University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Tennessee vs. Miami
November 09, 2002 | Football
Nov. 9, 2002
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TENNESSEE LOCKER ROOM
HEAD COACH PHILLIP FULMER: "I'm obviously very disappointed. We played against really good team. Defensively we held in there pretty good. The third downs hurt us. Offensively we didn't do much. I felt like we had to run and didn't do it very effectively; not very good at all.
"We'll work like heck to get better in a lot of areas. We had a number of people to leave game. It's been an incredible year that way. We've got a lot of young people involved and pay off down the road.
"They are really good. I haven't seen Oklahoma. They are as good as any we've played in a while.
"We never could get down and distance in our favor. Casey was limited to some degree in mobility. Not good offensively. Couldn't block anybody. I see the problems and get headed in a direction and get slowed by injuries and other things.
"They have a very fine back.
"Momentumwise I never felt we were out of it. James (Banks) is an exciting young prospect. He is a wild horse out there trying to play football. He's got talent and will be a good player.
"At this point they are as gifted a teams as we have played. We've played a lot of good teams in the past and have been one of those teams and that's where we want to get back too.
"We are not consistently blocking. At running back we are not where we need to be. Our defense held then pretty well be holding them to four fields goals.
"We prepared well. Defensively we probably played well enough, but offensively we did nothing."
OT WILL OFENHEUSLE: "They have a heck of a defense. Our passing game did not work well. Their ends were wide and we didn't change our snap count until later in the game. We thought we had something good going early when we broke that run. We knew they were susceptible to the run, but we abandon that play. It was our bread and butter.
"You've got to play a complete game against that team. We did not. We put our defense in a tough position all night. They (Miami) each earned their scholarship money tonight.
"I felt if we could play with them for three quarters, we could withstand their flurry. To go 58 minutes with out scoring is a bit of a letdown. It was very deflating not to be able to run the ball.
"We have to change our style with James (Banks) in there. He's a heck of a player. We looked good, but got in such a hole early we couldn't get out of it.
"We have a lot of tough people and they will learn from this season."
DE OMARI HAND: "They schemed us pretty good. They got the ball off quick. They were focused. It is a hostile environment, but they came in with the right mindset. They executed well. We have to execute better on both sides of the ball.
"McGahee has great speed. He is patient and waits for the hole to open and hits it hard. He's one of the best we have faced."
P DUSTIN COLQUITT: "I've never part of a team with this many injuries. This is giving us a chance to get some young guys some experience. We have to look on the bright side of things."
QB JAMES BANKS: "I was expecting to play a little bit and I was ready. It's just unfortunate it came because of Casey's injury. We can't end the season like this. We've got to win and beat a team up."
MIAMI LOCKER ROOM
MIAMI HEAD COACH LARRY COKER: "It was an outstanding win, to say the least. This was our best game of the year by far. It was a great team win. It was a tough atmosphere where they don't lose too many times. This was our third road game in a row. We haven't seen the Orange Bowl in a while, but we came out of the three games in great shape.
"McGahee had a fine game. The four field goals were huge. We tried to finish the half being aggressive. Missing the field goal was a disappointment. I thought we did a good job cutting down on the penalties. I was extremely proud of this win. I was very proud of our team. I saw the offense, defense and special teams congratulating each other. I had a good feeling on the sideline.
"I was pleased with the way we responded against a tough opponent. I thought we weren't intimidated. We came out and played. Our guys played hard, fast and relaxed. We were solid in every phase of play. We wanted to get a team win. We knew we couldn't win this game with just one phase. I knew before the season that, if we won them all, we'd be in Tempe. We have three games, with two at home. We have to respond and play well.
"I thought that the field goal on Tennessee's first drive made a statement about our defense."
TE Kellen Winslow: "We don't care about all of the BCS stuff. All we care about is repeating as national champions. We are 31-0 since I have been here. We control our own destiny. As long as we try to perfect what we do and get better we will be fine. Everything will work out. It is a good system but computers can not tell you who is going to win a national championship."
QB Ken Dorsey: "We didn't prepare any differently from any other team. We brought in some noise for practice. We just worked very hard for this one this week. We wanted to play and well and come out and just have fun. We wanted to come out and play well from the start but really the motivating factor was winning. We want to keep and winning so that we will have a good shot in the end."
