Gary Patterson Holds Weekly Media Luncheon
11/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2003
FORT WORTH, Texas
(On the short week): "Our kids have done a good job with the short week. A few guys are banged up but they'll be ready to go. It's the time of year when four or five things can happen and make the difference between winning a championship and not winning one."
(On how the season has progressed): "I told my staff just the other day that it has been a great year. It has been priceless and a great run. I don't know if you could write this any better. Now, we'll be playing in a great atmosphere with Southern Miss. It'll be an exciting game."
(On the TCU-Southern Miss rivalry): "It's not a hate rivalry. There's a bit of not liking each other with Louisville. It's more of a respect rivalry with Southern Miss. Both programs and head coaches do things with class. I'd like to think we do things the right way. Jeff (Bower) and I try to grow our players up into something."
(On the win over Cincinnati): "Our kids gained a little confidence from it. It's easy to play at home with confidence. I'm excited about going to Hattiesburg because we can get away from all the distractions at home. We have the chance to be part of a great ballgame."
(On having the national spotlight Thursday night): "I don't know how people will view us in that game. Both teams are just worried about winning the conference title and earning a trip to the Liberty Bowl. We'll be in a hostile environment, and we've come out on top the past two years so they feel like they have something to prove."
(On the resiliency of this year's team): "It has been a reflection of the coaching staff and how they coach. I'm probably the most emotional one of the group. It's easy for me to step back and let guys like Dick Winder, Eddie Williamson and David Bailiff do their things. It's also easy when you have the Bo Schobels and Nick Brownes of the world. This story is about a bunch of kids that have overcome a lot of things. One of my favorite movies is "Hoosiers" and this season's kind of like that."
(On dropping in the BCS rankings): "We feel privileged to be talked about in the light we're being talked about. We've been able to break a line with recruiting by showing recruits we have a chance to go to a BCS bowl. We're proving that it can be done. We'll see how it plays out and give it our best effort."
(On being the favorite to win the conference championship): "It's interesting, because we've had the bulls eye on our back all year in conference and we're a Cinderella on the national scene. When we started the season knowing we'd have to play redshirt freshmen, I thought maybe 7-5, 8-4 or 9-3 were doable. We knew we'd have to beat great teams on the road."
(On the players' reactions to the BCS rankings): "The players and I don't talk about rankings. I think they're proud of where they're at. It's a privilege to be where we're at. We understand we control our own destiny. We've stayed focused, and these guys will do whatever it takes to win a championship."
(On winning championships): "Championships are hard to win, no matter what conference you're in. We've lost a lot of players during the year, but what's exciting about us is the wheels could've come off then and didn't. I think if you leave kids a roadmap of where you want to go they'll find a way to get there."
(On trying to move up in the BCS standings): "Moving up in the BCS doesn't matter right now. All we care about is beating Southern Miss."
(On what happens if TCU goes undefeated): "If we go undefeated I don't see us making an appeal to the fans and media. I don't want people giving us their sympathy vote. We want their respect. We won't apologize for going undefeated, and I'd challenge anyone in country to go undefeated because it's not easy."
(On how the BCS works): "I don't think strength of schedule should have anything to do with it. I also don't like that a computer doesn't factor in the intangibles: what the weather was, who was hurt, the crowd. The whole humanistic part is taken out of it. For me not to be able to recruit a kid because we're not in a BCS conference just isn't fair.
"The BCS issue is not big to me, though. Winning games and beating Southern Miss is where we're at. I have no solutions or alternatives to the BCS. I think changes will be made to the system after the season it over and they will be for the better."
(On where the Southern Miss game stands in terms of importance): "I'd put the Southern Miss game on the same ranking as the Sun Bowl my first year. That was the game that put us on the map."
(On goals): "You have to have dreams. Somewhere between dreams and goals is where reality fits. Goals give you something to work for. Our kids have all succeeded and have a chance to be successful in life."
(On TCU's greatest strength): "The best thing we do on the field is we play hard and force people to make them beat us. We'll give you our best ballgame."
(On Cory Rodgers): "Cory Rodgers has taken the biggest step of any freshman. He followed Adrian Madise all last season and got stronger and faster working with him. Cory likes you to give him something new on his plate everyday. He's handled growing up the right way. We've tried to get him to act like he's been there before. I've told him to pay attention to what's happening on the field and not the stands.
"What's impressed me the most is how much all of our younger receivers have grown up with their blocking. All of them are fast and have good hands. Blocking is what makes you the total package."
