Fresno-BYU Postgame Quotes
BYU at Fresno State
November 4, 2017
Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On his overall thoughts of the game…
“It was a hard fought game. BYU is a very good football team. I have said all week that they re much better than their record indicates. They play four top 25 teams throughout the year. They are very well coached and very physical with a lot of pride in their program. It was nice to be able to finish off in the fourth quarter against a really good football team and come out with the win.”
On last week’s loss benefitting the team…
“No, I don’t know if I want to relive that ever again. Did it teach lessons? Yes it taught lessons of how things can happen if details turn sideways. Thankfully we didn’t turn the football over tonight and we came up with a critical turnover ourselves to kind of secure the game there.”
On the phase of the game he was most pleased with…
“Their defensive line is excellent. Number 16 (Gavin Fowler) is as good a player as we have seen anywhere all year long. I don’t know how many tackles he made tonight, but usually he is all over the field. They are all real physical; they have a lot of really good players there. For the most part, I don’t know how many negative gains we had, but we were able to make some positive gains while running the football.”
On playing a confirmed 13 games this season…
“It is nice. That was one of our goals we set going into the year, getting into a bowl game. We still have a lot of work to do but it is nice to get that sixth win. The players deserve it, they work really hard. The staff has done a phenomenal job. It is always gratifying to see hard work pay off, especially in a game like tonight where it could have gone either way. We found a way to get that sixth win and I am very proud of our players and our staff.”
On the rushing attempts tonight…
“It wasn’t anything explosive by any means, but it was solid. It was inside and it was physical and we knew it was going to be that way. I thought the backs worked really hard and they wrapped the football up. I thought the offensive line got some push. It is really critical to stay on schedule where you stay out of long yard situations. We needed to convert on a couple more third downs, but I feel that for the most part our run game was adequate.”
On the feeling of support from the Red Wave after the game…
“It is great. It is nice to see the fans stick around, especially the little kids. I love seeing the little kids there all excited. It is always nice, we all really appreciate the fans who are always there to come out and support us.”
On BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum…
“He is an awesome competitor, I think the world of him and I have so much respect for him. I remember when he came back after his first injury a few weeks ago, he was pretty much playing on one leg but he is still competing. It didn’t surprise me that he came back in the second half, I knew he would come back because that is just the type of competitor he is. I hope he is not hurt too bad. I think he has a really bright future. He has NFL potential. He has a really quick release and he knows exactly what to do with the football. He is very accurate. I think he has a bright future with football at the next level.”
On Ronnie Rivers…
“I thought the other guys were running really hard. A lot of it was inside stuff and I thought Jordan Mims and Josh Hokit did a good job pounding it in there. It wasn’t anything negative or us trying to save Rivers for later, it was just that those other guys were playing fine and we wanted to keep feeding them.”
KeeSean Johnson, WR
On being bowl eligible…
“It sounds amazing. We haven’t been here in a while, so it’s good feeling for me and the players who have been here the last two losing seasons. It feels good to be back here and to know we have another game.”
On what the team did in order to bounce back from last week…
“We came out with a different attitude at practice. We were still favored to win but we had to come out and show it.”
On the overall offensive performance against BYU…
“We made some mistakes. I missed a play I know I can make consistently. It was just one that we had to look past, come down, and make the next play. That’s what we tried to do. As a team, we played a good offensive game, running the ball and passing the ball. I feel like we played a good game and we will go in and make the little corrections tomorrow.”
On goals for the rest of the season…
“A bowl game is a good feeling but knowing that we still have a season to play and being able to go to the Mountain West Championship, that is the main goal. That was our first goal but we accomplished one before the other.”
On establishing a rhythm in the passing game in the second half…
“We went in the locker room, we talked to our coaches and they made the adjustments that they needed to make to have our offense execute at a higher standard. He called and dialed up plays from what he was seeing in the box and I feel like that turned out to be good in the long run.
Jeffrey Allison, LB
On being bowl eligible…
“It sounds great. We get an extra game at the end of the season so that’s a great feeling. It feels good.”
On getting that sixth win in front of the home fans…
“It’s a great feeling. Coming back home to play in front of our fans, to do what we do and finish games like Coach Tedford preaches, it’s a great feeling to bring it back to the community and to let them know that we’re trying to do something special here and keep it going.”
On the overall defensive performance against BYU…
“We made some mistakes. That was a good team and they took advantage of our mistakes. We had to buckle down and we had to fight. The coaches were talking to us to make sure we stayed in the game. We talk to each other to make sure we stay in the game. Players know that we’ve been through so much for games like this and to be able to finish it off strong; I’m proud of how we played today.”
Mike Bell, DB
On the fumble in fourth quarter…
“It was huge, we just knew we needed the stop to give our offense another chance, we knew that they would get the job done if we gave them another chance.”
On being bowl eligible…
“It feels amazing right now. The guys in there were all loving it and all enjoying it, everyone is playing for each other right now. It’s just an amazing feeling in the locker room, it’s a great place to be right now.”
On preparing after coming off of a loss…
“We didn’t really do a lot different. We just have to focus on ourselves and worry about the next game ahead.”
“I think we’re worried about upcoming stuff and we were just not as focused last week as we should have been, but this week we really dialed in and fixed everything and polished everything out. I think we did a really good job of that.”
On pride in the continuing energy throughout the game…
“We love it. Every time we are on the field we enjoy it, we are like ‘Oh it’s another chance to play with my brothers out there’ and they are all awesome guys. I love being out there, even in the bad times we are still having fun out there. You can see us playing with a smile on our face and that is what I love about playing with the defense the most.”
“They are all good guys on the defense, and we get along all the time. It’s just fun to play out there with them. We all come together and gel and it’s just an amazing feeling.”
On being loose before the game…
“I’m always like that, between classes and at practice. I’m always dancing and always having fun with a smile on. I wouldn’t just say it’s just me it’s the whole defense we are just a goofy bunch of dudes and we love laughing, hanging out and dancing it’s just something that we do.”
On last home game and support from the Red Wave…
“I appreciate the support that has been coming in so far and I just hope they come out and enjoy another game and we give them something to watch.
On BYU changing QB’s twice and how it changed the game…
“We knew he wanted to throw the ball, so we just dialed in on that and tried to stop the pass. We just knew he wanted to throw the ball and we wanted to give them something different to look at and try to mess with his head a little bit. I think we did a good job playing, we need to do and playing our assignment football and we came out with a win.”
On his size and able to take down big guys like BYU’s tight end…
“I believe it helps, but JuJu had a couple tackles, Jeff had a couple too so I think it’s just making the tackle and we practice tackling every day, a low shoulder tackling team that’s what Coach Tedford and Coach O preach everyday so I think that it was just my territory and when he got the ball it was just my time to tackle.”
Jordan Mims, RB
On being bowl eligible…
“It feels great, me being a freshman I haven’t experienced this and it’s a great feeling to look on.”
On his preparation…
“Doing the little things, fixing the small stuff in practice so it can transfer over to the game and I couldn’t have done anything that I did tonight without my line and our defense getting us back on the field which was great.”
On all RB’s being interchangeable…
“It’s good, we all contribute in a way and we all can do it and it’s great.”
On playing a tough school like BYU…
“Probably the toughest that I have been against, but I wouldn’t take their wins and losses to predict the game because every week they can show up.”
On playing against big guys…
“I had to just try to get low and keep my feet moving for the most part.”
Head Coach Kalani Sitake
On the game…
“It was disappointing. We aren’t playing good football right now and that’s my fault. We scored 13 points and we couldn’t stop them on crucial downs. Congratulations to Fresno State, they wanted it more. This was the game to make them bowl eligible and it wasn’t good for us. Our players played hard and I am proud of how they played tonight. We left some big opportunities and big plays out on the field tonight. We have to get better, this is not BYU football.”
“We struggled with putting points on the board and stringing drives together. It seemed like we had few bad things happen at the worst times, like dropped passes and miss timed throws. We could have done more on defense to stop the runs and create more disruption. We didn’t deter Marcus McMaryion’s throws enough. He threw a few deep passes and he was careful with the ball. We needed to make bigger plays on defense and execute to cause turnovers.”
On the offense…
“I think Fresno State locked us up by playing a lot of man coverage, and that’s when we need receivers to step up. Receivers should hope the other team is playing man coverage, because it gives them the opportunity to make big plays. We did some good things on offense tonight, but we need to execute big plays. The players are playing well, it’s on us coaches to get the right guys on the field. We outgained Fresno State tonight and it was pretty evenly matched, but points are all that matters.”
Sione Takitaki, DE
On the game tonight and where to go from here…
“We could have played a lot better tonight, but we’re going to watch film and get back to practice. We’re going to keep fighting, keep moving forward and finish the season strong.”
“We had a chance to go out there and stop them. We aren’t going to hang our hats on big plays or penalties, because he still had plenty of opportunities to get the stops we needed. They did well on their screen blocking. I tip my hat to Fresno State because they came out to play tonight. We’re going to get back to work on Monday.”
“The coaches are encouraging us to stay positive and get back to work. We all have that mindset. Even though the season has been rough, we’re going to go hard at practice. It’s not the end of the world. We’re blessed to play this game, we are blessed to attend a beautiful university of BYU and we’re blessed with our supportive family members.”
November 4, 2017
Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On his overall thoughts of the game…
“It was a hard fought game. BYU is a very good football team. I have said all week that they re much better than their record indicates. They play four top 25 teams throughout the year. They are very well coached and very physical with a lot of pride in their program. It was nice to be able to finish off in the fourth quarter against a really good football team and come out with the win.”
On last week’s loss benefitting the team…
“No, I don’t know if I want to relive that ever again. Did it teach lessons? Yes it taught lessons of how things can happen if details turn sideways. Thankfully we didn’t turn the football over tonight and we came up with a critical turnover ourselves to kind of secure the game there.”
On the phase of the game he was most pleased with…
“Their defensive line is excellent. Number 16 (Gavin Fowler) is as good a player as we have seen anywhere all year long. I don’t know how many tackles he made tonight, but usually he is all over the field. They are all real physical; they have a lot of really good players there. For the most part, I don’t know how many negative gains we had, but we were able to make some positive gains while running the football.”
On playing a confirmed 13 games this season…
“It is nice. That was one of our goals we set going into the year, getting into a bowl game. We still have a lot of work to do but it is nice to get that sixth win. The players deserve it, they work really hard. The staff has done a phenomenal job. It is always gratifying to see hard work pay off, especially in a game like tonight where it could have gone either way. We found a way to get that sixth win and I am very proud of our players and our staff.”
On the rushing attempts tonight…
“It wasn’t anything explosive by any means, but it was solid. It was inside and it was physical and we knew it was going to be that way. I thought the backs worked really hard and they wrapped the football up. I thought the offensive line got some push. It is really critical to stay on schedule where you stay out of long yard situations. We needed to convert on a couple more third downs, but I feel that for the most part our run game was adequate.”
On the feeling of support from the Red Wave after the game…
“It is great. It is nice to see the fans stick around, especially the little kids. I love seeing the little kids there all excited. It is always nice, we all really appreciate the fans who are always there to come out and support us.”
On BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum…
“He is an awesome competitor, I think the world of him and I have so much respect for him. I remember when he came back after his first injury a few weeks ago, he was pretty much playing on one leg but he is still competing. It didn’t surprise me that he came back in the second half, I knew he would come back because that is just the type of competitor he is. I hope he is not hurt too bad. I think he has a really bright future. He has NFL potential. He has a really quick release and he knows exactly what to do with the football. He is very accurate. I think he has a bright future with football at the next level.”
On Ronnie Rivers…
“I thought the other guys were running really hard. A lot of it was inside stuff and I thought Jordan Mims and Josh Hokit did a good job pounding it in there. It wasn’t anything negative or us trying to save Rivers for later, it was just that those other guys were playing fine and we wanted to keep feeding them.”
KeeSean Johnson, WR
On being bowl eligible…
“It sounds amazing. We haven’t been here in a while, so it’s good feeling for me and the players who have been here the last two losing seasons. It feels good to be back here and to know we have another game.”
On what the team did in order to bounce back from last week…
“We came out with a different attitude at practice. We were still favored to win but we had to come out and show it.”
On the overall offensive performance against BYU…
“We made some mistakes. I missed a play I know I can make consistently. It was just one that we had to look past, come down, and make the next play. That’s what we tried to do. As a team, we played a good offensive game, running the ball and passing the ball. I feel like we played a good game and we will go in and make the little corrections tomorrow.”
On goals for the rest of the season…
“A bowl game is a good feeling but knowing that we still have a season to play and being able to go to the Mountain West Championship, that is the main goal. That was our first goal but we accomplished one before the other.”
On establishing a rhythm in the passing game in the second half…
“We went in the locker room, we talked to our coaches and they made the adjustments that they needed to make to have our offense execute at a higher standard. He called and dialed up plays from what he was seeing in the box and I feel like that turned out to be good in the long run.
Jeffrey Allison, LB
On being bowl eligible…
“It sounds great. We get an extra game at the end of the season so that’s a great feeling. It feels good.”
On getting that sixth win in front of the home fans…
“It’s a great feeling. Coming back home to play in front of our fans, to do what we do and finish games like Coach Tedford preaches, it’s a great feeling to bring it back to the community and to let them know that we’re trying to do something special here and keep it going.”
On the overall defensive performance against BYU…
“We made some mistakes. That was a good team and they took advantage of our mistakes. We had to buckle down and we had to fight. The coaches were talking to us to make sure we stayed in the game. We talk to each other to make sure we stay in the game. Players know that we’ve been through so much for games like this and to be able to finish it off strong; I’m proud of how we played today.”
Mike Bell, DB
On the fumble in fourth quarter…
“It was huge, we just knew we needed the stop to give our offense another chance, we knew that they would get the job done if we gave them another chance.”
On being bowl eligible…
“It feels amazing right now. The guys in there were all loving it and all enjoying it, everyone is playing for each other right now. It’s just an amazing feeling in the locker room, it’s a great place to be right now.”
On preparing after coming off of a loss…
“We didn’t really do a lot different. We just have to focus on ourselves and worry about the next game ahead.”
“I think we’re worried about upcoming stuff and we were just not as focused last week as we should have been, but this week we really dialed in and fixed everything and polished everything out. I think we did a really good job of that.”
On pride in the continuing energy throughout the game…
“We love it. Every time we are on the field we enjoy it, we are like ‘Oh it’s another chance to play with my brothers out there’ and they are all awesome guys. I love being out there, even in the bad times we are still having fun out there. You can see us playing with a smile on our face and that is what I love about playing with the defense the most.”
“They are all good guys on the defense, and we get along all the time. It’s just fun to play out there with them. We all come together and gel and it’s just an amazing feeling.”
On being loose before the game…
“I’m always like that, between classes and at practice. I’m always dancing and always having fun with a smile on. I wouldn’t just say it’s just me it’s the whole defense we are just a goofy bunch of dudes and we love laughing, hanging out and dancing it’s just something that we do.”
On last home game and support from the Red Wave…
“I appreciate the support that has been coming in so far and I just hope they come out and enjoy another game and we give them something to watch.
On BYU changing QB’s twice and how it changed the game…
“We knew he wanted to throw the ball, so we just dialed in on that and tried to stop the pass. We just knew he wanted to throw the ball and we wanted to give them something different to look at and try to mess with his head a little bit. I think we did a good job playing, we need to do and playing our assignment football and we came out with a win.”
On his size and able to take down big guys like BYU’s tight end…
“I believe it helps, but JuJu had a couple tackles, Jeff had a couple too so I think it’s just making the tackle and we practice tackling every day, a low shoulder tackling team that’s what Coach Tedford and Coach O preach everyday so I think that it was just my territory and when he got the ball it was just my time to tackle.”
Jordan Mims, RB
On being bowl eligible…
“It feels great, me being a freshman I haven’t experienced this and it’s a great feeling to look on.”
On his preparation…
“Doing the little things, fixing the small stuff in practice so it can transfer over to the game and I couldn’t have done anything that I did tonight without my line and our defense getting us back on the field which was great.”
On all RB’s being interchangeable…
“It’s good, we all contribute in a way and we all can do it and it’s great.”
On playing a tough school like BYU…
“Probably the toughest that I have been against, but I wouldn’t take their wins and losses to predict the game because every week they can show up.”
On playing against big guys…
“I had to just try to get low and keep my feet moving for the most part.”
Head Coach Kalani Sitake
On the game…
“It was disappointing. We aren’t playing good football right now and that’s my fault. We scored 13 points and we couldn’t stop them on crucial downs. Congratulations to Fresno State, they wanted it more. This was the game to make them bowl eligible and it wasn’t good for us. Our players played hard and I am proud of how they played tonight. We left some big opportunities and big plays out on the field tonight. We have to get better, this is not BYU football.”
“We struggled with putting points on the board and stringing drives together. It seemed like we had few bad things happen at the worst times, like dropped passes and miss timed throws. We could have done more on defense to stop the runs and create more disruption. We didn’t deter Marcus McMaryion’s throws enough. He threw a few deep passes and he was careful with the ball. We needed to make bigger plays on defense and execute to cause turnovers.”
On the offense…
“I think Fresno State locked us up by playing a lot of man coverage, and that’s when we need receivers to step up. Receivers should hope the other team is playing man coverage, because it gives them the opportunity to make big plays. We did some good things on offense tonight, but we need to execute big plays. The players are playing well, it’s on us coaches to get the right guys on the field. We outgained Fresno State tonight and it was pretty evenly matched, but points are all that matters.”
Sione Takitaki, DE
On the game tonight and where to go from here…
“We could have played a lot better tonight, but we’re going to watch film and get back to practice. We’re going to keep fighting, keep moving forward and finish the season strong.”
“We had a chance to go out there and stop them. We aren’t going to hang our hats on big plays or penalties, because he still had plenty of opportunities to get the stops we needed. They did well on their screen blocking. I tip my hat to Fresno State because they came out to play tonight. We’re going to get back to work on Monday.”
“The coaches are encouraging us to stay positive and get back to work. We all have that mindset. Even though the season has been rough, we’re going to go hard at practice. It’s not the end of the world. We’re blessed to play this game, we are blessed to attend a beautiful university of BYU and we’re blessed with our supportive family members.”