What San Diego State football coach Sean Lewis and the players said going into the New Mexico game
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San Diego State will spend Thanksgiving week preparing for its biggest game in a long time, a Friday afternoon matchup at New Mexico that can be a springboard for the Aztecs hosting the Mountain West championship game on Dec. 5.
The math is simple for the Aztecs: beat the Lobos, who are also enjoying a resurgent season, and they’ll be back at Snapdragon Stadium for one more game this season.
“We are excited for the opportunity, a great opportunity, great opponent, as we head down to Albuquerque to put a close on the regular season,” coach Sean Lewis said Monday.
SDSU (9-2, 6-1 MW) holds a one-game lead over Boise State, New Mexico and UNLV going into the final week.
“So a great opponent this week,” Lewis added. “Coach [Jason] Eck and his staff have done a tremendous job at New Mexico. They're in year one. They're a physical outfit. They're a disciplined club. They really respect and honor each phase of the game. It shows when you turn on the tape and we are excited for the opportunity, as we head down there on a short week to go have a really, really physical fight.”
Here are the highlights of Lewis and the players’ news conference:
Lewis on the effort in a 25-3 win against San Jose State
“I'm extremely proud of the effort by the program to honor our seniors the other night. Really pleased with all three phases. Obviously, there's areas that we're always looking to clean up, having the humility to know that we can grow and improve even at this late stage of the year, but it was great to see our guys own the plan, execute the plan, through the adversity of the night with various things, different factors, to watch them respond.”
Lewis on picking one word to describe the defense’s performance this year
“Elite. There are only a handful of defenses that perform and show up and compete each and every single day that yield the elite results that our defense has this year. They are elite and humble because they continue to get better. They've owned the plans that we've put in place, and the way that we've had to go about building the defense each and every single week, it's a tremendous job by the humility of the staff to share ideas.”
Lewis on the challenges New Mexico presents
“They have an unbelievable front defensively. They have a whole host of issues that they present. They're really, really talented. They stress you out with formations. They trade you; they motion you; they'll huddle. They'll go fast. They have one-word calls. They have trickeration. They've returned multiple kickoff returns for touchdowns. They've hurt teams in all phases, in all ways. It is a cornucopia of problems that I see when I turn on the tape as we go. I mean, they're well coached, they're disciplined, they're physical, they know their scheme intimately. Their quarterback is well prepared and gets them to premium looks. He does a really good job in the RPO [run-pass option] game. There's a bunch of challenges that make this a really great opportunity for us to compete at a high level against a really, really good opponent.”
Running back Christian Washington on striving to host the MW title game
“I mean, every week this past season has been a championship game, in our opinion. So this week is nothing new for us. We're just going to keep our heads down, keep working. It's really nothing new just being able to come each and every day and get one more win mentality.”
Washington on the running back room consisting of three San Diego natives
“We've been growing up together in San Diego, so we've been working out with each other, from workouts to hanging out with each other on the weekends. So, it's really been a locked in, connected group from the start.”
Senior defensive lineman Sam Benjamin on the team’s biggest strength
“I think the biggest strength of our team has been our connection, just being able to be so tight with the guys around you and trust everybody, and being able to count on each other, no matter what has been the biggest, biggest factor for us. Brotherhood and leadership have been our biggest strengths.
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-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.