Gary Patterson Holds Weekly Media Luncheon
10/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 7, 2003
FORT WORTH, Texas
(On TCU's upcoming game with USF): "They're a very good team. They've been winning at home for a while. If you want a conference championship you have to beat teams on their home field. We've been able to do that in the past.
"South Florida is a very athletic team with very good players. They play hard and they have a lot of home-state talent. They're a lot like us in that they recruit Florida the way we do with Texas. South Florida is very physical on defense and explosive on offensive. They have very good skill players for special teams as well.
"South Florida does a good job of spreading you out. It forces you to mix things up. Our goal is to get them in long yardage situations on second and third down.
"We can't let South Florida run the ball and get big plays. We have to tackle their wide receivers. We know they're going to catch balls, but we can't let them run after the catch. Offensively, we must run and score in the red zone. You can't win a 9-6 game on field goals with them. They're too talented and we have to score points. We also have to win the one-on-one battles on special teams.
"We have a winning streak of our own. One team's is going to break Friday. The important thing to remember is that if you lose that doesn't mean you're out of the conference race. You still have a chance. We lost twice last year and were still able to win the conference."
(On USF quarterback Ronnie Banks): "It's all about how you finish and South Florida is 3-1 right now. That's how we judge our quarterbacks and we give him the same respect."
(On TCU's cornerbacks): "We haven't given up a touchdown at corner the last two games, so we're playing well. It will be a big test for us with Huey Whittaker on Friday. It's hard to double Whittaker because they have a lot of guys that can go deep."
(On who will start for TCU this Friday): "Tye Gunn will start at quarterback. Robert Merrill will start at tailback. Lonta Hobbs and Kenny Hayter will play, as will Brandon Hassell. We're finally starting to get healthy again.
"We won't know until Friday what the running back rotation will be. We'll see how Lonta's leg feels. He's come a long way the past two weeks.
"You have to have someone who is confident and patient against a team like South Florida. I've been saying this all along: we won't win because of Tye Gunn but with him using the people around him."
(On TCU's approach to Friday's game): "The team feels like this is a big game. We've handled large crowds before. The Arizona game helped our freshmen a lot in terms of how to deal with a hostile environment."
(On playing in different parts of the country): "We went to Conference USA because it's on the East Coast. It gives us more exposure on a national level. It's also a great football conference with teams like Cincinnati, Louisville, Southern Miss and now South Florida. If you look in the stands and in the voting polls, people know about TCU. We have a very good conference.
"We're starting to build some rivalries in Conference USA. We're looking forward to playing some good football, and this conference keeps getting better every year. We're getting more national recognition, and that's why we went to this conference. I'm a firm believer that we'll continue to grow if we stick together."
(On increased attendance in C-USA): "It's something you smile about. Head coaches in this conference work hard and know what they need to do. They work hard for communities. College towns are all about people. We try to grow from the bottom. We see a lot more couples with little babies coming to the games, and we're starting to build a solid fan-base."
(On USF Head Coach Jim Leavitt): "Jim is a good man. He's done a good job building that program and getting it where it needs to be. South Florida is a great addition to Conference USA. It exposes people to a different part of the country. For our kids, it allows them to go to a place in the country they may have never seen. A lot of them have never been outside the state of Texas. It lets them understand other parts of the United State. That's part of the college experience, and it makes them really appreciate what they have and are able to do here."
(On TCU's depth): "Coaches are always concerned with depth. I feel a lot better than I did the past couple of weeks. The pages from the training room report are getting smaller. We have a couple of days off after this Friday's game, which gives us a little extra time to clear our minds and let the bumps and bruises heal."
(On TCU's enthusiasm): "You can get into trouble sometimes if you're too enthusiastic about the big games. You have to let the big games take care of themselves and get ready for the ones you're supposed to win. If you lose the big games a lot of times you can lose the other ones as well. Our kids get ready for the ones they're supposed to win. If we keep doing that we're going to win a lot more than we lose."
(On traveling east instead of west): "Thank goodness. It's nice knowing that when the game gets over around 11 or 11:30 that it's an hour behind in Fort Worth. This one's also easier because of fall break, so we can leave earlier."
(On his expectations for the game atmosphere Friday): "I won't be surprised if there are 45,000 people there. They're not speaking much about the game, which shows they approach it like us. The team that makes less mistakes will win."
