Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes from Monday's Press Conference
9/3/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 3, 2001
General comments on the Oregon State game
"After watching the film, we really played well. Our football team really played well. They played very hard. Really hard. I was very proud of the way our players played and of the way they handled themselves on the field. The way we were after the game -- they were very focused. This team is ready for the next challenge, and the next challenge is probably going to be the toughest one of the three. Although I don't know which one is the best team. I think they are all good teams. But with the travel and the time of the game, I just think it's going to be a tough game. But it gives us another opportunity to show we belong with the top teams in the country."
On the team
"When you look at our team, it's all local kids. I think that says a lot for our community. I told our team before the Colorado game that the game was for them. That game, we played for us. We proved to ourselves we belong. The pregame meal before [the Oregon State] game I told them we're playing for this community and for every person that ever wore a red helmet here at Fresno State. I thought it was really important that our players knew what they were playing for. I think that playing for the people of this community was important to them. Most of these kids are from this community."
On the impact of the nationally televised game
"That TV game really did Fresno well. I heard there were a lot of great things said about this community. I think that's good. Fresno sometimes takes a lot of unjust criticism. I think we've got a great place to live. We've got good, hardcore people here. We've got good high school football here. It's great when we have a chance to put ourselves on the national stage and come through like we did, not only on the field but in the stands."
On the job the offensive line did
I thought offensively we did a really good job against them in all phases. We ran the ball well, we threw the ball well. David Carr got touched three times in the game. Three times in the whole game, period. That says a lot for our offensive line."
On the impact the win has on Fresno and the Valley
"I think it's great what it's done for the community. The San Joaquin Valley is a special place. To me, it's a Midwestern town in the west. There's a lot of strong roots here. High school football in the Valley is big. It's town vs. town. Most of the people that live here have been here for generations. And there's a lot of Fresno State people here. I think it's really starting to gain the interest in the entire Valley.
On how he wants to build the program
"It's like I tell our team, 'Why not us? Why can't we be a team that contends?' Every other NCAA sport, everyone has a chance to play for a championship. In football, at Fresno State the odds are stacked against you. But we've got a schedule that gives us a chance to compete, and that's all we want. It'd be a lot easier to pad the schedule and have a good record. Everyone would be happy. But that's not the path we've chosen to take. We haven't chosen it since I got here. The reason we've become a better football program is because our kids our battle tested. They've been in some fights. They've got some deep wounds. Now they are starting to feel like they can get up and fight. But we've got 11 games left. That's a lot of games. We've got a lot of road games and a lot of traveling."
On modeling the program after Florida State
"They've done something very special there. And like I say, why can't we do it here? But the reason I keep talking about these West Coast schools is because we've got to play these guys. At Florida State, they've got the Florida schools and other schools close to them they can play. Here, it's no fun traveling to Wisconsin. It's no fun traveling to Ohio State. Traveling cross-country six times a year is not conducive to good organization and planning. It's tough. If we could play these California schools and Arizona and Arizona State and the Oregon schools for our non-league games, I think it could be really exciting around here."
More on the national audience
"We were on the national stage last night. Everybody was watching. I think right now we've got the national eye, and we'll have it next week. We've got to keep winning. But people can relate to Fresno now as a community that's really rabid for it's sports teams. And they've got a sports team that's got a tough mentality, just like this community. These people in agriculture are tough-minded people. Our football team has the personality of this community."
About Wisconsin
"I think Bollinger makes a difference. I think Sorgi is good. The thing that worries me the most about them is their ability to run it. They've got a big front. They mash you. But Oregon State had a big front and a good running back, and we put the hit on him."
