Ole Miss vs. BYU Postgame Quotes

Sept. 3, 2011

Ole Miss Head Coach Houston Nutt

Opening Comments:
"I hate to lose one like that. We played extremely hard tonight. I thought our guys laid it on the line, but there is a fine line between winning and losing. When you are playing a really good team that is rated high with a lot of experience you can't beat yourself. You can't give gifts. We did that. I thought our defense played extremely hard against a really good quarterback. It felt really good with about nine minutes to go. We had the ball and then that fumble happened. There were a few plays that just make you sick and you wish you had them back."

On Stoudt's turnover:
"I feel like time was a factor. The different drives we had in the third quarter felt good. Punting didn't cross my mind. I thought we could score points then."

On the run game of Ole Miss:
"BYU is good. They get off blocks well. They play tough. Remember that two of our senior backs weren't playing. Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis were taken out and we didn't have them. That hurt us a great deal. I give BYU credit because they have a great defense."

On the decision to play Stoubt:
"He gave us momentum. I felt like they were crowding the line of scrimmage and he was able to get some throws. That's his strength. Even in the passing game I felt the running was going to come through. I thought that gave us the best chance to win."

On Brandon Bolden and Enrique Davis:
"I'm not sure yet of Brandon's condition. It looks like there could be something wrong with his ankle. It may be fractured but I don't know yet. I don't know yet about Enrique. I have to check that out."

Ole Miss Players

DE Kentrell Lockett
"I think we did good. We executed well on some plays, on others we could have done better.

On returning:
"It feels good to be back out there playing with the team; playing against some other guys that aren't your teammates. I was really excited to be back out there."

On next week:
"We just have to go back out there, play ball, match the intensity we had today and try to finish out the game. [I liked] the fight in the team, the way we never gave up and kept the effort up to the end of the game.

DB Charles Sawyer
"The coaches put us in the right defense at the time and the play came out with us.
We put in a lot of work over camp, and we just have to trust in the scheme the coaches put in. The defensive line and the DB's played great, we just can't give up. It's a long season, so we can't put our heads down. Just keep pushing."

K Bryson Rose

On game:
"It sure was unfortunate. I was ready to kick one at the end but we couldn't get down the field and get in range, but that's just how things go sometimes."

On BYU:
"They're just a fundamentally sound team."

On young players on team:
"We have a bunch of talent around us. We have Zack, who came in and did a great job in the second half, and other guys stepped in and did their job. We have eleven more (games), so all we can do is look ahead."

Ole Miss Quarterback Zack Stoudt

On game:
"I just came in and ran the plays, and did what I was supposed to do. The guys around me just made me look pretty good. I had a couple screens to Jeff, and I was just throwing to guys and they were making plays. I just stepped in and did what coach told me to do."

On fumble:
"We were backed up on third and a mile, and it was three guys going deep in max protection, and a guy came around on the end and he hit me and I lost the ball."

On 2 minute offense:
"I think two minutes is one of the best things we do, so none of us are really worried about the time. We're all really comfortable with it."

On offensive line:
"The offensive line did a great job and the backs, as well. All of my completions and success can be credited to the job the offensive line and running backs did blocking."

BYU Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall

Opening Comments:
"I would like to acknowledge Coach Houston Nutt and his team. They played hard and it was a dead-even game. It went all the way down to the end and was evenly played. It was an even match and I think both teams tried hard. I learned a lot about our team today in terms of grit and heart. I think executing at the right time helped us win the game. I was proud of our team. This is one of the most satisfying victories because we were able to execute in a hostile environment. We found a way to win which says a lot. There will be many things to point out that we could have done better but we found a way to win the game."

On the offense:
"It'll be interesting because time of possession would have been heavy in our favor especially in the first half. The number of first downs would have been to our advantage. You can't take away what Ole Miss did defensively. We contributed by not having as clean of play as we would have liked. That kept some scores off the board. It shows us that our execution can and needs to improve going into next week."

On the final scoring drive:
"A lot of the time during the game we were struggling getting the ball off in time. It seemed like we were a little sluggish getting off the line at times. The tempo on that drive was consistent for the first time, play after play. That had a lot to do with it. We have some clock management things to clean up as far as getting out on the field. It was enough to win the game. I am thrilled to win. You always kind of think you know where your team is but you don't really know until you get on the field."

BYU Players

Offensive lineman Matt Reynolds

On getting a win against an SEC opponent:
"It feels great. There were obviously some things we need to improve on, and there are obviously some things we did well. I loved our heart and the way we played. There are some things we need to iron out, but for the most part I felt like we did a good job."

Quarterback Jake Heaps

On playing at Ole Miss:
"It's a great opportunity for us. It's a great environment. This was a huge game for us. We played a really good football team, and I wish them the best this season. But for us to come down in their house and pull out the win like we did showed a lot of toughness and grit. I think that's ultimately what helped us get the win. We made some mistakes, like my turnover. We can't have those kinds of turnovers when we're driving down. It's been a lot of fun being part of this team and this offense. The way we were moving the football, we could have finished a lot more drives. That's the beauty of the first game. It's not going to go as well as we hoped, but we came together in the fourth quarter when it mattered, and I'm really proud of our team."

On the final drive:
"It was the little things, like a penalty here or a turnover there. We couldn't convert on third down and we didn't have it going in the beginning, but we were still moving the football. That's great for our offense. We have guys that haven't played before and like I said, it's the first game, so you have to expect mistakes. Our offense can only get better from here. Now we're just concerned about finishing drives and capitalizing on them."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related Videos