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LA Tech head coach Skip Holtz

Opening comments:

"It is always great to win. We have had a few wins where we have gone out there and played really well, but this one we had to earn. It was a conference game against a very good team. I lot has been said about the quality of their defense and how physical they are. I thought it was a hard fought game on both sides. I think they were a quality football team and showed us why they got a lot of votes to win the west. Their quarterback stepped into a very difficult situation and I thought he competed well. I also thought their defense did a very good job up front. They were very physical and made it very hard on us."

"It was a hard fought game that got a little chippy at times. Both teams were competing their tails off and were emotional. We talked about it being an 11 a.m. game and how we would have to be ready to go. We woke up and were banging on doors at 6:45 with Halloween masks yelling and screaming. We tried to get everyone going. I am sure we are going to get some calls from the hotel with our coaches running up and down the halls with wolf masks. We did whatever we had to do to get them going this morning. Our players responded and played with emotion. They went out there and played hard and physical. That is what happens when you get two teams that are playing with a lot of emotion."

"I thought it was a great win. I cannot say enough about the way the defense played today. We said there were going to have to be times when they defense carried this football team and today was one of those days. The defense played a great game."

"How do you not talk about Terrell Pinson? He had two interceptions, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, seven tackles including one for a loss. It was just an unbelievable individual effort."

"We now have 89 points off of turnovers. I am just glad it is not 81. If it was 81, we would have been in trouble today. We were struggling to drive the ball down the field as an offense. It seemed like we would get six yards and then get a penalty. That would put us in a passing situation and we could not execute. It was just a frustrating day offensively. We could never get in a rhythm and I give them a lot of credit for that and the scheme they put together. They have been predominately a zone four front football team and they spent most of the time in man coverage, blitzing and trying to get after us. They caught us a little off guard early. When we tried to take deep shots, it seems like we just missed them. Our defense had to rise to the occasion."

"I thought the cover teams played well. Obviously, the penalties are another one of those glaring things. We just had far too many penalties. I thought the game got too out of control for the officials in the second quarter. It got out of control and there were frustrations on both sides of the field. Both coaches talked to their teams in the locker room and in the second half it was a hard fought game. I am always proud to get a win, even more so to get a win at home. It was an exciting football game and people had to stay until the end. I appreciate the home crowd and the student body. I know it is harder with an early kickoff but now you get to tailgate all afternoon."

On Kenneth Dixon rushing for over 100 yards:

"We said that we would have to try and run the ball. I thought the key to this game was balance. I did not want to put Cody in the pocket all day and say we are going to throw it all over the yard. We tried to get big to handle some of the pressure. We just were not consistent enough. We would gain six, lose one and then throw an incomplete pass on third down. Kenneth Dixon competes his tail off. I have never coached a player that plays as hard as Kenneth Dixon. I just love his passion, emotion, excitement and the overall way he plays the game. When you are looking at a critical third or fourth down, we know to get the ball in his hands. I feel confident that if someone is going to make it, it is going to be him."

On whether Terrell Pinson's fumble recovery ignited the offense:

"I think it certainly had something to do with the momentum of the game. We came in here down at the half 10-6. I know we could have executed better, but I made a stupid call on third and one. We had to end up kicking the field goal. They ran a blitz right into it. I told them at the half that we have 180 yards to 100, we are almost outgaining them two to one. This is not time for everyone to panic. Let's just keep competing our tails off. We said we were going to bang the rock for four quarters. We knew this was a game that if we won, it was going to be in the fourth quarter. That is how we came in here and that is how we approached it. We had five penalties to one, it felt like every time we made something happen, we would get marched back with a penalty. I told them to play smart and keep their composure. I told them to just go out and compete for the final 30 minutes and stop shooting ourselves in the foot. After a few turnovers and stops, that quickly we had 21 points on the board."

On the game getting chippy and physical between LA Tech and UTSA:

"These are two competitive football teams. Both teams want to win and are going to go out there and compete. We have not had this problem up until today. I think the game got a little out of control and there were frustrations on both sides of the ball. That helped to add to it. If nobody was going to stop it, it was just going to continue to escalate. Everyone got a grip on it for the second half."

On the punting game:

"I did not think we punted the ball very well. Obviously, we missed a field goal that would have put us up two scores. We kicked a ball out of bounds on the kickoff. To open the game we kicked the ball right down the middle of the field when we are a directional kickoff team. I do not think we kicked well and I said it to the team."

"We have some guys that have a winning attitude who do not care what it is going to take and are going to play with some confidence. We have some young guys right now where the apple gets pretty big in their throats when the game is on the line. There are some people who have not responded to that pressure like we would have liked them to. Hopefully, we can take this as a learning lesson, because you cannot simulate that. You cannot put that pressure on them in practice. Our last two punts were 30 and 19 yards and that is when we needed them most. We have some young punters and kickers. I do not think we handled that as well as we need to. Hopefully this will be a great growing experience for us, because we do not have anybody else. Those are the people that we have. We are going to have to look at Kyle Fischer and Jonathan Barnes and the way they are competing and decide who to go with. Kyle Fischer did a great job kicking off in the second half. I thought he did a really nice job with that as well. The kicking just has to get better."

On Terrell Pinson's performance on defense:

"He was added to this program a year ago with Mitch Villemez and Tony Johnson. They have become staples and work hard and play their tails off. I have always said one of my favorite parts of coaching is being in the locker room when they sing the fight song. Looking at everyone while they are smiling and singing. I look at Terrell Pinson and what he went through as a young man who committed to West Virginia but things fell through and we were able to pick him up late. We are very fortunate he went here. He has had some adversity at home that he has overcome. He moved from safety to linebacker and is learning a new positon. We told him he needed to move and he told us that if that was what the team needed, he would move. I thought he did an outstanding job. I was really proud of him and what he was able to go do today."

On the performance of the defense:

"We were not going to let them run their offense without pressure. We talked with our defense about relentless pressure. We were going to be aggressive the entire game. We were not going to do it and then just get back in a zone. They have a young quarterback and a do a lot on offense. It is very hard to figure out what they are doing on offense because they run so many sets and do so many different things. We came into it and said we are going to try and get after the quarterback. We wanted to try and get some people in the backfield. Our players bought into the game plan I thought it was a great game plan by Manny Diaz and the defensive staff. The players bought into it and went and executed it. They are playing aggressive. The defense said many times today 'don't worry about it offense, we are going to get it back.' The defense is playing with a stinger right now. They are playing with some confidence."

On the return of Vontarrius Dora:

"He is a difference maker. When you take a starter out of your lineup, it makes a difference. Pinson had a great game but Villemez did not play today and a freshman had to fill in for him. We needed the other two seniors to step up. When things like that happen you cannot ask a senior to step down, a freshman to step in and tell the freshman to play as well as the senior. You tell the rest of the seniors to pick it up and pick up the rest of the slack. Terrell Pinson came out and had the game of his life. He batted down two more passes and almost had a third interception. Enough cannot be written about Terrell Pinson and the game he played today, nor the defense. That was a big time effort out there today. For them to fight and do the things they did, it was awesome. Enough cannot be said, because they were on the field the entire second half."

Sr. LB Terrell Pinson

On his performance in the last few games:

"Coach Diaz is just making the play calls and we are executing. It is really not a big thing. He is just calling the plays and we are executing them."

On the day he had versus UTSA's offense:

"I just give all the credit to God, first of all. Like I said earlier, he was just making the play calls. We blitzed a lot. I was just spying the quarterback a lot and he threw me the ball and I just made the plays."

On Vontarrius Dora's return:

"We needed him. I am glad he was back because we really needed him. He gets up field and makes it hard on the quarterback, and when he makes it hard on the quarterback, he throws the ball to me like he did today, so I appreciate Dora."

On hearing the praise Skip Holtz had for him after today's performance:

"I am appreciative. I appreciate that he has good things to say about me. It is kind of emotional. I try not to think about it like that. I just try to focus on where I am at now and focus on playing ball."

On if his fumble returned for a touchdown helped get Tech's offense going:

"It was a big spark. We really needed it. The offense was struggling a little, so it brought a little spark to the offense and our whole team."

On the defense playing with confidence:

"Coach Diaz preaches a lot to just play hard and give it your all on every play, every down. If the offense doesn't make it happen, we are going to stop it on defense. He is a big reason for everything we do."

On starting C-USA 3-0 after a tough year in 2013:

"We knew we were capable of it. There were a lot of difficulties last year, but we knew once our senior year came, we were just going to play hard. The other linebackers, Tony Johnson and Mitch Villemez; we are all seniors and all JUCO players, so we all talk a lot and we wanted to go out with a bang our senior year."

On being a LA Tech player instead of his original plan to play at West Virginia:

"Everything happens for a reason. God wanted me here. I am making plays here and our team is succeeding, so I am proud to be here."

On watching film on UTSA turnovers:

"We knew if the main quarterback did not start, but the other guy is really a runner, not a passer. Once he started throwing it, we started getting after him and he kept throwing him. We knew they would come eventually. It may not be the first or second quarter, but it was going to come."

Senior QB Cody Sokol

On having a running back like Kenneth Dixon in the backfield:

"It is nice. Kenneth is a great running back. He is a very unselfish guy that puts the team on his back when he needs to. He is just one of those guys you know you can count on and really rely on when the game is on the line to give his full effort."

On if UTSA did anything in the secondary to hold LA Tech offensively:

"Honestly, I will do whatever I have to do to get a win. I will throw for two yards if that is what it takes. I am happy for our guys. We got the W. I don't think they did anything that we didn't expect. Late in the game, we really wanted to run the clock out and our defense did a great job of putting us on their backs and they had a great outing today."

On Terrell Pinson's performance for the defense:

"That is a great player right there and he is one of those guys that works really hard during the week and it shows. He busts his butt during the week and he had a great practice week, and it showed in the game. Those guys on defense do a heck of a job in preparation and getting ready to go out there and play, and it showed today."

On relating to Pinson because they are both JUCO players:

"I am just happy for him. I think this whole team is a tight nit group. We all love and respect one another and we all play for each other. I am happy for him. He had a great day and I am proud of our guys."

On making adjustments at halftime:

"I think we did pretty well, especially in the second quarter. I think we kind of found our groove offensively. We came in with about 180 yards of total offense to their 100. As an offense, we were doing pretty well as an offense, but they are a good defense that is at the top of our conference. We did not want to change anything. We kind of stalled out that third quarter, and in the fourth quarter, we were trying to run the clock out and trying to give our guys the best chance of winning this ball game. Our defense came through for us."

On thinking the team would have success and be 3-0 in fall camp:

"I think we have always believed we have had a great team. We believe in one another and I am happy we are 3-0. I think all the guys would say that and we think we could do something special this year."

Junior RB Kenneth Dixon

Was it ever on your radar to break the record?

"No it was not. It is just me going out and participating in the game and doing whatever it takes to win. I just try to play hard and be there for the guy beside me."

Did your eyes get big when they tried to hone in on you?

"No, we always talk about the no flinch mentality. No matter what situation we are in, we just have to play it out."

Did getting denied the touchdown on the goal line motivate you to fight harder?

"Yes, when we got stopped on third and one we came to the sideline and said it would not happen again. As the game went on it really did not happen again."

Talk about the 4th and 1 conversion run.

"It is always good to get things in critical moments. When coach called the play we ran it right at them and got it."

Talk about scoring in the second half:

"At half time Coach Holtz came in and told us that we had to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We had some really good drives, but we did shoot ourselves in the foot with some of the miscues and the penalties."

Talk about the intensity and having self-control

"It was a good intense game and things like that happen. We are were just having fun and doing whatever it takes to win."

Do you get a feeling this is a rivalry game?

"UTSA comes out and plays hard and does everything right and they make you come out and beat them. I really respect those guys and I hope they have a good season."

UTSA Head Coach Larry Coker

On the 3rd Quarter on:

"We turned the ball over four times. They had 20 points off four turnovers. You really give yourself no chance with that, but we fought our way back and made a little flurry there at the end. Turnovers kind of sealed our fate."

Were you a little concerned with blitz pickup?

"I am very concerned about it. You have to make protection calls and those types of things. That was not the only problem but we did not make the calls to have the numbers to pick up the blitz."

Talk about fighting up to the end:

"They fought up to the end and that is all we can ask. They are a good football team, let's give them credit. They are leading the division now and they should be."

Feel like you can turn this thing around?

"Sure I do that is why we go to practice and why we go to play. It is going to be a tough sale but we are going to have to do what we can do to get better."

Is it about making changes or what?

"We are going to play the best players and we have to make sure we are doing things right scheme wise. If we do that then we give ourselves a chance.