Quotes from Gary Patterson's Weekly Media Luncheon
10/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 14, 2003
(On UAB): "UAB is a very big football team. That's the way they run their system, too. They really harassed us two years ago. We couldn't run the ball and they wore us down defensively and threw the ball over our heads. In my six years at TCU, the losses to UAB (38-17, Nov. 10, 2001) and Colorado State (42-21, Oct. 24, 1998) were more physical than any others.
"UAB runs a two-back offense, and they'll come right at us. They're big at every position: tight end, running back, defensive line, linebacker.
"One thing they've done really well is not turning the ball over. UAB gave up some fumbles in its first few games but hasn't turned it over lately. They haven't been giving up the big play either."
(On UAB quarterback Darrell Hackney): "Darrell just keeps maturing. He's very hard to tackle when you try to bring him down because of his size. UAB's biggest plays come when he scrambles and gets outside the pocket. He has the ability to flip the ball 50 or 60 yards down field. We have to stay with our zone defense because he can cause big problems for us."
(On TCU's offense): "We need to explode. We still need to get the rust off Tye (Gunn). The problem is getting healthy. A healthy Lonta Hobbs might have gone the distance the other night. Until the right guys are healthy, we have to go the long way and take advantage of our opportunities and not turn the ball over."
(On being undefeated): "When you're the defending conference champion, the target is always on you. It was way before we got to this point. We have our hands full with our last six opponents. Everybody has a chance to win. We'll just continue to move forward. You can't worry about what you can't control. We keep losing people with injuries and that could catch up to us eventually. I just hope as a coach that doesn't happen."
(On the criticism that TCU doesn't play a tough schedule): "People have been saying that about TCU for awhile. But, who is nobody? How you match up is the most important thing. It comes down to what people traditionally think about a school.
"The BCS is only about what conference you're in. I think Northern Illinois is a very good football team but because they're in the MAC people don't think they play a good schedule. But look at what the MAC has done against BCS schools this year. In the end, though, all that stuff is for the media and the fans."
>b>(On whether or not he's spoken with Northern Illinois Head Coach Joe Novak): "I haven't spoken to him. I appreciate good coaches. I may not like it when guys like (Bob) Stoops come down and take away recruits from Texas, but I respect them and the job they do for their schools."
(On TCU's 10-game home winning streak): "We only talk about the next game. It adds pressure to guys if you talk about winning streaks. Our only focus is how to score one more point that our next opponent. We can talk about that other stuff when it's all over. You have to catch yourself when you start saying, 'What if?'"
(On TCU in the rankings): "It's something for our kids to be proud of. I know that 50 percent of the people out there don't think we should be in there. It serves as motivation to prove people wrong."
(On being the top-ranked team in Texas): "You take it when you can get it. It doesn't happen very often that TCU is ranked higher than Texas and Texas A&M. But, none of that will matter if we don't take care of things this week."
(On TCU's scoring): "The biggest problem is guys like Quentily Harmon and Bruce Galbert are still out. Defensively, we're going to give points up. It's the law of averages. We need to match that offensively. Our tight ends and offensive line need to step up and play.
"What we really need to get is some passion on offense. There's no rhythm right now. It's hard when you're injured. Great players make great plays and good players make good plays. That's why we need to get our great players and our good players back."
(On what he learned when TCU was 7-0 in 2000): "On every game day, you have to be the best team on the field at that time. I felt like we only played our best football two times that year. We've played with more heart this year than that team did. There was no reason for us to get beat that year. We had more talent than any of the teams we played."
