University of Tennessee Athletics
October 21, 2000 | Football
COACHES' QUOTES
TENNESSEE HEAD COACH PHILLIP FULMER
"You have to give credit ot the players.
They could have kept their heads down, but they chose not too. The practice
this past week was the best we've had this season. This is just one step, but
it is one big step. This is the first time we played as a football team for
60 minutes.
"The backs and Casey did a great job. Our protection was lacking at time and we had a few more penalties than we would have liked. We got some breaks and that hasn't always happened this season. It was good for us.
"I thought Casey kept his poise and composure. Funny things happen with a young center and offensive line.
"We came out to be aggressive and the pass play to start was part of that. We took a very aggressive approach.
"I was proud of Casey. It's not easy for everyone to put the team first. The other quarterbacks haven't been a distraction to the rest of the team. I said the quarterback situation would work itself out. It just took longer than we would have liked.
ALABAMA HEAD COACH MIKE DUBOSE
"It's a very difficult loss for our
football team. When you wear the crimson jersey and lose to Tennessee, you should
be hurting. It all starts with me. I have to do a better job. We didn't start
with the intensity on offense that we needed. Give Tennessee credit. They had
a great plan and executed well. The most disappointing thing was that the Tennessee
defense played hard and with more intensity than our offense did in the first
half. I thought our defensive front played well, but didn't finsh plays at time.
Their defense controlled the line of scrimmage. I congratulated Phillip Fulmer
and his staff and thought their young quarterback had an excellent game. We
got beat in all three areas of the game: offense, defense and the kicking game.
We'll look at the tape and see some good things, but we'll also see some times
when we had our chances, but didn't make the plays.
"Miree's fumble was a huge play. Tennessee had a great plan for the screens and the underneath routes. Andrew Zow is a tough young man who will learn and go forward. We have to protect him better, run faster routes and not hold the ball too long. Our offensive line has to get more movement. When they do that, it becomes a big field and we have a chance to get our backs one-on-one. I thought we went backwards today offensively. We have to finish the play and must play the coverage until the whistle blows. Have some undisciplined players who have to learn to make the plays. I was surprised and angry (on the onsides kick) because we didn't see it. We were just fortunate that they didn't kick it right.
"We still have a shot in the West. I said it would be crazy. We'll have to play better
PLAYER QUOTES
TENNESSEE PLAYERS
Wide Receiver Cedrick Wilson: "I'm
really proud of the way the defense stepped up and the way the offense stepped
up at the end. We struggled early. We showed what type of team we are by not
dropping our heads. I tip my hat to the offensive line and Casey.
"This is reason you go to Tennessee or Alabama. As a senior I can say I never lost to Alabama. That's something I can look back on and say I did.
Linebacker Eric Westmoreland: "Casey really got the defense fired up after the touchdown to Cedrick. After the score, Casey told us to go out there and stop them again.
"It's one of those games were everyone comes to watch. It's a historic game and it's one that I enjoy playing in.
Quarterback Casey Clausen: "This is the reason why I came to Tennessee. I knew about the tradition and Coach Fulmer and Heath Shuler spoke to us about that on Sunday. It's a good win. Everybody stepped up. I just went out and concentrated on what we needed to do.
Defensive End Will Overstreet: "We knew we had a good package coming into the game. It's make you really value a win. You never want to take a win for granted ever again. Tonight, we got a little better and came back and did it. We came through finally. The breaks went our way. It was team effort. I feel a lot better that we came through and beat a good SEC team.
ALABAMA PLAYERS
Quarterback Andrew Zow: "It
was just one of those bad days. We are down because we really wanted to win
the game. We'll bounce back as many times as we need to. It's hard, but we'll
do it. The defense came out and played well. We didn't have that fire.
Center Paul Hogan: "We didn't play well. They played great. We didn't make the plays and that's the bottom line. We didn't do much offensively. We felt like we were going to win the game until the fumble.
Tailback Brandon Miree: "He hit the ball dead-on with his helmet. That's what it felt like. We didn't make any adjustments coming out in the second half. We just came out and played hard. We were in the game until I fumbled. That cost us the game. The coaches prepared us well. We just didn't execute.
Linebacker Victor Ellis: "It was hard to bring him (Clausen) down. He scrambled well and we didn't contain him. When he scrambled, he made plays.
Linebacker Adam Cox: "It was extremely frustrating when he (Clausen) escaped. Those could have been big losses. We've got to make those plays. Those could have changed the game. He showed a lot of poise.
Strong Safety Marcus Spencer: "This is my last game against Tennessee. I wanted to go out with a win, but the ball didn't bounce our way. Last week scored 45, this week we scored 10. The chips fell their way. Clausen had a pretty good game.
