Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes About the Bowl Invitation
12/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 3, 2003
About receiving a bowl invitation
"Our football program is very excited about playing in the postseason for the fifth straight year. Getting to play UCLA, on a neutral field where we can be the home team, is something that is very difficult to achieve. Hopefully, with the game in San Jose, I believe the Red Wave will really come out in force. This is a great opportunity for us."
"Looking at our last three bowl games in San Jose - Michigan State, Georgia Tech and UCLA - all three are very traditional football programs. The turnout at San Jose is going to very important for us because we want to keep this bowl alive."
"I think the future of bowl games for Fresno State really hinges on this game."
"Our strength of schedule, our record, our reputation over the last five years is what has secured the bowl game for Fresno State at San Jose."
On whether the schedule Fresno State plays helped get them into the bowl
"We schedule the way we schedule for one reason, if we can go undefeated we maybe have a choice of playing in a BCS bowl. The teams that we have played against over the last three years are comparable to any other teams that anybody in the West has played in bowl games. The Silicon Valley Classic does give us an opportunity to play big name football teams with tradition."
"Those are the things you need to do if you want to get national recognition as a mid-major. You gotta play the teams that have the money, have the prestige and have the tradition. I don't think you could ask for a better team to play in this bowl game than UCLA right now in this situation."
On the opportunity for Fresno State
"I think it's a great opportunity for our football program. We have a very young football team that won eight games through a lot of adversity. They are very deserving of this bowl game. Hopefully we can go over there and put on the kind of showing that our people expect to have. I think it's important, at this time, that we show the kind of following that the Red Wave is known for because of how our people followed us to bowl games over the last three or four years. That is going to be very helpful in our chances to get a bowl game in the BCS standings."
"It's a great opportunity for our people to see a football program in UCLA that has been, as some people put it, the 'big brother' for many, many years."
"This is a game in the state that I think is very, very important for us."
"This football program is on the road to being successful. Now whether we can maintain undefeated seasons every year, I think that's tough. Winning championships is what we are after. Coming in second place four of the last five years is not what we want."
On the possibility of any of the injured players returning for the bowl game
"I don't really think so. It's basically going to the lineup we've had towards the end. Hopefully, the lineup that has been playing together for five weeks, is going to stay intact for this bowl game."
On UCLA
"You look at their roster, it's a who's-who in recruiting. There's no lack of talent at UCLA. UCLA has great talent, is an outstanding defensive football team and very talented on offense. This is going to be a very tough challenge for us."
On the effect of the game on recruiting
"It stirs interest. Our recruiting has never really changed or the type of players we've recruited has never changed. It's the interest of the people that we are competing with right now. I think it's a very big positive."
On how he views bowl games
"Bowl games are what we all play for in college football. The reward for college football teams that have successful seasons are going to bowl games and we are going to our fifth straight. Our ultimate challenge is to win our conference every year and we have not done that. We've been the second place team four out of the last five years and the first place team once and we those are the things we have to get better at."
"This is what you play for. You play for postseason games against schools like UCLA."
On whether the crowd will meet expectations
"The expectations for Fresno State football are high, also are the expectations from television and bowl committees for the crowd at Fresno State because of our reputation. Expectations for the people of Fresno and the football team in Fresno. I believe we will meet those expectations on Dec. 30 on the field and in the stands."
