Aug. 30, 2008
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Aztec Head Coach Chuck Long
On the loss:
"Obviously this was a tough loss for us and our program. It was a simple case of turnovers. You can't turn the ball over and win against any team. You turnover the ball five times like that, you're fighting and scratching the whole way at best."
On moving on after the loss:
"We have a lot of football ahead of us. It's my job to get this team back up. We have an excellent opportunity ahead of us, going to South Bend and playing on national television."
On the play of redshirt freshman Ryan Lindley:
"The silver lining in there was Ryan Lindley. He really threw the ball well after a rough start. He really came on and showed a lot of promise. Aztec fans really got a glimpse of what I think is going to be a great future here with him and this football team."
On the loss tonight and the Cal Poly loss two years ago:
"They're both disappointing, but that's with anytime you lose a game. For some reason, we didn't play well enough to win and we beat ourselves. Hats off to Cal Poly, they did a nice job of scheming. They did a nice job of making plays when they had to, especially at the end of the game."
On having a tough time running the football:
"(Cal Poly) did a nice job of stacking against the line all day, that's why we wanted to come out and throw (the ball). We wanted to throw it right off the bat, but we didn't have our rhythm yet. We also had some turnovers early. We do need to get better running the ball. We'll work hard this week to do that."
On Cal Poly's offense:
"They have a good scheme. They were a top offense a year ago and they had everybody back. They run it very well. Then they try to get (Ramses Barden) in single coverage and just throw it up there. It is a tough scheme, but I'm hoping that pays off down the road against teams like Air Force."
Mustangs Head Coach Rich Ellerson
On the game:
"It was really a hard-fought football game. It went one way, then went the other, and we were really fortunate to make the last play. We give our opponent a lot of credit, there was a chance there in the first half with the number of turnovers and being down a couple of scores. They wouldn't let us finish it, they wouldn't let us put it to bed. They fought back, took the lead in the fourth quarter, and we were fortunate to get the `W'. I think both of us will look at that tape and feel like we did enough good things to win the game, but you also do enough bad things to lose every game you play in."
On how they prepared to stop the offense:
"We ran our defense, and we certaintly prepared, but I don't know that we stopped them all that much. I think our best series of the game was that three and out at the end. They missed a couple throws, they missed a catch and a throw. They'll be beating themselves up because if they make one more throw or one more catch, we don't get the ball back. It's just one of those games where it wasn't just one play, it was one hundred plays."
SDSU Player Quotes
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley
On SDSU's offense:
"I think I was just rushing a little bit in the first quarter. Probably at the end of the first quarter I felt like the whole offense was clicking. The (offensive) line was picking up stuff very well all game. I think that everybody just got in a groove. Then we kind of kicked it up. We just need to go that extra yard, that extra inch to get what we need in the next game."
On if he thought the SDSU one-point lead would be enough:
"No, not at all. You can't (think that way), especially with Cal Poly. Cal Poly is a scrappy team. They think they are the underdogs and they are going to scrap. I was telling guys on the sidelines that this (game) isn't over. We need to come back out and we need to keep going. You definitely can never think a game is over until the clock is triple zeroes."
Senior linebacker Russell Allen
On the game:
"It's tough. It's not the way you want to start a season. Like Coach Long said, it's a long season and we have a lot of football. We are a young football team. I think it's important that we take this and learn from it and know that when times get hard we have to fight through it. Obviously this was a pretty good lesson for us. We start tomorrow and go back to the drawing board and start getting ready for the next one. It's a tough loss, but something to learn from."
"It's definitely disappointing. You know going into my senior year, you want to win your home opener. It's was big game for us. We have been preparing for this one. We wanted to win and it's tough, but you have to move on. We have practice tomorrow and you have to move on."
Junior cornerback Aaron Moore
On the game:
"We have to let this be in the past, not let it go on and just work hard. We to let it be in the past, work hard tomorrow and look forward to Notre Dame. That's all we can do."
On his performance:
"I guess I played okay. I didn't play well enough; we didn't win."
On playing against Cal Poly's Ramses Barden:
"He is a good receiver. He has a big frame. He blocked me out a lot of times, but I felt like I did what I could. He's a good receiver and that's who I was matched up with."
Senior wide receiver Darren Mougey
On the loss:
"You can't beat teams if you turn the ball over five times. We beat ourselves tonight. I know we can play with a lot of teams out there, but we aren't going to be able to play with anyone if we can't do the small things to win."
On Cal Poly's game-winning field goal:
"It shouldn't even have come down to that situation. We had the ball with about four minutes to go and we should have taken care of it. But, when it comes down to it, that is football and that's just how it goes."
On what was going through his head before Cal Poly's field goal:
"My thoughts were that we were going to block it. There wasn't really much else going through my head. Then, when you see it go through, you leave the field and you have those moments when you are trying to figure it all out."
On what the team needs to work on:
"The biggest thing is the turnovers. We can't win games if we turn the ball over and that is something that we will correct. I feel like we have a really good team and that we can beat a lot of teams out there as long as we don't beat ourselves."