#18/18 Tennessee at South Carolina October 29, 2016

Transcription

1 #18/18 Tennessee at South Carolina South Carolina Head Coach Will Muschamp Opening Statement What a great win for our football team and our program. Our fan base was amazing, and it was an electric atmosphere. We felt the energy coming up during the Gamecock Walk, and we appreciate that. We re a different team at home in terms of how ours guys approach and play. Our fan base has a tremendous effect on us and how we go about our business. I m proud of our players, and I told them after the game to continue to invest and have some belief. Some good things are going to happen, and I told them to continue to do the things we re asking them to do. They continue to do that, and our guys played their guts out tonight. We have to enjoy tonight and put this one behind us and get ready for a game against Missouri. I m very pleased with our guys efforts, and they have continued to fight. It says a lot about our players and about our staff. Our staff sticks together, and I m glad to be a part of it. On the poise of freshman quarterback Jake Bentley and how he handled himself in the win over Tennessee I thought he did a nice job. I don t know what his numbers were exactly, but he was accurate with the ball. He threw the ball in some tight coverage, and our guys made some plays too so you have to give them credit. There s no question, in that environment it says a lot about his preparation and what he puts into it. On his thoughts on South Carolina s rushing attack on Saturday I thought Rico (Dowdle) made some tough runs. He made the one bounce-out run on our sideline, and that s a big-time SEC back making that run. A.J. (Turner) got in there late, and David (Williams) did some nice things. It all works hand-in-hand. We ask our tight ends to block in the run game as well. It all works hand-in-hand, and we ask the quarterback to make the correct read. I m proud of all of those guys. On defensive back Jamarcus King s potential moving forward Jamarcus is instinctive and he has length and all the physical attributes we like. He s been a very coachable guy since he s been here. He s a guy that goes out and works and listens. He s correctable, and when you correct him he doesn t take it personal. He tries to learn and listen. Coach Travaris Robinson does a really good job with those guys. He does a great job teaching fundamentals, technique and all the things you need to teach. Jamarcus is going to benefit moving forward getting in the weight room. That s something we need to continue to work on, and he will. On being able to close out and win a close game against Tennessee after losing some tight games against them in the past We had a really good week, probably our best week of preparation. I told our guys early in the week that this game was going to come down to the fourth quarter. I felt that way all along. We re going to have to finish, and the word of the week was finish. You have to learn to finish against an opponent. You need to learn to make plays in these games. The effort and mental urgency our guys had were outstanding all week and you saw a product of that on game day.

2 Tennessee at South Carolina South Carolina Student-Athlete Quotes T.J. Holloman LB Senior On the win We needed this win tonight. Not only for our program but also for our fans. Our fans came out tonight. Great support. It was a loud stadium and [the fans] got what they deserved. A win is a win. But a win at home like we did tonight in front of our fans is unbelievable. On the game plan Our game plan was to come in and shut down the run and make [Joshua] Dobbs beat us throwing the ball. As we saw today our defensive line got after him and he had a lot of problems trying to get the ball. Jamarcus King DB Junior On interceptions Coach T. Rob and Coach Muschamp put us in a good position with the call. It was a cover two call so they already knew what was coming and they put me in the position to make the play on the first one [interception.] On the second one I just split the zone and he threw the ball and he just stared him down On message to the team after Chris Lammons ejection I just pretty much told the corners we had to step up and the next man up has to make plays. The ball came my way and I had to make the play. Basically we were playing for Chris [Lammons.] Bryson Allen-Williams LB Junior On getting the win against Tennessee It meant a lot, especially for us, this is my third year here and the last two times we ve played Tennessee we ve kind of let them get the win at the end of the game. So it meant a lot to finish out this game and it means a lot for the future of our program. We proved that we can finish games and we have to continue to keep working so everyone can know who we are. On how team played against the rush This was the best week of practice. Sunday through today we ve just been prepared. We ve had a lot of walk-throughs a lot of preparation was put into this game and it definitely paid off. I feel like this was the best we ve played all year but we just have to work and continue to get better. Darius English DL Senior On defending Josh Dobbs It definitely changes the game plan, you have to keep him inside the pocket. He can move and make plays on his feet so you have to change the rush a little bit and make sure you keep him contained.

3 K.C. Crosby TE Sophomore On what he saw the defense doing The way they were, both guys just sucked into the screen we had been running. They both came up and played the screen, so I just slipped outside to the corner and Jake [Bentley] hit me with the ball into the end zone. On what they learned about Jake Bentley after being hit as much as he was today That s just Jake. That s him in practice. Even when the game got close, he kept his composure. He kept telling us that we were still in the game, we needed to finish strong and do what we had to do to get the win. Deebo Samuel WR Sophomore On the future of the offense with young players performing so well now I m very excited, but we are still going to worry about this year before we worry about the future. The future is bright for us. On what they learned about Jake Bentley after being hit as much as he was today Jake is a real tough guy. He played his heart out, and he gave it his all out there. On scoring over 20 points in back to back games and where the offense is now compared to beginning of season The offense is great. When we are able to run and pass the ball, I don t feel like anyone can stop us.

4 #18/18 Tennessee at South Carolina Tennessee Head Coach Butch Jones Opening Statement Unacceptable. Small details, the turnovers you go on the road, you can t turn the football over. Lack of explosive plays, missed tackles, too many penalties on special teams you do a good job of getting the ball out on some returns and those are momentum killers. It starts with myself with this coaching staff. We talk about being a determined football team. Some leadership needs to step up on this football team. It starts with myself, but everybody needs to own it. We can t let this one loss define who we are. We have to come back. Obviously, we were too sloppy, and I m disappointed in the way we played particularly off of a bye week. Give credit to South Carolina but that was unacceptable. On disappointment over starting the game with an offsides call coming off of a bye week and wanting to be sharp Offsides on the opening kickoff, which is a complete lack of discipline you can t start the game like that. We pride ourselves on playing with great energy and passion, being a disciplined football team who takes care of the ball, and we weren t that. When you go on the road, you aren t going to have an opportunity to win a football game on the road. But again, it was a slow start. I thought we were lethargic, but we have to own it. It s a long, long football season can t let one game define you. But we are going to learn a lot about the competitive makeup up of this team moving forward. On South Carolina s passing defense taking [Joshua] Dobbs out of rhythm and playing with one running back We are trying to make it through the game with one running back, so you have to pick your spots in managing the game. They were able to play some man coverage, and Josh wasn t able to set his feet in the pocket. On how the message of hopes, dreams and goals changes after a third-consecutive loss How are they changing? We live in a week-to-week season. There is a lot of football left to be played. All we are looking to do is be 1-0 each and every week, but unfortunately we were 0-1 this week. It starts with everyone. We talked about how this was going to be more taxing than the first seven weeks of the season. I meant that. It s going to be a grind. Everyone hears the clutter the distractions. Everyone is going to play their best football against you, and that s the next evolution of your football program. You have to be mature competitors. You can t be the same version of you. These kids are very prideful, and there is a locker room full of guys that are hurting. It s a hard way to learn a lesson. Everyone in the organization has to take ownership, and it starts with me at the top. But there is a lot of football left to be played. You mark my words, as I sit here today in South Carolina, there is a lot of football left to be played. On how much of the game is scheme of the opponent versus execution I ll know a little more as I watch the video. Football is a game of one-on-one matchups. Everyone has to win their matchups, and we have to put them in a position to succeed. It s hard to play perfect when you don t have any explosive football plays. We didn t have any, and we gave up some explosive football plays. It s the overall focus and discipline that I m disappointed in more than anything. On playing young guys late in big games due to injuries You go through growing pains. It s what you learn from the mistakes and experiences to make you better. If you don t learn from it, that s when it becomes problematic. On the difficulty of the team being uncharacteristically undisciplined There is no reason to panic. There is a lot of football left to be played. We didn t play our best football tonight, and we had a lot of self-imposed mistakes. And I give SC credit, too. What do we learn from it? We learn about the value of being ready versus the value of being prepared, having your opportunity to make the most of it. You have to play inspired; you have to bring emotion to every single snap. The unsettling thing is that it s not just one side of the ball. It s all three phases of the game.

5 Tennessee Student-Athletes Joshua Dobbs QB Senior On leadership needing to step up We just have to control what we can control. Obviously tonight we didn t come out and play to our standard of football, and the results show it as well. From here on out, we just have to take it one day at a time. Focus on what we can control, and every time we step on the field we have to play at a high level. We have to play in order to be successful. On the fumble It was a run-pass option, and I was trying to throw it out on the perimeter. He came through and thought he was getting the ball, and he hit me as I threw. It goes back to fundamentals on my part with my steps and on his part and his steps to match point and everything. That s something we need to get corrected. On the interception That s just straight up on me understanding the coverage and the situation, but just checking the ball down and getting the drive going. I ll have to step it up because I felt like I didn t play up to my standards. I m a tough critic on myself, so I ll get it corrected and keep us moving. On what South Carolina was doing to force some bad throws They were doing different things with the front. We knew that coming into the game, so that just goes back to everyone being focused and locked in. Locking in on the game plan and just be able to handle the different looks. On if he is surprised at the result of the game It started on the first drive. We started off the game off the sticks, and that s something we talk about going into any game. It s tough to be successful when you re third and long. We played in some tough situations, and to their credit they gave us an opportunity to go down and win the game, and we did not execute, so that s on us and that s something we need to get corrected. On trying to correct things for the season It s just intensity level. Coach really harps on us about having a complete practice because if you can t have a complete practice you can t have a complete game. It starts in practice with your attitude and mindset. After all the hype and the energy dies away in the game, that s how you re going to play. So we have to go back to our fundamentals and go back to our habits. We need to play winning football here on out. On the hurt players not being out there It hurts because the captains on the team are out. They are motivating and pushing us on the sideline. Helping young guys get locked in. It s always tough when you have three key playmakers out. Kendall Vickers DL Junior On how disappointing the game is It s very disappointing. Somehow we didn t show up tonight, so we just have to go see whatever we did wrong. On the slow starts in each game We just have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. John Kelly RB Sophomore On his performance this game I think I took advantage of this game with the amount of carries and touches I did get. But I felt like there was a lot more out there that I could have provided for the team. On looking to the future We are just going to keep working. There is a lot more football to play, so that s all we re going to do. We are just going to keep improving and learn from this loss. On the slow starts to each game Execution I would say. Early on sometimes we lack execution, and we ended up picking up in the second half for whatever reason. I just think we have to execute a little bit better. On how he knew it was just him playing Once my name got called, I just took advantage of the opportunity. Darrin Kirkland Jr. LB Sophomore On what went wrong defensively A couple missed hits here and there and breaking down in the coverage. Schematically there wasn t many big problems we had. It s just they hit some big plays.