Quotes by Don Patterson

“When they were effective with running the ball, it meant that they could be effective with the play action pass. We obviously didnt defend very well against either the run or the pass.”

“I think a change of scenery will be good for us. Weve had disappointment the last two weeks at home. Itll be something different (from) the routine weve had lately.”

“We knew he had good speed, but coming out of high school we didnt know how good he would be. The truth of it is, he runs good routes already. Hes worked his way into the lineup.”

“I think our fans have a lot to do with it. We have our bench area on the east side over there to identify with the student body. Im sure the travel aspect is a little bit of an issue.”

“We were frustrated with a few of the calls that were made. But we understand that when you go on the road thats part of the game.”

“As we spent time trying to play catch up, it was even harder trying to establish the run. We still had some plays that we thought we could be effective in running and we were disappointed that they didnt work better.”

“This game does mean a lot to me. Having grown up in the state of Texas, Ill have a lot of family and friends at the game. I think the whole town will be there. Ive only had one opportunity as a head coach to coach a game in Texas, and that one didnt work out so well against a good Sam Houston State team in 2001.”

“Thats what championship teams do. It speaks well of Southern Illinois. They had a little adversity and they responded.”

“Theres no doubt that were going to get it done. Were getting better on a daily basis. Were playing a lot of young players and they are learning on a good pace now.”

“The kicking game is key. Last week our mistakes in kicking had everything to do with the outcome of the game. Id like to think at the end of the game this week that our kicking game has the edge.”