Patterson Holds Weekly Presser
12/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Press Conference Video
FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU football coach Gary Patterson held his weekly news conference Tuesday in the Four Sevens Team Room.The Horned Frogs host Iowa State on Saturday at 11 a.m. A victory would give the Horned Frogs their first Big 12 championship.
Included below are excerpts from Patterson's meeting with the media.
Opening Statement ...
"Well, last game of the season. Senior Day. We have a chance to go 11-1 and be part of a conference title. We have to get ready to play."
On if this year has gone by fast ...
"When good things happen, usually the season goes quick. With the off weeks early, September was pretty slow. Since then, we haven't really had a chance to look up. You have an Iowa State team who beat us the last time they were here. It was a close ball game when we played at their place last year. We better get ready to play. They scored 45 points against Texas, a team who has played the best defense in the Big 12 when you look at in-conference stats."
On how he addressed his team after its lone loss of the season ...
"Really, I didn't do much. The biggest thing for us is that these guys had already been through quite a bit. We didn't have time to feel sorry for ourselves, because we had an Oklahoma State team that was ranked 15th, and we hadn't beaten, coming into town. We didn't fall very far. If you want to prove people wrong, you have to get ready to play. We just went out and did what we needed to do.
"We are fortunately playing a home game, especially this season with how the crowd and the student section has helped us. We've learned how to be a Big 12 team, our crowd has learned how to be a Big 12 crowd and I think as a city, we are growing because of it. We just have to keep moving forward."
On lobbying for a playoff spot ...
"All you can do is control what you can. For us, it's Iowa State. That's what we've done all year. We now need to celebrate Senior Day and hopefully get a win against Iowa State. We're playing here and have a chance to be 11-1."
On Iowa State ...
"They're sound because they are like the triple-option offense. They run the zone read and the mid-line. They run every form of option that you can do with a back and a quarterback. They have big wide receivers on the outside. They probably have an NFL tight end (E.J. Bibbs). They have a fast guy on the inside, who is a great special teams guy. The quarterback (Sam B. Richardson) is hard to bring down. He's a 220-to-230 pound guy who scrambles and runs around. We've struggled a little bit with scrambling.
"We feel like we will have our hands full. Defensively, they are banged up but just like the last two weeks against West Virginia and Texas Tech, they are going to give you a fight. (Head Coach) Paul Rhoads is a very good motivator."
On the difference between Trevone Boykin earlier in his career to now ...
"I've dealt with him for three years. It was just a matter of him doing it in games, because he's done it in practice. He's been one of the toughest quarterbacks for me to defend for three years because of his feet and everything he can do with the ball. He's always been a struggle.
"For me, it's just doing it in games. The biggest thing is that we finally see him doing it on Saturdays. That's when quarterbacks get judged. It's just the way it is. Trevone has done a great job this year and is one of the tougher guys to defend, just because he's so well-rounded as an athlete. He's done a good job of seeing the field and throwing where he needs to."
