Vanderbilt-Ole Miss Postgame Quotes

Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes

VANDERBILT POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH WOODY WIDENHOFER
"You've got to play 60 minutes. Our players came to play. Thought they played smart football and were aggressive."

"Football is a team sport, and in all team sports it is about making play. In the 4th quarter, we didn't. We dropped some balls. We were out of position allowing them to convert some key third downs. When we catch the ball, we move the ball and score. When we drop the ball we set up long conversions and that is hard to convert"

(On feeling good about position mid-way through the 3Q)
"I never feel good until the end. I've been in too many of these. We didn't play that good two years ago. Today, we had control over our destiny but didn't make the plays."

"Its sad because I'm close to these kids and I'm never going to be involved with them again. It's emotional because I love Vanderbilt University. I love Nashville. I love the players and severing that relationship is tough. I'm not bitter. The only regret I have is that I didn't get the program turned around and that the Chancellor didn't come here three or four years earlier."

(After the game to his players)
" I told them you have to play 60 minutes. They came to play, but didn't finish. And I told them I was proud to be their coach the last five years.

Q: Will there be another team meeting?

A: No. That's my farewell."

"Eli is a play maker. We had Manning on a full out blitz, he rolls and makes the throw. We felt that we could get him to turn the ball over, because he had been doing that of late."

VANDERBILT PLAYER POSTGAME QUOTES
Quarterback Greg Zolman
"We came into this game feeling like we matched up with Ole Miss very well and would have opportunities to make plays. In the first quarter we made the most of those opportunities. I'm really proud of our defense. They came up with big stops. They played like the defenses we are used to seeing around Vanderbilt. We have lots of young guys and I am excited about seeing them build their careers."

(On Coach Widenhofer)
"I'm sad because I came in with Coach Widenhofer. He was never given a full chance to succeed. Some other things needed to happen to make it work. The addition of Chancellor Gee to Vanderbilt will help and is a step in the right direction. I loved playing for Coach Widenhofer and wish him the best of luck in the future."

Wide Receiver Dan Stricker
"The second and third quarter of the game we saw a lot of things go our way. The fourth quarter it just wasn't that way. We had the field position and were making plays and then that changed. Ole Miss had field position and made the plays they needed in the fourth quarter."

(On his dropped pass in the 4th quarter)
"I make that catch most of the time. Unfortunately that didn't go for me on that pass. I pride myself on being a clutch person. I am glad we were able to get the ball back so I could have more opportunities to make plays. I didn't want to end my year on a dropped pass."

Free Safety Jerrol Jackson
"The first half of the game we executed like we needed to defensively. The second half of the game the plays didn't go our way. We didn't make the plays we needed to in the second half and it cost us the game."

(On his interceptions)
"On the first interception it was a gift. Rushen Jones was with their receiver, and covering him well, and the ball went high in the air so I went to the ball. The second interception I believe, was tipped and I went for the ball and went the other way. It's all about making plays and we just didn't make enough like that."

Running Back Rodney Williams
"I think our defense did a great job. We had the chance to put the game away early and we didn't do it. That hurt us in the end. I wanted to go out a winner and help start a winning streak for the guys coming back, but I still feel this game gives them something to build on."

(On Coach Widenhofer)
"He is a great coach and it has been a privilege to play for him. I don't think he deserves a lot of the criticism he has been getting. He's a great coach and he'll land on his feet. I hate that we weren't able to save his job for him. Players win game and lose games, but they seem to place the blame for the losses on him and he didn't deserve it."

Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer
"When we got up 20-3, I think we started playing too cautiously on defense. They spread us out and did a great job of getting the running game going. That helped them a lot. The momentum turned in their favor and we couldn't stop them."

Linebacker Nate Morrow
"In the first half we did a good job of disguising our coverage and mixing things up on Ole Miss. Eli Manning got rattled a little bit and we made some plays on him. In the second half he adjusted to what we were doing to him and he was the one making plays. That's what football is, a chess match between two teams and making adjustments to come out with the win."

OLE MISS POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH DAVID CUTCLIFFE
OPENING COMMENTS
"Congratulations to our 12 scholarship seniors. They have been warriors all throughout their careers. Defensively, I was proud of our guys. We hit them hard. I was concerned going into this game, because it rained Monday-Thursday. Monday was our last day to get outside. However, Monday is our usual day to mostly run. We competed well, because our attention was focused. I knew we had enough possessions to get it done. Vanderbilt is a good team. They have great players. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to finish their drives late in the game."

ON ELI' S PLAY
"Eli did make some mistakes, but I am proud of the way he regained his focus after throwing three interceptions. He was competitive throughout the entire game. I knew he was prepared for the game. Mentally he is a great tribute to young quarterbacks. The last thing I told him at halftime, was 'things are not going our way, but take what they'll give us'. I knew we could do it, because of the look he had in his eyes."

ON JOE GUNN
"This is the best I have ever seen Joe run. He made a number of big plays, even when there wasn't a play."

ON JAMIE ARMSTRONG
"Jamie stepped up big for us today. I told him to go out there and make big plays, and he did."

ON BOWL SITUATION
"We deserve to go to a bowl game, because this a 7-4 SEC team. We won big games early in the year. We will match up well with anyone. We have great fans, and they deserve a bowl. Until things settle in the conference, we will just have to wait."

OLE MISS OFFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
Quarterback Eli Manning
"This game got off to a rough start, but you've got to stay confident. I knew that we could come back and get things going again."

"Vanderbilt played really hard. You have to give credit to them. They played well defensively. They were stopping us and making big plays. We finally got things going and settled down."

(On Bill Flowers' catch in the fourth quarter)
"It was a play-action. A guy came free, and I rolled left. Bill had a heck of a route. He kept running. He stayed with me, and I threw it where only he could catch it. He made a great catch."

Running Back Joe Gunn
"The offensive line did a great job of opening up holes. We just tried to come out and be physical with those guys. We got off to a rough start. But I always felt we could run on them."

(On ending the season with a win)
"That's one thing we really had to look forward to. We just tried to have our best game in front of our home crowd, and just show them that we appreciate them."

Offensive Lineman Terrance Metcalf
(On going to a bowl game)
"You never know how things are going to work out. We have to put that in the hands of the Lord. I hope that we get a bid somewhere, but I don't really know where. We're gonna keep our fingers crossed and hope we have the opportunity to go to a bowl game."

(On being a captain)
"I knew that everyone was going to be looking to me - being a senior and a captain. I was trying to keep everyone's heads up. I knew we were down, but that we still had a chance to come back. There was a lot of football left to play. We had to keep our heads up and we knew that Eli and the receivers would come through. We had the running game going for us and we did what we had to do."

OLE MISS DEFENSIVE PLAYER QUOTES
Cornerback Justin Coleman
"It's been a long season without an interception. It's a good way to go out with one in my last game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium."

(On his teammates)
"I'm going to miss all of them. Some of us have been here for four years, some for five, and some are transfers. I knew it was going to end sooner or later, and I am glad to go out with a bang."

Linebacker Eddie Strong
"When we made tackles, we knew we had to wrap them up. Everyone did a good job of getting off blocks and the defense stepped up in the second half. We had our minds made up that we were going have to give the offense the ball."

(On the last home game of the season)
"I was glad to see that we pulled together and got the win. Everyone felt it in their hearts, and they stepped up. We came out flat at the beginning but the game is never over until the fourth quarter."

Cornerback Syniker Taylor
(on the second half)
"It was a gut check for us. We knew the offense wasn't doing as well as they usually do in the first half. We decided as a defensive squad we needed to go out there and change the game around so the offense could get going."

(On his last home game)
"It's a joyful event. I have all kinds of feelings running through me right now. I know it's my last time in here, but it's been great for me."

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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