Nov. 1, 2008
Recap |
Box Score |
Notes
Opening Comments…
“The first half was a struggle for us offensively. I was proud of the way
that the team came out in the third quarter and took charge of the game. It looked
like we were in pretty good shape and then we turned the ball over a couple of
times and let them come down and make plays. The kicking game came up big and
it also bit us a little bit today. We blocked the extra point which was obviously
huge and we got pretty good pressure on the field goal that they missed. Unfortunately
we jumped offside’s when we had them in a punting situation and gave them
that first down. I think that there were a lot of things that we can build off
in this game. The one thing that I am very proud of from this team is the effort,
guts, and the determination that it takes to find a way to win on the road in
this league which is tough. I have got to give Mississippi State credit they
did a good job of changing formations on us and giving us problems in coverage,
getting some receivers open. I was pleased overall with our run defense and I
was pleased with the way that we ran the ball in the second half.”
On becoming bowl-eligible…
“Getting our sixth win doesn’t mean that we are necessarily in a
bowl. In my mind the only way you assure yourself of that is winning seven, maybe
eight, but getting that sixth win puts us closer to doing some better things
and it’s always tough to win on the road but now we go home for two games
in a row. So we need to improve on what we are doing, we made too many mistakes,
but the good thing is we did enough to win the game.”
On Randall Cobb…
“I thought he handled everything better but what made it easier is that
we r ran the ball better. He got on the edge himself and the backs were able
to get yards off of that read play which was huge for use. It is a lot better
when you are in second and five, second and two, or second and one, than it is
when you are second and 10. I was pleased with the way that the line and the
backs responded. I thought Tony Dixon had a very good game and made some key
runs for us and I was just pleased overall with the way that the offense responded
for us in the third quarter.”
On his half-time talk…
“I talked to them about how we had 30 minutes to take care of business
and to do some things that hadn’t been done around here in about half of
a century. We had 30 minutes to get back into this thing and take charge of it.”
On being bowl eligible…
“It feels real good. Now, all we have to do is go out and try to get to
the best possible bowl.”
On playing Mississippi State…
“I just came in with the mindset that we got to go out there and play football.
Mississippi State is a tough football team and they always play hard on defense.
We came out here knowing that we needed this win and that we have to play football.”
On the overall game…
I didn’t think it was a bad game. Both offenses and defenses played well
for the most part. We were stepping up on third down, but overall I thought
it was a dog fight the whole game and in any SEC game it’s going to come
down to the 4th quarter.
On which bowl game you would like to go to…
Any place that is warm. I would love to go to Tampa or Georgia and play in
either one of those bowl games.
On being bowl eligible…
“It’s terrific. I mean, we have three more games to play well if
we want to go to a better bowl than we have in years past. We had to win this
one to do that.“
On stopping Dixon’s running game…
“I think that was one of our main focus this week. Our run defense keeps
slipping each week and that was our main focus this week, stopping Mississippi
State.”
Mississippi State Head Coach Sylvester Croom
Opening Comments…
“First I would like to congratulate Coach (Rich) Brooks and Kentucky on
today. Basically, they found a way to win and we didn’t, and that is the
bottom line.”
On the missed extra point…
“I will have to look at it on film. From where I stood I could not see
what exactly had happened. I knew they were going to try and get a push and get
that high jumper in there. You are suppose to give that one second delay before
you hit the snapper and that was my question that I had to the official. But,
we knew we had to get the ball up and we did not do a good job of that.”'
On missed opportunities…
“A missed extra point and a missed field goal in close ballgame like we
were just a part of are unacceptable.”
On the offensive play…
“We were moving the ball well. Had a few missed opportunities but we still
played well. We had Aubrey (Bell) opened early in the game and I am not sure
if Tyson (Lee) saw him. I thought Brandon Henderson played an excellent game,
he actually played hurt. He has really grown up this year and I have been very
pleased with his performance of late. Henderson and (Arnil) Stallworth are two
guys that have made a lot of improvement over the year and helped us out tremendously.”
On Anthony Dixon’s performance…
“I thought he played well for the carries he had. He ran hard and ran down
hill. He went up against an excellent defensive front and they were keying in
on him which opened up the pass for us today.”
On the defensive penalties in the second half…
“Those were very tough to overcome. The one called on (Derek) Pegues was
one that was debatable. I thought the ball was uncatchable from what I saw on
the new jumbo-tron he gave him a little tug but the ball was thrown high. I am
not disputing the call it is just a different opinion.”
On close losses…
“When we look at the film in games like these, you can always find eight
or 10 plays in which we make the play we win the ballgame. We can name a couple
right now, we make the field goal we win the game. We make the extra point things
change. We get off the field on the opening drive of the second half things are
different. That is what close games are all about, making plays in critical moments,
and we did not do that and they did.”
On Kentucky’s scoring drives…
“The difference on those drives were they ran the ball on us. It was not
anything they did passing and we had sound coverage throughout the day, they
just decided they were going to run right at us on that drive and that is what
is disappointing.”
On the rushing game…
“They piled the line of scrimmage which opened up our passing game. We
had to adjust to how their defense was playing us, but when we did run the football
we were effective to the most part.
Mississippi State LB Dominic Douglas
On Randall Cobb’s performance…
“He’s a freshmen. I give him credit. He’s a good quarterback.
He’s got a lot of years of maturity. He’s a good player for them,
and he came up with big plays for them.”
On the upcoming bye week…
“We’re getting ready for the road contest at Alabama. The weekend
off is going to be good for us. It will give us time to rest and get our bodies
to top level where they need to be. They’re number one or number 2 in the
nation, so we need this off week to get our bodies in a position to come out
in two weeks and play top notch football.”
Mississippi State WR Brandon McRae
On the game…
“I don’t know what it was. They had a good defensive plan and they
executed very well. They stopped us, and I guess we didn’t do enough on
offense.”
On moving the ball well but only coming up with 13 points…
“I can’t really say. We just didn’t put enough points on the
board.”
On the blocked extra point…
“It hurts. It’s like a punch to the gut. It hurts really bad. We
lost a lot of momentum. We just didn’t capitalize.”
On the early missed opportunities…
“I have to look at the film and see what we did wrong. I can’t really
pinpoint what it was.”
On the passing game…
“I don’t know what Tyson did but he was throwing the ball real well
today.”
Mississippi State DB Jasper O’Quinn
On Kentucky changing quarterbacks often…
“When Cobb was in, they tried to spread us out and get us in the open field
so he can make plays. He’s a great playmaker. He’s a freshman, but
he’s a great playmaker. So they wanted to spread us out and get him the
ball and let him make plays. Hartline’s the thrower. Cobb makes plays with
his feet, but when the other player (Hartline) is in, he likes to throw the ball
down the field and get something going through the air. We knew when Cobb was
in the game we had to be aware of the run and the throw. People sometimes overlook
the fact he can throw the ball. It was tough with both of them. They did a great
job.”
On the loss…
“It was tough. But like coach said, we have to keep faith, keep fighting.
It’s the sprit of the team. We’ve had ups and downs all year, bad
things happen but we always seem to have faith in god and believe in each other
and come out each week and fight. It seems like we’re going to be down,
but we find a way to come back and fight.”
On leaving a win on the field…
“We didn’t make the plays we needed to make. We had opportunities
to make big plays and we just didn’t do it. All in all, it was a good effort,
offense and defense.”
