Colorado Head Coach Gary Barnett
General<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>
“The most obvious thing is that one team responded to the challenge of this game and one team did not. My team did not and I take full responsibility. I did not see this coming in any way. I didn’t see it in our preparation. We got out-coached, out-played, and my hat goes off to Coach Callahan and the whole <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska team. They played harder than we did, played smarter, played better, executed well, they had good plans, they tackled well. They did all the things in football that you want your team to do and they did a great job with that. We, for whatever reason, didn’t respond to the challenge of this day and we put on a very poor performance.”
On where things went wrong
“We hardly could get a first down in the first half. We put three points on the board and gave up a number of big plays in the pass game. Part of that is execution and the coaches have to take responsibility for that. We’re as much a part of that as the poor execution.”
On Nebraska’s first drive of second quarter
“That was one of those plays in the game that happens in rivalry games. Alex (Ligon) didn’t hear a whistle; I didn’t really hear a whistle. The line thought the ball got snapped as he was calling for a time-out. That was a big play in that drive.”
On where to go from here
“Right now I have a bunch of kids who are hurting emotionally and some seniors who have been so terrific for this program and this University. They’re hurting and my mind is with them.”
On possibility of a QB change
“We discussed it at one point but we felt like our best chance to come back and win this football game was with Joel (Klatt).”
On Nebraska’s performance
“They just played harder and better, more than anything else. They had a couple of wrinkles that we hadn’t seen, but that wasn’t the game. (Zac Taylor) is a terrific competitor, he gets rid of the ball and we could not get any pressure on him. They did a great job picking up the pressure and he made plays. Cory (Ross) had a great game as I knew he would. I knew he would play his heart out and they found ways to get the ball and we couldn’t stop him.”
On whether or not the game was out of hand
“There was never a point when I didn’t think we could win the game, until the fourth quarter, probably.”
On importance of special teams play
“We didn’t play very well on special teams. We got out-played and I was concerned.”
On what to tell his seniors
“I don’t know what to tell them, I really don’t. I just expressed my pride in them, pride in what they’ve done. Even though we’ve experienced a bittersweet loss, that doesn’t reduce how proud I am of what they’ve produced. I just feel so badly for them, that they had to go out on a game like this. This was atypical of the way they’ve handled themselves.”