Oct. 28, 2008
Watch Rocky Long’s Press Conference
Head Coach Rocky Long
(On having a couple of days off):
“We started our normal routine yesterday. Which means we meet with them at 4:30 and we only practice with them for an hour. We got some things done yesterday and they seemed like they were okay. “
(On getting to a bowl game):
“I think every game gets a little more important and if we can win two out of the three we are bowl eligible. Whether or not that will get you in a bowl game or not, I don’t know. It depends if one of our teams gets in a BCS game probably. We could probably ruin that this weekend, which we would like to do. Then I think that a one-loss team from our league might get into a BSC game if Boise State loses.”
(On Utah):
“I think Utah deserves their ranking. They are one of the top 10 teams in the country. Maybe they deserve to be ranked a little bit higher. We are a struggling football team that plays good at times and plays bad at times, sometimes in the same game. For us to legitimately have a chance to beat them we have to make some big plays or cause them to make some bad plays. They run a spread offense, but they will get into two tight ends and try to run the ball. Due to our quarterback situation we will try to run the ball and if we can run the ball and keep it away from them, we’ve got a chance. If we can’t run the ball, we’ll have to throw it and hopefully our quarterbacks will play better than they did last week.”
(On New Mexico’s seniors playing their last regular season home game):
“It’s a little strange playing the last home game and still having two games to play. It probably takes a little of the significance away from the seniors, being their last home game and us still trying to get a couple more victories to be bowl eligible. It seems like it is a little too early to celebrate their senior season. These seniors have been through a lot of good times and a lot of bad times. I think they have held up their end of the bargain. I think most of our seniors have played really well this year. Some injuries have hurt some of them, but they have played well and kept a positive attitude. That is all you can ask from a senior. I think they have shown [the underclassmen] the right way to keep their attitude right. They have shown them our belief, how they have to play and how physical they have to play. They’ve probably shown them that we don’t want to be in this situation (with a losing record entering November) again.”
(On the difficult schedule):
“I don’t think the Thursday game had anything to do with (losing). I think we had a young inexperienced football team that started off with a difficult schedule. The thing that most people don’t realize, not so much that we were 2-2 at the end of preseason, not so much the record, but the physical toll it took on a young football team. I added them up today – out of 22 starters, 19 have some kind of injury that they are playing with. Anytime you have an injury it’s very difficult for you to play your best. It’s been like that for four or five weeks and I think they have done a great job, playing as well as they can play with some of the things that are bothering them.”
(On the lack of a bye week this season):
“I think we’ve had 10 bye weeks and we are 9-1 after a bye week. For us the perfect amount of time is one week off because they get completely refreshed mentally and physically. (They get over) some of those nagging injuries that our guys can’t get over because they are playing every week.”
(On the offensive line):
“I thought up to this point our offensive line played really well. We had run the ball against some very physical teams. I thought we did that in the first half against Air Force and I thought that our offensive line did not block very well in the second half. When the offensive line doesn’t block very well, the running backs don’t look as good. I thought that was one of our struggles in the second half against Air Force. We weren’t physical or tough enough at the line of scrimmage and you give Air Force credit because they were very tough and physical in the second half at the line of scrimmage.”
Senior Running Back Rodney Ferguson
(On Utah):
“When Utah comes into town, they are really aggressive and it’s a knock-down drag-out fight to the end every year I’ve played them. They just play us hard and we play them hard because we both pride ourselves on being physical.
“We think they’re just a normal team coming in. Just like when we went to BYU, they we’re a normal team to us. We just figure they have a number before their name, we don’t. We just go out there and play as hard as we can and see what happens.”
(On his final regular season home game):
“It feels good that my family and everybody who watched me grow up can see me finish my playing here, but it’ll be kind of sad not being able to play in college anymore. This week I want to make a mark on University Stadium.”
Senior Linebacker Zach Arnett
(On the defense not allowing a 100-yard rusher this fall):
“It’s something we take pride in, but obviously it’s something that gives you a better chance to win. If you’re giving up over 100 yards a game or a 100-yard rusher it hurts your chances of winning a football game. You have to stop the run defensively and that’s something we obviously put a lot of importance on.”
(On his being one of the smallest linebackers in the country):
“My height and weight compared to most of the other linebackers, obviously I’m smaller than the majority of them. I don’t worry about it, I don’t even think about it. When I’m out there on the field I have a job and a responsibility to do. The other 10 guys out there with me are expecting me to get my job done and if I don’t get it done they’re going to bring somebody in that can.”