself, but we also made sure he understood you got to get this done. He stayed in there and like the rest of the team, he never flinched, he never wavered, you got to get this done. He really stayed in there and stepped up in a great way this week. He stayed the course and got better and that is all we can ask is for him to do all he can to be the best he can be, proud of him."
On running back Ronnie Rivers' play...
"That guy is a beast. I thought the coaching staff did a nice job this week of finding ways to get him touches and you saw it in the pass game coming out of the backfield. We want to get the ball in his hands and he has been so impressive and not just on the field in what he does because we have seen it for years, but what I have taken away from Ronnie is his growth and maturity as a football player and how he prepares. I have been so impressed these six weeks we have been together. Seeing his growth from when I left over a year ago, he was mature beyond his years then and right now, he is just an amazing football player and his yards after contact were amazing tonight. He had some nice blocks down the field, but he made a lot happen on his own as well."
On defense getting off the field on third downs
"We got some more bodies out there and are trying to create depth on our team. A few guys are coming back and more guys played longer. I think we got the guys on the field that needed to be out there and the coaches did a nice job cleaning up the things we struggled with last week. You really saw us rallying to the football in the run game much better than we did a week ago. We still need to work on our tackling. I think there were some open field tackles that we missed, but a lot of improvement. That is a tribute to the staff and the players working together. I am really pleased with the improvement from week one to week two."
Evan Williams, sophomore safety
On the win…
"It's feels great. Having the whole team surround him, threw Gatorade on him as your saw, we're really excited as a program right now. Getting that first win was huge for us. We're pretty juiced up right now."
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On the defense's mindset coming into tonight's game after Saturday…
"The defense really took it personally Saturday. We let up a lot of points and we just didn't play our best and we knew that so we challenged ourselves to come back today, fly to the ball, make plays and stay in our fits. We were really playing team defense today. I'm really proud of how all of the guys played."
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On the team moving forward after tonight's win…
"It shows us who we can be. It's a big momentum shift for our whole team and it shows when we play our best ball, we're hard to beat."
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Jake Haener, junior quarterback
On what he'll remember most from the game…
"I think the way we responded as a team is what I'll always remember. We had a really good week of practice and the guys were really positive and that's what we're all going to remember the most. It was impressive with how the guys came back to work and the coaches prepared and gave us the opportunity to do really good things."
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On the emotions of the offense five days ago versus tonight…
"It's a big difference obviously. This game will test your mental stability and how mentally tough you are. I think it's how you bounce back from really tough games. My good buddy Jake Browning texted me, the UW quarterback, we're still really close, he texted me after that first game and gave me advice about what happens when you make turnovers and when things don't go your way and how you respond and how you want to handle the next game because quarterbacks aren't defined by one game. I think that being my first game was a rough one, a rough one for the team because we have such high expectations and we hold ourselves to a really high standard. But I think it's about how you respond and how you do the next game."
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On celebrating Coach DeBoer's first win…
"I think whenever it's your first win as head coach somewhere I think it should be celebrated. I think Coach DeBoer and the rest of the staff has put a lot of effort into getting us to this point and keeping us together through Covid and making sure we're one unit and trying to keep things rolling in the same direction. I think that was a lot on his end and our end so I think that it was well deserved. It was a little chilly but I think he liked it."
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Ronnie Rivers, senior running back
On the offense tonight…
"We clicked really well tonight. We focused on ball security. Big thing last week was the turnovers so we cleaned that up and everything else fell into line."
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On his body and being able to take more hits…
"My body feels good. I'm excited that I'm able to showcase all of the hard work that I've put in this offseason, putting on some weight, getting up to 195. It really makes a big difference with taking multiple hits and being able to break more tackles. I'm just excited that all of the hard work is finally showcasing."
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On his relationship with Coach DeBoer…
"That's my guy. Ever since he's been here we've had a close relationship. He trusts me a lot and he tries to get the ball into my hands so seeing him secure his first win as the head coach at Fresno State was an exciting feeling and watching him get Gatorade on him was awesome."
Colorado State Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Steve Addazio
Opening Statement...
"I felt like on offense, we had the ball inside the 13-yard line three times and all we pulled out of that was three points and that is not good enough. The plan to win starts with playing great defense and we certainly did not play well enough there either. Score in the red zone and we did not do that well enough. Excel on special teams, field position, I thought we accomplished that. I think we had a turnover, but we had some real critical penalties. I thought we played hard throughout the game, competed hard, but far and away we made too many mistakes."
On starting Todd Centeio at quarterback...
"We thought we were going to need his legs in this game. We were down our most explosive guy and thought that would be to our advantage."
Trey McBride, junior tight end
On early struggles offensively in the first half...
"We wanted to establish the run game right off the bat and we did not do that. We were missing assignments, we were missing blocks, easy stuff to fix, we were not getting it done as an offense and that is unacceptable."
On getting to play another game with his brother, fifth-year senior defensive lineman Toby McBride
"He is a warrior, one of the toughest guys I know. He is a guy I look up to, seeing him go and play and have fun, do what he loves and it is awesome to see him out there."
Scott Patchan, senior defensive lineman
On getting to play in his first game at Colorado State...
"It is fun to play football, but it is even more fun when you win so next week that is what we will try to do."
On Fresno State converting 10 third downs...
"It is extremely frustrating, but it is not so much blame on the backend, but it is an opportunity to rush the passer and the defensive line, we can do a better job in that regard and make it easier for the guys on the backend."
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