Nov. 15, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery
SDSU Head Coach Chuck Long
Opening statement:
"I don't have much to say. I feel extremely bad for this football team. I feel bad for the guys on this team to have to go through something like this. This is a tough night. Utah is good, but we also made them look good. We did everything possible to win. Again, I feel bad for the guys on the team. We have one week to go. We have to find some kind of inner confidence. This week we're going to work hard and hopefully end up on a good note. That's the goal. We're obviously a struggling football team right now."
On how close the team is to being competitive:
"I feel like we were more competitive last week against BYU than we were this week. Tonight was just a weird game. I thought Ryan (Lindley) was throwing the ball well. We were running the football okay. We just struggled stopping Utah obviously. We're hurting. We're hurting mentally and physically and I have to find a way to get this team back."
On coaching this team:
"This is the biggest challenge of my career. There's no question about it. I haven't quite gone through anything like this myself. I know my coaching staff hasn't either. We're fighting to get guys better, especially our young guys. We're trying to build that confidence but at the same time we're losing games. That's the biggest challenge for us. We need to find a way to get their confidence up."
On how he moves on after a tough loss:
"I have to keep my head up for the team. I have no choice but to do that for this football team. I'm pretty good about starting over each week. If I come in there with bad body language then what are they going to do? I have to find a way to get back up myself and for them. I owe it to them as their head coach to do that. There are a lot of underclassmen on this team and they're looking at me to be their leader and a positive one. I'll continue to do that."
SDSU Player Quotes
Senior linebacker Russell Allen
On setting the career record for assisted tackles:
"It's an honor. There are a lot of great players at San Diego State, especially in the linebacker position. The reason you play the game is to win and that is something we haven't done. It takes a little bit of the enjoyment away, obviously, a lot of it. The way I see it, no matter how many tackles you make, if you don't win then what's the point?"
On the progress of the program:
"I do obviously (see progress), in certain areas. A year ago, we didn't have the fight in us that we have now. Nobody ever quits."
On the defensive matchups:
"They have a great ability to get the matchups that they like. They get their receivers on linebackers, that gives them an advantage."
On the fumble on the first drive:
"That was early in the game. Obviously, that gave them a little momentum to start the game off. I don't think you can say that had any effect on us. You are going to turn the ball over, it's part of the game. It was a great play on his part."
On the season:
"Sometimes, obviously, the breaks don't go your way and they haven't been going our way this year, those things happen."
Senior safety Corey Boudreaux
On Utah quarterback Brian Johnson:
"He was pretty good and accurate on his throws. Utah obviously is a good team; they're not No. 7 for no reason. We saw the points scored, we saw the score. He was picking us apart. He was definitely throwing the ball well and putting it in good places."
On staying motivated with one week left in the season:
"We're going to play the same way we've been playing all season, even when things got bad. We're going to play for each other, the team and to win. Regardless if we're 1-10 or 11-0, it doesn't really matter to us. We're still going to play to win and play for each other. For the seniors on this team, it's their last go-around, and we play for them. It's all about us and what we can do and we're going to keep doing that no matter what."
Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On the game:
"One of our focus points this week was the shared Mountain West Conference title. We were able to win this game and at least guarantee a share of the MWC title. I thought we handled ourselves very well. We did what we should have done as far as moving the football on offense, playing tough defense. Special teams was very good. I though it was a game we should have won and we did."
On whether he is satisfied on what his team has accomplished:
"We have another game this season and obviously we want to finish the deal. We'll go to work on Monday and get ready for it."
On the offense:
"We put up some good numbers. I think we had over 500 yards on total offense and 30 first downs. Brian Johnson even broke Alex Smith's passing touchdown record, and I didn't know that until someone told me after the game. It was very good production by the offense."
On focusing on BYU:
"It's like any other week. We focus week to week. It's not like we were sitting here waiting to focus on the BYU game. We take it one at a time, and they happen to be this week."