The Saturday game with Texas State did not go perfectly despite the football team’s victory, head coach Gary Patterson said Tuesday at the third media luncheon.

“I’m glad we won the ball game,” Patterson said. “It wasn’t as pretty as we wanted it to be. We made some mistakes. But the important thing is we’re still making mistakes and winning.”

Patterson said the freshmen and redshirt freshmen continued to impress this past weekend. There were between 12 and 15 of them playing again, and several made key plays.

It is more noticeable when the freshmen don’t play well, Patterson said. “If you’re not noticing them, it’s probably a good thing,” he said.

Senior tailback Joseph Turner’s knee injury was also a focus this week, as well as the strong depth chart of running backs behind him.

“His key to staying healthy is carrying it probably somewhere between 10 and 15 times a game,” Patterson said. “If he does that, then he’ll play the whole season as long as he doesn’t have some bad luck.”

Patterson said Turner has not been pushed by the younger players in the depth chart, like redshirt freshman running back Ed Wesley. Patterson said Turner focused on helping them and making them better players.

“He works very hard at making sure he’s teaching them,” Patterson said.

Patterson also addressed the hunt for a Bowl Championship Series bowl game bid and the role that plays in preparation and practice as the season progresses.

He said the primary goal of the team is to win each ball game, and to ultimately win the Mountain West Conference title. The BCS is not a main focus of the team at this point in the season, Patterson said.

Heading into the third week of play, the Horned Frogs are ranked No. 14 in the nation, according to the USA Today poll.

“The key to it is, you’ve got to go play. Our conference is better,” Patterson said. “As far as scheduling goes, you won’t see a lot of people scheduling us. If they are, they’ll be in for a fight.”