Football

Coach Dan Hawkins Quotes

On what he tells his team after the game
"Proud of them. I was really proud of them. I don't think I've ever been more proud of one of our teams. Our guys battled, scrapped, they gave it everything they had, not an inch left. (Safety Patrick) Manhke played most of the second half with a separated shoulder. Those guys, nothing but guts. They laid it out there. You've got to tip your hat to Nebraska. The kid (Alex Henery) stepped up and made a huge kick, and that's the nature of it. You've got to tip your hat to a guy like that. He made a big play. Our guys battled."<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

On if it was his team's best game of the season
"Well, it's hard to say. We'll go back and look at the film. Clearly, just in terms of where we're at and all that, I think again they just continue to show tremendous resolve. I'm really proud of our coaches and our guys for how positive they stayed, and continue to coach and teach and our guys to hang in there and scrap. Even when no one give you a chance, you've got a chance."

On if he thought it would be a close game after CU's fast start
"You know they're very explosive, so it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to hold up forever. I thought our guys handled it good too. I don't think they got ahead and said "Alright great, we're good to go." We knew we wanted to get a fast start, and we talked about that the last couple weeks. I think it's important obviously when you play on the road to get that going and get that momentum happening."

On how much the coaches stressed to watch for NU's fake field goal
"Coach (Kent) Riddle was all over that. That was all Coach Riddle right there, and he did a great job. Down here a couple years ago, we gave up a few plays on special teams, but I thought Coach Riddle did a great job of preparing our guys, and they did a good job paying attention, and Jimmy (Smith) was right where he was supposed to be."

On what the young guys learned from the game
"It's never easy. I think clearly we're on the right path, and our guys are doing the right things, and they've got a great future ahead of them.I thought we got a little more aggressive last week against (Oklahoma) State, and got more aggressive this week, and got more confidence, so I think the guys have a little belief going into the offseason that if we get all healed up and and grow up we're going to be fine."