Dec. 22, 2007
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Nevada Head Coach Chris Ault:
On the effort of his team
“I felt our defense played well enough to give our offense some chances and our offense did just not execute at all. I think it played havoc with Colin Kaepernick as we got into the game in terms of the game in picking up blitzes. I am disappointed for our offense. They have been the “bell-cows” so to speak all year long, and that’s a real plus for the Lobos’ defense. They played outstanding all night long and didn’t let up.”
On what went wrong for the Wolf Pack
“We didn’t do a good job with any consistency on the run game or the pass game. Colin Kaepernick didn’t have a chance to get into any type of rhythm…we just shot ourselves in the foot. And it’s a combination of their defense playing very well and our offense not playing well.”
New Mexico Head Coach Rocky Long:
On the team’s performance
“First of all, I am very proud of our football team. They are as focused as they have been all year long for a football game and I think that is why they played as well as they did. They wanted to win real bad. They got themselves ready to win. We were focused for today’s game and I want to thank the crowd that showed up.
On playing in Albuquerque
“I think that there were things that happened over the week that probably made the crowd a little bit smaller than it could have been or should have been. I hope that all the sports fans in this state realize what a special thing it is to have a bowl game in your community and it is nothing but positive. There was a lot of negative feelings going on this week and people just have to understand there is not that many bowl games. That you cannot buy for the state of New Mexico or the community of Albuquerque, you cannot buy that kind of positive advertisement no matter how much money you have when you’re on national TV. I hope our state and our community starts realizing that. I was a little disappointed that the crowd wasn’t bigger.”
On Nevada’s effort today
“Nevada is an awful good football team and I thought it would be very, very close, but our team played as well as they have all year long. If we would have scored in the red zone, it wouldn’t have even been as close as it was. I thought the offense moved the ball really, really well close to the goal line. I was disappointed in our field goals, not the ones we made obviously, but the ones that got blocked. I was told that Nevada had the longest streak without being shut out in the nation, so obviously our defense must have played really well.”
New Mexico Running Back Paul Baker:
On his performance
“It started off the first couple of carries, five yards, 10 yards, the offensive line got the holes open and you saw what happened, man. I did the best I could do out there.”
On how the crowd played a factor
“It’s a big boost for recruiting, man. We won a bowl game on ESPN and it gives us the confidence to come back next year and strive for better things.”
On how the team player together
“First and foremost, the defense played their butts off the whole game. The receivers were blocking down field. Donovan throwing great balls and receivers catching, it was 100 percent effort from everyone out there today.”
New Mexico Linebacker Michael Tuohy:
On the victory in the New Mexico Bowl II
“We were getting a little tired of people telling us we were going to lose this game. So all those media people that said we were going to lose. What’s up now?”
On what this does for the team’s morale
“I think this motivates everyone. All the seniors get to go out good and we have a strong group of guys coming back next year and they are going to hold it down and have another great season I believe.”