Fresno State Athletics
Louisiana Tech 40, No. 22 Fresno State 28- NOTES/QUOTES
12/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 2, 2005
POSTGAME QUOTES
Fresno State head coach Pat Hill:
"I can't begin to find the words to explain what happened tonight. Obviously, we did not finish the job. We played so poorly with so much on the line and so much to play for. I can't begin to understand why. We had more turnovers in the last three games than we had in the first eight. I don't understand that."
"I give La Tech credit. Jack (Bicknell) did a great job. They were well prepared and well coached and really took it to us. I've been saying all week that they have great athletes and you saw that tonight."
"Right now, we have to get ready for a bowl game. The players will have one more week of school and then a week of finals. They have to finish the job in the classroom and they will. Then we have to get ready to try to write a good ending to the story this year. It's just such a shame that we weren't able to finish the job this year. We had a lot going for us and weren't able to finish it. I don't know why."
Louisiana Tech head coach Jack Bicknell:
"Our defense did such a good job of carrying us in the early part of the game. We were able to get some hard hits, force fumbles and give ourselves an opportunity. We made some plays."
"Fresno State is a well-coached team so for us to come in here and do what we did is just incredible. I was watching the tape of the USC game and how well they played so I knew what we were up against. Tonight we forced them to throw and you have to do that or they will pound the ball down your throat with the running game."
"I knew that with this game being on the road and against their crowd, you better do something early. Once we settled down in the second quarter, we were able to execute and ended up making plays."
GAME NOTES
- It will be 29 days until Fresno State takes the field for its next contest. The Bulldogs face the Conference USA champion in the 47th annual AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Dec. 31 in Memphis, Tenn. The game will begin at 10 a.m. PST and be shown live nationally on ESPN.
- Fresno State has won five of the seven games played in the all-time series against Louisiana Tech.
- Prior to the game, Fresno State honored its 16-member senior class of Tyrone Culver, Awan Diles, Kyle Goodman, Jason Huss, Jermaine Jamison, Adam Jennings, Wendell Mathis, Devyn McDonald, Garrett McIntyre, Nick Neal, Paul Pinegar, Matt Rivera, Emanuel Sanchez, Dartangon Shack, Bryson Sumlin and Raymond Washington. This senior class has won three consecutive bowl games.
- Pat Hill is now 72-42 in his nine-year tenure at Fresno State.
- Temperature at kick-off was 49 degrees.
- Kyle Zimmerman booted a 24-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3 with 4:11 remaining in the first quarter. Prior to tonight, Fresno State had not kicked a field goal on the opening drive of a game since Sept. 17 at Oregon.
- Matt Rivera's 31-yard reception in the first quarter was his longest of the year. He had a career-high 10 receptions, most by a Bulldog since the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic when Rodney Wright caught 13 passes.
- Fresno State is now 12-22 on fourth-down conversions this year after converting five of seven opportunities tonight.
- The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 113-48 in the first quarter of games this year.
- During a timeout in the second quarter, fans were treated to a true Bulldog wrestling match between mascots from Fresno State and Louisiana Tech. Fresno State's bulldog emerged victorious after several minutes, eliciting one of the loudest cheers of the entire first half.
- Fresno State blocked its sixth kick of the year, signaling its best total since the 2003 campaign when the club blocked nine attempts.
- Louisiana Tech's 26-3 halftime lead represented Fresno State's largest halftime deficit since the Bulldogs trailed 38-0 against No. 1 Oklahoma on Sept. 13, 2003.
- Fresno State's only punt of the game occurred just under the 9:00 mark of the third quarter.
- The Bulldogs were penalized 8 times for 74 yards compared to Louisiana Tech's 6-50 mark.
- Devyn McDonald's 39-yard reception early in the fourth quarter was the longest of his career. His touchdown catch that brought the Bulldogs within 33-16 was his second of the season and first since a 40-10 win at Idaho.
- Joe Fernandez has 17 receptions for 218 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games combined.
- Paul Pinegar had career highs for attempts (54) and completions (33) while throwing for 358 yards. He has 9,948 yards in his career and needs juts 52 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for 10,000 in his career.
