Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State vs. No. 13 Kansas State - Postgame Quotes
9/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 11, 2004
Fresno State Head Coach Pat Hill
On the game early...
"Our offense clicked well in the first half, but we gave up big turnovers. We gave up big plays early."
On QB Paul Pinegar...
"Paul's an outstanding quarterback. He used the field well. Except for the turnovers, his ball control was good."
On Fresno State's program and team goals...
"This is the eight year of our program, our expectation level is high. Our goal each year is a BCS game and we are still at the main table. If we win, we take the other team's chips away. We are all in next week. We expect to win."
On RB Darren Sproles...
"He is an outstanding player. Our goal was to work hard on defense. Our goal was for him to respect us after the game because we respect him."
On playing at Kansas State...
"I am honored to play these types of games, but we expect to win. I have a lot of respect for Bill Snyder and the things he has done here."
On the wind as a factor...
"The wind is a factor here and that was an important part of our game plan. Our team understood what to do when we were heading towards the north. We had a big push for the third quarter and we did a good job of keeping under control. Our defensive, offensive and special teams combined to play well."
On K-State's offensive threats...
"He is a good player [Dylan Meier]. He was having success at the end of the first half against our zone coverage. But Allen Webb is explosive. He is a threat. K-State has a big running game and a big offensive line and their rushing attack could break loose at any time. We worked to contain Sproles and hold him up. He is strong."
On Fresno State's team...
"We have good speed, but are not overly big. We are a young team. There is still work to do. Our young players need to step and they did in the second half. We need to keep playing Bulldog football, practice hard and take that on the field."
Fresno State DT Garrett McIntyre
On the defensive effort against Darren Sproles...
"I think we did a good job. We came in and did what we needed to do, which was stop Sproles and that was our whole plan from the beginning. He didn't really do much, so I really think that takes some out of their offensive plan."
On controlling the tempo of the game...
"After the second quarter, we knew it was our game. We play physical football. We don't get all of the hype that these other big schools get, but we come out and play hard and play good defense."
On the final score...
"I wasn't surprised at all. I think we were the better team. We came out and executed the plan and good things happened."
On the differences between K-State's quarterbacks...
"It wasn't really different between the two. One of them had a pretty good arm, and we knew that. We knew that we had to get to him. They're both good runners, and both good overall quarterbacks. We just had to swarm them and play good defense."
On parity of college football...
"I think mid-majors are starting to come up and good things are happening. These teams like us want BCS bids and we think we can get them, but we have to go undefeated in order to do it. So, I think it's our time."
Fresno State CB Richard Marshall
On Fresno State's offensive support...
"It was good having that offensive support, because it kept the defense off the field. We were well rested and ready to play of defense."
On the challenge of playing Kansas State...
"Going into the game, I thought they were going to give us more of a challenge offensively. We came out and played hard, and before the game started they got us hyped up when they started talking on the field, so it was over after that."
On focusing on Darren Sproles...
"We realized that he was a good player from watching film. We realized that if we stopped him it would be no contest, because we know that the only person they have is Sproles. If we stopped him, the game was ours."
Fresno State LB Todd Garcia
On Fresno State's defensive effort...
"We had one thing in mind and that was to stop number 43. If Sproles got going, then we were going to be done. We just had to stop him."
On the team's performance...
"We did it all. Offense, defense, special teams. Everything was clicking for us today."
Fresno State SS James Sanders
On his interception...
"It was big play. I was just doing my defensive responsibility. We moved into the right defense and I went one-on-one and made the play."
On the team's attitude after Kansas State's first touchdown...
"It was a big play but we're a veteran team. We kept our composure and did what we needed to do to win the game. The offense especially helped us by marching down the field after that interception and putting seven on the board for us."
Kansas State Head Coach Bill Snyder
On the game...
"We certainly got beat in all facets of the game: offense, defense and the kicking game. If it's one side of the ball, I can say, go fix it. If we are getting beat everywhere, I have to look within. That's gotta be Bill Snyder. I have to make sure Bill Snyder does a better job of preparing our football team. Do I see that we have some holes in our armor, yes."
On the team being physically beaten...
"I've been here for 16 years. Through some of the years, you can remember the 1-and-10's and 5-and-6's. We never had a football team that just got beat up as badly as we did today and that also needs to say an awful lot about Fresno State. There isn't any doubt in my mind that they are a very quality football team, but we knew that going in. We play quality football teams week-in and week-out in our conference, so if you are going to do that, you better be able to play with the Fresno State's of the world. We were not a very physical football team today. We didn't tackle anybody well. We've got guys bouncing off from people and guys getting yards after being hit. It was just fundamental things. We did not block and tackle. Preparation on my part was not good enough."
On stopping Darren Sproles...
"When you are three-and-out, there are only so many times he can get his hands on the ball. If we can sustain drives, than he'd have the ball a lot more than he did. When the score got outlandish, then you have to decide if you want to run the ball or try to throw it and catch up. We tried to go both ways and neither one was successful. We eventually said, `sit down Darren, we'll try it again another day.'"
On the quarterback situation...
"I told you before that I thought Dylan (Meier) was fine and was able to go and that was questionable at the time. There was some uncertainty as to whether or not if he would be able to get through the course of the game. So, the decision was to go with Allen (Webb) and Allen had taken a substantial amount of reps during the week. It was evident Dylan needed to be on the field and I let him go. He got banged up again and after that, I didn't want to take the risk."
