Sept. 27, 2005
(On New Mexico): "Overall, they're good. In the last three or four years, this might be the best team Rocky Long has had. They struggled offensively a year ago, but they do a lot of good things. They haven't turned the ball over much. Defensively, they didn't give up much to UTEP. For New Mexico to play that way in front of that crowd in a rivalry game, it was important.
"They've got a lot of good football players. Defensively, they run around and they're a lot faster than BYU, but not as big. They beat you with a lot of speed and by running the football.
"You have to go at them and match intensity with them. You have to have patience and pick your spots to have your own big play and then keep attacking them."
(On how physical New Mexico is compared to other Mountain West Conference teams): "New Mexico is one of the most physical teams in the Mountain West. They come to get into a bar fight. It's going to be the hardest-hitting game we've played so far."
(On his team's overall speed): "I think it has made a big difference. It made us equal with Utah. We seemed faster on defense in the fourth quarter than them. Aaron Brown and Cory Rodgers were able to go the distance and we made explosive plays."
(On whether or not New Mexico has an advantage with former TCU offensive coordinator Dan Dodd being on staff): "I think it helps a little bit for them. At the same time, we know some of the things they do on offense. We know how to play them, so it will come down to the players."
(On New Mexico tailback DonTrell Moore): "DonTrell Moore keeps getting better and better. He's getting used to his knee. It's a tough injury to come back from."
(On playing overtime games): "Two years ago, we won five games by three points or less. We lost in overtime a year ago to South Florida. We've been in two so far, but it still comes down to who makes the last play. That never changes.
"BYU had four turnovers and we had zero when it was all said and done. To go on the road and play as bad of pass coverage as we did in front of 58,000 people, you have to give credit to the kids and staff for not quitting."
(On the BYU game): "We knew in the schedule this would be a tough stretch. BYU had two weeks off and it was their first conference game, so they had a lot to play for. I don't think the altitude made a difference. If anything, our kids looked stronger at the end. It was a very physical ballgame. They had four or five taken off the field and we had two or three. I expect every game to be that way.
"The team that wins the conference is the one that goes on the road and wins. Every team you play on the road has a home field advantage, which is different from Conference USA. That's why kids come to TCU is play in those kinds of games and get a great education at the same time."
(On TCU quarterback Tye Gunn's status): "Tye will take mental reps this week. If we don't have to play him we won't. It's about how many games you win not which ones. We'll see how this week progresses. Both Jeff Ballard and Chad Huffman will get the majority of the reps this week in practice.
"Right now, Tye couldn't play. But, we don't limit our offense without him. With Jeff and Chad we add things. They run a little better, which allows us to run the option a little more. We've limited that with Tye to protect him. We can turn our offense loose a little more with Chad and Jeff."
(On TCU quarterback Jeff Ballard's performance at BYU): "At Oklahoma, he showed no emotion when he was told he had to go in, so I wasn't worried when I told him the same thing at BYU. Coach Dick Winder coaches our quarterbacks like linebackers. He grows them up a lot quicker. He makes practice tougher than a game, and his quarterbacks have always played well."
(On whether or not his team may be feeling cocky at 3-1): "I don't think anybody was cocky after winning 51-50. We go over three things after a game. Number one, did we play with great effort? Yes. Number two, did we play smart? No, we didn't play smart. Number three, we weren't really accountable and I added a fourth since we were on the road. We did take the game and it goes back to the four takeaways."
(On having a past relationship with New Mexico): "I was one of two finalists for the job when Fran left and they went with Rocky. It was the right decision for them. He's done a great job, he's the hometown hero, he likes being a ball coach, and I like being around guys like that. When the game is done, we're friends. It worked out for both of us. I've been treated very well at TCU and I'm glad to be here."
(On getting four takeaways from BYU): "You have to put the other team in a position where they will turn it over, like third and long. I think the biggest turning point was scoring a touchdown and then getting an interception on the next drive. They may have been ready to relish the victory. I've been on the other end of that before too."
(On whether or not BYU had problems adjusting to Jeff Ballard): "We did some different things with him in the ballgame. We had to get into different personnel groups and that helped us. We found the match-ups we wanted. Aaron Brown gave us the speed of a wide receiver. He's a 10.3 100-meter guy. He turned one missed tackle into a 35-yard touchdown."
(On the 100-yard kickoff return by TCU's Cory Rodgers): "It put us back in the ballgame. We were backpedaling pretty quick. We knew going in that they use their kicker in coverage. The guy last year made some big hits. We knew if we got past the first line of defense we had a chance."
(On having Cory Rodgers return kicks): "Great players make great coaches. All great returners have a knack, and he's a great north-south person. You can't hesitate. The great ones just know how to do it. You have to give credit to the block team as well."
(On the instant replay calls at BYU): "Even though two calls were against us, they were the right ones. It all evens itself out in the end. On the last play, the guy who made the call had the best angle on it."
(On his philosophy of just scoring one more point than the other team): "In my opinion, the score is the only stat that matters. You can't tie anymore. On any given day, you have to win two out of three, with those three being offense, defense and special teams. Against BYU, we won special teams and in the end offense and lost defense."
(On whether or not TCU will get more respect from the Mountain West after winning its first two conference games): "I always tell our team it's not what they say about you in August or September, it's what they say about you in December. We wanted to be in a better league and we got that. Now, we have to prove that we belong."
(On TCU fullback William Jackson): "He's getting better every week. He made a big block on the final play against BYU. Where he's at now compared to three weeks ago is not even close."
(On TCU offensive lineman Marvin Pearson): "He has a neck complication and will no longer be able to play college football. It's unfortunate because he had some potential to play at the next level. I'm just glad we found out before anything happened. We found out last week, which is why he did not travel to BYU."
(On New Mexico): "Overall, they're good. In the last three or four years, this might be the best team Rocky Long has had. They struggled offensively a year ago, but they do a lot of good things. They haven't turned the ball over much. Defensively, they didn't give up much to UTEP. For New Mexico to play that way in front of that crowd in a rivalry game, it was important.
"They've got a lot of good football players. Defensively, they run around and they're a lot faster than BYU, but not as big. They beat you with a lot of speed and by running the football.
"You have to go at them and match intensity with them. You have to have patience and pick your spots to have your own big play and then keep attacking them."
(On how physical New Mexico is compared to other Mountain West Conference teams): "New Mexico is one of the most physical teams in the Mountain West. They come to get into a bar fight. It's going to be the hardest-hitting game we've played so far."
(On his team's overall speed): "I think it has made a big difference. It made us equal with Utah. We seemed faster on defense in the fourth quarter than them. Aaron Brown and Cory Rodgers were able to go the distance and we made explosive plays."
(On whether or not New Mexico has an advantage with former TCU offensive coordinator Dan Dodd being on staff): "I think it helps a little bit for them. At the same time, we know some of the things they do on offense. We know how to play them, so it will come down to the players."
(On New Mexico tailback DonTrell Moore): "DonTrell Moore keeps getting better and better. He's getting used to his knee. It's a tough injury to come back from."
(On playing overtime games): "Two years ago, we won five games by three points or less. We lost in overtime a year ago to South Florida. We've been in two so far, but it still comes down to who makes the last play. That never changes.
"BYU had four turnovers and we had zero when it was all said and done. To go on the road and play as bad of pass coverage as we did in front of 58,000 people, you have to give credit to the kids and staff for not quitting."
(On the BYU game): "We knew in the schedule this would be a tough stretch. BYU had two weeks off and it was their first conference game, so they had a lot to play for. I don't think the altitude made a difference. If anything, our kids looked stronger at the end. It was a very physical ballgame. They had four or five taken off the field and we had two or three. I expect every game to be that way.
"The team that wins the conference is the one that goes on the road and wins. Every team you play on the road has a home field advantage, which is different from Conference USA. That's why kids come to TCU is play in those kinds of games and get a great education at the same time."
(On TCU quarterback Tye Gunn's status): "Tye will take mental reps this week. If we don't have to play him we won't. It's about how many games you win not which ones. We'll see how this week progresses. Both Jeff Ballard and Chad Huffman will get the majority of the reps this week in practice.
"Right now, Tye couldn't play. But, we don't limit our offense without him. With Jeff and Chad we add things. They run a little better, which allows us to run the option a little more. We've limited that with Tye to protect him. We can turn our offense loose a little more with Chad and Jeff."
(On TCU quarterback Jeff Ballard's performance at BYU): "At Oklahoma, he showed no emotion when he was told he had to go in, so I wasn't worried when I told him the same thing at BYU. Coach Dick Winder coaches our quarterbacks like linebackers. He grows them up a lot quicker. He makes practice tougher than a game, and his quarterbacks have always played well."
(On whether or not his team may be feeling cocky at 3-1): "I don't think anybody was cocky after winning 51-50. We go over three things after a game. Number one, did we play with great effort? Yes. Number two, did we play smart? No, we didn't play smart. Number three, we weren't really accountable and I added a fourth since we were on the road. We did take the game and it goes back to the four takeaways."
(On having a past relationship with New Mexico): "I was one of two finalists for the job when Fran left and they went with Rocky. It was the right decision for them. He's done a great job, he's the hometown hero, he likes being a ball coach, and I like being around guys like that. When the game is done, we're friends. It worked out for both of us. I've been treated very well at TCU and I'm glad to be here."
(On getting four takeaways from BYU): "You have to put the other team in a position where they will turn it over, like third and long. I think the biggest turning point was scoring a touchdown and then getting an interception on the next drive. They may have been ready to relish the victory. I've been on the other end of that before too."
(On whether or not BYU had problems adjusting to Jeff Ballard): "We did some different things with him in the ballgame. We had to get into different personnel groups and that helped us. We found the match-ups we wanted. Aaron Brown gave us the speed of a wide receiver. He's a 10.3 100-meter guy. He turned one missed tackle into a 35-yard touchdown."
(On the 100-yard kickoff return by TCU's Cory Rodgers): "It put us back in the ballgame. We were backpedaling pretty quick. We knew going in that they use their kicker in coverage. The guy last year made some big hits. We knew if we got past the first line of defense we had a chance."
(On having Cory Rodgers return kicks): "Great players make great coaches. All great returners have a knack, and he's a great north-south person. You can't hesitate. The great ones just know how to do it. You have to give credit to the block team as well."
(On the instant replay calls at BYU): "Even though two calls were against us, they were the right ones. It all evens itself out in the end. On the last play, the guy who made the call had the best angle on it."
(On his philosophy of just scoring one more point than the other team): "In my opinion, the score is the only stat that matters. You can't tie anymore. On any given day, you have to win two out of three, with those three being offense, defense and special teams. Against BYU, we won special teams and in the end offense and lost defense."
(On whether or not TCU will get more respect from the Mountain West after winning its first two conference games): "I always tell our team it's not what they say about you in August or September, it's what they say about you in December. We wanted to be in a better league and we got that. Now, we have to prove that we belong."
(On TCU fullback William Jackson): "He's getting better every week. He made a big block on the final play against BYU. Where he's at now compared to three weeks ago is not even close."
(On TCU offensive lineman Marvin Pearson): "He has a neck complication and will no longer be able to play college football. It's unfortunate because he had some potential to play at the next level. I'm just glad we found out before anything happened. We found out last week, which is why he did not travel to BYU."
