Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre and junior defensive back Ryan Moeller.
Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
On the last practice before the bowl game:
“It went well. We do kicking game every day. We go through all the different scenarios today. Defense and Offense scenarios. It went real well. They seem excited about playing and light on their feet so it was a good day.”
Vincent Taylor for OSU has blocked 4 kicks this year, what have you seen from him?
“Well they move him around and get him in some spots to go block it. We got to make sure we protect correctly. So far this last half of the season we have been very good at that, since the Michigan game. So we felt good about that. Our field goal kickers are kicking the ball much better. We definitely need to know where he is and be prepared.”
Is Vincent Taylor a pretty disruptive player that you guys have to account for?
“Yeah, he is. He is a disruptive guy. They play so aggressive on defense and cause a lot of turnovers. A lot of their guys make plays, thats why they are 12th in the country.”
On any rust since they haven’t played in a month:
“Both teams have it. We are both in the same situation. We went good against good a lot and we have done that throughout the year. The better our team is, the more speed we have everywhere, which helps you do better in the games. It helps your whole team improve. That is one of the reasons why we are a better football team this year too. We have better competition throughout our team. So hopefully that will keep the speed of the game going, but we will see when we kick it off.”
Appreciation of being in a bowl game:
“Our guys are extremely excited about it. I think that our fans are probably relish it more than some of our guys, our older guys definitely do because they have been through it, some of our younger guys they just think this is the way it is suppose to be. I know that we are excited about it. I know everyone around our program is.”
After Utah, did you sense you were that close?
“I did. I sensed that we had a good football team. Coming back I knew after spring practice I thought we were good and then halfway through camp I thought we would have a chance to compete for a Pac-12 Championship, which we did. We didn’t win it but we won the Pac-12 South, which is a big jump for us. So I felt that we had a team that could do that.”
Anything different about playing in a Dome?
“It’s louder. It echoes, the sound of it. So you will have to do more silent count and that type of thing. Playing in a stadium where it’s going to kind of be like almost like the CSU game in a way that it will be a semi constant roar I would imagine. In a dome it is a little bit harder to hear. Even when we go into our indoor complex, when you talk in their it is harder to hear. So we have worked on our silent count and that type of thing if we need to do that, which we have done that on the road quite a few times. We kind of treat it as a road game.”
What are the strengths of Joe Tumpkin as a coach?
“He is very knowledgeable on the front end and on the back end. Some people can understand the front end, some people can understand the back end, but he understands both which is what you need to be able to do to be able to coordinate and understand it. He gets along with the players, he understands our scheme real well, and the guys really respond to him.”
What is the bowl plan/schedule?
“I did a bowl plan at San Jose State, and I left right before it, so I used the same one that we had developed there. I called around some coaches that had been in the Alamo Bowl and then I talked to David Cutcliffe for a long time about what he has done. I went to bowls when I was younger and all that type of thing, so it was kind of a combination of everything.”
Do you think the players are prepared and settled in?
“I think they have handled it real well. I think they are fresh. I think they are ready to go. The thing that you have to understand is that you have to have everything prepared before you get to the site. You don’t have time to game plan at the site, so we just practiced it all there and repeated it all here. It was fresher for the guys and the coaches know exactly what is going on. We had our game plans done and ready to roll.”
Do you think you have found stability at the quarterback position?
“Both guys are good quarterbacks. They are very reliable, they play well, so as I have said for a long time Sefo [Liufau] has meant everything to us as far as turning it around. I also think Steven [Montez] is a really good player behind him. You have got to be deep at quarterback and you have got to have a lot of good ones, so that is a key ingredient. Even in Pop Warner football, you have to have a good quarter back to be able to win. I feel like both teams do, and hopefully our guy has the winning edge, so we’ll see.”
Ryan Moeller, Jr., DB
On the season so far:
“I think having a postseason was one of the most important aspects of what we wanted to achieve. I think the Pac-12 Championship was a great next step, because if we went to that game then we would be in a bowl game. I think as far as tendencies and setting your goals for the season, setting for the conference championship and then the bowl game after that.”
