Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes From Monday's Press Conference
10/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 7, 2002
On the 115-yard performance by Rodney Davis
"[Rodney Davis] has never really surprised me. The only reason he wasn't in there in the beginning of the season was because there's so much to know in our offense as far as the protection and all of that. He has done a good job in learning everything."
On back-up RB Bryson Sumlin seeing playing time against Colorado State
"We were hurting a little bit in the third quarter, with Bryson Sumlin in there and Rodney out [with an injured shoulder]. It was a good experience for Sumlin, though. He was in there in a very heated game, just like Rice last week, but this time he went in there when we had to pick up some protection and other things."
"When we lost Rodney for a while in that game, we were worried about some of the offense we were going to call because we want to make sure [Pinegar] was protected."
On the offense in the second half against CSU
"When we had a 15-point lead, it was a good time to see if we could smash the ball. When we had the ball for 11 minutes and didn't come out with a score, it's like going into the middle innings of a baseball game and leaving nine runners on base on not scoring. We were in scoring position and had a chance to put [Colorado State] away, but we just didn't do it. Davis not being in there hurt, but we have to be able to make the plays. I think what happened in the second half of that game is a wakeup call to all of us as a staff, understanding that there were adjustments that need to be made."
On the SMU series
"This is a team that has been a thorn in our side. In 1999 we went down there in about the same situation. We were coming off two good home wins and they beat us in one of the worst games that I've been associated with since I've been here. It wasn't so much SMU, but our performance was very bad, but I give SMU a lot of credit. They pounded us down there. It was a game that they just wanted a lot more than us."
"In 2000, they came here to Fresno and we were hanging on for our lives. Last year we went down there and it's 10-0 before people can sit down in their seats. We never got clicking in that game until the second half."
On SMU as a team
"They're a football team with players that believe they can beat us. They've played us as tough as any team in the conference. SMU is a team that has always played us tough all the years I've been here. We have to understand that we need to come into this game with the right mindset because SMU is very capable of coming here and beating us. They had a great opportunity to beat us here in 2000 and we were fortunate to win that football game."
More on SMU
"They're running the ball well right now. Whenever you look at games, you look at match-ups. This team matches up with us better than most teams. They have a very good running game and we haven't matched up against the run well this season. On defense they have two cornerbacks that I think are as good as anybody we've played against. Oregon State's corners took us out of our rhythm and I think SMU's corners are capable of doing the same. The matchups that we need to be good at are, we need to win on the perimeter against their corners, who I think are very good players."
 | SMU is a team that has always played us tough all the years I've been here. We have to understand that we need to come into this game with the right mindset because SMU is very capable of coming here and beating us. Head coach Pat Hill on SMU |
"They played well against us last year. David Carr threw the two picks early in the game and we just couldn't get on track last year until we hit Rodney Wright on a wheel route down the sideline at the end of the half. They picked two passes from us and they looked like they were on their way in that game. We had to come back in that game and won by a score that didn't indicate the type of game that it was."
"The match-ups are there. They have good corners and a stout defensive line. On the offensive side we have to stop their running attack. They have good, hard, physical running backs that pound the ball. Special teams will also be key in this game. I said it against Colorado State that special teams would come into play and we dominated that side of the ball."
On the WAC
"I was surprised to see Rice beat Louisiana Tech, but if you're not ready for the option it wreaks havoc with you. As I saw in the stats, Rice was running it well. But obviously, it looks like the strongest team in the WAC is Boise State after what they did to Hawai'i. [Boise State] plays Tulsa this week, so there's a good chance they could be 5-1 going into our game. Boise State is the team to beat and also San Jose State is playing well right now."
On the Bulldog Offense
"I think one of the key things in watching a quarterback develop is the people around him have to develop. A quarterback's job is to get the ball to other people; he's not going to throw to himself. [Pinegar] is throwing some pinpoint passes. He threw one to Jamison, one to Greco, he a couple of curls and a couple to the tight ends. Those guys are starting to understand the spacing on the field and Pinegar can get the ball to them."
"There's still times when we're not hitting on all cylinders, but we've hit some slants. The thing now is Marque Davis is going in there and digging them out. Those are tough catches to make, especially when you know the safety is coming."
"You're going to see new wrinkles in our offense and we've discussed what we're going to do with the personnel we have. We have to be ready to go even if Rodney Davis is out. If injuries hit us during this stretch, we have to be ready. We've been hit hard with injuries already, so we can't afford to many more."
On Bernard Berrian
"I don't think we're going to see [Berrian] this year. I think that if Bernard Berrian did not have a redshirt year, he'd definitely be playing this week. We might not see the full-speed Bernard Berrian with great acceleration or he might not be able to go 60 plays a game. If he did play it would be in spot situations, but I don't think that's in his best interest."
"Pretty soon we should hear a decision whether Bernard is going to try and play on a limited basis until later on in the season or if he's going to redshirt and play next season. I think right now, he's leaning more on redshirting. He's a competitive young man and he can catch the ball really well right now, but his second gear still isn't there. His conditioning isn't there and I know his ability to play 60 plays isn't there."
