Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State vs. San Jose State - Game Quotes
11/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 15, 2003
SJSU head coach Fitz Hill
On not coming away with any points despite driving the ball in the first half "In the first half, we couldn't get any points and capitalize on our drives. We had two or three good drives, and came away with no points. And that kind of socked it out of us. We really needed to get points on the board."
On the special teams
"I said that going into the game that special teams would play a critical role in the game, and the blocked kick and the blocked punt really, really hurt. Those brought momentum swings into the football game."
On his team's offense
"I think it was more missed execution, because coming out in the first half, we did what we wanted to do, we just didn't score points. We controlled the ball, we controlled the clock. Penalties really put us back. We kept the ball for [seven] minutes on the first drive, and that's what we wanted to do."
On if not scoring points on the first drive was the difference
"I think that would have given us a momentum boost. Any time you are on the road and you get points, and you have a blocked kick, that's not good for momentum."
On SJSU's tight ends not being as effective as normal
"Scott was pressured more than he'd been pressured. And we had to protect him. It was tough to protect him and get our tight ends out [on the pass pattern]."
On Fresno State's wideouts
"They made plays. When they had the opportunity, they made plays, and that helped change momentum. You think you got them, and then, bam, they hit one down the sidelines. And that's what playmakers do. They did a great job making plays."
SJSU quarterback Scott Rislov
His thoughts on the Spartans' opening possession
"I think that maybe more than anything, it just didn't give us anything up there to look at. If we could have gotten three, it would have been a nice start. But we were stopped before we could get anything done. That really hurt us."
On if SJSU being shut down was more because of failed execution or Fresno State's defense
"I think it was probably missed execution. We fairly consistently moved the ball on them. We did some good things. But we'd have a penalty or something negative would happen. It was one guy just maybe not getting his job done. It was a different guy every time. We'd move the ball forward, and then we'd move back with a penalty or a sack or something."
On Fresno State's defense
"That's something they've always done. They've blitzed, and they are a good defense. They're fast and they moved around a lot and gave us a lot of different looks."
Fresno State Head Coach Pat Hill
"Like I said this was another must win. This game was important to me and important to a lot of people who player here.. This was another game seven and now we just gotta get ready for the next one. 41-7 suits me fine and I really liked the way we played. It means a lot because we have a chance to play for a championship. We get to play next week on national television with a lot on the line against a Top 20 football team. I'm looking forward to that one."
"I thought we played well in a lot of areas. I thought we played well on offense and defense. We weren't as sharp on special teams. They got after us on the kickoff returns. I thought we played well against Louisiana Tech and Oregon State and I thought we played well tonight."
"I was very pleased with the quarterback. I was very pleased with the running backs. I thought it was a great team win tonight. Pinegar was better and he'll keep getting better. He spent seven weeks on the shelf, but as the triggerman gets better your football team gets better. We getting better at the right time and next week's a big one."
"Scoring 41 points is not what makes me happy. The way we played makes me happy. We played with a lot of passion throughout the game. And we played well."
