Oct. 20, 2007
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Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
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SDSU Head Coach Chuck Long Quotes
Opening Statement
"That was a heartbreaker. That's obvious. It was a tough one. We had our chances. And, you know, Kevin [O'Connell], I thought, performed well in the game and it was just a tough one to lose. I told our guys in the locker room that I like the way they're growing. I know we're going to be a good football team. We had a good week in practice, we gave ourselves a chance to win the football game. We have the same kind of week next week and it's my job to get them up. It was tough, but we'll move on. Our guys are resilient. They're getting tougher and we know we'll move on to bigger and better things in the future."
On what he saw with the pass interference call
"I couldn't see it very well. I didn't have a good angle. I just have to watch it on tape. I thought the officials called a good game."
On any serious thoughts about the fourth and shorts
"I just felt like the way our defense was playing, it's becoming a field position game at that point. I just didn't want, if we did not make it, to give our defense a short field. I felt like they're playing well right now. Hindsight is obviously a coach's nightmare but obviously the second one was longer than the first one. The first one we probably had a better chance of getting but it's in our own territory so I didn't go for it."
San Diego State Player Quotes
Defensive Back Corey Boudreaux
On the team's defensive effort
"In spite of the loss, our defense showed we're tough. We lost, but like our coaches said, we played smash-mouth football the whole time. We lost and we bowed our necks and we were to play, and there to hit the whole game. We didn't back down from it one bit. I think our defense really improved."
Quarterback Kevin O'Connell
On the fumble in the fourth quarter
"I asked Coach Long to run that play. It was going to be a play that, given the right opportunity, would be huge for us. The offensive line blocked [the blitz] well, but it's a tough sell when a team like New Mexico would blitz that much. I think I had the first down, although I don't know exactly what yard I was on. I was just trying to make the play."
On expectations for the team
"Sunday we will look at the film and Monday we'll roll up our sleeves and get back to work. I've had ten guys come up to me since the end of the game telling me that we're right there and that means a lot to me. It speaks volumes about the chemistry and the character that we have. I know these guys will pick me up. I made a mistake that pretty much cost us the football game, but at the same time I know what we have in the locker room and what I am capable of doing. These guys believe and we're just going to go back to work and prepare for BYU."
New Mexico Head Coach Rocky Long Quotes
Opening Statement
"We're awfully excited about winning this game. I thought we showed a lot of character on our part. Our guys just kept hanging in there and we finally got a lucky break and the offense did a nice job driving it down and scored the winning touchdown. We didn't play very well and you've got to give credit to San Diego State because they came in ready to play. They were very physical and they were excited about playing. We were excited about playing, but we didn't play very well."
"We're happy that we won and I thought that San Diego State played the best game that they've played all year. I'm sure that if I was in their locker room I would think that I deserved to win. We've been on the other side of that many times where we outplayed the other team and lost so its nice to have one go our way."
"I thought that we couldn't tackle their quarterback (Kevin O'Connell). If they didn't have him, we would have played great defense. We should have sacked him two or three times, but then he ran and scrambled around and got yardage. I thought he played a great game."