Dec. 2, 2006
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 | Photo Gallery 2
SDSU Postgame Quotes
Colorado State at San Diego State
Head Coach Chuck Long
On the game:
"We will use this as a springboard for our offseason and get better. I am very proud of our seniors starting with (linebacker) Joe Martin, who had double-digit tackles. Our defense played great. It was the first night we had our secondary back, our four seniors, since the Utah game. You have to go all the way back to Utah as far as those guys starting and finishing a game together. They played very well. They played a lot of man coverage out there and played very well. We didn't throw the ball well, but (quarterback) Kevin O'Connell did lead them in a great way, especially on that last drive. I feel that our quarterbacks are the best running quarterbacks in the league right now, and we want to use that to our advantage and we did tonight. I'm very proud of our seniors. It was a good way to go out for them. I'm still upset that they didn't go out with a winning season, but they did what we asked. We won the game tonight ... We have a lot of recruiting to do, but we are going to get right to work with these guys coming back. I am encouraged and excited about the guys who are coming back, because we have some of them with significant playing time this year. It was a great win for us."
On what he needs to work on next year:
"I need to instill better confidence in them (the team) next year and I will do that. I need to start to develop leadership and start as soon as possible. From year one to year two, you have to continue to work hard in the weight room and we are going to do that as well. That is not an overnight deal. We started last winter and are going to continue that. We have some work to do, there is no question about that. I do like the fact that we have some returning experience. System wise, yes, we have to get better in our systems. We have to keep learning our systems. We haven't had an established quarterback all year and that makes a big difference, especially offensively. We just haven't had that, and it is nobody's fault, because they have been hurt. Kevin (O'Connell) is starting his fourth game of the year, but I like the way he ended the year and we will build off of that."
On being glad the season is over:
"I look at the season through the eyes of a quarterback, because I have been around quarterbacks all my life. We still need to grow with (O'Connell), as well as the other quarterbacks, and I'm ready for a few more. I don't know if I speak for everybody, but I do see it differently, because we haven't had a quarterback longer than three or four games."
On there being pressure next season:
"I look at each year as pressure. I went into this season and we wanted to win now. I said it and that is the way I look at every year. Next year, I believe we are going to be a better football team. I know that is going to happen. Again, part of that is instilling confidence and that comes from me. I need to just keep working on their confidence until we all get it right and we will."
SDSU Player Quotes
Senior linebacker Joe Martin
On his last game:
"It wasn't bittersweet for me, it was bitter. I'll never play college football again and for some guys, it feels good for them, maybe, but for me, it is not fun at all. I wish I could play forever, to be quite honest with you, and I think college football is the best football played - a lot of emotion, no salaries. It is a bunch of kids going out there having fun. I would do anything to get another year of that."
On his determination heading into his final game:
"To be quite honest with you, my determination didn't change from the first game all the way until the last game. I want to win every game I play. I think I speak for the team when I say that. We are competitors. That is how we play, no matter what the situation is. We want to win every game we play and so to answer your question, I went into this week ready to practice, ready to play, regardless of it being my last (game) and regardless of it being the last game of the season. I wanted to win just like against UTEP, the first game we played (this season)."
Junior quarterback Kevin O'Connell
On the game:
"Sometimes there are going to be games like this. For whatever it was, we could never really establish a rhythm passing the ball. I think you have to give Colorado State a lot of credit for coming out with a pretty aggressive scheme. Colorado State is pretty active, their linebackers run well. They gave us some problems in a couple situations. Our defense probably played one of their best games all season. We scored when we had to and relied on that and special teams. Freddy Dunkle's blocked punt was absolutely huge. Of course (so was), Joe Martin tackling everybody on the field."
Redshirt freshman running back Atiyyah Henderson
On getting his first touchdown:
"It felt really good. The team always got on me about not getting in the end zone, and I knew it was my last shot to get there."
Colorado State Head Coach Sonny Lubick
On the game:
"We couldn't get anything (going) with any real conistency. We didn't score any touchdowns. That says enough right there. You've got to score some touchdowns. You've got to get 24 to 25 points on the board to have a chance."
On finishing the season 4-8 after a 4-1 start:
"I heard one of the coaches say the other day, `you are what your record says you are.' I guess that's probably it. I don't know (about) those game we won early on. It's been so long, I forget who they were (against). We went through that down slump and never came out of it. I don't know how many games we had a chance to win, proba bly three, and we didn't win any of those three."
On what to expect in the off-season:
"We'll see how it goes. Things change from year to year. I've been around long enough to know that chemistry changes with one or two players. I'm not going to sit here and say the future looks great, because we have a bunch of guys coming back who have to get better, too. Our coaches have got to get better. Everything's got to get better."