What Sean Lewis, SDSU players said ahead of UCLA matchup

Coach Sean Lewis and his San Diego State Aztecs were laboring on Labor Day as they moved past their season-opening 53-20 rout of Portland State and began preparing for a road game against former Pac-12 team UCLA at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

“How awesome is this to be able to do some great work, clean up a sloppy win. The boys did that work this morning,” Lewis said. “It is time to put the Portland State game to bed. Glad that we were able to get the right outcome. Not pleased with our process and how we went about it. Lots of things, you know, operationally that we need to be better at. We highlighted that with the boys this morning. I love their demeanor, the way that they responded to it all.”

UCLA beat Cal 45-24 on Saturday night in the debut of coach Bob Chesney, who came to Westwood after leading James Madison into the College Football Playoff last year.

The Aztecs resume a series that is tilted heavily toward the Bruins, who are 22-1-1 dating to 1922. The lone win for SDSU came at the Rose Bowl in 2019. The Bruins won 35-10 in the most recent meeting, at Snapdragon Stadium in 2023.

Here are the highlights of Lewis and the players’ news conference

Lewis on playing UCLA

“We’ve got a great opponent, obviously here in UCLA, who had a great showing this past weekend and we get to play at a great venue in the Rose Bowl. What a unique and cool opportunity for a Pac-12 opponent to meet a Big 10 opponent and to create another great moment of history in the next chapter in college football up there in Pasadena, so I'm looking forward to that.”

Lewis on getting 82 players into Saturday night’s game

“With our team in particular, there were a lot of people in new roles that got a significant number of snaps in a role that they're not used to being in. It was good to see our boys settle in a little bit more and to play with a little bit more confidence. I think we should see some more improvement there as we round the corner into week two. I think also one of the things that's really going to benefit us is that we played 82 players against Portland State. When all is said and done, we dressed out 94. We played 82. So, 82 guys got the opportunity to feel what a game feels like, whether that was the first snap because they started or it was the last snap at the end. Guys now know firsthand when we say treat practice like a game, mentally they can put themselves there.

Lewis on the veteran players leading the team into week two

“We had a great conversation with the leadership crew this morning, and I'm just giving feedback about some things that they deserve, and you know I've said this numerous times in different ways. Like the players know and I am kind of the last to know at times. But players know, and players have a pulse of like who's locked in, who's intentional, who's doing it the right way, who maybe needs to be you know pulled in, have an arm put around them, or maybe a size 14 shoe shoved up their butt to get them going. The dialog that we had as a leadership crew was really, really good.”

Lewis on facing UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava

“He can touch the whole field with his arm. He can stress you with his legs. He's a really intelligent kid. He's got over 1,300 career snaps, so he's seen a lot of pictures. He's unbelievably talented. He stresses out in a lot of different ways. Probably won't be a whole lot of sleep this week.”

Lewis on the growth of the program after opening week

“Our standards are really process-driven, and how we show up, the energy that we bring in, the things that we can control, that we do a better job with that. There were too many lows, there were too many miscommunications, there were too many moments where, for our brand and the pride that we have and who we're becoming, we're at the point of attack. We didn't violently put our hands on things the right way, the way the guys are trained to do. We give that feedback, and we have got to do a better job of having more positive moments show up. The variance between highs and lows - we have got to really narrow that gap.”

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Jaylon Hawkins on his growth as a player

“Honestly, just listening to the older guys, they've been doing it for a long time. It's my second year, so I'm just listening to them and coach Mid [wide receivers coach Matthew Middleton]. He is a great coach; he’ll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. So just keeping my head down and getting better because of those guys.”

Hawkins on his playing experience as a true freshman last year

“It was a great experience, and it was my first time ever getting on the field at a college level. I just wanted to go out there and perform and show what I can do.”

Hawkins on his 100-yard kick return touchdown against Portland State

“Honestly, I was thinking just go score before the play in the huddle. I talked to my kick return team, asking them to block, which they did. We practiced all week; I trust them, they have trust in me. We just went out there and executed. Honestly, that's all we did, man. Just prepare for it. All the weeks, all the time, all the reps we have had. Just went out there and executed. Everybody knows that we have really good players on our team and that we’re capable of making plays like that; it's expected of all of us. My teammates just kept telling me, “Good job" and to keep doing it every week.

Senior defensive lineman Gavriel Lightfoot on facing a Power 4 opponent

“I've played against plenty of Power Four conferences. They’re just another opponent to me. The game picks up a little bit, some guys are better, bigger, and stronger; you just have to adapt.”

Lightfoot on facing UCLA at the Rose Bowl while with Fresno State in 2024

“Yeah, it was back and forth up until the end. It was at the end of the game that UCLA pretty much pulled away with it, and we didn't finish and close out the game well enough. I'm just excited to play against those guys again.”

Up next

Kickoff is at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Bowl. The game will be carried by the Big Ten Network and San Diego Sports 760.

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