Louisiana-Monroe at Ole Miss Postgame Quotes

Aug. 31, 2002

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LOUISIANA-MONROE HEAD COACH BOBBY KEASLER
"I congratulate Ole Miss. They have a fine football team. I think they are going to get to a bowl game this year. Eli Manning is something special. Our guys were excited about playing here and playing against Eli."

"We played well early on offense and then shot ourselves in the foot. The defense played well, but they played too much and got watered down. Ole Miss then started to really move the ball. We had two turnovers that cost us 14 points, but I think our effort was outstanding. We proved ourselves to be a good football team. We just got beat by a better one. We've worked hard to get to this point and I'm proud of the effort"

"I think our offensive line did a good job. They blocked well, but we didn't pass well. Anytime you get a 100 yards rushing against an Ole Miss team, you've run the ball well. I'm very proud of Bryant Jacobs' effort."

"We played a lot of folks. We've got one more out of town, and we hope to get through both these games without people getting hurt."

"It was great to play here. Ole Miss has a fine football team and fine facilities."

LOUISIANA-MONROE PLAYER QUOTES
RUNNING BACK BRYANT JACOBS
(on his 100 yard rushing game, the first at ULM since 1999)
"It was a great accomplishment for me as a player to be able to rush like that against a defense like the one Ole Miss has. I know that my offensive line gave 100 percent and played a great game tonight. I have to give all the credit to them and thank them for the effort that allowed me to achieve that success."

(On facing the same 4-2-5 defense)
"It helped a lot that we run the same defense Ole Miss runs. The 4-2-5 is a defense that we run every day in practice so we see it everyday. That made it easier for us because there weren't a lot of adjustments needed for this week's game."

(On the effort in the game)
"It felt really good to win the first quarter like we did and walk out with a 3-0 lead. In the second quarter we didn't take advantage of some of the opportunities that were presented to us.

FREE SAFETY CHRIS HARRIS
(On the offense's ability to move the ball in the first half) "That will be huge for us if they can continue to dictate the pace of the game for the rest of the season like they did that first quarter. They have made a tremendous turn around from last season. If they can continue to hold onto the ball and keep us off the field a little longer, which gives us fresher legs, it will be a great thing for this team."

(On the defense)
"I am pleased with the way we played tonight. We did a good job to start the game, but in the second quarter we missed a couple of assignments and that resulted in 21 points for Ole Miss. We made our adjustments at the half and came out and held them to 10 points after that."

(On facing Eli Manning)
"I can't say that there are any other quarterbacks I have faced that are the caliber of Eli Manning. I played against Rex Grossman at Florida last season, but other than that I can't think of anyone else who comes close."

OLE MISS HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE
"First thing I want to do is say congratulations to our squad and our staff for an outstanding job. The first game sometimes you come with a lot of mysteries and a lot questions unanswered. We certainly got some questions answered. Some of them very positive and there were things that were very evident that we need to work on getting better at. So, all in all, it was a good win. I want to also commend Louisiana-Monroe. I knew they would come in with a veteran team and they would fight hard, and they had some ability and some players. You can tell they were doing a very good job."

"Well, I think the defense certainly kept getting better and that was a very big plus. I think they were kind of feeling their way a little bit initially. We didn't really know what they were going to do on offense. We knew they had made some adjustments and some changes to their offensive scheme. We didn't know what they would be, so we just came out and just kind of lined up and played and we certainly got better as the game went on and there's going to be some really positive things to take from that. And, certainly holding a team to three points is a great job."

"We know that they (Memphis) have an outstanding football team on both sides of the ball and play some special teams extremely well. The focus is going to be first on getting Ole Miss better. Early in the season every team is striving to get better every time out. We'll study ourselves very closely and try to have the best football team we can next Saturday.

"I think we went in and out of rhythm the whole game and it took a while to get into the rhythm, so certainly you are always concerned with that. Maybe Louisiana-Monroe had something to do with that. I'll study the tape. We had bad field position initially on offense and missed a big play to open up. We just never got going, but as the game went on we got better. There are a lot things to build off of, and there were a lot of players having fun. We've certainly got a lot of getting better to do as a team, but I feel they'll be eager to get back on the practice field and do just that."

OLE MISS PLAYER QUOTES
RUNNING BACK ROBERT WILLIAMS
On the offense: "The offense worked hard all night. Rick Razzano and Tremaine Turner filled the linebackers and I did the easy stuff. They had the hard job, I just went out there and got the ball."

On being a starter:
"I love being out there and playing whether its carrying the football or playing special teams. I just love to play the game."

WIDE RECEIVER BILL FLOWERS
On the offense:
"Our offense did really well tonight. Eli threw the ball really well. Our running backs did a great job. Also, our offensive line did a really good job. Right now though, we need to focus on getting better in some areas."

On his touchdown reception:
"He (Eli Manning) threw it a little behind me. I bobbled it, but I was still able to catch it."

On his off season improvement:
"I think I improved my speed and also my strength and my weight. Gaining weight has helped me a lot. It's helped me mostly in breaking tackles. The strength is more of a mental part. I contribute a lot of my improvement to Coach Mendoza (Rueben)."

QUARTERBACK ELI MANNING
On his performance in the game:
"It wasn't the best game for me, but it was a win. That's the only number that counts, and I will take it any day. We didn't as well as we wanted to. We are going to have to play better, and we will play better."

On the offense:
"I thought we ran the ball well. I thought that we looked good. I just had one of those days. I wasn't on target and I never really got in a rhythm."

On the Memphis game:
"We're going to have to practice hard. We've played Memphis before. They always play hard. They always have a good team and play good defense. Coach West coaches them well, so we're really going to have to execute.

FREE SAFETY MATT GRIER
(on the first game)
"It feels good to get one out of the way and under our belts. I have been waiting for the season to start for a long time, so it felt really good to get the first one out of the way."

(on the defense after the first game and improvements from last season)
"There's always room for improvement. We'll go back Monday and look at our mistakes and start working on getting better. We'll go out on the field and work on correcting them."

(on the 4-2-5)
"We have been going over this all summer and last spring. We've been playing this scheme for a while, tonight we got to go out and execute and see it in action."

(on his interception)
"I was playing my coverage and he just threw the ball to me. I wish I could have gotten more yards after the interception, but I couldn't see around the guys real well to get to a hole."

FREE SAFETY VON HUTCHINS
(on the defense as a whole)
"I think we did well. We had a couple of busts, but overall we did well. We definitely need to work on our run defense more, we have to come out and execute better. I think we have adjusted well. We just have to know our fits a bit more and make our tackles better. The scheme is there, but we have to make the plays."

(on his interception)
"He just ran a wheel route and I was there with him. The ball just came to me and I picked him off."

LINEBACKER RYAN HAMILTON
(on the defense)
"I think we played well, but we still have a lot to improve on. We have 'Get-Better-Monday' where we'll go in and look at the film and see the mistakes we made and start right there on working to get better. We have to get more consistent in what we do on the defensive side of the ball."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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