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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Transcript Of Head Coach David Cutcliffe's Weekly Press Conference
11/5/2001 | Football
Nov. 5, 2001
OLE MISS HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE
Opening Statement
"Obviously, as I said the other night, emotionally it was a long day Saturday. I am amazed that both teams were able to play as solid and as sound as they did. It is a tribute to those players. I did not see anyone taunting, mouthing or pushing. It was a great display of effort and intensity in college football, as it should be. It is a not a game that we are going to spend time saying "what if" about. We are going to correct some things. We have a lot of concerns from an injury standpoint. Our focus as a team is to win down the stretch. We need to keep getting better. We have a lot of work to do to get better on some things that will enable us to win."
Injury update
"It is just going to be a matter of x-rays and MRI's. I am very concerned on just how serious it is going to be. Right now there is just speculation. I met with Tim (Mullins) this morning and I will know more when we get the results back from those medical tests. I am concerned because we have a lot of people that are going to miss practice time. That bothers me because that disrupts the progress you have as a team. Secondly, I am concerned, obviously, about getting people back playing. We will make that evaluation and if they can't come back then will have to find someone else and make sure we get them ready."
Q. Will this open date be different due to the emotional loss on Saturday?
A. "I think we need to get out on the practice field and get rid of that feeling. I know I do. I am having a hard time shaking that feeling. When I say that feeling, I mean that deep in your gut, sick feeling. I think we will be fine. From a planning standpoint we are going to do exactly what planned on doing. I told our staff that last week. We made the plans prior to the game. We are not going to change how we work because of the outcome."
Q. Talk about the emotional swing of the game on Saturday.
A. "It is hard to describe. As I told the team, I had no experience to draw on for a seven-overtime game. What would happen is we would think we had it won after we scored and got our two point conversion to go up by eight. Then they would respond and score and make their conversion. You would go back to the middle of the field and do it all over again. I thought it was a great test of our program. I was really pleased with our staff for their poise and the way the responded. I was pleased with our squad and their leadership. I heard kids urging other kids on. It is a real test emotionally. I told our kids about watching Ali and Frazier have these great fights. It was a true test of wills. It was much like that kind of prize fight."
Q. What is the team schedule for this week?
A. "We are going to practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We will condition Friday morning. We will then give the kids Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday off. We will probably start preparing for Georgia on Wednesday. Those were our plans and we are going to stick to them. We are going to get a good solid workout in tomorrow."
Q. Talk about the progress of Doug Buckles, Bill Flowers and some of the other young guys.
A. "Our freshman got two games worth of experience in that last game. Doug is one I am concerned about with injury. A lot of our young guys are continuing to improve. That is going to happen, not just with the playing time, but with the intense practice time. You see a guy like Bill, that is having success on the field and it is making him practice harder. I am watching him improve right before my eyes everyday at practice. I am seeing that with Marcus (Johnson) and Doug too. They are accepting the roles that they have just got to get it done. There are a number of the players on the defensive side that are playing the same way. They know their teammates are expecting them to do well. It is a growth process that is going to continue to occur hopefully."
Q. How important for Ole Miss recruiting is it for Doug Buckles to get out and perform well since he was the top recruit in his class coming in?
A. "I think there are a lot of significant things about Doug Buckles. That is an interesting observation. He certainly was a very highly touted player. He was a significant in-state recruit. He made the decision to come to Ole Miss. I do not think he had any regrets. I think he feels better and better about his decision every day. He is the epitome of what we are trying to do. It is important to him not just that Doug Buckles is doing well, but what is important to Doug Buckles is how much pride he has in Ole Miss. He is responsible to try to make Ole Miss the best football team it can be. I think that unselfishness and that attitude is huge when it comes to our entire program."
OLE MISS QUARTERBACK ELI MANNING
Q. Have you watched the tape of the Arkansas game?
A. I watched the game today. Usually I watch them on Sunday afternoons, but I didn't really feel like watching it yesterday. I needed a day to relax and try not to think about football for a second. You can do that when you have an off week.
Q. Were you just physically tired?
A. Physically I was worn out. I didn't know what to think after the game. Obviously I was upset and a little down, but it's a hard game to get too down on yourself, because we competed hard. We played our hearts out and just came up short in the end.
Q. The execution by the offense in the overtime was really good?
A. We were able to move the ball and score when we had to. We had players making huge plays when we needed them. That is what this game is all about. It's just a hard game to deal with.
Q. Do you need a break not just from that game, but from playing five in a row?
A. I really don't like an open date after you lose a game. I am not a big fan of open dates in the first place, but after this last game, I think we definitely need one. I am kind of excited that we are not practicing today. We need a little time off to get our minds set, get focused on Georgia and get back to working on what we need to do to get some wins.
Q. After looking at the tape, 17 points in regulation is not what you had become accustomed to. What did you see along with their defense and other things?
A. We had some missed opportunities. We got down inside the five twice and we only got three points out of that. We had a ball batted down, and we had a bad snap, where I didn't handle the snap right. We had bad field position a few times. We didn't take advantage of some plays and situations that we were in. That's just part of the game. You have to give credit to Arkansas' defense for playing well and stopping us.
Q. Was that game as frustrating a game offensively as maybe the first half of the Auburn game?
A. It was frustrating. We were able to move the ball and put ourselves in situations, but we just couldn't finish the drive. We couldn't get first downs on second and one or third and one, which we had been successful at all season. The things we had been doing all season, we weren't able to do as well as we wanted to. We were able in the fourth quarter, to sustain a good drive and tie the game. We played well when we had to, we just came up short.
Q. Talk about the SEC Championship hunt. You guys are very much still in it. How do you refocus your goals now for the rest of the season?
A. All we can worry about is ourselves. We can't worry about what Auburn is doing. We have a big game against Georgia in two weeks. We have three SEC games left, and they are all going to be tough. We have to go out there and play hard. That's our job. We just have to win these last three games and then see what happens.
Q. I know you are not big into history and what happened 30 years ago, but a loss probably marked your dad's career bigger than a win, especially the Alabama game. Is it ironic that that can happen with teams and players?
A. I think this game will be remembered for a long time because it went to seven overtimes. It was a great game. I just wish we would have ended up on top instead of two points down.
