The Fresno State football players wanted to be heard after so much frustration, so much uncertainty.
A season that had started with their coach leaving the job because of health problems, only to deteriorate further with four losses in six games during a maddening midseason stretch, was now back firmly on the upswing.
Their temporary coach having steadied them through every challenge, including his own uncertain future, those players yearned to preserve what might have been the best part of a burdensome season.
“We want Skip!” the players chanted in the locker room last November after a victory over Colorado State that made them eligible for a bowl game.