"For us to keep playing (past this weekend) we've got to be able to win the Friday game for all other things to be possible," Tech head coach Larry Hays said. "That's the direction we're heading. When you've got the record we've got it means you haven't handled things well and we've put ourselves in this predicament. We have to step up and do better than we've done in the past. I think it's possible we could do that because in my mind we're not as bad as our record shows. But somewhere you've got to prove it on the field and we haven't proven it yet."

"The one downer about this (season) is these guys have shown up to play every game," Hays said. "They've been able to handle the disappointment that comes with not playing well. We're not a team that is able to get away with making a mistake, we're just not simply good enough. But from the standpoint of competitiveness, we've been ready to go every Friday and they've answered the bell all year. In a way, that makes them a special bunch of kids."