Colorado Player Quotes

Nate Landman
Sophomore, Linebacker

On leading Colorado in tackles
“It was a great time. We were all flying around. I saw a lot of guys making great tackles today, some big hits out there, and like I say all the time, I can’t do what I do without my D-Line or my secondary. Their D-Line was plugging up gaps, I was coming free on a lot of tackles. I credit Nebraska, they’re a tough team and we just played a little harder today.”

On second half adjustments
“We had a great talk at halftime in the locker room. Coach went back to our base rules. We worked on a couple things that we hadn’t seen during the week. We got those things fixed and once that happened we were able to stop the run.”

On the magnitude of this rivalry game
“It was a great time. I just heard a couple of alums out there say ‘thank you’ for the alums. That just proves how big this game is, has been in the past, how big it is now for not only us here, but for everyone back in Colorado. It was a great win and I feel like we really came together as a team, we had no doubt in our mind that we weren’t going to win this game.”

On the ‘what ifs’ of the game
“It’s definitely easy to get down and be like ‘oh, what if.’ You always have that question in the back of your mind. We had guys on the sideline encouraging us, keeping our heads up, trying to get that ‘what if’ out of the back of our mind. And just ‘we’re gonna win this game.’ So it definitely crosses your mind, but once you get past, then we just kept going forward.”

On his interception
“We just had guys covering really well, we were doing it all game. That time it happened to work. I was in the right time in the right place. I contribute that pick to my secondary who gave me a great look.”

On the scene in the locker room
“Oh, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. You get big high school wins, but nothing compares to that. Those guys fired up, we’ve been working so hard since camp and summer training and we’re a brotherhood in there, we’ve all been grinding together, going through stuff together and to see everyone happy in there, smiling, jumping, singing our fight song, it’s just a great feeling.”

On if the team knew how much this game meant
“Definitely. I wasn’t aware of that until the beginning of the week. We had been playing those games, old throwback games in the Champions Center the whole week, and I could kind of see the crowd going crazy, the plays people were making and how the alumni was affected, too. I had people saying how big of a game it was, and just to get that win, not only for our team, but everyone back in Boulder, everyone here, who traveled to come here, we had a pretty good turnout for this away game, so I was happy to get that one for them.

On Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez
“He’s a great quarterback, he’s really uses his legs well. He definitely gashed us a couple times. He’s a good passer too, he stays in there, he’s a tough kid. I mean he took some shots today. And I’m sorry to hear about his knee, I hope he gets well, he’s a great player, he’s going to be great for them in the future.”

 

Evan Worthington
Senior, Defensive Back

On being a part of a big road victory in a hostile environment
"Man, there's nothing like this. Especially with all we've done over the summer and in spring ball. We were all so excited in the locker room but we're going to have to move on because we have a long season ahead of us."

On the resiliency of this year's defense compared to last year
"We could have easily gave up, but we kept on each other, we kept fighting and we knew we could do it. Sure enough we did."

On playing against Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez
"He's a really good quarterback. You know, I didn't expect that. He's a really, really good quarterback that was tough to compete against. We're just happy we were able to get the win."

On if this is the type of win that can catapult the team to a big season
"Oh yeah. This is definitely a good win for us. We made a lot of mistakes today but we just have to learn from it and keep going."

On if the environment here was louder than he anticipated
"It was actually way louder than I anticipated. I thought it would be loud but it was really ringing my ears out there."

Steven Montez
Junior, Quarterback

On the excitement of the game
“I don't know if boring is the word to describe that game. That was a very interesting game."

On how the game was interesting
"There were just so many ebbs and flows of the game. Coach [Chiaverini], Coach [Macintyre], and Coach [Roper] always talk about it and football games aren't always just going to be all touchdowns for the offense. There's going to be some adversity. So we caught a little bit of that adversity toward the middle of the game today and I think we responded very well. I think we got a lot of tough guys in that locker room that love the game and love each other and I think that's the biggest thing for us."

On the game-winning touchdown
"I hope the safety doesn't get to it, that's what I was thinking. I was like, 'Jeez man, it's single high.' I knew it was single high, it was pressed, I tried to look him off for a split second and I was just praying that that safety didn't get to it and he didn't, and Laviska [Shenault Jr.] made a great catch, great play, and got in the end zone. That's what he's on the field for. He's a playmaker."

On getting the rhythm going on the road
"Coach [Chiaverini] always says it the best; 'Pressure is a privilege.' So we kind of embraced the pressure. We want the pressure and think it's good. That's what we came to the University of Colorado for, was to play good football and good football teams. We're just going to keep taking it one play, one team at a time and hopefully just keep pushing forward."

On seeing the team respond to adversity
"I think it says that we got a lot of tough guys in our locker room. We got dudes that are gritty and dudes that, when it gets a little bit tough, they don't back down. Whenever they get backed into a corner they don't just curl up into a little ball. They start swinging for their lives, throwing death hooks. So I think that's what we got, a lot of those type of guys in the locker room and I think it's good. I think it gives our team a little bit of an edge."

On how he would rank this win compared to others
"It's tough to rank wins. Winning is tough. It's tough to win. So I'm just going to enjoy the moment now for 24 hours and you clear the slate and you focus on New Hampshire because they're the next opponent. They're next on the list."

Jay MacIntyre
Senior, Wide Receiver

On how he felt about his first Nebraska game
"This was one of the best times of my life. Just the whole atmosphere's awesome. The rivalry is awesome. Just being out there and scoring two touchdowns is a dream come true honestly. Just helping my team win, we're a great group of guys and a talented group. It's really exciting to walk out of here with the 'W' and I think it's just going to be a springboard to the next game."

On how the team got back on track
"Laviska Shenault [Jr.]. He's a great player and Montez, he's been hitting all his throws. We knew that we were going to win it in our stomach. You've got to have that mentality. I'm sure they had the mentality, but we had that mentality and went out there and did it. It was so awesome to see Laviska [Shenault Jr.] catch that touchdown. I knew when we called it it was probably going to be a touchdown, and it was. So it was a great time."

On how big it was for the team to come out with a win
"Huge. Adversity makes a team. Last year we didn't handle it all that well sometimes. Sometimes we did. We came back after Washington State and beat Cal and Montez had a great game. But this year we're going to have to handle more adversity. There's going to be a lot of stuff that happens. That's what's great about football. There's going to be adversity but you have to come back the next play and go make the play, win the game and that's why it's such a great feeling afterward when you win, and such a bad feeling when you lose." 

On if he knew the defender was there on the late penalty
"I knew he was coming down on me, but it was high so I was like, 'I'm probably going to get drilled.' I got drilled anyway. I made eye contact with him right before he hit me and then it got us 15 yards. I was happy he did, I said thanks."