Oct. 28, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
Head Coach Chuck Long
On the game:
"This was one of the toughest days of my career. I know I speak for our coaching staff and team as well, just a tough night for us. It is a great lesson. You can't let anybody hang around in a football game. You certainly can't turn the ball over at one of the most crucial times in the game. I'm hoping we can learn from that. One of the great things about last week was that we didn't turn the ball over and tonight we did. I can't say it is any one thing tonight. We were still a 1-5 football team coming into this game and we haven't played a complete game. Even against Air Force, it still wasn't complete and we are still looking for that game. I believe it is down the road. I'm sure it is. It just hasn't happened. This was a tough one, obviously, and again I've been in the business long enough to know that anybody can beat anybody. I said that early in the week. I felt we had a good week of practice. For this team, it's about learning how to put back-to-back's together. I can't pinpoint anything until we look at the tape, but I told them we have all conference (games) left. We can still do some damage in the conference and that is what we are going to take in."
On Cal Poly:
Hats off to Cal Poly, they did a nice job. Their defense did a nice job. They hit enough big plays when they had to...."
On being conservative in the second half:
"We have to look at what we did and we probably got a little conservative. We started off the game so well and again just kind of let them hang around. We had some three and out's in the second quarter and then they had the big drive on us at the end of the half. We loosened it up at the end, the last minute or two minutes of the game."
On the team's tackling:
"Tackling has been an issue. We have to get better at that. I thought we tackled very well last week. I'll watch the tape, but we have to get better at that. No question about it. (We) have to get better at tackling. Fundamentals are what is hurting us right now and we work (on them) hard every day."
On the team's focus this week:
"I thought they had good focus this week. They were very diligent about their work. They went about it the same week as the Air Force week. We just let a team hang around and we turned it over. We put the ball on the ground too much, I thought, tonight and that will get you every time. We didn't make enough big plays on offense, (although) we did early. We gave up too many on defense. Those are the big hurdles we have struggled with all year and we have to get over that."
On the team's confidence:
"I will have to assess that come Monday and during the course of the week. It is my job as a head coach to get them back in a confident way because we have a lot of football (left). We have all conference (games) now. We start with Wyoming up there and the way our conference is going, who knows. It is crazy from week to week in our conference. It is very unpredictable. I still believe we have a chance at doing some significant damage. I told the guys we have to find a way to put this behind us as quickly, and as fast, as possible. We will watch the tape and learn from it, but we have to move on."
SDSU Player Quotes
Junior defensive end Antwan Applewhite
On SDSU's defense being beat on some long plays:
"You miss a tackle or an assignment and that's what happens. We tackled well last week (against Air Force), but missed some tackles tonight."
On the loss to Cal Poly:
"It was a hard loss to take. We fought hard but it was a tough, tough loss to take. All we can go is up from here. We have to keep working hard. We have Wyoming next week and we have to forget about tonight and move on."
Junior running back Lynell Hamilton
On playing again after missing the last few games with an injury:
"It was nice to get back in there and contribute. I felt good." On Cal Poly:
"We had confidence, but we just didn't get it done tonight. They kept fighting, and you have to tip your hat and give them credit. We have to move on and get ready for Wyoming. We made a lot of mistakes, but a lot of good things happened, too. Our focus is Wyoming now."
On SDSU's offensive struggles:
"Fourteen points isn't going to cut it. You can say what you want about the defense or the offense, but speaking for the offense, we need to be better. We have to play hard at all times. We can't feel good about being ahead a touchdown or five touchdowns, we have to play the whole game."
On talking to kicker Garrett Palmer after missing a late field goal in the fourth quarter:
"I just told him we never should have put him in that position. You're going to win some and you're going to lose some. I know he'll make the kick next time."
Freshman running back Atiyyah Henderson
On his fourth quarter fumble:
"I was looking to cut back but really didn't have full control of the ball. I should have had full control before I made my cut. ...I made my cutback but it came out before I secured it. I felt it come out and tried to get it (back)."
Senior wide receiver Ramal Porter
On the game:
"It's very important that you execute once you get on top, just keep your foot on the pedal. We just couldn't execute enough to keep the ballgame in our hands."
On his individual performance:
"I just go out there and try to perform to the best of my abilities. Of course I was happy to help the team on the scoreboard, but it's still a loss and it's still disappointing."
Cal Poly Head Coach Rich Ellerson
On the game:
"(It was a) hard fought game, a good win. That's all we have left. That's all we have to look forward to are games like this, against quality opponents and in difficult stadiums. So it's good that we know what it takes to be successful. But we were fortunate to win. It was a hard-fought game. It came down to one play 50 times."
On his decision to play for the field goal:
"My thought was we got a takeway, we got a break, and I was going to make sure that we gave ourselves a chance to win. I was not going to return the favor."
On Atiyyah Henderson's fumble:
"We were playing run defense. Our guys were doing a good job of attacking the ball throughout the game, but I suspect he (Henderson) didn't have (the ball). We had a little bit of penetration at the point of attack, and the exchange wasn't quite right. The guy didn't have the ball when he got hit. We were very fortunate."
On the significance of his team's win:
"I think it's a huge win, but for a lot of reasons. It's a winning season for our senior class. It keeps a lot of our other goals alive. It's a huge win, no question. There was so much on the table and the fact that it was San Diego State - a traditional foe, someone who we haven't played in a long time, but used to play all the time. Our fans, alumni and former players can all identify with what this feels like. That's all powerful stuff. Just the fact that we were here, (and) the fact that we were playing them was a big deal."