Oct. 27, 2012
Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
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Coach Long | Muema, Escobar, Dingwell, Fely | UNLV quotes
Rocky Long
On the team's performance:
I thought we struggled at times. We turned the ball over more in this game than we had in any other single game this year. I'm don't know that for sure, but I thought the turnovers kept us from scoring a lot more points. I was really proud of the defense. After all three turnovers, the defense went out and stopped them. They didn't get any points off the turnovers. I thought the defense played pretty well except one drive where they ran the ball on us too well. They got in second and short, third and short situations. I thought the offense really ran the ball well and moved it well, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot or we would have scored a lot more points.
On Adam Dingwell's first start:
I thought he did a nice job. I thought he controlled the game. I thought he did well getting us in the right running play with some checks. I thought he threw it pretty well. The one interception was a little bit of a high throw, but it was a tipped ball. I thought he played really well for his first start.
On the mood during the half:
The mood at halftime was we had to play better. We were in the lead. As bad as people might think we played, we were in the lead and we did win the game. Sometimes around here, I don't know why it is, because this team hasn't been bowl eligible this fast in a long time. We've already won six games. It doesn't matter how you win, folks. It doesn't matter how you win. Ask everybody that's lost today if it matters. All those people that lost by three. Ask them if it matters. It doesn't matter how you win. You win. You ought to be happy you won.
On what kept the team from scoring:
I think the three turnovers kept us from scoring. I'm positive. I guess I'm not completely positive, but I think we would have scored on all three of those drives. Which eliminated maybe 21 points, which makes the game look a lot closer than it probably was. I'm betting the statistics show that we dominated the game. Didn't dominate it on the scoreboard, but I bet you (in) the statistics, (we did).
On being bowl eligible:
Being eligible to go to the third bowl in a row is a record. I guess it's never happened at San Diego State. So that's exciting. To be honest with you, we still got three games to play. We're going to enjoy the heck out of this victory because I've been around a long time where a team will come off a big win and then not play well the next week and not win. Sometimes you get a little jaded. So we're going to enjoy this win and worry about whoever we play next tomorrow.
On whether he was worried about the team not playing well after the big win against Nevada last week:
I was really worried about it. I don't think the players worry about that stuff. Coaches do.
On Adam Dingwell:
I think Adam can be a great starting quarterback. I think it is much harder to be the starting quarterback than it is a guy that comes off the bench in the second quarter. I think there was a lot more pressure on him tonight. He had a lot more knowledge of what he was doing tonight. Sometimes when things don't go quite right for you, you start thinking too much. I don't think he did that. I think he handled himself, was really under control with some maturity. I think he can be a great starting quarterback.
On whether Ryan Katz on the sideline tonight:
No. We wanted him to come, but he's in so much pain, he didn't think he could be on the sidelines and stand up that long. If you're on the sidelines, you sit on the bench, guess what, you see nothing. So I imagine he watched it on TV.
On how Katz's surgery went:
Doctor said it went fine. But I think it's quite a long rehab.
On UNLV running back Tim Cornett's success:
He had one 75 yard run. Take the 75 yard run out there and see what their average per carry was. That stuff happens once in a while. They did a great job of blocking us. Our safety missed the tackle and he went for 70 something yards. You add 75 yards on one run to the total, gee whizz. I don't think they ran the ball very well on us. How many yards did they get total?
On whether the defense did better in the pass rush tonight:
I thought we got more heat on the quarterback, yeah.
STUDENT-ATHELTES
On the win and becoming bowl eligible:
Gavin Escobar: Yeah, it's really exciting to be bowl eligible now. We're just focused on the next game and we have a lot more football to play.
On what he liked about this game:
Gavin Escobar: It was a tough game. All the credit to UNLV, they played really good, but we're just happy that we won.
On what he liked about this game:
Adam Muema: I had a little adversity, two fumbles from me. Not too well, but appreciate my linemen staying calm and working with me. We came out with the win, and that's what's important.
On the program being established:
Gavin Escobar: It's really exciting. When we first came in here, we weren't an established team yet. But now I feel like we're an established team. Going to three bowl games really proves that.
On how the team played in the game:
Gavin Escobar: I feel you can always play better and obviously eliminating turnovers is the key to winning the game. But we handled adversity and came out with the win.
On what happened on the two fumbles:
Adam Muema: Honestly, I don't know. The ball popped out on one of them. The second one, (during) the pitch I took my eye off the ball, was looking at the defender and lost the ball.
On whether it took a while to establish the run game:
Adam Muema: Not really. But as far as me fumbling, I guess you could say so. I just appreciate what the line did and the team. They kept working, played hard and never gave up.
On the last couple games for him:
Gavin Escobar: I'm just doing whatever I can to help the team win. That's basically all it is. If it's blocking or making plays, I'm just trying to do what I can.
On the chemistry with Adam Dingwell:
Gavin Escobar: It's good. I've been with him since he came in. He's been the second string. So him coming in is an easy transition.
On whether Dingwell looked his way a lot tonight:
Gavin Escobar: You'd probably have to ask him that. I don't know what he's really looking at all the time. But we connected a few times. He connected with Colin, too. So it was good.
On Dingwell's first start:
Gavin Escobar: It's exciting for him. Bummer that (Ryan) Katz goes down. We're all just praying that he gets better soon. But it's big for Dingwell. He's a pretty confident guy in his abilities. We're all confident in what we can do.
On whether he did anything after the two fumbles:
Adam Muema: No. I had to stay focused, get my mind off of it. Keep playing because the game was obviously not over. Early in the game, keep fighting and help the team win.
On Dingwell:
Adam Muema: Confidence. Actually, I have chemistry with Dingwell. He was my first roommate. So I'm proud of him.
On whether that was his freshman year:
Adam Muema: Correct.
On his first start tonight:
Adam Dingwell: Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it tremendously, but I think I was more nervous throughout the week just getting prepared. It's still football, it's still the game I played my whole life. Once you get out there, in between the lines, you just got to go out there and execute.
On whether he felt it took a while to get an offensive rhythm going:
Adam Dingwell: Yeah, in a way. We had a pretty good offensive night and then the turnovers killed us every time. We just shot ourselves in the foot tonight. Give credit to the defense. They played a heck of a game and they kept us in this one. The defense played a great game. The O line, towards the end, did a great job and just let us run out the clock.
On the chemistry with Gavin Escobar:
Adam Dingwell: Yeah, I feel like we have good chemistry. It just starts in practice. I've been throwing to him since I've been here. I feel like he trusts me and I trust him tremendously. He's a great guy. He makes a lot of matchup (problems for) defenses. So he's a big target for us.
On why he was successful tonight in getting to the quarterback:
Jake Fely: I was just trying to come off the edge fast. We preach being physical every day at practice. (When) we're getting the opportunity to blitz like that, you got to try to show something. That's what I was trying to do for the defense.
On what sticks out from his first start:
Adam Dingwell: I can't point out one thing. A win is a win. May not have been pretty, but a win is a win. We're happy about this one. The one thing I'm pleased with is how the O line played. They kept me upright all game. They let the running backs run for over 100 (yards) apiece. Chad Young had a heck of a game also. He was throwing his head around in there, making big hits all over the place. I can be pleased with how we ran the ball. It kind of took some of the pressure off of me. All the other guys around me played a heck of a game.
On whether he feels the defense has made strides in the pass rush:
Jake Fely: Yeah, like I said, every practice, we preach being physical. Our defense, every time we hit the field, it's always get off the field so the offense can get the ball into the end zone. Being physical is what we're trying to do and get a W every game.
On if his first start was what he expected:
Adam Dingwell: I don't think you could really expect anything out of a first start. Like I said, it's still football. I'm just happy we came away with a victory and we'll celebrate this one tonight and get ready to go tomorrow.
On the scoring play to Colin Lockett:
Adam Dingwell: Yeah, that was a great snap by Alec (Johnson). I got a little anxious, saw a coverage that we liked and took my eyes off the ball. Sometimes a ball bounces your way. It did in this case, it came right back to me. Colin Lockett got open, scored a touchdown. So, really had nothing to do with me. I kind of messed that play up, but Colin helped me out there at the end.
On whether he told Adam Muema anything after his two fumbles:
Adam Dingwell: I just told him to let it go, move on to the next play, nobody's perfect. I had a fumble myself, which can't happen. Adam is a great player. He knows when something isn't right. So you tell him to move on, keep encouraging him and let him know that he's still a running back for this team and we're going to help him out as much as we can. Just keep two hands on the ball. That's it.
On being bowl eligible:
Adam Dingwell: Yeah, it's exciting to be bowl eligible, but we still got a lot of football left. We're just going to enjoy this one tonight and come back tomorrow ready to work.
UNLV Head Coach Bobby Hauck
On the game:
There are three things that stick out in my mind. One, they ran the ball too well. We didn't get that stopped. We were not good enough in third down on either side of the ball. Then when we had opportunities, we didn't capitalize on them. Our guys played hard. San Diego State is on a little bit of a roll, this is their fourth win in a row. I think we did some decent things tonight, but not enough to win. They played well, they've been playing well. I'll be interested in hearing what Rocky (Long) says. I think that was a pretty well-played game by them.
On the SDSU offense:
(SDSU) did a nice job. They ran some gap plays, mostly the power play. We threw everything but the kitchen sink at them. We had full line movements, we blitzed and we threw a bunch of different things at them. They have a veteran offensive line. They handled the movement pretty well like you would expect with a group like that.
On positives of the game:
We played hard. We played well enough in stretches. We just have to find ways to win and we're not doing that. I wouldn't term it that we are finding ways to lose. I'd say we're not finding ways to win. We turned the ball over, meaning our defense turned it over to our offense in the first half and we didn't capitalize enough. We didn't have enough explosive plays, and part of that credit goes to San Diego State too.
UNLV STUDENT-ATHLETES
Quarterback Nick Sherry
On SDSU's defense:
They have a very smart scheme. When we slid the line, they blitzed from the opposite side. They have a great defense. They got us a couple of times." On the offensive pass interference penalty in the fourth quarter: "We never thought the game was out of reach. It was a questionable call, but we've got to deal with it.
Running Back Tim Cornett:
As a team, we've just got to play together for 60 minutes. That's what we've got to work on more.
Safety Kenny Brown:
You've got to take your hats off to SDSU. They came out there and fought, too, and they got the `W.' There were a lot of opportunities out there. We came up with a lot of turnovers, but we left a couple (opportunities) out there as well.