Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-UCLA Postgame Quotes
Fresno State at UCLA
Sept. 15, 2018
Los Angeles, Calif.
Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On the crowd…
“It was really awesome to see the Red Wave here in full force. Especially after the game and seeing them go all the way up to the top in the corner that they were in, that was awesome. I really appreciate them making the trip out here. It means a lot to our players as you can tell when they ran over there after the game. I really appreciate their support and making the trip.”
On playing against UCLA’s defense…
“We had to be patient. They stack the box and make it really hard to run. We knew we weren’t going to be gashing big runs in there but we needed to stay on schedule, which means stay manageable. I thought we did that. I thought Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the offensive staff did a great job and called a really great game. Especially in the second half, Jamire Jordan had a really big catch and KeeSean Johnson came up with a few and they both had a big challenge for the ball and made plays against a talented team like UCLA. It all came down to making plays.”
On the offense bouncing back after Minnesota…
“We went back to work. You cannot carry that with you. I was really pleased with the way we rebounded, we came back on Tuesday with a lot of energy and focus. We put a game plan together and the guys worked really hard all week long. That was a total team effort tonight. I thought defense played phenomenal and put a lot of pressure on the passer and got their hands on the ball. Usually, any time you can win the turnover battle, you have a chance to win.”
On Marcus McMaryion’s performance tonight…
“He played his heart out. He kept competing. That is who Marcus is, he is a great competitor. He did a great job of running the show out there and getting everybody in position so they could be successful.”
On facing Toledo after the bye week…
“I know they are very gifted outside, they have one of the best receiving teams in the country. They have won nine or 10 games multiple years in a row so they are a really good program. We will enjoy this one right now. We have a bye week to get a little bit healthy and start looking towards Toledo. I know that they will bring a huge challenge to Bulldog Stadium.”
On what this win means for the team…
“We go into games thinking we have a chance to win every game no matter who we play. This is obviously a nice win for our program. UCLA has great tradition, they have great and highly recruited players on their team, and they are a very well-coached football team. I thought our guys came out with a real focus tonight. I am really proud of them down the stretch, they got back in it for us to respond after we fumbled the punt. It could’ve been real easy for it to go the other way but I thought we responded really well.”
Marcus McMaryion, QB, Sr.
On the win…
“I would definitely consider this one of the best wins in my career.”
“This is a huge win for our team, but we have a lot to learn from it. We will ride this high tonight and tomorrow we will learn from our mistakes by watching film. We will build on this game through the bye week, and take it into our game against Toledo.”
On his rushing touchdowns…
“It’s fun. It’s great that the coaches put the trust in me to handle the ball around the opposing defensive line and linebackers. Those plays show how much faith the coaches have in me and our offensive line.”
On dealing with UCLA’s defense…
“UCLA has a great defensive, with a lot of really athletic guys. It just came down to whether we were going to go out and make big plays or not.”
“We stayed calm, cool and collected. We never get too high or too low. That is something that Coach Tedford preaches to us. We were not going to be defeated when they scored a touchdown, we just needed to go out and score more points to win.”
On the crowd…
It felt like a home game. It was amazing. When I looked up and saw all the red in the crowd, it was a great feeling. We can’t thank the Red Wave enough for coming out and supporting us tonight. I can’t even put into words how much we feed off that energy.”
Keesean Johnson, WR, Sr.
On the win…
“This is a great win for our team. We came to play a big school, and started quick on offense. UCLA was playing a lot of man coverage on the outside, so we went out and made one-on-one plays. In the passing game, we ran hard.”
“It’s a great feeling to beat a power five school. Last week, we started slow on offense but our defense had a good game. Tonight, we played a good game on both sides of the ball. I’m proud of my team.”
It was a physical game on both ends. I know they have a great coach who demands a lot, just like coach Tedford. It was a great battle.”
On what a win over UCLA means…
“It shows that we can play with Power Five schools. Whoever we play, we are going to come out and fight.”
On what needs to be worked on during the bye week…
“We need to be consistent on both sides of the ball, and execute the plays we know we can execute.”
On the Red Wave supporting the team on the road…
“I didn’t know we were going to have that many fans in the Rose Bowl tonight. I hope the Red Wave comes in an even bigger crowd to our next home game.”
Jeff Allison, LB, Jr.
On what it’s like to get two interceptions…
“It’s a great feeling. Our corners and DBs did what they were supposed to do tonight, which allowed me to make plays. Mike Bell and I were fighting over the first one, but he let me have it. We don’t care who gets credited the interception as long as we get the turnover.”
On the defense…
“UCLA has some great players, but we wanted to come out and set the tone on defense. Our offense came out and had momentum moving the ball, so we wanted to keep that same energy. We worked really hard this week and studied a lot of film. We came out and did our best.”
On what this win means…
“This win does a lot for our program. I don’t think a lot of people expected us to win tonight, but the Fresno State fans believed in us. It’s a great feeling to get this win.”
On adversity in games…
Coach Tedford and the rest of the coaches talk to us about adversity every day. Things aren’t always going to go our way. We just wanted to stay calm, collected and keep playing our game.”
Mike Bell, S, Jr.
On the win…
“This win means a lot because UCLA is another California team, and they are in the PAC12. This win was big for the Valley and all our fans. The Red Wave came out and supported us tonight, it was amazing. I saw more red in the crow than I saw blue, and that’s what I like to see. It was an amazing feeling, it felt like a home game.”
“It means a lot to me. I’m a Southern California kid and I was recruited by UCLA. So to beat UCLA in front of my friends and family is a big deal.”
On how he’s developed as a player…
“I’m a different defender than when I came in, redshirting was the best thing that could have happened to me at 17-years-old. I’ve seen this program reinvigorate over the last four years. Coach Tedford is doing a great job with us, day in and day out. He’s holding a standard, and I’ve seen a big change in the team.”
On the direction of this team…
We just want to keep it going. We have a lot of returners, and we didn’t finish last season the way we wanted to. We came into this season with the mindset we need to finish every game. We are working on that goal right now and I think we are going in the right direction.”
Sept. 15, 2018
Los Angeles, Calif.
Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On the crowd…
“It was really awesome to see the Red Wave here in full force. Especially after the game and seeing them go all the way up to the top in the corner that they were in, that was awesome. I really appreciate them making the trip out here. It means a lot to our players as you can tell when they ran over there after the game. I really appreciate their support and making the trip.”
On playing against UCLA’s defense…
“We had to be patient. They stack the box and make it really hard to run. We knew we weren’t going to be gashing big runs in there but we needed to stay on schedule, which means stay manageable. I thought we did that. I thought Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the offensive staff did a great job and called a really great game. Especially in the second half, Jamire Jordan had a really big catch and KeeSean Johnson came up with a few and they both had a big challenge for the ball and made plays against a talented team like UCLA. It all came down to making plays.”
On the offense bouncing back after Minnesota…
“We went back to work. You cannot carry that with you. I was really pleased with the way we rebounded, we came back on Tuesday with a lot of energy and focus. We put a game plan together and the guys worked really hard all week long. That was a total team effort tonight. I thought defense played phenomenal and put a lot of pressure on the passer and got their hands on the ball. Usually, any time you can win the turnover battle, you have a chance to win.”
On Marcus McMaryion’s performance tonight…
“He played his heart out. He kept competing. That is who Marcus is, he is a great competitor. He did a great job of running the show out there and getting everybody in position so they could be successful.”
On facing Toledo after the bye week…
“I know they are very gifted outside, they have one of the best receiving teams in the country. They have won nine or 10 games multiple years in a row so they are a really good program. We will enjoy this one right now. We have a bye week to get a little bit healthy and start looking towards Toledo. I know that they will bring a huge challenge to Bulldog Stadium.”
On what this win means for the team…
“We go into games thinking we have a chance to win every game no matter who we play. This is obviously a nice win for our program. UCLA has great tradition, they have great and highly recruited players on their team, and they are a very well-coached football team. I thought our guys came out with a real focus tonight. I am really proud of them down the stretch, they got back in it for us to respond after we fumbled the punt. It could’ve been real easy for it to go the other way but I thought we responded really well.”
Marcus McMaryion, QB, Sr.
On the win…
“I would definitely consider this one of the best wins in my career.”
“This is a huge win for our team, but we have a lot to learn from it. We will ride this high tonight and tomorrow we will learn from our mistakes by watching film. We will build on this game through the bye week, and take it into our game against Toledo.”
On his rushing touchdowns…
“It’s fun. It’s great that the coaches put the trust in me to handle the ball around the opposing defensive line and linebackers. Those plays show how much faith the coaches have in me and our offensive line.”
On dealing with UCLA’s defense…
“UCLA has a great defensive, with a lot of really athletic guys. It just came down to whether we were going to go out and make big plays or not.”
“We stayed calm, cool and collected. We never get too high or too low. That is something that Coach Tedford preaches to us. We were not going to be defeated when they scored a touchdown, we just needed to go out and score more points to win.”
On the crowd…
It felt like a home game. It was amazing. When I looked up and saw all the red in the crowd, it was a great feeling. We can’t thank the Red Wave enough for coming out and supporting us tonight. I can’t even put into words how much we feed off that energy.”
Keesean Johnson, WR, Sr.
On the win…
“This is a great win for our team. We came to play a big school, and started quick on offense. UCLA was playing a lot of man coverage on the outside, so we went out and made one-on-one plays. In the passing game, we ran hard.”
“It’s a great feeling to beat a power five school. Last week, we started slow on offense but our defense had a good game. Tonight, we played a good game on both sides of the ball. I’m proud of my team.”
It was a physical game on both ends. I know they have a great coach who demands a lot, just like coach Tedford. It was a great battle.”
On what a win over UCLA means…
“It shows that we can play with Power Five schools. Whoever we play, we are going to come out and fight.”
On what needs to be worked on during the bye week…
“We need to be consistent on both sides of the ball, and execute the plays we know we can execute.”
On the Red Wave supporting the team on the road…
“I didn’t know we were going to have that many fans in the Rose Bowl tonight. I hope the Red Wave comes in an even bigger crowd to our next home game.”
Jeff Allison, LB, Jr.
On what it’s like to get two interceptions…
“It’s a great feeling. Our corners and DBs did what they were supposed to do tonight, which allowed me to make plays. Mike Bell and I were fighting over the first one, but he let me have it. We don’t care who gets credited the interception as long as we get the turnover.”
On the defense…
“UCLA has some great players, but we wanted to come out and set the tone on defense. Our offense came out and had momentum moving the ball, so we wanted to keep that same energy. We worked really hard this week and studied a lot of film. We came out and did our best.”
On what this win means…
“This win does a lot for our program. I don’t think a lot of people expected us to win tonight, but the Fresno State fans believed in us. It’s a great feeling to get this win.”
On adversity in games…
Coach Tedford and the rest of the coaches talk to us about adversity every day. Things aren’t always going to go our way. We just wanted to stay calm, collected and keep playing our game.”
Mike Bell, S, Jr.
On the win…
“This win means a lot because UCLA is another California team, and they are in the PAC12. This win was big for the Valley and all our fans. The Red Wave came out and supported us tonight, it was amazing. I saw more red in the crow than I saw blue, and that’s what I like to see. It was an amazing feeling, it felt like a home game.”
“It means a lot to me. I’m a Southern California kid and I was recruited by UCLA. So to beat UCLA in front of my friends and family is a big deal.”
On how he’s developed as a player…
“I’m a different defender than when I came in, redshirting was the best thing that could have happened to me at 17-years-old. I’ve seen this program reinvigorate over the last four years. Coach Tedford is doing a great job with us, day in and day out. He’s holding a standard, and I’ve seen a big change in the team.”
On the direction of this team…
We just want to keep it going. We have a lot of returners, and we didn’t finish last season the way we wanted to. We came into this season with the mindset we need to finish every game. We are working on that goal right now and I think we are going in the right direction.”