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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss vs. Kentucky Postgame Quotes
10/22/2005 | Football
Oct. 22, 2005
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Ole Miss Head Coach Ed Orgeron
Opening Comments
"It is very good to have our first win in the SEC. We play in a very tough conference, and I am happy to win the game. We played very good defensively and made some plays on special teams. We still need to make some improvements on offense. We are not coming along the way we should be. I'm glad to see that Mico broke the freshman rushing record and got 100 yards rushing again. But he got them at the end of the game; he should be getting them more in the first half. We need to do a better job of running the ball and controlling the clock in the first three quarters. We didn't do that today."
On Kentucky's offense
"We have a good defense. We have good defensive coaches, a good scheme, and good players. We are starting to believe in each other. They got tired at the end. I was disappointed in the final two minutes; I hoped we could shut them out."
On Kentucky's scoring drive
"They just made plays. Our guys were a little tired, but we need to keep them off the field more."
On Ole Miss blitzing more
"They gave us some situations where we could, especially in our nickel package. It worked really well in the beginning of the game, but later on they became aware of it and started to pick it up toward the end."
On the missed field goals
"We are dealing with what we have. We are working very hard. We are filming our practices and studying the technique. They will start making field goals. We just have to find the right kicker."
Ole Miss Players
#40 Mico McSwain
On his long run
"Everybody was on their blocks, so I just read the blocks. In the end it ended up being a long run."
On adjusting to the running back position
"Pass blocking has been the hardest by far. I'm getting used to it though, so they're putting me in more situations like that. Today I was in on more pass blocking situations because I've adjusted to more about that part of the job. As soon as I get that part of it down, I'll be in great shape."
On Kentucky's defense
"They had a very good defense, but it's not about them. It's about us, whether or not we come out to play well. We know our defense will play great every game, so we (the offense) can't play to our opponents speed. We've got to play at our speed."
Quarterback Micheal Spurlock
On the game "I wouldn't normally say it was a great day, but any day you get a win it's a great day, so we're positive that we got the win. We'll celebrate for a bit then get ready for Auburn."
On the mindset going into the game
"We just tried to go out and stay consistent. We wanted to feed off the game we had last week against Alabama and play that way through to the end of the season."
On Robert Lane's first game at fullback
"Robert did it for the team. It's a big team sport, and he took one for the team. He moved to fullback, made the adjustment to the position, and did a great job. I'm sure in the coming weeks he'll learn more about the position and the plays, but right now there were only so many plays we could run him in on. He went out and did a great job, and made some great catches. We'll try to get him the ball more."
On playing Auburn
"Anytime you go down there to play Auburn they're going to play you hard. We've just got to get ready, have a great week of practice and go down there and try to get a win."
On playing with his injured hand
"It's very difficult, but it's something that I've become used to. The running backs have gotten used to it as well, to the point that it's just like me handing the ball off with my left hand. After I take it off, it'll be a lot different for me. Right now we're just taking it day by day and seeing how the strength comes back to my hand."
#49 Patrick Willis
On the first SEC win
"It feels good to get a win, but we didn't play as good as we should have. They scored at the end, and we didn't want to let them score."
On Kentucky's scoring drive
"My penalty allowed them to get closer to the endzone. I thought it was a screen pass, and I saw him bend over to get the ball. I was just trying to make the play. It was a lack of execution."
#72 Michael Bozeman
On the last drive
"It was a like a two-minute drill. We were trying to get the plays in and we weren't adjusting as well as the rest of the game."
On the difference of Alabama and Kentucky game
"We played better against Alabama, because they were a ranked team. Maybe we weren't as fired up today because the game didn't have the same atmosphere."
On the defense forcing three fumbles
"We needed some turnovers. We were minus five (total turnovers this season), so we had to force some."
#68 McKinley Boykin
On getting first SEC win
"It feels real good, especially after last week. We made the right adjustments, and we went out there and played as hard as we had been playing."
On the defensive line's play
"The defensive line, all of us seniors, we come out to play. We try to play hard every play."
On preparing for Auburn
"We have to take it to Auburn. Last time we went down there, we got a win. We have to go down and play hard, and hope to get another win.
Kentucky Head Coach Rich Brooks
"We struggled offensively. In the first half we were out of sink. We didn't secure the line of scrimmage. We well continue to see pressure like Ole Miss showed, until we can block. We continued to have problems fumbling the ball. We competed, but it is hard to win on the road when you make as many mistakes as we did."
On the defensive play
"At times we played defense effectively, but we failed at critical times. Our kick block coverage kept us in the game, but it just wasn't enough."
On Ole Miss defense
"Ole Miss has great team speed on defense. They show you a lot of different looks and pressure you from different areas. We responded poorly to what they were showing us."
On Patrick Willis
"He's one of the best in the league, especially considering he is playing with a big cast on his hand."
Kentucky Player Quotes
#17 WR Tommy Cook
On the team's performance
"We were given opportunities, where they put the ball in our hands, we just beat ourselves with penalties and not converting 3rd downs. We just need to improve on those areas and get better."
#46 LB Joe Shuler
On the game
"We played a good team today, we just made some mistakes that we shouldn't have. We won't make some of the mistakes we made today when we mature as a team and just continue to get better."
On being 1-5 and the future for the team
"We will continue to battle, any Division I athlete, whether they are one and nine or nine and one, we'll battle every game. We just have to keep on fighting and getting better as a team. We need to move on to the next game and get better this week."