Nov. 11, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2
SDSU Head Coach Chuck Long
On the game:
"It's great to get a victory. I told our guys in the locker room after the game that all wins are good wins. I also felt a little tinge of remorse with the team in the locker room, thinking we could have done better, which is always a good sign.
"I commended our assistant coaches on the sideline for all our personnel grouping. We had so many guys out of the lineup with injuries. I just thought our coaches on the sideline did a great job of getting all that straight.
"I was very proud of our guys and our effort. Defensively, I have felt the past couple of games that they're starting to get what we're teaching right now. Tonight, I think we got it."
On the quarterback situation:
"I thought both of them played well. They had a great (completion) percentage all night. I thought Kevin O'Connell had some great drives and had presence. You could feel his leadership in there."
On running back Lynell Hamilton:
"I thought we would have all of our captains playing in the same game for two weeks in a row, but that didn't come about. Lynell Hamilton had his knee drained a couple of days ago thinking he would be ready for the game. We tried it in pre-game warm-ups and he just was not ready to go. So that is still a goal of ours - to get all our captains out there two games in a row."
On the revolving quarterbacks:
"I have never done it much in the past as a coach, but it felt good tonight. We had one mistake, Kevin Craft threw the interception, but I thought it was pretty good the way we rotated it ... We did it by quarter tonight."
On using two quarterbacks versus TCU:
"I don't know yet at this point. We kept it open-ended. We just wanted to do it this game and will go from here. Obviously, coach (Del) Miller and I will talk about it. I want to make sure he's good with it and we're on the same page."
SDSU Player Quotes
Junior defensive end Antwan Applewhite
On the defense coming together:
"We are getting to that point. We are starting to gel a little better than we have in past weeks. I wouldn't say we've totally got it down yet - there are still some mistakes being made. We practiced hard this week, I could see it out there and I'm sure the fans could see it out there that. We did a pretty good job against (the UNLV offense). We are starting to understand this philosophy."
On the defense's better play:
"I would attribute it to the scout team - the players that we go against all week in practice. They came at us hard this week. It wasn't easy at first, but we started to get it and we started to stop the scout team. That is how I knew early in the week that we would have a good game against this team."
On the Ray Bass touchdown:
"That was great. Every year it seems like we get a defensive touchdown against UNLV. Two years ago, I had one (fumble return). Last year, Freddy Keiaho almost had one, but Joe Martin did have one and this year, we knew they were going to give us a shot. When he (quarterback Rocky Hinds) threw it, I just remember turning around and seeing Ray (Bass) there and was like `yes, this is the one right here.' I was just hoping he wasn't going to get caught."
Junior safety Ray Bass
On his interception:
"It was a great play by our defensive line. The defensive line set up the secondary. It seemed like (Hinds) threw it behind (the receiver) and it seemed like he was trying to hurry (the pass). He threw it out there pretty quickly - there was great pressure. That's what happens when you get great presssure - it allows you to make plays."
On becoming the starter this week:
"Brett (Sturm) was hurt last week and I was taking all the reps with the first team. (The coaches) didn't say anything (about me starting), but I was getting all the reps. (Sturm) was down the whole week, so I knew I had to step up and fill in the best I could."
On the win:
"It felt great. It was a well-deserved victory. We needed it, because it really boosted our morale a lot."
Junior quarterback Kevin O'Connell
On the play of the offensive line:
"I think the offensive line desrves a lot of credit for everything that happened tonight. When we were throwing the ball, they gave us time. When we were running the ball, we were able to close it out there at the end."
UNLV Head Coach Mike Sanford
On the game:
"I thought our defense played hard. We're getting better all the time. I thought our team played hard, but we didn't play smart. We made some mistakes on offense and made some mistakes in the redzone. We have to put an end to that. We have to get that solved."
On having place-kicker Sergio Aguayo attempt two long field goals:
"I see Sergio every day. I see him make them from over 50 yards all the time. I see him do it in practice. I'm going to be aggressive. I'm going to find a way to put points on the scoreboard for us... Sergio's a great kicker, and I believe he is going to make them.