University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Postgame Quotes for Houston Game
10/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 14, 2006
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Postgame Quotes Versus Houston -
Head Coach Jeff Bower Quotes
Opening statement: "I think our players really played hard in the game. We had a good week of preparation and we knew that we were playing an explosive team, offensively. I think we played well defensively and the only negatives were that we gave up two big plays in the game. Other than that, in between those plays, we did a nice job defensively. I thought the second half was key. We went three and out twice. Offensively, we talked all week about staying on the field. That was big in the ball game. We didn't throw the ball well early but as the game went on we became more consistent. We had some good throws and made some big plays in the passing game. It was a good game against a good football team. We've just got to eliminate those big plays that we gave up, defensively. I thought we did a lot of good things in the game."
On keeping up with Houston's offense: "We ran the clock and we did a good job of that. With the exception of those two plays, we played well on defense. They hit us with a screen early and a wheel route late. You've got to give them credit for those plays. We did some good things and played well."
On Conrad Chanove's performance: "He did a good job and I probably should've played him some in the second half. Twenty carries in a half is a lot by Damion (Carter); we should've gotten him in there. He's a tough son-of-a-gun. Don't ever doubt his desire and his heart. He's a winner."
On Jeremy Young's performance: "He looked a lot better. I don't think he's quite back to 100 percent but obviously he's a lot better."
On the team's mentality after a tough week: "It was a different week. There were some things happening around due to distractions. I think that the players did a good job and the coaches did a nice job. We put that stuff behind us and got ready to win. I think the focus was good all week long, even with everything that happened."
On how Shawn Nelson and Damion Carter handled the first-half suspensions: "I think they handled it well. They both came in and played well. Shawn made some big plays for us and Damion ran the ball well. I thought they played well."
Southern Miss Player Quotes
Jeremy Young, QB
On how the run helped the passing game: "It is always better when you can go out and establish the run early. It helps when you do play action or whatever pass you may have. We have great running backs who can run the ball and get those yards, and that was what happened tonight."On having more pressure because of players being out in the first half: "There wasn't any extra pressure. Guys have to step up and make plays, just like the rest of any of our guys. They came in and did a great job for us tonight."
On needing to keep the lead to at least 10 points in the latter parts of the game: "We always look to score every time we are on the field on offense. It was more of us wanting to control the ball and keep Houston's offense off the field. If we could score, we were going to do that, but we just wanted to stay on the field as long as possible."
Conrad Chanove, RB
On making his first start: "It was a great opportunity to finally get a start. In the first half, I thought that we did some good things. I probably could have run the ball a little better and broke a few more tackles. But we came away with the win, and that is what you want."Gerald McRath On getting this key conference win: "Our goal going into the season is to do well every conference game. That means we have to take every game and play well.
Houston Coach Art Briles
On the loss/officiating: "This needs to be the last one. We have to rally up. We have to grow up. We have to man up. We have to win next week against UTEP at home. We need everyone who has any belief in Houston Cougar football to give us their support next Saturday."
On a Lack of Review on Josh Barnes' Reception in the Second Half: "They called it down on the field. The guy on our sideline had it as a fumble and the other guy called it down and our guy let the other guy overrule him. "It was a clear-cut fumble."
On the Officials' Decision to Wave off a Final Extra Point "They waved it off and said the game was over. They should have let us kick the extra point."
On the Errant Punt Snap Early in the Game "You cannot make mistakes like that on the road, especially against a good football team. They are a team that is getting better. We just came up short. I am proud of the way we played, but we have the turn the corner and get back in the frame of mind and that is winning."
"When you give them seven points at the start it puts you behind the eight ball. We had to play catch-up the rest of the night. We'll continue to play hard and continue to get better, but it needs to equate to wins now."
Houston Player Quotes
DB Will Gulley:
The last play: "The ref threw the ball down where he fumbled and they just changed the score, man. That hurt us there. The refs...man, I don't even want to talk about it. I get mad talking about it."Starting off in a hole: "We can't make mistakes like that when we're in somebody else's house. We're not that good of a team yet, to make mistakes and still win games. We had a chance to win. It happens like that sometimes, you make a mistake, you cost yourself the game. We just got to stick together and bounce back and beat the mess out of UTEP."
WR Jeron Harvey:
On penalties: "There's only so much a team can take. It's tough when you're 3rd and 10 and you get a 15 yard penalty, and give them the first down, instead of making them work for the first down. The defense as a whole did pretty well."On if he thought his touchdown would wrap the game up: "To be honest, yeah. We felt like, the momentum has shifted, the defense is ready, the game was 0-0 after that. When the fumble happened, it just took the life out of us. From our point of view, it was a fumble. It took a lot of air out of us as a team.
QB Kevin Kolb:
On the officiating: "I'll comment about it. I don't ever say much about the refs, because what the game reveals is what actually happened, but tonight, they literally took a possession away from us. Not to mention the penalty ratio, whatever theirs was to ours. It was all night. We never had anything go our way, and when we did, and got a big play, it was called back. It just seemed like they were all on their side. If you were here, you know what happened.On the botched snap in the 1st quarter: "Special teams have got to be solid. They don't need to be special, they just need to be solid. We had a few miscues tonight, hopefully they'll get that straightened out. But it wasn't just them, we killed ourselves offensively with penalties. They called a couple 15-yarders against us that I'm not sure were right. It wasn't just them, it was a dual-team effort, win or loss."
On the Southern Miss defense: "Everybody bails on us because we have a lot of speed. Our gameplan was to hit those quick screens, and they busted a few times, but they were working. We had the right plan going in, but when you have that much bad luck go against you it's hard to come out with a victory at the Rock.
Their upcoming three-game homestand: "This one next week makes or breaks us. We've got to go in and win at home, get the confidence back rolling, get our rhythm back. We know if we get into a rhythm we can run the table all the way through the season. We're going to run the tables on our side, we'll meet them in the conference championship, we'll have some neutral refs and we'll see what happens."
