Fresno State Athletics
Hill Press Conference Quotes
11/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2005
On the support of Boise State fans at last year's MPC Computers Bowl ...
"I want to make it very clear. I've said it every chance I've had. I said it after the bowl game last year. I'd like to tell our fans once again what a great acceptance we had playing in that bowl game last year. There were 25,000-26,000 people at that game and 20,000 of them were Boise State people. It was quite a humbling experience having the kind of support we had up in Boise by their fans. So I am hoping that when Boise fans come into this stadium and you see those people in that orange and blue ... I know the game is going to be heated and highly contested but make sure you say something to those fans about the appreciation we had as a football program for the way we were accepted by their fans. I want to make that clear. I never experienced anything like that. Those people really late in that game were a big factor in our comeback. Their support, the noise in that stadium ... I know that it will be different in this game but they are true football fans and I think it will be very important for our fans to thank them for that support and let's get on with the game. But treat them with great respect because I tell you what they treated us with great respect."
On Boise State's team this year ...
"It's basically the same team from last year and our same team from last year in a lot of positions. We're seeing a lot of the same people, a lot of the same schemes. There going to be new wrinkles always. We know that we're going to get a very high-paced offense, a very, very tough run defense. They force you into the passing game and they're able to lock up there. They've got very quick starts on a lot of people, which force people into playing a game that they know how to defend. They can defend the run or the pass depending on what they enforce. They do a good job at dictating the tempo of the game. And against us, they've really done a good job at that. We have not had a good early start against them. They've always pretty well controlled the tempo of the game and we need to come out and play at a very high tempo early."
On big plays and controlling the tempo of the game ...
Take last year's game ... we had a couple third down passes that we dropped and they had a couple third down passes that guys are jumping out of buildings and making spectacular catches. It comes down to making plays in big games. You just have to make big plays. It happens in the Sunday league all the time. And their players have stepped up and made the big plays. The game here in Fresno a couple years ago, we busted a coverage ... they hit it for 80 yards. We threw an interception ... they took it to the house. We had them on third and long ... the guy made a great catch over the top of one of our guys. That's how they do it. That's what I mean by controlling the tempo of the game ... making big plays early. If it's third down, we gotta make a play. If it's special teams, gotta make a play. Turnovers are big. That's what I mean by controlling the tempo of the game. It's not going to be a conservative game. I don't know if it's going to be a high scoring game because I think that both teams play such good defense. I don't see this as being a very high scoring game. Except for the one game up there, it never has been. The last two have been pretty low scoring games. Considering the way both teams are scoring against other people. You've got two very good defensive teams. Special teams are going to be huge in this one. There are going to be some big plays that are going to dictate the tempo and the outcome of this game. And I don't know where they're going to be."
On Boise State's offense ...
"Boise State can really run the football. They have a great group of running backs that play at a very high level. They have a scheme that they do a very good job with their shifts in motion. They get you in a position sometimes where you are a little bit out of position. They do a lot of things with their movement and shifts in motion. I think they are very, very good at what they do. Not only do we need to stop the run, we have to contain the quarterback. The quarterback is a threat to run and he's a guy that will rely on his legs as well as his arms. So the defensive line is going to be very important in being able to shut the run down and be able to contain the quarterback. And those are tough assignments."
On Boise State's season to date ...
"It's hard when you come out of a game 0-2 (referring to Boise State) or like we started 1-3. Those are tough things but when you play a schedule like they did early ... we've been through that every year I've been here ... those are tough schedules when you start off on a roll because then you have to make sure you can handle success and you brace yourself for the adversity that's going to face you because everybody's going to play up to you. Now if you come out of the gates slow, everybody's given up on you and you have to battle back. It's tough in college football now. In this day and age, you want to be in November where you still got a lot at stake. And both teams now have a lot at stake. They came out against a very tough opposition but since then they have been on a steady climb. They are playing at a very high level right now."
