Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Press Conference Quotes
9/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 26, 2011
On the Idaho game
"It was a good way to start conference, it was a highly contestant game the first half. At half time I thought our defense made some great adjustments, we played a great second half in defense holding them to 53 yards. Offensively, we had not been very good in the third quarter, but we outscored them in the third quarter, We controlled the clock for about 11 minutes in the fourth quarter, I thought overall it was our best team four quarters of football all year."
On the Bulldog defense
"Defensively, sometimes a performance like Derek's and that game and the numbers, the defense gets over shadowed, but I think our defense played an outstanding football game."
On Ole Miss
"This week we have a great challenge, Ole Miss has great athletes. The kicking game is going to be critical in this football game. They've got to be one of the top punt teams in the country. He's a rugby style kicker, they get great net average out of their punting game and the field position changes greatly. In the return game you're going to see two great returners: our guy, Devon Wylie, is one of the best in the country and their guy, number 3, is a playmaker."
"For our fans it will be a great chance to see what Southeast Conference player's look like. They're a good looking football team and they got a lot of skill level. I think last year's game against us was probably one of their best of the year."
"I don't think they're going to come in here flat, they're a very proud football program. When we played them last year down in Oxford, they came after us hard. It was a tough, tough football game. I've got a lot of respect for Houston, I've got a lot of respect for teams that come out of that conference. That is as good of football as there is."
On quarterback Derek Carr
"We got a good quarterback, he sees the field, he understands it and the protection is held up. When you're playing man to man there's going to be some holds, there's going to be some wins."
On wide receiver Jalen Saunders
"Jalen Saunders has unbelievable speed. We didn't show the kind of speed we're showing now in the first game of the year. We were so hesitant, and played slow against Cal. Now, we are playing and using our speed to our advantage."
On bringing in a big program to Bulldog Stadium
"We've always wanted to bring the big teams to Fresno, we just have to respond fan wise. We had Illinois here last time, but we didn't have the attendance we anticpated and if you're going to bring these kinds of teams out here, it's important for us to really take advantage of those games and fill the stadium more or we'll have to play more road games.
Will this be the two toughest weeks in your tenure?
"Tell you what, our first eight weeks of this season are pretty tough. We got Ole Miss coming in here and they got their backs to the wall, this is big. Then we got Boise coming in here who will be the highest ranked team ever to play here. Boise State is an outstanding football team, Utah State is an outstanding football team that is coming in here after Boise and then we go to Nevada before we get our first break. With this team, it's good to be home. We've been on the road in three out of the first four weeks and that was a tough road stretch. "
On Travis Brown and Kevin Goessling being named WAC Players of the Week
"I think it's well deserved. Goessling did a great job. He hit two 48-yard field goals. There's a guy that sometimes may be taken for granted because he is so automatic. He's an outstanding player and one of the best kickers in the country. He's a senior this year and has come a long way from that Wisconsin game in 2008 when he missed three field goals. Since then, he has been nothing but perfect and he is now 40 points away from breaking the school scoring record. He's got a chance to go down in the record books as the top scorer in the history of this University, which is a pretty big thing."
On Robbie Rouse's consistency
"He's online if he stays healthy to be the all-time leading rusher in the history of this school. I've said it before that I think he is an outstanding player and anytime you come in as a true freshman and beat out two fifth-year seniors and back up a first rounder in the NFL, that's pretty impressive. Robbie blocks well, he is a ferocious blocker. He's in great physical condition, is strong and really tough. I see Robbie Rouse potentially going down as the greatest running back to play here."
