BYU football: Hoke is working on changing Aztecs' mindset

SAN DIEGO — The new-and-improved San Diego State Aztecs got their chance to measure themselves against BYU, one of the Mountain West Conference's best teams on Saturday.

The result was a 38-28 loss. Though his team played BYU close, first-year coach Brady Hoke expected more.

"When you play the game, you've got to play to win," he said. "There's an intensity it takes to play to win, and there's a demeanor you play with. That's the most frustrating thing, because I thought our kids prepared well. They came in with a great attitude, but I think at times we didn't play with 'I'm going to win.' "

Such is the rebuilding process at SDSU, which hasn't experienced a winning season since 1998. Hoke is trying to change the mindset of his players and the culture of the program.

"I think you should be confident that we're going to win every game. That's why we play," he said. "That's why you compete every day. If you don't have the confidence that you're going to win every week, then you're already defeated. We talk about winning being a vision and the belief we have in each other. I think we've made some progress there, but we're not anywhere where we need to be in a mental frame of mind."

Coming off a bye week, SDSU was well-prepared. And defensive coordinator Rocky Long has been scheming for the Cougars for years.

"They play hard. It's fun to watch a program have a different belief, a different determination, and a different sense of will than what they've had," said BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall. "I'm sure they're disappointed with the loss, but I've already seen a change in the players. I saw it on film and now I've seen it in person."

BYU was able to convert 15-of-21 third-down opportunities, which hurt the Aztecs.

"There were four times in there we had a chance to make a break and we don't do it," Hoke said. "It's just not that. They scrambled for a first down because we take a bad angle and we're not confident enough in our abilities at times to go make the hit. It's some of those things right now. I think this is a real learning lesson for us as a football team."

e-mail: jeffc@desnews.com