Spring Break
Stout defense gives CSU winning record
Matt L. Stephens
Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: Sports
"We were in a cover-two, so I was playing deep while he was staying shallow, so it was designed," said the safety.
The man who called the play was none other than defensive coordinator Larry Kerr.
"We knew it was going to be a battle. We told our guys it was going to be a 60 minute game and it sure was," said Kerr, who is in his first year back at CSU after spending the last five years at UCLA and Duke.
"That quarterback (Keenum) is unbelievable. Any other quarterback would have been sacked six times. Our front guys were relentless going after him. You still have to give a lot of credit to their quarterback because if it wasn't for him they would have had a really tough day."
Also leading the way for the CSU defense were senior strong safety Mike Pagnotta and senior linebacker Jeff Horinek, who each had interceptions on Saturday and combined for 15 tackles.
"It took a team effort today. Our offense did a great job keeping them off the field," said Pagnotta when asked about holding the Cougars to a season low 473 yards of offense. "We had a couple of turnovers and forced them to a couple three-and-outs, which was huge for us to get our offense back on the field … Championship teams make plays when it counts, so for us to do that and win close games on back-to-back weeks is huge."
For most fans, watching these close games may cause a lot of stress, but for Horinek, it's just another day on the gridiron.
"I'll do that every single game the rest of the way if we have to," said Horinek. "It doesn't matter if we win big time, you know, just as long as we win at the end. If we're gonna win, I'm not gonna be picky."
Football beat writer Matt Stephens can be reached at sports@collegian.com.
The man who called the play was none other than defensive coordinator Larry Kerr.
"We knew it was going to be a battle. We told our guys it was going to be a 60 minute game and it sure was," said Kerr, who is in his first year back at CSU after spending the last five years at UCLA and Duke.
"That quarterback (Keenum) is unbelievable. Any other quarterback would have been sacked six times. Our front guys were relentless going after him. You still have to give a lot of credit to their quarterback because if it wasn't for him they would have had a really tough day."
Also leading the way for the CSU defense were senior strong safety Mike Pagnotta and senior linebacker Jeff Horinek, who each had interceptions on Saturday and combined for 15 tackles.
"It took a team effort today. Our offense did a great job keeping them off the field," said Pagnotta when asked about holding the Cougars to a season low 473 yards of offense. "We had a couple of turnovers and forced them to a couple three-and-outs, which was huge for us to get our offense back on the field … Championship teams make plays when it counts, so for us to do that and win close games on back-to-back weeks is huge."
For most fans, watching these close games may cause a lot of stress, but for Horinek, it's just another day on the gridiron.
"I'll do that every single game the rest of the way if we have to," said Horinek. "It doesn't matter if we win big time, you know, just as long as we win at the end. If we're gonna win, I'm not gonna be picky."
Football beat writer Matt Stephens can be reached at sports@collegian.com.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
JG
posted 9/22/08 @ 12:28 PM MST
Kubiak is the "feel good" story but without Pagnotta the Rams lose the game, period. #13's effort was the best individual performance by a safety that I have seen in a very long time. (Continued…)
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