Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State vs. Louisiana Tech - Game Quotes
9/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 20, 2003
Fresno State Head Coach Pat Hill
"We've lost two football games to two very good football teams (Tennessee and Oklahoma). I believe we are a good football team. I'm not afraid to say it. I believe we have room for improvement but we are a good team. I believe we are playing with a lot of young players who are probably playing before they are ready but they are playing. They understand what they have to do and their whole goal right now is to get a championship."
"Sometimes when you get into a game like this you have to pound and pound and pound to soften things up. You can't throw it down the field on every play. In the second half we took over the game. What did they do to us? We just pushed the ball right at them. I thought we reduced the game to put in kids in a position to win the game. It worked for us today. Next week we will have to put together a game that will win for us."
"Louisiana Tech is a very good football team. You don't go into Michigan State and beat them if you aren't a good team. I liked the way we played tonight and I like the way we finished that game. As time goes on and things fall into place we will be able to be a better passing team. But the thing I liked is that we lined up against that eight-man front and said 'Come on' and had almost 300 yards worth of rushing."
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Jack Bicknell
About what Fresno State was doing on defense that gave La Tech difficulty
"They obviously have a very good defense. We couldn't get receivers open. They played a little more press-man [defense] than we were anticipating. They put us into a lot of long yardage situations. You always question yourself when you losing, saying what could we have done."
On Fresno State's running back Dwayne Wright and the Bulldog rushing attack
"He had a great game. They have a great running offense. I think we just left our defense out there a little too long. It was a situation where we left our defense out on the field too long, probably. We just got kind of worn down. We were out there a lot because we couldn't seem to get anything going offensively."
On the long road trip, and whether not playing a true home game had an effect tonight
"If you let that factor in, you might as well give up six of your games. You just can't do that. People got to come to our place, and we've got to go to their place. It didn't hurt Fresno State coming to our place last year, I can tell you that. You got to be able to win on the road."
On if Fresno State's defense reminds him of any of the others La Tech has faced this year
"It's very similar [to Michigan State's]. We couldn't protect, and we couldn't get guys open. But that's something that we've got to do a better job of. We'll take a look at the tape, fix what we are not doing, and go get Boise State."
Louisiana Tech QB Luke McCown
"Obviously we knew Fresno State had a great defense coming into this game. They always do a good job of disguising coverages. The bottom line is they were better defensively than we were offensively tonight."
"They remind me a lot of some of the better defenses I've played against. They have great athletes and a good scheme. That combination came make for a rough time sometimes."
