Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-Hawai'i Postgame Quotes
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State head coach
Opening statement…
“We found a way to win. Down the stretch it was nerve wracking for sure. Hawai’i is a good football team and to be able to come back in the second half and win it at the end it big. I am really proud of Cesar [Silva] for getting it through the uprights.”
On fighting through the adversity…
“You just have to keep playing. Sometimes those things go your way and sometimes they don’t. It seemed like tonight, every single review didn’t go our way which is unfortunate but you have to keep playing. I was proud of our kids for continuing to battle. It was far from perfect, but you have to find a way to win. That is an explosive team right there. To be able to come here and leave with a victory is big for us.”
On Mountain West play…
“We will take it one at a time. We will learn from the mistakes we made tonight, try to improve and get ready for next week.”
On tonight’s defense…
“It is a tough offense to stop and they are going to make their plays. I thought the defense did really well in the second half, with the exception of a couple of plays. For the most part, I thought they played really hard. Whether we win or we don’t, I have confidence that our guys are going to play hard.”
On Jalen Cropper and Evan Williams, two true freshmen…
“Jalen continues to make plays and Evan had his first time being a starter and playing as much as he did, and I thought he did a great job. It is great experience for those guys.”
On Hawai’i brining in a second quarterback…
“He did bring a spark it seemed, especially with his legs. He kept the chains moving and scored some.”
Jorge Reyna, Fresno State senior quarterback
On the win…
“It felt great to all come together despite our adversity this season. We came together and we gelled, we dedicated our win to Matt Smith.”
On Matt Smith’s injury…
“We pray that one of our brothers, or even the opposing brothers, don’t get hurt. It sucks to see that, but it is part of the game. We know Matt Smith wishes he was out there. That’s our guy. He’s our coach. In those circumstances, we have to give everything to him. He gives everything to us, so we had to give it back.’
On being ready for this moment…
“It is not a singular thing. This moment was about everybody. Those drives couldn’t of happened without the offensive line, without the receivers catching the ball, or without our defense making stops. What you see out there is a collection of everybody. If I go through something bad, everybody goes through something bad. We have to learn how to pick each other up. We did and we came out victorious.”
On using his legs to run more…
“I ran because I had to, but the goal was to get into field goal range for Cesar [Silva].”
On Cesar Silva making the game-winning field goal…
“It is wonderful to see him prevail. To come back victorious shows the meaning of our team, to come back despite all odds. We are going to give it everything we have until the final seconds and that’s what Cesar showed everybody. This is Bulldog football.”
On the offensive line injuries…
“Coaches prepare us for these moments. It is next man up. We don’t have time to sulk and complain about the situation. We have to get back up, assess the situation and attack what we need to do.”
On the switch in momentum after the half…
“That first half was my fault, I left some points on the board but the guys picked me back up and we kept fighting.”
Cesar Silva, Fresno State junior kicker
On hitting the game-winner…
“It feels great. I have been dreaming of this ever since I was a kid. It feels really good. As soon as I kicked it, I knew it was good. The only thing on my mind was to make sure I took a good first step and attack the ball.”
On living out a dream…
“Through the kick, I didn’t think anything of it. I made that shot in pre-game, and in practice all week. After the kick, you know what the kick is for so it feels good.”
On what this win will do for the team…
“I think it is going to bring us together. Utah State coming to town next week will be a good game. I think this does a lot for us. We are going to come more together as brothers.”
Evan Williams, Fresno State freshman defensive back
On his thoughts on the win…
“I feel like when we play as a team and rely on each other to be in different spots and believe in the man next to us, it is hard to beat us. We focus on playing a team ball and play together. We let a couple slip, but I am proud of the guys and the way we played tonight.”
On the emotions in the locker room after the game…
“Personally, I don’t think it should’ve gotten that far but I am just happy to get a win in any shape or form. We play with everything we have. We gave 100 percent effort into the game. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, so knowing that our effort paid off feels great.”
On the team overcoming the adversity…
“It shows our perseverance. We always preach in meetings and in general that there is always going to be guaranteed adversity, and it is all about how we respond. We showed great perseverance today and it showed that when we give 100 percent, it is hard to beat us.”
On his first interception…
“It felt great. It was my first pick of my college career. I got to celebrate it with my guys when I got to the sideline. It is hard to believe and a rush of emotions. It feels great that the effort has played off.”
On playing as a true freshman against a powerful offense…
“It means the world to show that they have that faith in me to perform at this level and against this offense and on such a big stage. It means a lot as an individual that they put that faith in me. There are a lot of freshmen showing out and it says a lot that they trust us.”
Jalen Cropper, Fresno State freshman wide receiver
On the win…
“It feels great. Coming off of a loss last week, we went to practice and competed every day. Every day in practice, we had the mindset of coming to Hawai’i and getting the win. We worked hard all four quarters and came out with the outcome we look for.”
On the game’s urgency…
“There was a huge sense of urgency. We scored and we were up fast early. We came out in the second half and did the same thing. We tried to show Bulldog fans what Bulldog football is about.”
On his touchdown pass…
“It felt good to do that again. Being that I was a quarterback at Sanger and being able to throw a touchdown in college means a lot to me. Throwing it on the money like I did, seeing the crowd and sideline go crazy, it feels good.”
On moving forward…
“This will test our character. We are an even team now and we are competing to be in the Mountain West championship again.”
On Jorge Reyna…
“I feel good for him. I know he gets talked on a lot, but he is a great quarterback. He comes to practice every day with a great attitude and he picks the entire offense up. From the beginning of the week, I told him that this is his offense and we are following him. He did great with that today.”
Opening statement…
“We found a way to win. Down the stretch it was nerve wracking for sure. Hawai’i is a good football team and to be able to come back in the second half and win it at the end it big. I am really proud of Cesar [Silva] for getting it through the uprights.”
On fighting through the adversity…
“You just have to keep playing. Sometimes those things go your way and sometimes they don’t. It seemed like tonight, every single review didn’t go our way which is unfortunate but you have to keep playing. I was proud of our kids for continuing to battle. It was far from perfect, but you have to find a way to win. That is an explosive team right there. To be able to come here and leave with a victory is big for us.”
On Mountain West play…
“We will take it one at a time. We will learn from the mistakes we made tonight, try to improve and get ready for next week.”
On tonight’s defense…
“It is a tough offense to stop and they are going to make their plays. I thought the defense did really well in the second half, with the exception of a couple of plays. For the most part, I thought they played really hard. Whether we win or we don’t, I have confidence that our guys are going to play hard.”
On Jalen Cropper and Evan Williams, two true freshmen…
“Jalen continues to make plays and Evan had his first time being a starter and playing as much as he did, and I thought he did a great job. It is great experience for those guys.”
On Hawai’i brining in a second quarterback…
“He did bring a spark it seemed, especially with his legs. He kept the chains moving and scored some.”
Jorge Reyna, Fresno State senior quarterback
On the win…
“It felt great to all come together despite our adversity this season. We came together and we gelled, we dedicated our win to Matt Smith.”
On Matt Smith’s injury…
“We pray that one of our brothers, or even the opposing brothers, don’t get hurt. It sucks to see that, but it is part of the game. We know Matt Smith wishes he was out there. That’s our guy. He’s our coach. In those circumstances, we have to give everything to him. He gives everything to us, so we had to give it back.’
On being ready for this moment…
“It is not a singular thing. This moment was about everybody. Those drives couldn’t of happened without the offensive line, without the receivers catching the ball, or without our defense making stops. What you see out there is a collection of everybody. If I go through something bad, everybody goes through something bad. We have to learn how to pick each other up. We did and we came out victorious.”
On using his legs to run more…
“I ran because I had to, but the goal was to get into field goal range for Cesar [Silva].”
On Cesar Silva making the game-winning field goal…
“It is wonderful to see him prevail. To come back victorious shows the meaning of our team, to come back despite all odds. We are going to give it everything we have until the final seconds and that’s what Cesar showed everybody. This is Bulldog football.”
On the offensive line injuries…
“Coaches prepare us for these moments. It is next man up. We don’t have time to sulk and complain about the situation. We have to get back up, assess the situation and attack what we need to do.”
On the switch in momentum after the half…
“That first half was my fault, I left some points on the board but the guys picked me back up and we kept fighting.”
Cesar Silva, Fresno State junior kicker
On hitting the game-winner…
“It feels great. I have been dreaming of this ever since I was a kid. It feels really good. As soon as I kicked it, I knew it was good. The only thing on my mind was to make sure I took a good first step and attack the ball.”
On living out a dream…
“Through the kick, I didn’t think anything of it. I made that shot in pre-game, and in practice all week. After the kick, you know what the kick is for so it feels good.”
On what this win will do for the team…
“I think it is going to bring us together. Utah State coming to town next week will be a good game. I think this does a lot for us. We are going to come more together as brothers.”
Evan Williams, Fresno State freshman defensive back
On his thoughts on the win…
“I feel like when we play as a team and rely on each other to be in different spots and believe in the man next to us, it is hard to beat us. We focus on playing a team ball and play together. We let a couple slip, but I am proud of the guys and the way we played tonight.”
On the emotions in the locker room after the game…
“Personally, I don’t think it should’ve gotten that far but I am just happy to get a win in any shape or form. We play with everything we have. We gave 100 percent effort into the game. We knew it was going to be a dog fight, so knowing that our effort paid off feels great.”
On the team overcoming the adversity…
“It shows our perseverance. We always preach in meetings and in general that there is always going to be guaranteed adversity, and it is all about how we respond. We showed great perseverance today and it showed that when we give 100 percent, it is hard to beat us.”
On his first interception…
“It felt great. It was my first pick of my college career. I got to celebrate it with my guys when I got to the sideline. It is hard to believe and a rush of emotions. It feels great that the effort has played off.”
On playing as a true freshman against a powerful offense…
“It means the world to show that they have that faith in me to perform at this level and against this offense and on such a big stage. It means a lot as an individual that they put that faith in me. There are a lot of freshmen showing out and it says a lot that they trust us.”
Jalen Cropper, Fresno State freshman wide receiver
On the win…
“It feels great. Coming off of a loss last week, we went to practice and competed every day. Every day in practice, we had the mindset of coming to Hawai’i and getting the win. We worked hard all four quarters and came out with the outcome we look for.”
On the game’s urgency…
“There was a huge sense of urgency. We scored and we were up fast early. We came out in the second half and did the same thing. We tried to show Bulldog fans what Bulldog football is about.”
On his touchdown pass…
“It felt good to do that again. Being that I was a quarterback at Sanger and being able to throw a touchdown in college means a lot to me. Throwing it on the money like I did, seeing the crowd and sideline go crazy, it feels good.”
On moving forward…
“This will test our character. We are an even team now and we are competing to be in the Mountain West championship again.”
On Jorge Reyna…
“I feel good for him. I know he gets talked on a lot, but he is a great quarterback. He comes to practice every day with a great attitude and he picks the entire offense up. From the beginning of the week, I told him that this is his offense and we are following him. He did great with that today.”