Sept. 17, 2011
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Sonny Dykes
Opening Statement . . .
"Well, tough football game. When you have coached as long as I have coached you end up in a lot of tight, tough football games and that was one of the more disappointing ones I have ever been a part of, just because I thought we played really well for about three quarters and then just kind of fell apart in the fourth quarter. We have to learn how to finish a game off. We've played two games against teams picked first and second in Conference USA in Southern Miss and Houston and lost by two and lost by one. If we want to get this program where we want it to be we have to learn how to win those games against good teams. We just weren't able to do it today."
"What was disappointing is, the last drive we were out there and Lennon Creer is hurt, Taulib Ikahro is out of the game injured, Miles White is out of the game injured, Quinton Patton is out of the game injured and so we are just trying to find guys and get them lined up. It's hard to put a drive together when you're banged up like that but we have to learn how to do it. That's part of it. Good football teams have players that step up and make plays and we have to be more than one tricked pony and somebody has to step up in those situations and make a play."
On not being able to get in field goal range in the fourth quarter . . .
"What I was disappointed in, was not being able to stick a drive together and drive down and win it with a field goal. We have had two opportunities to do that both against Southern Miss and against Houston tonight and we weren't able to get either one of them done."
On the things Louisiana Tech did right . . .
"We played good solid football. We played smart. I told our players that we needed to play harder than they did and I thought we did that most of the game and we need to play smarter. It was good, solid, smart, fundamental football. When it was 34-7, nobody thought for one second the game was out of hand, I'll promise you. That is what Houston does, they score fast. I think they had one drive where they went about 80 yards in three plays and took 20 seconds off the clock and that is what that team can do. That is what they do and they do it pretty regularly and it is our job to stop them."
On Isham in the second half . . .
"I thought the interception in the second to last play, I thought he forced that ball for sure. It is one of those things where he had Taulib (Ikharo) open early, he just needed to throw it a little bit early and he threw it a little bit late and they rallied to it. The backside route wasn't very good. It was kind of cloudy. We had some receivers kind of next to each other. It is one of those things where we will look at the tape and he will learn from it. Ray Holley was wide open up the sideline. Quarterbacks make some mistakes sometimes."
On the last two play calls of the last series . . .
"We were just trying to get a first down. That is the big thing, we had a third and two and half and wanted to run the ball and get the clock stopped and get a first down. The biggest thing you have to do on the last drive, we had plenty of time. We needed to get down to about the 30-yard line. We wanted to get the first down that is obviously the deal. You throw two incompletions on third and two and it's not good. So we decided to run the ball and weren't able to get two yards on two plays. When you do that, you don't deserve to win."
On the fumble in the fourth quarter . . .
"That is two weeks in a row where we've been on a game winning drive and we have fumbled the football, so obviously that is an issue we have to get fixed. Really good football players sometimes make mistakes and Ray (Holley) is a really good football player. He never fumbles and he fumbled. We have to do a better job of securing the football. I think we have to understand in those type of situations we have to be extra attentive to our ball security."
Lyle Fitte
Junior Scat Back
On how he played
"I really don't know until I watch the film but I did miss some key blocks."
On the atmosphere in the locker room
"Some players have their heads down and we are a little disappointed with the outcome of the game. Our goal from the beginning of the season is to win the WAC championship. This is just a hurdle for us to overcome."
On how close the team is to winning close games
"I think we are close. Every game this season from Southern Miss to Central Arkansas to Houston, we are just at the breaking point. It will just take one more step to get us past the hurdle and it will be a blast after that."
Ray Holley
Senior Running Back
On fumble in fourth quarter
"I was reaching out for some extra yards and it just came out. I won't let that happen again."
On losing to a team like Houston
"It is very frustrating but more disappointing. When you have a game like that against a team that is pushing the top 25, it is very frustrating."
On filling in for Lennon Creer
"I thought Lyle [Fitte] and I did pretty good jobs. I hope that is what the coaches expected out of us. It is terrible for a guy like Lennon [Creer] to go down, but when it happens you have to be ready for it. Lyle and I put in the work in practice and we should be ready to fill in for Lennon."
Christian Lacey
Senior Defensive End
On Houston's Offensive Line
"They played well and stepped up big time. In the first half we were getting after them, but they really stepped up. We didn't get to them a lot in the second half which is why they were able to make a comeback."
On being close to winning close games
"I feel like we are really close. Coach Dykes has been preaching to us since he got here to finish. Even though you might see us lose a close game like this I feel like we are really close. We practice hard every day to win games."
On playing close games against USM and Houston
"We knew going into both games that they were very good. We played our hearts out both games and in the locker room we know we had a chance to win both games. We are looking forward to WAC and getting into it."
On Houston's offensive line play
"Early on in the game we were coming with a couple of different looks and that might have had them confused up close. We didn't bring a lot of blitzes and were able to get pressure on him. In the second half they calmed down and got into a rhythm. That is pretty much when the turn around happened."
Houston Head Coach Kevin Sumlin
On emotions in 3rd quarter with 5 minutes
"We talked at half time about playing each way and how we can't get it all back at one time- it's going to take every play. We've been in that position so many times, not real proud of that, but we have guys who know what it takes to win. You look at who made those plays at the end of the game - our senior class - these are guys who have been in a lot of big ball games and they understand it and know how to win."
On turnovers during the game
"We came out early in the game and really did a good job. Our offense didn't give our defense a chance really at first, kept them on the field and allowed them to really control the clock. I'm proud of how they hung in there the whole game - our defense rose to the occasion and created some stops."
On Tech's game plan and overcoming it
"They confused us a little early; they had a good game plan. They are a well coached team, I said that coming in. They had the energy of the crowd and pulled out all the stops…can't tell you how proud I am of our coaches and team for not panicking and communicating the adjustments at half time."
On next week
"I'm happy to play back at home, and I think our guys will be excited to get back home too. "
