Southern Miss-Kansas Postgame Quotes
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 17, 2010
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SOUTHERN MISS ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Saturday, September 17, 2010 Larry Fedora Post Game Quotes- Kansas Game
Opening Statement: "That was a great team win and I am talking about all three phases of the game. I thought we played for 60 minutes and that is what we wanted to do. We challenged the team to come out and play with passion, and play with attitude and do it for 60 minutes. I was really proud of our guys but I thought that coming out at the half we were a little dull. But we got things rolling back again and I thought our guys did a great job. I am proud of our team and our coaching staff for the great job they did."
On where the win rates since Fedora has been at Southern Miss: "It's a big win. Every win is a big win. It's a big win because it was the last one and hopefully the next one will be bigger. I am extremely proud of this football team and the coaches for the job they did."
On the play of the defense: "We did not do anything different this week. We have constantly talked about playing with passion, emotion and energy. I tell you what though; I thought our sideline was much improved tonight with the energy they had. When I say a team wins, everyone that has a role on this football team played their role and that is why we were successful."
"I am very proud of the way the defense played because obviously they have had a lot of criticism. But they have heard it and the coaches have heard it and they stepped up tonight and really played well. Kansas made some plays tonight in some situations when I thought that we were right there to shut it down. (Coach) Turner (Gill) is doing a great job with that football team. They will get there.
"Our guys played harder than their guys and we out hit them tonight. I thought we were more physical.
"We did not change any schemes or do anything differently. They just played the game the way it is supposed to be played; Southern Miss style football. Smart, fast and physical and that is the way we played tonight."
On the play of quarterback Austin Davis: "When the play broke down and there was not anything there he just took the ball and went. He had 61 yards rushing and when your quarterback does that at the end of the game we are going to be okay. He avoided some things and really did a nice job. The only thing he did not avoid was the umpire the one time."
On the play of Desmond Johnson: "He can run now, he can really go. We are just seeing glimpses of him. He is going to get better and better as he gets his legs under him and gets more comfortable out there. He can take it at any time and there have been a few times in scrimmages last spring and this fall where he has gone 70-80 yards. The problem was always that there was no consistency, but Desmond did a great job this summer and in fall camp. He was the most consistent back all the way through camp and Pat (Washington) has done a great job with the kid."
On the play of the special teams tonight: "I am pleased with the way we played on special teams, especially the timing of the blocked punt. To be honest, I was not going to come after it there, but the guys talked me into it on the sideline. We are getting to the point now where they have taken ownership of this football team and they take a lot of pride in this football team. They wanted to come after it and said they would stay off the punter.
"Tim Green got the block. There is a guy who has been a role player on this football team and he goes and gets it because he believed he was going to get it.
"Other than the one kickoff return that we gave up there late I thought that the special teams played really solid.
"It feels great to be perfect on field goals this season. As much heat as (Daniel) Hrappman caught last year I know he feels great as well. His confidence was not shaken (after last season). He knew he had a hip flexor injury last year and we knew it but no one was going to talk about that. He is putting the ball through the uprights and doing a great job for us."
On the energy of the team tonight: "This was definitely the most energy I have seen out of this team this season. They played with a lot of passion and emotion. We talked to them about when people turn off their TV sets tonight I want them to say `Wow. That team has fun. They play hard and they like playing the game.' That was our challenge to them."
On the tempo of the game tonight: "I thought offensively there was a lot times that we had a great tempo going and it created a lot of problems for them. But I was surprised when I saw we only ran 61 plays."
On the penalties tonight: "No doubt they are an issue for us. I will have to take a hard look at those and see where the issue is.
Southern Miss Player Quotes versus Kansas Sept. 17, 2010
Defensive Back Deron Wilson
On How Special This Win Was
"It feels great. Every win feels great, because I love winning. That is the name of the game - win.
On What he felt on what the defense did differently tonight
"We played with passion. We played hard. We were hungry tonight. "
On if this team brought back the old "Nasty Bunch" Southern Miss defenses
"We played hard and nasty, but we have to do in on a consistent basis to be compare ourselves to those guys."
Quarterback Austin Davis
On If the Team Played a Complete Game
"We played some good games in the past, but I did think tonight was a complete game on offense, defense and special teams. I think we played as a team more than we ever have. It was encouraging because this was a big game for us. We felt like it was a very winnable game and we came with that attitude and we played really hard. We had a lot of fun out there."
On the play of the defense
"They played great. Offensively we did some good things, but we didn't have to. If you take away their last touchdown that they threw on us at the end. They were swarming the ball really well and we are going to need them to do that down the road. So it was really encouraging. I don't have any questions about those guys. They are working hard."