Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes From Monday's Press Conference
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 1, 2004
Hill opens with thoughts on the SMU win
"Saturday night was good. It was good to get healthy again, mentally that is. Offensively, we had six straight drives for touchdowns, and defensively we had a shutout. Everybody on the squad got to play, at least the whole last quarter, which was great. And I thought the fans at the end of the game, the ones that were left, got the stadium as loud as it had been all night. It was unbelievable. They really cheered those kids on. They played their hearts out. It was great for those young players, and for the older players, getting to watch the young guys hold that shutout. It was a great night. It was good to get back on track. This team needed a win, they needed to get some joy in their heart. I thought it was a really good game, a good performance. I'm really happy for Paul [Pinegar]. I thought he did really well, and we got out of our slump."
I thought Paul looked as good as Saturday night as I've seen
"I've been saying for the last six weeks that I didn't think the whole problem was Paul. We just got into a slump as a team, especially offensively, things weren't going well. Sort of the same thing that is happening with Purdue right now. [They were] 5-0, Kyle Orton was up for the Heisman, they're No. 5 in the nation, and they can't buy 10 points now."
"Those are some of the things that happen in this day and age in any sport. It hadn't been since, what was the date, 1978, since all three Florida schools lost the same weekend? College football is very equal. Most teams have four or five games left on the schedule, there's really only six teams left in the mix in terms of a National Championship. It's an amazing deal. We talked about that earlier in the year. There are a lot of teams still playing and it's up to those teams to really find it within themselves to play hard and to play for something. We've got a lot to play for still."
General thoughts on the upcoming Rice game
"This Rice game will be a very tough game for us. It always has been. I think that Ken Hatfield and his staff do a great job. I think they have tough players, and they are very tough down on that carpet in Houston. We're looking forward to it though. It's a good challenge, and this is the last time that we'll play against Rice."
You've said in the past that the [Rice Stadium] carpet kind of speeds up their offense?
"They have very sure footing on it, and they practice there every day. Astroturf is a surface that hardly anyone has now. We break out our [turf] shoes once every two years for that game. We have to order one whole set of shoes just for the carpet. Our guys got them on Sunday, we're breaking them in, we'll put them on that day."
"It's a different surface to play on. It does help your speed, and we run fast. The one thing that helps them on the option is that it makes them very sure and quick cuts on that thing. You really have to stay inside-out. Force things to the sidelines, stop them from the inside out."
"I listen to people talk, and we've always played relatively well against the option. Offensively, we need to take advantage of our possessions. We've had a couple wins in Houston that took some big plays to win them. When David [Carr] was here, and our last couple of games with them, our games with Rice have been right down the wire, where we've had to come from behind to beat them. We've had to show a lot of character to beat that football team. I know that we'll get a great game out of Rice."
Is the Hawaii turf the same as Rice?
"Not now. It was, but now they have field turf. All of the teams that used to have Astroturf have gone to field turf now. The only two real turf teams, well, teams that we play, are Oregon State, and they're changing next year, and Rice. Most everybody has gone to field turf now."
Will you wear tennis shoes?
"Well, they have tennis shoe bottoms, but they're football shoes. They're just not cleated."
So it's different than what you wore at Washington?
"Absolutely. At Washington, we just wore grass shoes on that kind of turf. That field turf that's out now is just like grass. I don't know of any other stadiums that use [Astroturf]. Most everyone is using either field turf or natural grass. Even the high schools and junior colleges are switching to it."
You've gotten everyone healthy right? Todd [Garcia] will be back?
"Yeah, he played a little in the last game. Jermaine [Jamison] had a little groin injury, but he's working himself back in. We got really good production out of our wide receivers, but Jermaine wasn't on the field much because he didn't practice during the week. At running back I thought that both Sumlin and Mathis both played well. I thought that Robbie Dubois and Vercher played well at fullback. [On the] offensive line, I thought that Chris Denman had his best game here, and he's a young player. [On the] defensive side of the ball, again, a really good effort from our team. Anytime you have a shutout, that's a good effort. Special teams was good. We played a good football game. And we needed that."
Was there a difference in the demeanor of the team after the game?
"Absolutely. It was a long six weeks. I can sympathize with people that go through that. It was a tough deal pulling them out of that. The players did a great job of pulling themselves out of that and getting going again."
You've been talking about the fundamental things you'd been working on in practice. Did you see those things performed in the way you played Saturday night?
"Yeah. I didn't see breakdowns in protection, and when we had plays to be made, we made them. Jaron Fairman had a nice ball thrown to him, and he juggled it, but he caught the ball. We had the wheel route to Adam Jennings early in the game, and we've had wide open in some other games but had protection breakdowns and couldn't get it to him. When everything is holding up, it easier for the execution to happen. Paul [Pinegar] was very accurate on his throws, and did a good job of changing runs and protection at the line of scrimmage."
Talk about how you used the reverse the way you did. How did that change the defense?
"Well, the first time we got around the edge, and the second time, it was shut down, but Adam [Jennings] just made a great move in reversing his field and turning it vertical. The second time the play had nowhere to go, but it was just a player making a great play. You're not going to pull too many of those over and over."
Richard Marshall made a couple of beautiful plays
"Yeah, he played great defense. He was one of those guys. He played that thing perfect. The ball was well thrown, but he timed it, and he just went up and got it. That's what happens when execution and making plays combine. That was a darn good job. He also made a big play on that goal-line stand that was nice. Things go that way sometimes. There were some mistakes that we have to correct, but they're certainly not as glaring in a 42-0 win."
All of the cut blocking [that Rice does]? That's perfectly legal?
"Sure. We see it a lot. Boise cut blocks as much as Rice will. Boise cuts as well as anyone inside, in the run game and on the perimeter. I think that (the talk about cut-blocking) is built up by people talking about the option. It is different in that it's really assignment football on defense. You don't swarm and gang tackle against option teams. Everyone has a specific assignment, and you take care of that first, then swarm to the ball. That, in my eyes, is how it's different than playing against other football teams. That's what we have to do. We need to shut everything down from the inside to the sideline."
Do they show you something different each year?
"Oh yeah, just like SMU. SMU had not shown a no-huddle offense all year. They had two weeks to prepare. We'll get something new. Rice has come in here before with a no-huddle. A lot of that is done to keep us from getting all of our packages in, all of our calls. Once we settled down against SMU, we handled it well. Everybody tries a little something different against us, and Rice will have something new also."
I suspect the win wasn't good only for the players, but the coaches got something out of it
"Oh, yeah. Sure it was good. Whenever you're in a slump you just feel like you've got to pull out of it. In this day and age, athletes are exposed to everything, from talk radio to SportsCenter. Coaching is the same way. It's a whole different world now. It's about mental preparation, understanding what's going on, and staying on top of that, while doing the other part of your job with the X's and O's. That's very difficult. But it is also very challenging and rewarding to see your team pull out of something like this. Hopefully we'll finish the year the way I believe we will, and that will be great for this team."
Why has November been so good to you?
"There is a lot of strong conviction by the players and the coaches in this program that we stay the course. We weather bad times. Everybody is looking for that perfect season, and we still haven't had it. We're just looking to fight through this season and go to our sixth straight bowl game, which is, in Division I football, the final goal. I wish we had playoffs, but we're just fighting to get to the postseason. An eight-win season is like a 24-win season in basketball. Multiply your wins by three and that's what you get. We're pushing this week to get our fifth win, and we'll go from there. There is a chance to finish this season strong in November again, and I think our success in November says a lot about our coaches and players belief in what we are doing. But we've got some tough ones. Hawaii will come in here a little different than the way they went into Boise. Nevada will come in here and play tough. Everyone can make their season here in Fresno, so it'll be fun. It'll be a great challenge for us. We don't have to worry about anyone letting down for the old Bulldogs. We've just got to be ready to play. We'll be fine. So far we've brought out the best in those teams."
