Oct. 31, 2004
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
SDSU Head Coach Tom Craft
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2004
Qualcomm Stadium/San Diego, Calif.
On The Game:
"We came away feeling that they are definitely one of the best teams that we have played. Tonight, they beat us in a lot of different areas. They are physical up front. I thought we did a good job offensively, as well. As we expected, I think they have people up there who are acrobatic and strong. We didn't tackle as well as we have been, but you have to give some of that credit to Utah. The special teams had a couple of critical breakdowns that really cost us. We have to do a better job with our personal fouls. We just have to have more discipline. Those things are correctable."
"I saw some progress on the offensive side of the ball tonight. I thought Kevin O'Connell handled himself very well tonight. He was under a lot of pressure and I saw a lot of promise in him. I thought Brandon Bornes ran the ball well and blocked well. He is another exciting freshman for us. Our young players are starting to come a long a bit."
On Brandon Bornes
"I think Brandon is starting to progress. He is a big, strong back and one of our better pass blockers. As the game got out of hand, he became more of a blocker than a runner. He almost broke a couple of runs all the way for us. He is definitely a guy who you will see on a regular basis for us."
On the BYU game:
"We have to get ready for BYU. They are a team that traditionally beats us on a regular basis. It's going to be tough in Provo. They had a bye this week and we know that they were preparing for us. It's an opportunity for us and we are going to go up there and play a good game against them."
AZTEC PLAYERS
Aztecs' LB Matt McCoy:
On the Utah offense:
"I've never seen an offense that powerful before - they'll probably go off to the BCS. They completed almost every pass."
On upcoming game against BYU:
"We have to come out and play our game. We can't let this game effect the team. We just have to get ready to play against BYU this week."
Aztecs' QB Kevin O'Connell:
"I definitely am getting more comfortable and getting more looks out there. I make mistakes out there and I try to learn from them. That's all part of the learning process for me - learning from my mistakes, trying to limit them, and capitalizing when there are good plays made."
"There were a lot of ups-and-downs in our offense, but we are getting better on our starts. We've got some rhythm going and did better in the red zone. We'll see how things go next week."
Aztecs' RB Brandon Bornes:
"I think I did okay tonight on improving my movement, blocking and reading the holes, but there is always stuff to improve on."
"I learned from last week because I didn't read the holes very well. This week I read it and got it right. I can't get too excited about this - I just need to stay focused and level headed."
Utah Head Coach Urban Meyer
On the game:
"That was a great win. Typical wins don't happen. When you have a chance to get to 8-0, the best thing about it is that you have a chance to get to 9-0. That's the only thing we're focused on. There is so much parity in football. The team we just played is a good football team. (SDSU) is struggling, making mistakes, but talent-wise there are as good as a lot of teams that we've played. I'm proud of the effort. We let too many big plays go, but I'm really proud of the effort."
On QB Alex Smith:
"I thought he played great, but we have to protect him a little bit. He's getting hit far too much. All the Ute fans are getting worried about it and the Ute coaches are worried about that too."
On the blocked punt and touchdown before halftime:
"Halftime momentum is such a big thing in college football. To do that right before the half - our locker room was out of their mind. Their locker room, I'm sure, was kind of like, "What the heck just happened?" Momentum is such a big deal and I think that was the checkmate of the game."
On the SDSU defense:
"They did a great job against the run. We were forced to throw and we threw a lot, especially early. I thought Alex (Smith) and our receivers played really well and we protected him pretty well. That is a good defense. It is a bunch of kids who are going to play in the NFL."