HEAD COACH BRONCO MENDENHALL
Opening Remarks:
I think there was a great football game played at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday. I think it was hard-fought by both teams and it was exciting right down to the last play. Both teams showed a lot of heart and determination and I was proud of the way our team battled to the end.
Was there a concern with how you won last week?
I don’t think there is much concern with how we win. There might be from the critics’ standpoint and there might be from the media standpoint. Any given game takes on its own identity and the bottom line is to have success, and we did. That is all that I will acknowledge. My job as a coach is to continue to help our team improve. When you look at the remarkable number of victories these kids are putting together, they will not be perfect. We’ll keep trying. Again, each game takes on its own identity and you manage it the best you can. The overwhelming positive of winning a football game overrides everything else to me.
Are you seeing an improvement in your secondary and if not how are you addressing that?
I think we are seeing improvement in our team in general. Again it doesn’t’ take much to put it in context with the quality of offense, the quality of receivers and the uniqueness of some of the formations and some of the plays. Statistic sometimes can be right on and sometimes can be way off.
I actually think our secondary is gaining. Overall I think they are improving. They are playing batter and I think you are seeing players like Brandon Bradley improve every week. You are seeing players like Andrew Rich improve every week. I think you are seeing some of the toughest performances ever from Scott Johnson who basically can’t practice until Thursday each week and finds a way to go out there and help our team win. I’m pleased with them, as I am with our team in general.
You are on the road again this week; can you talk a little bit about your team on the road this season and the challenges?
I think that our team has battled on the road, but probably hasn’t executed the same way it has at home. I think the nature of a road games are all a little bit different. When it comes down to the conference race and being able to have success as we have the past number of years, you have to think against conference opponents home or away. I know I have been criticized for putting too much emphasis on winning at home and has that detracted from winning on the road. When it comes to conference games our next game is our most important, as I have always said. Adversity is always greater on the road and sometimes that affects our play. We’ll see if we can do a better job of insulating our players and helping them have more poise.
Could you talk a little bit about Colorado State and their offense compared to what you saw last week?
There really is a distinct difference. The last two weeks our opponents have been pretty similar in terms of the number of formations, mobile quarterbacks, even though Colorado State’s quarterback is mobile, then quite a few option elements in the game as well as being able to throw the ball. When you consider Colorado State more conventional, would be the best way to describe it, there is a lot of moving in the pocket, zone boot, a good running back and couple of volatile receivers that can get behind you.
They are more reminiscent of Colorado State when they were having championship runs. I don’t think their personnel and maybe their identity is what it was when they were winning conference championships. It looks like that blueprint is what they are closer to now. Being able to run the football well, play action off the run and occasionally getting the ball over your head.
You’ve won 27 of your last 30 games. Having been in a number of different programs can you talk about the sheer difficulty for coaches, players, administration and organization to pull off that kind of success?
When you said that it really is the first time I’ve considered the numbers. I think the only way we’ve been able to have success to this point is focusing on each week. I know it was maybe a fault of not emphasizing the TCU game enough. I did take the approach that it was our next game. While in that particular case it might have not been effective, over the long haul that is what has been effective. That is what these young men know most.
In talking to one of UNLV’s coaches before the game, the word he used was phenomenal, he didn’t know how it could be sustained as long as this. I think it’s only able to if the focus is on each and every day, each and every week. That is how we have done it, but I don’t take time to dwell on it because there is still so much to focus on this season.
JUNIOR QUARTERBACK MAX HALL
After having a couple of days to hash over the UNLV game, what sticks out in your mind?
Offensively I thought we were BYU again. We executed, we took what the defense gave us and at times took shots downfield. We ran the ball well and our offensive line did a really good job. I thought I saw the field and read the coverages well. I knew what they were doing the whole time and I was able to take advantage of that. Also, our guys made plays and we played with enthusiasm and emotion, and that was one of the most fun football games I’ve ever played in. For us to continue playing well down to the last drive and get the two-point conversion, it was just a fun game.
There were a couple of different formations and plays run last week, how important is it to have a few things defenses haven’t seen?
It was nice. There were a few different plays but it was still the same offense and the same concepts but with different looks. I think what we really did well was keep it close to a 50-50 pass-run and kept the defense on their heels in not knowing exactly what we were going to do. Sometimes we can get a little predictable when we line up in certain formations they kind of know if it is going to be a run or pass. We did some different things and kept them on their heels. We didn’t change our offense or change what we were doing, we just executed better.
What does Colorado State present defensively and what are their strengths?
I haven’t watched a ton on them yet. Based on what I have seen and from last year is that they are pretty disciplined. The do what they can to stop the run and they will come up at you on times and they will drop at times. I have to be able to recognize what they are doing. Against UNLV I knew what coverage they were in and I knew what they were doing every single play. If I can do that and stay with my keys and stay within myself, it doesn’t matter what they do against us, I can get us in the right play we’ll be ok.
Austin Collie noted that this team will have to be a little more prepared for road games with the Monday through Friday grind, has there been a lot of talk about that offensively and has anything changed in your routine?
Last week we changed a lot of things. Everyone was more prepared and our attitudes were different. No one was feeling entitled, no one was playing selfish. I think that was a very unselfish game that we played and a lot of people touched the ball. There were guys who didn’t have big games and guys like Fui Vakapuna and Andrew George stepped up and had big games. We have to be sharp and keep the tempo high. We can’t be satisfied or look over anything during the week. We have to prepare like crazy and play with a lot of excitement and emotion on Saturday. If we do that we are very hard to beat.