RUSTON – Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie and select players spoke with the media on Friday in advance of the Bulldogs' matchup at Liberty on Saturday at 5 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Sonny Cumbie

Opening Statement…
"We are heading into our last stretch of the season. Our October was fast and furious. We were able to have a few days off after the New Mexico State game. I am excited about our football teams progress that we have made. We have had this time to really rest up mentally and physically. We had a good workout Monday morning. We had a good practice this morning. I am looking forward to the challenge of going on the road and playing one of the only eight teams in the country that are undefeated in Liberty. They are 8-0. They are the number one team in a lot of categories in our conference and in the tops nationally. They one of the top rushing offenses in the country. Defensively, they lead Conference USA in total defense and rushing defense. They are really good against the pass. It is an exciting challenge for our football team to go against a team who is 8-0. It is a great opportunity for us from that standpoint. I was really proud of how our team handled the time off and is coming back ready to practice. I am looking forward to this week. On campus there is a lot of exciting things happening on campus at Louisiana Tech. Women's soccer is hosting the CUSA women's soccer tournament. Coach Voltz and his ladies are playing tomorrow night at 7 p.m. It is a big week for them and for our school. The basketball programs are tipping off. It is an exciting time. Today is Halloween, so I know if you have kids which we do have a lot of kids throughout our staff. We will have a haunted hallway today at 5 p.m. our players will come up and give out candy to the coaches kids. It will be a fun day today. We already had our practice. We are as healthy as we have been in terms of injuries. Our running back room is still a little bit to be determined in terms of that position as far as who shows up and availability. Tyre (Shelton) is still seeing how the week goes and Charvis Thorton is as healthy as he has been. Moody is giving us everything he's got and we still have Jacob Fields and Dakota Williams. From that standpoint, those guys are healthy. Hank has had a good week of practice. Yesterday he practiced well and threw the ball around really well this morning. We are excited about the development he has had in our offense against New Mexico State and we are looking forward to how he does this weekend against Liberty. It is an exciting finish to this season with our football program."

On Goals at this point in the season…
"We just want to play our best. That has been the message this week is just being at our best. We have not done that as a football team in all four sides in terms of offense defense special teams and sideline for four quarters of football. That is the challenge that we are chasing our best football. We have had progression as a football team and on defense and offense and special teams. Rising on all four sides of the football. We are chasing our best."

On slowing down Liberty…
"I saw that stat today in terms of all the rushing yards that they have had the past few weeks. Their running back Quinton Cooley is a big part of that and their quarterback Kaiden Salter does a nice job of extending plays and in the quarterback run game. It will be a big challenge for us. The number one thing defensively is being able to contain the run game. They are able to create explosive plays in the passing game with their play-action and throwing the football down the field. Coach (Jamey) Chadwell is one of the best coaches in the country. He does a phenomenal job at Coastal Carolina and has transitioned quickly to Liberty with the talent that they have there. He does a very nice job acting you in different ways in the run game."

On road games…
"For us winning football games at home and on the road, we want to try to keep the routine the same as possible. This is going to be a great environment for us to play in. Watching film and looking at TV copies it seems like they have a great student section and great turnout. Playing on the road is obviously something that we have to tackle here. There is a lot of things that you have to tackle taking on a new program. That is one of the things that we have tackled and accomplished but we are not going to sit here and be like okay we won a game on the road. We want to try to continue to add to that and how do we do that? It is being our best and executing. One of the things that they have done a great job at is that they have turned offense over. They lead the country in interceptions. They turn them over at opportune situations from their standpoint in terms of the timing and situations of where they are on the field. Home or away we have to do a great job of protecting the football. Touchdowns in the red zone will be important for us on offense. Our guys had a good frame of mind this morning in terms of how we attacked practice and I am looking forward to seeing them tonight as we get through our meeting and just having the opportunity to get out on the road and prove we can be the best for all four quarters."

On playing four complete quarters…
"You have to have an awareness as you go through the course of practice. So many times we talk about starting fast and then you get out and play a first half as well as you have played all season long on all three sides of the ball but we were not able to sustain it. You have lapses and the other teams do things but some of the other teams are good football teams too. You just have to have an awareness throughout the course of practice from the standpoint of being intentional and having the right focus and intensity of the entire course of practice. You do everything for practice to give yourself the best opportunity in games to do these things. You have to practice those things and situations where you have struggled and we are doing our best to work on and address those things throughout the course of practice."

On importance of these next three games…
"It is important and making the postseason is one of the goals that we have. We have numerous seniors on our football team that have been a part of a lot of success whether they started here or transferred here. We want to try to continue to climb our way back up to where we are in bowl contention every season. When we are playing meaningful football games and this is a meaningful football game for us. The sense of urgency and excitement for the opportunity and challenge of playing Liberty and the type of opponent that we have on the road."

On Willie Roberts…
"As you saw at 11 a.m. this morning Willie Roberts is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. The last player at Louisiana Tech that has had that is Amik Robertson and as you know he is still playing and still having a ton of success in the NFL. For Willie his journey here from Stephen F. Austin, the way we play defense, if you play attention to it closely our corners are challenged every play. Whether you play 50, 70 or 80 plays I would be willing to bet 90 percent of that is in man coverage and you will get tested. Nothing sums it up better than the first play of the season where FIU throws a vertical ball trying to test Willie. That has really been the way he has been. He has had an incredible season and his ability to play how we play against the other team's best allows us to do more in our schemes. He has handled his business. He is set to graduate this quarter which is another exciting thing. He graduates this quarter he is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and he plays against the best people we line up against which are really good players. They are fast receivers. From our standpoint, he has improved as a tackler. I challenged him regularly. He has improved himself as a tackler and a corner. Sometimes those may not win those type of awards but it sure does not hurt. He has improved his game since he has been here. That is the goal with all the players that we bring in here is development. When they get here they are at a certain level and when they leave here we want to press them to be at a higher level than what they see for themselves on and off the field. Willie has great character. He shows up everyday and works. He has provided a great amount of leadership in his own way. He has shown an incredible amount of leadership for our football team and for the corner room. It is a very deserving honor in the three games we have left and the fourth one to earn. He is going against the very best against the teams we play and he answers the bell every single time."

Jeslord Boateng

On stopping their rushing attack…
"Monday and Tuesday we have dialed in on stopping the quarterback. The quarterback is what makes their offense go. Number 20 is a good running back and number 3, as well, he's pretty good. Number 82 is kind of like their motion guy and plays a lot of receivers and running back for them so we have been dialed in on those players this week."

On containing the passing game as well…
"That is on the linebackers and safeties to know what personnel they are in. they have two tight ends on the field and two running backs in the game. Knowing pre-snap if it's going to be high rub probability or more pass if they have one tight end and one running back on the field."

On going against an undefeated team and the challenges…
"I don't it's a challenge personally we have nothing to lose. A lot of people are counting on us to lose this game but we're just going to go out there and play fast and physical. We're going to do what we do and I feel like our defense has improved over the progression of the season. Everyone is going to be discipline in our assignments and have fun."

Hank Bachmeier

On having these next few games to be bowl eligible…
"Obviously, you have to win the rest of our games to be able to get bowl eligible. You can only really focus on like today we had practice, you can only really focus on that practice, and you can only really focus on this week and this game. You have to go like that every single day. I think if you do that and you're consistent in your progress and the results will take care of itself."

On going out and trying to play loose and free without turning over the ball…
"I think if your preparation during the week helps you be able to play loose and free. I try to just be free as possible. I think the guys depending on how you prepare should be confident in going out there and doing your best. Hopefully everyone is doing that and I think we are then we just go out there an execute. For us to do that it starts with today's practice earlier today and tomorrow with even meetings tonight."

On what the last month and half has been like…
"I was trying to get healthy for a little bit. This October month has been interesting, I have played a few Thursday games and a few Friday games but never Tuesday games. That was a weird stretch of games in a short period of time. I just haven't done that before so just dealing with that with short weeks was different. Having Saturdays to go watch games was really fun. I went to go watch my brother Tygart play and pull off the upset against Washington so I went and flew out there. It was really awesome to go there."