University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Postgame Quotes
11/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Southern Miss Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jeff Bower:
Opening comments:
?We didn?t make plays. We had a lot of opportunities. We didn?t do much, offensively, in the third quarter or in the second half. But we got great field position in the fourth quarter and never did anything with it to get points on the board. You have to make plays when you get the chance.?
On the defensive play:
?They really played well and created turnovers. I thought they played extremely well. We gave up a couple of long passes, and that is something that we have to work on. But I thought we played hard and well on defense.?
On the fumble right before the half:
?Anytime you turn the ball over it is big.?
On if there is anything in particular about the inconsistency of the offense:
?I am not sure. It would be premature before I evaluated tape to answer that.?
On the night of strange kicking:
?They squib kicked and did what we call rugby punt, and we did some of the same stuff, except for the rugby punt. They got good returners, and you have to keep the ball out of their hands.?
Running back Derrick Nix:
On coming out in the overtime period
?I just landed on the ball and had the wind knocked out of me.?
On the loss being a disappointment
?It is (disappointing) anytime you lose the way we did. We were up 17-3 and had the momentum, but turnovers hurt us. And I led the way again in turnovers. That is something that we talked about going into the game. The last two times we lost to Louisville, they beat us in turnovers and it happened again tonight. I can tuck my tail and try to run away from it, or I can bite the bullet in the face and keep going. I know I can come back because I am competitor. I have no choice but to come back; this whole team will come back.?
Kicker Curt Jones:
On the game tonight:
?It was a real important game, and it is always an important game. We were ready to play, and they played their hearts out. It was an important game, but that is just the way it happens.?
On the missed kicks:
?Once I got off, I really couldn?t get back on. It was just one of those games that you hope you never have, but it happens. The operation and everything was good, but I was just off tonight.?
Wide receiver Chris Johnson:
On his play tonight:
?The reason that I was able to get open was because they were bracketing our two inside receivers and I was one-on-one the whole night.?
On the touchdown:
?Coach Bower told me the exact coverage that they were going to run, all I had to do was get open and make the catch.?
