Oct. 11, 2005
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State Football
Weekly News Conference Quotes
Oct. 11, 2005
Head Coach Tom Craft
On last Saturday's loss to UNLV:
"I think we did a really good job Saturday on defense. We felt that we could do a good job matched-up against their offense. (UNLV) had been struggling and they had a quarterback change. (Linebacker) Joe Martin played a terrific game, not just with the interception, but with the whole football game. He was really good with his alignment and his assignment. He did everything exceptionally well and it was by far his best game. (Linebacker) Freddy Keiaho had a great fumble recovery and run down to the one-yard line and (linebacker) Russell Allen played very well. So, we're really happy with progress that we've made with those youngsters. (Punter) Michael Hughes continues to kick the ball well and gave us tremendous field position when we had the wind (at our backs). That was a factor for both teams.
"Offensively, we didn't play with the consistency that we've been playing and the trend towards playing better and better each week. It was really puzzling how we could come out and play like that. It's just very disappointing and it wasn't just in one area--it was in all areas."
On being able to bounce back from a disappointing loss:
"We didn't play well against UNLV. We didn't play well against them at all on offense, but I don't think you can dwell on your failures and successes. That's what we've got to learn and we've got to be able to learn (not to dwell) when we get in a situation like that again. We had a good practice today and I think we've gone through that. We'll move on and try to correct it and look forward to Utah, because it's really important that we haven't played a good game on the road yet. We have to look forward to doing that, because it's one of the pivotal things that can turn a season around. We're at the halfway point. We've played well at times and we've made some progress in some areas. Now we need to carry that into some consistency during this stretch."
On his assessment of Utah:
"Their quarterback (Brian Johnson) has carried the ball a number of times like (Aztec quarterback) Kevin O'Connell. He's very active. He scrambles and keeps things alive for them. He's a good, young exciting player in this league. (Running back Quinton) Ganther is a strong, physical runner--kind of a quick and powerful guy. Their defense is very big up front and very active. (Lineman Steve) Fifita is a great player, probably one of the best defensive linemen in the conference. He was the player of the year in the conference last year. Their linebackers are extremely good and they've got great speed and athleticism in the secondary, so they'll be a good challenge for us."
On the defensive improvement over the course of the year:
"We've gained some confidence and we're not a young team. I've said this before. We've got juniors and seniors in the secondary and a senior linebacker. We've also got a couple young linebackers who are playing well and the reason why is the type of people they are. They really study the game. It's important to them. And on the defensive line, (Kurt) Kahui, I think is one of the best linemen in the conference. He's a little undersized, but has a great motor. Antwan Applewhite is a terrific athlete. He was pretty dynamic earlier in the year. His experience that he has a gained as a full-time starter is really important and significant. We know Jon Bailes is a good player and a three-year starter. Nick Osborn has really started to jump up and make some strides. He's coming off his most outstanding performance. I think the biggest surprise is our two corners, Terrell Maze and Donny Baker. We knew (safety) Marcus Demps was a talented player and, Reggie Grigsby, we felt was a really good safety, but Terrell and Donny have really surprised us. They've played with consistency for the most part and they've played really tough. They're not that big, but they've played really tough. We were really concerned about those two areas (the corners) and the defensive line and the D-line has really come around."
SDSU Defensive End Antwan Applewhite
On the defense's improvement:
"We were a young defense at first. These last four games we started to jell together, playing together as a team defense without having people playing for their own well-being. We are playing together and handling our assignments well."
On the team's road struggles:
"I don't know to tell you the truth. We've had some hard road games. We've gone out there with a good game plan as we do every week. We just didn't come up with a victory. After these road games, we know we have to patch things up and give it another shot."
SDSU Quarterback Kevin O'Connell
On the last week's UNLV game:
"It was one of those days that nothing seemed to work and it was all on us as players. We didn't execute. Personally, I didn't play well at all. I really didn't have the mental preparation that I should have had. During the game, (I didn't make) the adjustments that I should have personally been making. But I think we have some good character on this team and I think it is going to show. We are going to come back this week and take care of what we need to do in practice. We had a good practice this morning. I think we'll be able to do a little bit better this week, a lot better, we have to."
On why he performed the way he did at UNLV:
"I think it might have been a combination of things, but on a personal level, I went into (the game) thinking I was going to see some looks that I didn't see. They ended up playing a couple of different coverages than we thought and they confused us a little bit up front and in the backfield. Just coming down to it, I look at myself as trying to be the leader of the offense and when things aren't going well, whether it's me making a play personally or me getting the ball to someone who can make a play, something has to happen there and we're not going to let (last Saturday's performance) happen again."
On whether complacency was the reason for Saturday's loss at UNLV:
"I don't think so. It's really easy to say that. Personally looking back on it, we had a couple of good practices last week and then we kind of faltered a little bit on Thursday. We came out a little lackadaisical and I think it showed. When we got close inside the redzone, which is normally our comfort zone where we like to do our thing, the defense gave us the ball at the one-yard line and we had three shots at it and didn't get in (the endzone). When you do that, you don't deserve to win the football game no matter how awesome your defense plays. (The defense) handed us the game on a silver platter and we gave it away. We know we can't let that happen again and we are going to make the changes we need to make, go out there and prepare and try to get back to the way we were playing before last week."
On the loss of running back Lynell Hamilton:
"I actually didn't even realize that he went down and pulled up a little bit (on Saturday). All of a sudden he wasn't out there anymore. I came back and asked what was going on. That was a situation and type of game when it's hot like that people start to lose their energy and maybe get a little dehydrated. It's a situation where you can't throw a guy like Lynell out there because he's so strong and so powerful that if he pulls up and maybe pulls that muscle all the way we might have lost him for two or three weeks. So when we lost him, it hurt us a little bit because he's our guy, but Brandon (Bornes) and Michael (Franklin) came in and did the best they could. Brandon ran really hard. I know that surface is a little tough to run on especially when it gets hot like that, but no excuses."
On the team's road struggles:
"We've had all types of different environments on the road this year. We go from a place like Ohio State where it was nearly impossible to have communication with the line of scrimmage and then to UNLV, other than the physical environment, as far as the wind and the heat, but that's no excuse. It just takes that extra bit of focus and we're still trying to find ourselves in some spots. We're still young in some areas and still trying to come together and I think through these first six games we learned a lot about our team. (We learn from the good things we did in the first half and from the bad things as well. We are going to apply that to everything we do."
SDSU Linebacker Freddy Keiaho
On the defense:
"We gave up 40 points two weeks in a row in the first two games. The Ohio State game we gave up 27 points and we played really well as a defense. I told the defense that if we play with that fire and intensity throughout the whole season, we were going to be set on defense."