University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Postgame Quotes From Southern Miss-Cincinnati Game
10/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Postgame Quotes From Southern Miss-Cincinnati Game
Cincinnati Quotes
Cincinnati Head Coach Rick Minter:
?We average about 415 yards a game, and in the last three-to-four weeks, we haven?t been able to finish in the red zone. Our kicking game stinks. The defense played really hard today, and they gave us a chance to win the ball game. But you have to turn around and give a team like Southern Miss credit, playing at home and as dominant as they are on defense, they don?t give up too many points. That (14 points) is slightly below their average.
?We practically gave them 14 points -- one on a touchdown (interception) return, and one (a fumble return) on about the six or eight yard line, and then they (scored) on the second or third play. That?s 14 free points that you see on the board. Then, you add the safety, and that?s practically why we lost the game.
?Our defense played hard. They have been much maligned all year. I thought they stepped up and played big. Our offense continually kills us with turnovers, and they are committing turnovers that are not giving us any ground to stand on. Early in the year, it was turnovers, but we were able to hold fort and rally, but now they are giving away the ball that has no defense ? two (turnovers) today.
?Gino?s (Guidugli ? quarterback) banged up. He got hurt last week. He did a heck of a job recovering, getting out there and being a competitor. George (Murray ? backup quarterback) did a good solid job. He?s just a work in progress, learning to be a quarterback too, as well as getting ?reps? at wide receiver. I think there are some good things that we?ll see on the tape that we can take from this ball game.
?Our backs are against the wall, big time. I still think we are the enemy, and that?s not to discredit Southern Miss. They are a good football team. But I still think we make more errors than our opponents force, and you just can?t give the ball away to a good football team and expect to win.
?I still love my kids. They are the same players when we win and when we lose. It?s not personal; it?s performance. And the performance we are getting out of our offense, and particularly our special teams, is not acceptable.
?We can?t win this way. If our goal is to win, then we?d have to say that our performance is not acceptable. A few weeks ago, I was maligning our defense because their performance was not acceptable, and I have the right to do that because I?m the head coach. And I can call out any unit I want to and say they stink. Right now, two out of our three units stunk in today?s performance because the offense gave away points today. They moved the ball, but didn?t score very many and gave them away all at the same time. They hurt us a lot of ways.
?Our kicking game is just shoddy. Every time we send a unit out there, I just hold my breath, whether it?s going to be a penalty, a kickoff return, punt return or a bad snap.
?We could say we?re a good team, but we?re a sorry team. Really, we?re a sorry team because we have continually made the same mistakes now every week. Kicking game errors, turnovers for touchdowns, give up a few big plays every now and them, and whereas on a given day one of our units may step up and play well or shine and give our team an extraordinary chance to win, good teams don?t continually make the errors we are making.?
George Murray, Quarterback:
?(Southern Miss) has a great red zone defense that gave us a little challenge. We just had a couple of mistakes we couldn?t overcome. We have to get back on the practice field Monday and get ready for next week.
?We have another conference game next week. We just have to worry about winning that one now.?
LaDaris Vann, wide receiver:
?We are just not doing our jobs right now, no matter what the players call, we should go out and do our jobs to the best of our ability. When we are supposed to be moving forward, we are moving backwards, and that is hurting us. We just have to stick together as a team.
?Our backs are against the wall, but we are still in it. Once we get clicking, I don?t think anyone can stop us.?
Antwan Peek, defensive end:
?We are just not getting it done. We just need to play on both sides, and we have not quite put it together yet. It?s more frustrating as a team. It?s not just one side. When we are out there on the field, and we see the offense not doing well, we try to pick them up, and let them know we are right behind them. It?s just not falling for us, but we will get it together.?
Southern Miss Head Coach Jeff Bower
Opening Comments:
"I was real proud of our team. I thought that we gave a good effort in the game. Cincinnati had a pretty good plan on offense. I know they won the possession battle. But like we have been doing all year long, when we needed to make plays on defense, we did. You get a little upset that (Cincinnati) was out there making first downs, but then we made plays. We got a turnover to set up a score. We intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown with it. And then we got a safety. So, defensively that is unbelievable. I thought we did a great job and we really rose to the occasion when we had to make plays. I am real proud of our defense, and I thought we were much improved on special teams. I thought we won the field position battle -- when we did have an opportunity to cover kicks and punts. We got after it. I have to compliment Joe Henley and Mike Boley, two starters on defense, who are also starters on two special teams units. I didn't think that we played very well on offense. We had one 80-yard drive, but other than that, we didn't do well. Cincinnati had a nice plan for us, but we didn't look like we executed well. But it was a good win for us, and good to get a conference win."
On if he will stick with Dustin Almond or make some changes at quarterback:
"I don't think we will change right now. He didn't throw the ball as well as he is capable of throwing, but right now, I don't foresee any changes. He is a competitor. He pulled it down and a couple of nice runs, and I like the toughness that he shows and brings to our offense."
On Etric Pruitt's big hit being a momentum changer:
"We played pretty well after that. Etric has a knack about doing that. That was a big play for us."
On the defensive play at the end of the game:
"I just think we stepped up. I think we had some guys reach down and play a little harder because they knew that the game was on the line and in their hands. We weren't do anything on offense, and I think our defense knew that we had to make some plays."
Senior running back Derrick Nix:
On the game:
"I thought that we did what we had to do to win the game. Special teams stepped up and that was one of the big keys in us winning the game. The defense stepped up and made a lot of big plays. I felt like the offense played better in the fourth quarter. We were able to run the ball and run the clock out to help preserve the win."
On if this game was frustrating for the offense:
"I think it was. A win is a win, but we want to accomplish more than what we did today. It is something that we have to go out and improve on in practice."
Junior safety Etric Pruitt:
On the defense?s bend but not break play:
"That is the thing that we always harp on ? to keep them out of the end zone. We try to live by that bend but don?t break style. If we are going to give up some points, we would rather give up a field goal.?
On the interception return for a touchdown:
?I kind of knew what they were going to run because they ran that play earlier in the game. I looked at the formation and figured they would do that, so I broke for the ball.?
Sophomore linebacker Michael Boley:
On the defense?s bend but not break play:
?We have been trying not to let a team drive the ball. But sometimes it is small mistakes that hurt us. We just have to step up in those situations.?
Junior linebacker Rod Davis:
On the defense?s bend but not break play:
?Cincinnati had a lot of yards on us, but their players are on scholarship too. So, both teams are going to make plays. I feel that when it was time for a game breaker or playmaker to step up, we had Etric Pruitt, Michael Boley and Ronald Jones step up. When we needed to make a play, we did that.?
On giving up many yards:
?It is not good. We used to be able to stop teams throughout the whole game, but the main thing that we look at on defense is the fact that if they don?t score, they can?t win. We accomplished that today. We are getting better and better each and every week.?
