ARIZONA HEAD COACH DICK TOMEY QUOTES

On the San Diego State game:

"It was a good, solid victory. The best things I saw on the film is that we got some rhythm in the passing game, we had a decent balance on offense, and we found some people who hadn't asserted themselves before on offense. We played hard on defense, and the kicking game was the most consistent part of the game."

"Our defense is better, tougher, more physical and passionate, and the kicking game is so much better. We have some new guys on offense, and there are things that have to be solved, but the offense is coming. I think that if you have a good defense and a strong kicking game, the rest of it will fall into place."

On the defense:

"We showed we are really resilient on defense, and we protected our endzone with a passion. The goal-line stance (in the first quarter) was tremendous because they had four plays inside the three, and they didn't score. That was just a wonderful job of being persistent, tough and physical on defense."

On the offense:

"We saw the emergence of Andrae (Thurman) at wide receiver and Clarence (Farmer) at running back. I think the game helped give the guys on offense more confidence, and it is good to see that we have more options in the passing game. I like that we got the ball to all of the backs and receivers."

"The only blemishes on the game were that we had too many turnovers and too many penalties where we had problems with how the receivers lined up and with movement on the line."

On running back Clarence Farmer:

"He is a big tailback with a lot of running ability. He runs through people and over people, and he just doesn't go down. I saw one play where he carried about five guys nine yards. It is good that we have three guys at that position. He is just as fast, he is very strong, and he has a natural running ability."

On Anthony Banks' punt returns:

"He caught the ball consistently, and we are going to have to take a closer look at him because he may be our best option at this point. I think that the more places you have a guy who is fresh to do something, the better your team will be. It is definitely a competitive situation."

On Arizona's non-conference schedule:

"It was physical, and we played against teams that were hard to beat. I think that it helps you to play good people because it puts your team into difficult situations that you have to learn to get out of."

On Arizona's preparation for the conference season:

"With the conference, it looks like every week is going to be a battle because every team is capable of winning. I think that we are a much better team this season after three games than we were after three games last season."

"With the bye week before Stanford, we are going to address some fundamentals, we are going to help some of the young players take another step, and we are going to make sure that the guys (with injuries) get the time they need to rehab."