University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Tennessee vs. Mississippi State
November 16, 2002 | Football
Nov. 16, 2002
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TENNESSEE LOCKER ROOM
Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer
"Obviously we are pleased to get a win. To come to Starkville and get a win against a very physical football team is a plus. I'm proud of our staff for hanging tough and getting a plan together. We were especially good on defense but we did some good things on offense. It was great to get a win."
On Cedric Houston
"He was off to a good start before he got a thigh bruise in the Florida game. We've missed him."
"We've got a chance to finish this season on a very positive note. We've got to protect that young quarterback. About 85 to 90 percent of his decisions were made on the sideline."
On the final touchdown
"The screen was a heck of a call. It was a safe play. We've had success in the past with that play in the past. We did a heck of a job with it. The blocking was out there. We probably should have scored but we got it in eventually."
James Banks, Quarterback
"We were all positive. There are two halves to a football game. The second half went a lot better than the first."
"We got a couple of passes in. We tried to go deep a couple of times. The running game really helped us out. We were running the ball well. I still think we did an excellent job of just blocking them. We gained positive yards almost every play, and I am real proud of that."
"I knew on Monday I would be starting. Coach (Sanders) came up to me and asked me if I was nervous. He told me if I was scared to go to church. I told him I wouldn't be nervous. I would go in there and do the best I could."
"I still have a long way to go with that aspect of the game (passing). Coach wanted to get back to the old Tennessee style anyway. He wants to pound the football down their throat and show them how physical we are."
Rashad Moore, LB
"I was being double teamed. I spun out of the double team and saw Mondre (Dickerson) just bring his hips through him. Then I saw the ball. It just looked like a big watermelon, and I just picked it up and tried to get it in the end zone."
"We strive to put pressure on the quarterback. We haven't been giving a lot of pressure in the previous games. That was something we wanted to work on."
"It feels really good to have both offense and defense knocking on all cylinders. Our defense has been down some days, and our offense has been down some days."
"It is a really big win for this team. We have had our ups and downs. To come down here away from home and win down here in Mississippi is a really big win. I hope it is just a stepping stone."
MISSISSIPPI STATE LOCKER ROOM
MSU Head Coach Jackie Sherrill
"We knew getting into the game we were going to have to stop their run game. In the first half, we did some good things and some not so good things. The screen was the big play that we gave up. A lot of players played very hard and it is very encouraging. I was pleased to see Justin Griffith play as well as he did. You wish you had 20 of him, but we only have one."
"I thought our players were ready to play on the emotional side. But we had those three plays that hurt us. We could not overcome them."
On the effect of the losses on the team:
"They come back. Give credit to a lot of these kids. Especially Justin Griffith and Mario Haggan who kept this team together."
On Kyle York staying in the game:
"Kyle came in because Kevin got hurt. Kevin could have come back in but did not."
On the final Tennessee touchdown:
" We did not cover the tight end. We turned him loose. It could have been an interception and gone the other way."
Mississippi State QB Kevin Fant
ON PLAY THAT ENDED HIS GAME:
"Somebody came from behind and stood me up, and another guy just fell on my ankle."
"They are just a good football team taking advantage of what we give them. We need to do more of that. Many times we've had those chances and not come through. You just can't give good football teams like Tennessee the ball."
Mississippi State QB Kyle York
"I think it's pretty obvious when we come out and play as hard as we play the last two weeks, we know we're not winning, but we've made strides on the field. We have pride and play with a lot of heart. We're going to come out in the last two games and play with pride and try to win."
"We continue to make mistakes that keep us from winning the game, and we have to continue to work on those things so that we can be successful later."
Mississippi State PK Brent Smith
ON HIS LONG FIELD GOAL:
"I didn't hit it really well. Sometimes you catch a break and you take the lucky ones."
ON THE WIND:
"It was awful. It was constantly changing, making us change things up, trying to kick around it."
Mississippi State DOG Michael Gholar
"It's tough when you put yourself in position to take the lead and win the game. We just have to take advantage of that."
"That's the one thing we have to do. We can't lie down because we're having a bad season. That's something that the coaches keep telling us. We have to keep going out there and playing hard."
Mississippi State LB T.J. Mawhinney
"The defense always plays hard. Everybody was playing, no matter what injuries they had. The defensive line probably played their best game all year, taking on double teams that freed Mario and me to make some plays.
