Quotes from Tuesday's press conference

DeWayne Walker, head coach
On how he’s feeling following win over New Mexico
I can get used to this. I’d like to get another win this week. It’s back to business as usual. We’re getting ready for San Diego State now.

On what he thinks of Aztecs
Defensively with (coordinator) Rocky (Long) they’re tough. They play hard, they run to the ball, they tackle. With his defensive mentality, they’re going to put pressure on our offense.
Offensively, with (offensive coordinator) Al Borgess, I’ve known Al, he’s a good, veteran coach. He’s going to do some things to create matchups. I think there’s a part of his offense where he’ll try to scheme us a little bit and there’s another part of his offense where he’s just going to try and get it to his players.
These guys are starving for a win too. They’re going to be ready for us for sure.

On quarterback situation
We’ll let it go. We have two starters and we’re going to go with the hot quarterback. This week, both of them will get snaps with the first group and we’ll make a decision on Friday.

If winning on the road fosters confidence on the road
I hope so. This is team that’s obviously still a work in progress. I know we’ll have some good discussions behind closed doors today.
I know I told them, we acted like we won the Super Bowl (following the UNM game). I told them we got to get used to (winning games). Hopefully this will translate into more wins on the road.

On Todd Lee’s status
He’ll be back this week. We’ll try to be smart with him in practice and I’m pretty sure we’ll get him back for the game.

Any special feelings on returning to Southern California for the game this weekend?
Not really, not really. You get to this stage, I’m still growing as a head coach, really, you’re just trying to win games. You take one game at a time and try to prepare your team as well as possible and go to the next one.

On things to work on in practice
I want to show the team some cutups. I always have a lesson of the day for the team and the lesson today is showing them all our turnovers. Show the offense and defense all the explosive plays. If we can continue to improve (in those areas), we will continue to improve as a team. Those are two areas we’ll focus on today.

On special teams units
Coach Murph’s done a great job. That’s the reason we hired him. That’s an area we need to win every week. Special teams is critical for us and it’s an area we definitely have to win every week.

On being 2-2 after two games
It’s not just football but in life. If you work your butt off, you would like to be rewarded. It was just good to see our coaches and our players get rewarded for their hard work. Now, we gotta keep it going.

On quarterback change down the stretch
Yeah, I was in panic mode at that point and had to come up with something. It ended up working out well for us. I think it’s good for both quarterback. Now, both have to be prepared going into the game. We have to play the hot guy and, fortunately, Jeff was ready to go after sitting for three quarters. He found Marcus for the game-wininng touchdown.

On the emotions on the sidelines
It was a big-time feeling for our football program and we’re trying to change the culture and all the things that goes with winning.

Is playing both quarterbacks an option this weekend?
No question, I think we have to go with the hot guy. Until one guy separates himself, we have to do whatever it takes to win a game. If we have to do that again this week, we will.

Mike Grady, center
On sidelines following win
It was awesome. Definitely something I haven’t felt for a while, to win at their stadium.

On mindset of team
It was a great (win), but we gotta all keep moving forward. We can’t keep looking back, we have to look toward San Diego and move to 3-2.

On how the Aztecs look on film
I watched their defense this morning, they look good on film. They’re fast, they move around real good. They do a lot of crazy things on defense and try to mess up an offense.

Is it different blocking for either quarterback?
No, not at all. They seem to do the same things. They both sit back there and try to throw and they can both scramble if they need too. It’s not too much different.

How did it feel to run the ball last week
It always feels good to run the ball and keep getting yards and keep chipping away at the defense. It’s a good feeling.

Seth Smith, running back
On performance on Saturday
I did all right, I don’t think I did that well. I did my job though, I held onto the football, helped move the team down the field and we won. I think I could have had a better performance though.

On final drive
Everyone on the sidelines had faith. We had to get it done, no excuses. It was just that.

Were there any nerves?
I wasn’t nervous.

On offensive line
Offensive line is really getting it done. They’re working on their assignments every week and getting better. They’re having less and less mistakes. They’re becoming a real strong point of our offense and of our team, period.

Who’s the leader of the huddle with quarterback situation
It’s not an issue, we’re all on the same page. Our offensive line, they speak up and say a lot. Our center Grady, he always keeps it positive in the huddle. It’s a positive attitude on offense.

On moving the ball in the fourth quarter
I don’t think we were tired. We had an opporunity on a blocked punt and we didn’t score. We were looking for an opportunity to come back and get it back and score. We got the ball back in the fourth quarter and knew we had to score. Everybody had a lot of energy and was excited.

Pierre Fils, defensive end
On his feelings on win over UNM
It’s a great feeling. It’s a rivalry game, so it was a war out there. It was probably one of the best feeling I ever had, winning that game.

On mood surrounding team
We got nine more games to play. We gotta get past it. We were happy afterwards, but it’s over now. We’re ready for San Diego State.

On San Diego State’s gameplan
I would say they’re more of a passing team. Defensive line needs to get a little pass rush to make it easier on the secondary.

Do you prefer facing a passing team?
It doesn’t really make any difference. It gets the defensive line hyped up to face a passing team more. Get a pass rush and get some sacks.

On team’s secondary play
I like the secondary. They give us a lot of time to get a pass rush. They’re doing a good job holding up.

On what he said to Donte Savage following his blocked punt
I went over there and gave him a big hug. We practice it but he did it. It was great.