Middle Tennessee-Ole Miss Postgame Quotes

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MIDDLE TENNESSEE HEAD COACH ANDY McCOLLUM

"We came in here wanting to win. We came in loose and ready to play. I was pleased with our team's attitude. We played a good team, one that is well coached. They did not come in with a let down following the big win (Alabama) like everyone thought. They got ahead of us and then just pounded us."

"At the half our kids felt we were going to win. We just didn't make something good happen. Making a TD instead of the field goal at the half would have provided some momentum.

"Penalties put us in the hole. We felt we could run on them. You come out on 1 & 20, 2 & 15 and 1 & 15, it will take you out of the game. We had a lot of holding penalties, more than we've had all year."

"At halftime we felt we were in a defensive battle. We hit Eli some. The TD throw he had at the start of the second half - that's the mark of a champion. He threw that completion despite being hit by two or three of our guys. "

"As soon as we load it up, we turn the page. Probably not going to look at the film. Were going to get ready for New Mexico State. "

MIDDLE TENNESEE PLAYER QUOTES

QB JASON JOHNSON
"I haven't played much so I had to get out there and try to get back to what I am supposed to be doing. Everytime we got a big play it seemed like we had it called back because of holding, a delay of game or something. That takes the air out of you. We have to get to work on that."

"We knew we could win this game. We came here to win. We didn't come here to play a pretty good game. Penalties are what stopped us the entire game. We stopped ourselves. We have to practice and do what we can to make Middle Tennessee State a better team before the next game."

LB MICHAEL WOODS
"It really hurts to lose a game. Ole Miss is a great team. Eli Manning is a great quarterback. We got pressure on him, but it was not enough. We gave up some big plays and didn't capitalize. We have to turn our focus to our (Sun Belt) Conference games."

"What really hurt us was not converting on third down. We kept Eli (Manning) on his heels a little, but he was still able to make things happen."

WR KENDALL NEWSON
"I think this was a big step for our team because we played a really hard fought game. Ole Miss was just the better team."

On his team's offense
"We're getting over a hump. We made some good plays, but then we hurt ourselves with penalties. Our confidence on offense is great, we just have to go out and finish things. We got ourselves in a hole and we have to learn we aren't always going to be on top. We have to find a way to win."

DE WES STEPHENS
"We love coming to play at big schools like this because it lets us know where we are as a team. It lets us know what we need to work on for next week. We feel good about getting home and working on things for New Mexico State."

"Coach Rogers puts us where we need to be. Execution is what we need. Eli Manning is a great quarterback with a great arm. The key was third down when we should have got him. They just did more on third down than we did."

"We have to get back on the field and start playing as a team again. We had that against Vanderbilt and Troy State. We have got to get back clicking on all cylinders. Once we start playing together again it will all start clicking for us."

OLE MISS POSTGAME QUOTES

HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE
"First of all, I would like to congratulate our team and staff on what I thought was an outstanding effort this afternoon. We worked real hard on third down conversions in practice this week."

(On the defense)
"I was real proud of our defense and the way they set the tempo."

(On Chris Collins and his injury)
"I'm not sure about Collins (injury). He said he felt okay, but you usually don't know until the next day. However, there is no real bad news at this point."

(On Bill Flowers)
"(Bill) Flowers is a product. He has been practicing hard and performing well in practice lately. He certainly stepped up today. His practicing hard paid off for him and our team."

(On Eli Manning)
"Eli played smart again and made good decisions throwing the ball. He continues to improve each week."

OLE MISS PLAYER QUOTES

WR JAMIE ARMSTRONG:
On the game:
"Everybody thought we were going to come out today and be flat. We just proved to everybody that we are a good team. We prepared well for this game and executed our game plan."

On the offense getting ready for the LSU game:
"I think now we are starting to get into a groove and that is a good thing because we are coming into the home-stretch of our season."

On their last five SEC games:
"We just need to continue to do what we are doing. We need to execute and do what we are supposed to do and we will be successful."

WR CHRIS COLLINS:
On playing against Middle Tennessee's secondary:
"Going against their secondary, we knew we could do certain things that would allow us to get open and we did that."

On his ankle injury:
"It is not as bad as I thought it was at first. It looked pretty bad and I heard it pop. It kind of scared me, but I should be back next week."

About being on the same page with Eli Manning:
"We go out and work hard together every day in practice. Off the field, we talk a lot. We are really good friends. On the field that allows us to do a lot of things that most quarterbacks and receivers don't."

LB LANIER GOETHIE
"The defense has a lot of work to do to get better. The key to holding down their offense was to keep our assignments. We have to stay focused on what we want to do. You never know when that one play, when you miss an assignment, can lead to a big play."

"The defensive line really stepped up. The secondary players kept things under control."

DB MATT GRIER
"We talked all week about how good their offense was, and how good their passing attack was. We practiced real hard on it all week. We had certain plays for certain types of formations. We went ahead and executed our game plan well."

RB JOE GUNN
On the game:
"We need to keep our intensity level up going into every game. All in all, we had a good team effort today. I am very proud of the offense and defense."

On next week's game vs. LSU:
"It is very important for our offense to be on the same page. We have to get focused for the next five SEC games. We need to go out and work hard every day and not get over confident."

On his 47-yard run:
"I was trying to get to the corner. For some reason, I never got there. The line did a great job of blocking for me."

QB ELI MANNING:
On the game:
"We came out there and competed. We had a good opening drive and scored. Then we got the ball back with a turnover. We slowed down for a while. We did not execute on some third and fourth downs. In the second half we started executing again and making good plays. We just overpowered them."

On Bill Flowers performance:
"Bill Flowers was able to come in and do well. He is a hard worker and I am confident in him. He has not gotten a whole lot of playing experience, but he can catch the ball and he can run. He made a big catch on one of those touchdowns. He is one of those play makers that can go and get the ball."

On the offense's mood after the game:
"We are confident right now. We know we can go and score on any defense if we play together. We have a lot of play makers on this team that can do great things with the ball. It is all about getting the right plays and getting the ball to the hot player."

On not overlooking Middle Tennessee:
"It would be easy to overlook a team like Middle Tennessee since they are not in our conference and we just came off a big win over Alabama, but we came in on Monday and got our focus. We could not afford to overlook a powerful team like this. We had a good week of practice and we were determined to not have a letdown."

LB EDDIE STRONG
"We eliminated some foolish mistakes, and didn't get many penalties. Everybody from the D-line to the secondary stepped up."

"They key was keeping their offense off the field early, so our offense could put points on the board. We constantly did that. We kept bringing it to them all the time."

"We adjusted well. They came from funny formations."

"We took it as a challenge. (MTSU) is a team that puts up a lot of yards. It was a good test. They came with the no-huddle."

CB SYNIKER TAYLOR
"We watched a lot of film and studied what they do. We had a couple of mistakes they could have capitalized on."

On the interception:
"I just played inside (the receiver), and when I saw the ball come, I made a good break on it."

On MTSU receiver Tyrone Calico:
"I was up for the challenge. He's a bigger more physical receiver, so I responded to the challenge. He played tough, and I played tough, and we came out with the win today."

On LSU:
"It's a big SEC game. We have to go to their house, and it's always hard on the road. We're going to go down there, and keep it up next week and try and get a win."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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