Sept. 27, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery | Game Action | Postgame Press Conference
Head Coach Chuck Long
Opening statement:
"I am very pleased with the outcome tonight and with the way we competed. I thought all three phases of our game played well, including special teams. I am really excited for our guys. It has been a tough go. Our last win was in late October last year and that is a long time to wait, but our guys stuck with it and did a great job tonight. I am very proud of the way our offense moved the football. I was especially pleased with the yards after catch. We really worked hard on that."
On sophomore wide receiver Vincent Brown:
"He had a great performance, especially with yards after the catch. We had some short passes to him and he took it and spun out of there and did a great job after that. When we were recruiting Vincent, we thought he would be a special player while he is here, so we are excited about him."
On the running backs:
"Our run game got better tonight. Atiyyah (Henderson) did a nice job on the ground. Brandon Sullivan was hurt a little bit so we tried to back off him. As I said from the very beginning, it is vital to have a number of guys at the running back position. I thought Tyler Campbell came in and did well. He gave us some good minutes in there and had some nice runs. But, I really liked the way Atiyyah played tonight. He played tough."
On junior running back Atiyyah Henderson:
"I think he had a good camp and had his best offseason. We think he will play a major role, especially with some injury situations."
On sophomore cornerback Jose Perez:
"We felt Jose had a better week of practice than Aaron Moore and decided to start him, although Aaron went in there and played well. We are trying to develop some healthy competition while we are in the middle of the season. They both got in there and I thought Jose held his own."
On the execution of the offense:
"I thought the execution was terrific. We have had some execution, but it was turnovers that hurt us earlier in the year. But, besides the one turnover we had tonight, I thought we did a good job once we got the ball in our hands. Obviously the yards after catch really helped. I was very pleased with the way we executed tonight."
On the defense:
"I thought our defense played well. It is nice to see a lot of our guys in their original positions. That showed tonight. They were comfortable, playing hard and playing fast."
On getting the first win of the season:
"It feels great. It has been a long time but we just kept staying with it. This is a team with a lot of belief and they enjoy being around each other. They have practiced really well the past two weeks and that says a lot about a team that started the season 0-3.
SDSU Player Quotes
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Lindley
On his connection with the receivers:
"I think there was a connection with the receivers as a whole tonight. I've been saying all year we've got a gifted group of guys. I'm just trying to get them the ball in space. And that's what I think we did tonight."
On the passing game:
"We had a great balanced attack tonight. Coach Miller called great plays. The (offensive) line was running, pass blocking and it was great tonight. It was a team effort."
On the game:
"I think the offense played okay. Last (game) at San Jose State was pretty bad so I think it was good to come off that and have a game like we did. As a whole we played really well. We were really balanced. We ran the ball; we passed the ball. It was great for a first win."
Junior running back Atiyyah Henderson
On the game:
"We had two great weeks of preparation to get ready for this game. We ran the ball a lot in practice so we knew what we had before us in the game."
On the running game:
"We can really run the ball. We just really haven't had the opportunities, but I felt this game we did. ... I feel great. I'm ready to step up any time."
Sophomore wide receiver Vincent Brown
On the game:
"The (offensive) line gave (quarterback) Ryan (Lindley) time to pick up a lot on defense and we just executed a lot on offense (tonight)."
Opponent Head Coach Quotes
Idaho Head Coach Robb Akey
On the game:
"I'm going to stick with these guys. We're on the cusp of being able to get over the edge. We've got to bang it through to get it over the edge. I'm going to keep working them, and they're going to keep working together, and we're going to unite to bring us through to start the conference at home next week."
On SDSU's big plays on defense and offense:
"There were too many big plays missed by the defense. We were making tackles for losses. And then I'm watching their running backs continue to run. I think that shook the confidence that some of them had. We didn't get anything accomplished the first half."
On the Idaho running backs:
"We've got some young kids who can run the football. We've got some bright spots but that doesn't mean anything. We've got to get ourselves together to come through with a win. We've got to come through."