"Alright. Well I am coming back next year."
Derek Carr said that immediately after the game, while holding onto the Bulldogs' first conference championship trophy in 13 years.
"I never once wanted to go anywhere else but here and so now that I'm here, now that we got to win this championship together, this is for Him," said the Bulldogs' junior quarterback. "This isn't for me, this is for Robbie (Rouse), Davante (Adams), Phil (Thomas), Trav (Brown)."
It's for Derek, too.
He knows the NFL will be there in 2014. By staying for his senior year, he could potentially win another conference championship while becoming Fresno State's all-time passing leader.
"I think as good a quarterback as he is, he could be the greatest in Fresno State history," said first-year coach Tim DeRuyter. "We haven't had a Heisman Trophy winner here. We haven't gone to a BCS bowl. Those things are out there for a great leader like him and I think that's a challenge that he's looking forward to."
First, though, Derek Carr is enjoying the challenge he just finished.
"This is also for Coach (Pat) Hill, let's not forget that," said Carr. He brought us here. He put these guys together and Coach DeRuyter did a great job coaching us all year, obviously.
And so we're just so thankful right now."
