July 27, 1999 - The Provo Daily Herald
Wyoming Head Coach Dana Dimel on the prospects of Wyoming winning the MWC title:
“If we can get past those road trips to Air Force and Utah, which are huge games, then with homefield advantage, I like our chances. But I am scared of the trip to San Diego State at the end of the year.”
Aug. 29, 1999 - The Denver Post
BYU Head Coach LaVell Edwards on winning the Mountain West Conference title:
“It’s going to be a lot more difficult (than the WAC) to go undefeated. The reality is there will be one or two losses along the way. It’s possible someone could get the hot hand, stay healthy, get on a roll and have the ball bounce off the uprights the right way, but don’t bet the house on it.”
Sept. 13, 1999 - Las Vegas Sun
UNLV sophomore cornerback Kevin Thomas after he ran back a fumble return for 100 yards out of the endzone on the final play of the game to beat Baylor:
“I put it on the corner of my bed. I wanted to keep that ball with me.”
Sept. 15, 1999 - The Denver Post
Colorado State senior safety Erik Olson on the Mountain West Conference:
“We don’t like any team in the Mountain West Conference. Every game will be a war, and that’s how it is in the Pac-10 and Big Ten. Those guys have been playing each other for so long, they can’t stand each other. That’s what’s nice to have back in the Mountain West.”
Sept. 26, 1999 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
Air Force Head Coach Fisher DeBerry on the 10-7 loss to Wyoming:
“They came right in our back yard and stole our pride, and that concerns me as much as anything.”
Sept. 30, 1999 - The Denver Post
BYU Head Coach LaVell Edwards on the 17th ranked Cougars dropping out of the polls after its 45-40 loss to Virginia.
“I was surprised we dropped all the way out. The game could have gone either way. That’s the facts of life. That happens to be the scenario we’ve always had to face in this part of the country. The part that hurt was us losing to the East team. It’s early in the year and still time to get something done.”
Sept. 30, 1999 - The Denver Post
Utah Head Coach Ron McBride on the Mountain West Conference and the national polls:
“Just because we don’t have the notoriety of other schools, when someone loses it knocks them out of the rankings. If a nationally recognized team gets knocked off, it stays in the rankings. What we’re fighting is the nature of the beast.”
Oct. 4, 1999 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
Air Force junior backup QB (and Falcon baseball star) Matt Thiessen on his game-winning drive against San Diego State after coming off the bench for the injured Cale Bonds:
“It was like a full count, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, down by three and you hit one out of the park.”
Oct. 3, 1999 - San Diego Union Tribune
MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson on competitiveness of the Mountain West Conference:
“I see us bouncing in and out of it all season long (of the top 25). I think it’s going to be one step forward and a half step back the rest of the way. There are six teams that could win our league. We're going to knock each other off a lot.”
Oct. 7, 1999 - The Denver Post
UNLV Head Coach John Robinson on his preparation for the trip to Laramie
(elevation - 7,200 feet):
“I told our trainer stand very close to me with oxygen. If I need oxygen, I’ll have a guy right there.”
Oct. 12, 1999 - The Denver Post
Colorado State Head Coach Sonny Lubick after his the Rams loss to Fresno State:
“Talk is cheap. It’s what we do in practice to prepare. Maybe I did raise my voice a little. It’s probably the first time they heard me do it, and they got scared.”
Oct. 13, 1999 - CNN/SI.com
BYU senior linebacker Rob Morris on the Cougar fans who blow their “Freight Train” whistles every time Morris makes a play:
“It's flattering, but you realize real quick that it won’t make you a better football player. I don’t really seek out the attention. You won’t see me wearing gold chains or gold rings, trying to get on TV.”
Oct. 13, 1999 - Sportsline.com
UNLV Head Coach John Robinson on making the Rebels a nationally respected team in the next few years:
“Being a winner is hard. They’re finding that out. No matter what your skills are, you have to work and you have to prepare. One of the things the winner does is, he gets angry when he’s defeated. Then he shrugs it off, goes forward and gets ready to win. The loser kind of dwells on it. Those lessons are hard lessons. They’re great lessons, once you learn them. But they're not easy.”
Oct. 15, 1999 - The Provo Daily Herald
San Diego State Head Coach Ted Tollner on the balance of the MWC:
“I think everybody is capable of either winning or losing depending on what their state is that particular day.”
Oct. 17, 1999 - The Denver Post
San Diego State senior wide receiver Damon Gourdine on playing in the snow at Colorado State.
“I loved it. I was like a little kid at Christmas.”
Oct. 23, 1999 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
Colorado State senior running back Kevin McDougal on the Border War with Wyoming:
“It wouldn’t matter if we were the two worst teams in the country, the Border War is always something special.”
Oct. 26, 1999 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
Ron McBride on Colorado State’s turn around:
“It looks like they’ve figured out their problems. They’re back on track and playing the football everyone knew they were capable of.”
Nov. 5, 1999 - The Provo Daily Herald
San Diego State senior defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila on coming up in the inner-city of Los Angeles and then coming to San Diego to play football and attend school.
“Where I come from, everyone wants to makes excuses why they can’t do well. I want to show people there are two options. You can use this as an opportunity situation, or you can use it as a barrier.”
Nov. 11, 1999 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
BYU Head Coach LaVell Edwards on the improvement of defenses in the conference:
“Whether or not we’re as good offensively as a league, I don’t know. But I do know this: We’re considerably better defensively. No question. The league is so much better defensively than it’s ever been.”
Nov. 11, 1999 - Denver Rocky Mountain News
San Diego State Head Coach Ted Tollner on the emphasis of defense in the conference:
“Everyone started looking at who was winning - BYU, CSU. They had excellent defenses. The ones that weren’t winning were saying, ‘Hey, we've got to shore up our defenses.’ So the emphasis has gone dramatically to defense.”
Nov. 15, 1999 - Associated Press
New Mexico Head Coach Rocky Long on Thorpe Award finalist Brian Urlacher:
“He wants to return kickoffs. And some of the coaches want him to play tailback. They come up with plays for him every week. ‘Rocky, do you think we could use him in this situation?”
Nov. 17, 1999 - Colorado Springs Gazette
Air Force Head Coach Fisher DeBerry on Colorado State wide receiver/specialist Dallas Davis:
“He is a dangerous young man with the ball in his hands.”
Nov. 17, 1999 - Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Wyoming Head Coach Dana Dimel on the MWC and bowl games:
“I think it’s an absolutely shame that this conference, with the quality of football teams we have, is only going to have two teams go to bowl games. It will be fantastic for those two ball clubs, but it will be a dirty shame for the other three who are deserving. I look across at the Pac-10 and look at how Washington did against BYU and Air Force (both Washington losses) and they’re going to a great bowl. I think the champion from the Pac-10 would struggle to finish above .500 in our conference and probably wouldn’t. You look at the Big East, and the same thing is true if you take out Virginia Tech.”
Nov. 18, 1999 - The Denver Post
UNLV Head Coach John Robinson on SDSU Head Coach Ted Tollner (Tollner was an assistant coach under Robinson at USC):
“When you match expertise and skill together, he’s a rare commodity. When he retires and he and I move to Hawai’i and live on the beach, I will look at him and say ‘that was one of the best guys.”
Nov. 18, 1999 - The Denver Post
Wyoming’s Athletic Director Lee Moon on football scheduling:
“Teams should just play the games, make the necessary tackles, do the necessary coaching and the necessary preparation, and stop blaming the schedule.”
Nov. 18, 1999 - The Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
Utah senior defensive end John Frank on the BYU-Utah rivalry. The Nov. 20 game had conference title implications on the line. A Utah win gave the Utes a share of the title. A BYU win would have given the Cougars the out-right MWC champion:
“To anyone, BYU or Utah, it means the world right now because we all put so much into our programs, and you want to be the best in the state, for one, and best in the conference. All the hype is fun, and it’s a good time for everyone. It’s about competition and pride and what you stand for and you alma mater and what you put so much work into. Right now, it’s certainly the most important thing.”
Nov. 30, 1999 - The Denver Post
Colorado State head Coach Sonny Lubick on his team going to the Liberty Bowl:
“I'm going to rock Memphis like an old hound dog.”
Nov. 30, 1999 The Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
Utah Head Coach Ron McBride on the announcement that the Utes had been invited to the Las Vegas Bowl.
“This is the best I’ve felt in a long time. Oh, man, I can’t tell you how excited we are. This is the ideal situation for us.”
Nov. 30, 1999 - The Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
BYU Athletic Director Val Hale on the prospectus of going to the Motor City Bowl:
“We took a poll of the team, and the players overwhelmingly wanted to go to Detroit. They wanted to play a team like Marshall.”
Nov. 30, 1999 The Ogden Standard Examiner
Utah Head Coach Ron McBride on the Utes heading to the Las Vegas Bowl
“Having a chance to play in the Las Vegas Bowl is so important for our school and community. This is the game we wanted to be in from the beginning, and I believe our team is playing its best football of the season.”
Dec. 1, 1999 - The Provo Daily Herald
BYU Head Coach LaVell Edwards on the Cougars bid to the Motor City Bowl to play Marshall:
“When this was presented to me a week or so ago, it seemed like the most intriguing matchup for us.”
