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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. Vanderbilt
11/20/2021 | Football
Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 17
| OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN |
"Very conflicting game, so getting the negative out first. The poor second half, and again, one score on offense which has been an issue as of late. Then, you get really lopsided on your third and fourth downs. We go on a nine, they go 12 and 26, then your play counts are all out of whack 93-65 and now you've got problems. Not good that way. Ideally, we would love to play better and get some backups in with the short week coming up and a later game compared to Mississippi State having an earlier game. It is what it is. On the positive, excited for our seniors to win and to be able to win seven in a row at home. Always have a memory that no one has ever done that before here. This is not the exact send-off I was hoping for, especially for Matthew [Corral]. Really frustrated in the red zone. At the end when we got a chance to make it a three score game to end the game, we forced something in the middle with a throw. We are 9-2, with the chance to go 10-2, which has never been done in the regular season here before. We kept that alive by finding a way to win. Now, we have a huge challenge going to play a rivalry game, and they're playing extremely well. It's going to be a challenge in a short week and get ready to have a chance to do something really special.
On the team's flat third quarter...
"I don't know, there's been years where we've been really good with that, and I'm not sure. I think part of that has been in our lack of depth that we start really fast so the game is in high tempo on both sides. We do not play a lot of players, especially when receivers have been banged up, so those guys were down, we weren't rotating linemen, so I do think that's part of it. Still, gotta execute better."
On Matt Corral's last home game and the effect he's had on the program...
"A ton. I think that I get a lot of credit for coming in here and what's happened and the change in the wins and losses compared to where it was before. I would argue that he deserves more credit than me for that. The head coach versus quarterback because this guy's there when I'm not even in there because some of our workouts we can't be there and sit in the stands and all that. I think he's had a lot to do with the change in mindset of people around here. I think we've helped him with that, and he's kind of taken over for us."
On using last year's Egg Bowl to help prepare for this year's...
"I think it's different with the Covid aspect, so there was a crowd element that way. I am not diminishing rivalry games, but everyone says you're supposed to treat them different and do all this different stuff. I've just never been around where you do that. I know you want to spend it in practice more or try harder, but that's not how we do things. We try to get to 1-0 every week. I know you want to hear that we are going to do some magic thing this week because we are playing Mississippi State, but we just gotta prepare really well."
| OLE MISS RB JERRION EALY |
"Getting the ball into our playmakers' hands. That's pretty much what we were doing when we were getting the ball. Getting up quickly, lining up quickly and playing fast. When we play fast there are not too many people out there that can stop us."
On how important the Egg Bowl is to him with him being from Mississippi...
"It is actually a very important game. It actually means something this year. Both teams are pretty good. We are 9-2 and they are 8-3 so this game will be a very valuable game for us."
| OLE MISS DB DEANTRE PRINCE |
"I kinda expected a fade ball and I was on it the whole night. I really wanted to make a play for my team, get us off the field and get the offense back on and in the game. It's just something I do. I do it before practice. I actually knew I caught it and I knew it was in. It's just confidence basically."
On why it was difficult for the defense to get off the field on third and fourth downs tonight...
"Execution, miscommunication. We were not locked in as we usually are with third and fourth downs. Just needed better execution from us. I feel like we came into the game thinking that they were going to be a team that wasn't going to beat us regardless. We felt like they were going to be lazy but they weren't and we let them score points they weren't even supposed to score."
| VANDERBILT HEAD COACH CLARK LEA |
"I feel like first of all, we didn't start well, which has been a theme this season. I think in some ways, as you get through the end of the year , and you're thinning out in your ranks just trying to simulate the speed you see on Saturdays, it becomes difficult. I'm not talking about the speed of the offense; I feel like we were well conditioned. I did not feel like we were wilting at the end of drives, I just feel like we were having difficulty keeping up with the speed Ole Miss had, particularly at receiver. Offensively we stalled out in the first two, there was a sack on a third and three that prevented us from a fourth down attempt or a conversion. We had too many procedural issues again and some of those came up at the center position. Early on in the second drive we had a freeze call made where we were going to line up and go through cadence but not snap it in hopes of getting a cheap five yards, and we snapped the ball. Those things are in our control as far as winning the game. We felt like they had a dynamic player at quarterback. I did not feel like we made enough plays on him when we had opportunities, particularly in the first half. There were a couple of times we had him in the backfield and had the chance to finish a sack that obviously would've been huge for our momentum. One of those ended in a touchdown drive there on their fourth possession. When we executed our plan, when we controlled the game on offense, when we finished with points, we had long drives, we kept the ball out of their hands and kept their offense on the sidelines. When we did that, played complimentary to pin them or force them to drive the length of the field, I felt like we were in control. When we didn't do those things, they made us pay for it. We spotted them 10 points at the start of the game and gave them a short field at the end of the first half where they were able to get a touchdown. The other touchdown score was on a drive where we missed a sack on the quarterback. You have to make the plays and you have to interlock all three phases and we weren't able to do that effectively enough tonight."
On the aggressive play-calling...
"Well, that's what we want our identity to be. I think we were able to stay in rhythm and in sync. We got to convertible fourth downs by having positive traction on third down and I think that comes into play. We also knew that this needed to be a game where we limited possessions for the opponent. The emphasis was on staying on track on third down to give ourselves a chance to go for it on fourth. We were able to do that, and we were able to have some success there converting those fourth downs. Obviously not enough, but that was part of our plan and just part of our identity in general."
On his goal of making the opponent nervous...
"I think we want to be in a position to apply pressure and for this team it's learning how to get to that moment where we can break through. I don't know necessarily, let's put the ball in the endzone on that two-minute drive and let's get the onside kick and let's really put some pressure. Again, this team is designed to fight and they fought. They have a deep respect and appreciation for each other that shows up in the way they play. If we can just grab control over the things that we control. I think part of this is the pain of learning how to win. How hard it is to win, particularly on the road, and finding a way to get control of those things earlier so that we can score to go ahead at the finish. That would be the goal."
| VANDERBILT QB MIKE WRIGHT |
"I mean as always we are going to have to go back and watch the film to see what we really did well and what we need to improve on, but just one thing that I'm really proud of is the way this team is fighting. We're continuing to grow, we are continuing to grow offensively and I'm really proud of our defense. They had a big task today and what I'm really proud of is when we play complementary football like today. We were moving the ball, we were getting stops on defense, special teams was playing really great so I mean it's there and that is what I am most excited about. I know it's there and we all can feel it's there. We just have to hang on to it and put it together for four quarters."
On his thoughts in regards to the play-calling...
"As an offensive player and as a quarterback, you want to be on the field every single drive. I would go for it on fourth down on our minus twenty if I could, I mean that's just how I am naturally as an aggressive player, but that was just the flow of the game. We were already converting earlier on in the down, we are consistently moving the ball, so I have full trust in the coaches and they have full trust in the offense. We are all on the same page so we are going out there and going for it on fourth down. I mean hey, that was just what we are going to do so there was no hesitation about that and just as far as the plays that worked and the plays that didn't that is just football. We have respect for Ole Miss, they are a good team, but I think if we go back and actually watch the film there is going to be more about what Vanderbilt Football did versus what Ole Miss Football did to Vanderbilt. I think we had a lot of plays where we went back and I think there was a lot of plays where we could kind of control the outcome. They didn't really do too much or anything special, and it was more of us so I mean of course we will go back and clean those things up. As far as plays working and not working, that's just football. We live to fight another day and all we are going to do is improve and come back and prepare."
