Oct. 16, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery

Louisiana Tech Head Coach Sonny Dykes

"It felt good to get the second home win. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. Idaho is a really good football team."

"It felt like a game of two different halves. The first half we were both feeling each other out, and the second half it was a free for all."

"If we give up touchdowns, our offense is learning how to respond to that. We've done a good job of getting momentum back on special teams. I think we're learning how to play well together and learning how to win."

"I'm really proud of the football team. Two weeks ago, people were writing us off, but we've got a lot of fight in us. Our players never had a sense of panic. That's different than what we had earlier."

Regarding the late first quarter TD:

"It felt like that was critical. Ross (Jenkins) did a great job of staying in the pocket and giving Ahmad (Paige) a chance to go get it."

Regarding the second half:

"It felt like we had opportunities, but we kept turning the ball over and giving them opportunities."

About various players:

"I'm really proud of what (Ross Jenkins) has done. He's a great young man."

"This was good for Ahmad Paige. He got some confidence. He's got some talent, and we've been waiting for it to show."

LB Jay Dudley

On Tech's Defense:
"We just had to step it up and play together as a defense."

On special teams:
"We just played fast, that's all you can do, get down the field and make a play."

Receiver Richie Casey

On this week versus earlier this season:
"Everybody is more relaxed and has a better feel for the offense; we're playing like we know how. As the season goes on you learn as you play. It is going to continue. As long as we keep working on the details, like coach (Tony) Franklin says, when it happens, it's going to happen.

On Pistol formation:
"(Coach) Franklin is very creative, and there's so much we can do with this offense, and whatever he tells us to do we're going to do it."

QB Ross Jenkins

On speed of the game/play of team:
"Coach Dykes really stresses that guys have to step up to make plays. We see each other make plays in practice all the time so it's good to see it during the game."

On making changes in the offense:
"Coach (Tony) Franklin and I have a good relationship. I understand what he's trying to do, and he trusts that I understand that. He's given me a little more freedom than some of his quarterbacks in the past, and I feel comfortable with it. He gives me a pretty good amount of freedom."

On team:
"When things start to click everybody relaxes a little bit more, takes a deep breath and just like practice goes out there and let's the game take care of itself."

Idaho Head Coach Robb Akey

"We didn't play well; they did … bottom line. They played better than we did. We gave ourselves opportunities but we didn't capitalize. I thought we were ready to play today, but we didn't. I thought we had a team that was ready to play better than this. We have a better football team than this if we play well. We have to learn a lesson as a group. Louisiana Tech played a better game than we did today."

On Getting Off the Field on Third Down:
"We have to make plays and get yourself off the field. If you can make a play on first and second down, then you can make it on third down. We played inconsistently and just didn't play very well. We didn't play well on defense. We didn't wrap up. Some of those third down plays were simply missed tackles."

On Returning Home Next Week To Play:
"We have the whole conference season in front of us. We have a chance to accomplish every goal we set except to go undefeated in conference. It's as simple as that. If we step up we give ourselves a chance. It's not the end of the world, and we are not happy with what took place today. Our fans need to come out and support us. We h