Players Mentioned
Postgame: A&M 49, Mississippi State 30
Oct 26, 2019 | Football
Jimbo Fisher
COACH FISHER: I'm very proud of our team today. Competed very well. A big SEC win at home. Got ahead in the game, stayed ahead in the game. Didn't have a lot of the self-inflicted wounds. Allowed teams to come back and get ahead. Stayed very efficient on offense in that regard.
I thought defensively we did a really good job as far as creating three huge turnovers in the game. They got some yards and some plays. Wish we would have gotten a couple more stops, and we gave up some. At the same time, we created three big turnovers that we converted into touchdowns and plays, which were big momentum swings in the game.
Special teams, we were very sound offensively. I thought our efficiency was really excellent. I thought in all the areas that I always talk about, we had balance in the run game. Quarterback and backs were both running the football very well and how we were doing it.
The efficiency in the passing game, catch and run. Adding some yak yards played down the field. Young players kept getting better on the offensive line. Did a really good job picking up blitzes. They brought a lot of different blitzes up front. They were bringing a lot of different combinations. You see our offensive line getting better and better. They keep growing in what they're doing.
A lot of young contributions. Isaiah Spiller has another 90-yard day and plays excellent. See [Jalen] Wydermyer's ability to catch balls and his ability to run afterwards. All three receivers, I thought 2 (Jhamon Ausbon)1, 13 (Kendrick Rogers) had a big-time play. 17 (Ainias Smith) is doing great job. 14 (Keldrick Carper) is doing a good job. They were very efficient.
Kellen [Mond], I thought, really managed the game today. I thought his ability to -- his decision-making and the runs to pull it, to hand it, to do that, to check, and get us from pass to run, run to pass, picking up protections and blitzes, adjusting the front, and then being so accurate with the football down the field and then managing the clock at the end. Having them milk it down, get drives.
Picked up two big third downs with his legs, one a run-pass option. He keeps growing as a football player. It's fun to watch. I think defensively we're keeping some young guys are getting playing time. The older guys, [Justin] Madubuike and those guys are playing well. And special teams are continuing to grow. We keep sawing wood and trying to get better. Got a little bit better this week but still got a lot of things we got to work on and get better at.
Going to play UTSA next week and then try to get better and have a good week of practice.
Q. Situation where you run for over 200, you didn't allow a sack. Just a little bit more on what you're seeing up front.
COACH FISHER: And the lack of negative plays. Getting communication. That goes -- some of those side adjustments and the breaks, are the receivers breaking routes, seeing the coverages which helps the protection. The line can do it. Sometimes you blame the line for sacks. It's not. A receiver may not see the adjustment or the quarterback and things like that.
But the line up front did a really good job in their communication, their pass blocking, putting hats on hats and getting movement in the run game.
Q. Do you consider that a complete game?
COACH FISHER: No.
Q. Secondly, was there anything that you have been seeing that you could have anticipated that you all are going to have this kind of offensive --
COACH FISHER: I have seen us do it in spurts. But to deal with that consistency, to answer your question, no. I have seen a lot of little things that I see we're getting better at that a lot of folks -- you can't see because you are not in practice every day. You are not in -- get to watch the film and rewind it back 38 times like we do and see.
There's been a lot of things we're growing at. People say, "I ain't seeing the results." As a coach, you know they're getting better. It's starting to come together.
The one thing I was disappointed in -- and I'm very disappointed. We're going to address this. I was not happy with the personal fouls at the end of the game or in the middle when we had that drive down there, too.
You got to play smart. I don't care a guy hits your quarterback. I love it. I love having friends like that. But right there, we're trying to win a game. We don't need to do that. And we got to get that cleaned up. We had a couple of personal fouls I don't tolerate. We won't have. And I don't like the way that came about.
There's a lot of things we're getting better at. And the little things, hopefully we can continue and just keep sawing wood and keep chopping. And, hopefully, we'll have a pretty good football team when it's all over with.
Q. You touched on this in your opening, but how big was it for y'all to not only get the turnovers but get touchdowns out of every single turnover?
COACH FISHER: They do. And they're momentum swings. That's what I talk about, playing each other. You know what I mean? One side creates a play, the other side feeds off of it and capitalizes. And you build momentum in the game. And you take the air out of people. Man, it's hard because, you know, that momentum can swing back. We call it sudden change. Okay? They get a turnover. If they stop you, all of a sudden the momentum goes back to them. Hey, we withstood that. So now we got momentum. Let's go back this way.
Games are, like, how funny. When you're kids like that, things like that happen. And that's why I think the only thing defensively there was a couple times, after we scored, we needed to get it, because we gave up a couple of drives there where we got to get stopped and with that we can really play completely.
Q. Number 85 (Jalen Wydermyer), how much does having him on the field open your playbook?
COACH FISHER: Oh, it does tremendously because of his size, his range, the runs you can call and the passes, because this guy can get vertical and catch the ball down the field. He's athletic. He's learning to become a better blocker. In high school, he was more of a receiver than he was a blocker, but he's really learning to become a better blocker and play in there. He's big. He's strong. And when you have that body type, man, it makes a big difference. Can't wait to get Baylor [Cupp] back, too. It'll be good.
Q. You mentioned the personal fouls. In the first half, when [Kellen] Mond made that long run down, took the big hits, you had the personnel that backed you up. We talked about in the past about kind of overcoming adversity and those little things. How important in momentum shifting was coming back on that next play to get the touchdown?
COACH FISHER: It probably saved one of them lives because I would have been so mad. (Laughter.)
No, it was huge. But it just shows you, you know, we say, "Go play the next play." And I chewed the guy's butt out, and we got that fixed. But at the same time, learning -- "All right. Put that behind you. Go to the next play, and hit that." That's huge. It is. And that's part of growing as a team and not letting that one play affect the next two or three plays.
Q. 8 of 11 on third down. How big was moving the sticks and maintaining that momentum?
COACH FISHER: Really good. And the other thing is, when you don't have penalties and you don't have negative plays and sacks, you're in makeable third-down situations. And that's what we were in. We had makeable third-down situations. And a lot of our third-down success became because we were successful on first down. Even if it was a two- or three-yard gain, then hit another three- or four-yard gain. Then you're 3rd and two, 3rd and three. It's a lot more manageable.
So everybody talks about third down. But when your first-down efficiencies are really well, it usually makes your third-down efficiencies go up, too. But that was huge. That third down, it was something we worked on this week and wanted to make sure we were in the right situations.
Q. What about the explosive plays? You kind of alluded to it, but just how big was that [Jalen] Wydermyer yards after catch, Kendrick [Rogers] yards after catch, Jhamon Ausbon corner route touchdowns? Just kind of got some explosive plays today.
COACH FISHER: Let me tell you something. If you don't get explosive plays, it's hard to score points. You can move the ball, but you don't score points. I say this all the time. Turnovers and explosive plays are as big a factor in winning and losing games now as it's ever been because of the way the game is played, the openness at which the game is played. When you can create those big plays which create points, you don't have to have those 12-play drives that you execute perfectly.
I like those two-play drives that make a guy miss and run over somebody and then go score. You know what I'm saying? But you got to have them. And, God, we had them today. And that's why you saw the point total go up.
Q. Can you address the balance developing in the passing game. And is that dealing with [Kellen] Mond, or is that the calls that you are making?
COACH FISHER: Well, I think we're trying to do that. We're trying to distribute the ball. But we give him a lot of freedom. He has the ability to distribute the ball based on the coverage or the leverage of how we go into a game plan. We may call it to him and the coverage not be right; we're working over here. I mean, he has the ability to do that. And he's really understanding how in his leverages, his matchups. And he keeps growing as a quarterback. And that's the way we call the game.
Q. Just expanding on the O-line and no sacks today on Kellen [Mond] and over 200 yards rushing.
COACH FISHER: You're exactly right. Like I say, not many negative plays. And the short yardages were really good. We were good in short yardage and red zone. Being able to run the ball inside the 5-yard line, which was big. And our offensive line just keeps getting better and better each week.
Q. Before the TD from Kellen [Mond] to Kendrick Rogers, they had -- you had three guys converge on one play -- [Leon] O'Neal, [Cordarrian] Richardson, and [Debione] Renfro -- a strip, a caused fumble, and a recovery. Emotionally, what does that do for your offense?
COACH FISHER: It's huge because they give us that opportunity, and you get right back on there. And that's why I say you learn to feed off each other. That's what sports is about and you grow from it. And we're learning to capitalize on that. But those turnovers on defense today were huge, man. Those turnovers on defense today were huge, and they created opportunities.
And like you said, we capitalized. That's what I'm talking about. When you're playing, the offense and the defense, everybody break off. No. everybody has got to play together and you feed off each other. That's the way good teams do, and that was very big with our defense.
Q. You talked a little bit about Jalen [Wydermyer] and the way he's grown over the season. But just in terms of what he means for your offense and what he means for what you're trying to do with his offense as a program, how important is that position as a whole?
COACH FISHER: It's huge, because it allows you the body -- when you have a skill guy that can get vertical and score touchdowns that can also sit there and block a 290-pound end or run block and do things, it puts people -- and then how they got to play them on defense. Am I going to put big guys in when we want to run the football or they got to put skill guys in when we want to throw it. And you can pick and -- you know, when they put little guys, you can run it. When they put big guys in, you can take advantage of it.
Look at the NFL. You talk about all those receivers, you've got to have dynamic. But the biggest mismatched guys, the great teams in the NFL all have dynamic tight ends. The Patriots and [Travis] Kelce and all those guys, all those guys that have the guys that can block, run, and that body type, man, that makes it fun and creates matchup problems.
Q. At times this year, it's been hard for your defensive line to get to the quarterback at different times. But, today, just overall, your thoughts of your guys getting in the backfield.
COACH FISHER: I thought they got more pressure. I thought they affected throws, not only with sacks, but hands, batted balls, containing, not letting the guy out scramble. Now, quarterback runs are different. But in the pass game, sometimes their guy, you had to be very careful. If you rushed him too hard and got wide, he was so athletic he could upend us. I thought we did a much better job in our contain lanes and, like I say, collapsing the walls back inside, and they did a better job pressuring him.
Q. You mentioned Baylor Cupp. Is there a timetable on him?
COACH FISHER: No, it will be next year. I was just saying those guys like that, those big bodies like that, man.
Q. Sure. Just confirming. And then, Devin Morris, how about the local guy in terms of development?
COACH FISHER: I'm going to tell you what now. That's one of the best picks. I'm going to see it again on film. But when I caught it, I kind of a half glimpsed. I had to call a play the next play, but that was a heck of a play, I mean. And great to see him go out there. He hasn't had a lot of opportunities, but gets his opportunity, keeps working in practice, just like Chatt (Clifford Chattman) has, and all those guys, the guys in the secondary that have kept working and working and now they're making plays. That was a huge play by Devin. I told him so in the locker room. that was a big momentum swing.
Q. You had the third down dime package where you bring in some of those young guys like [Devin] Morris and Andre White and [Aaron] Hansford. How impressive have those guys been over the last two weeks? I know Morris had a sack and a tackle for loss last week, too.
COACH FISHER: He did. Keep growing your depth and guys that can play and get in there and do the things they have to do. You got to use all your bodies because, listen, this time of year, guys get banged, bruised. You can take those other guys out and give them a little rest so they can do their role a little bit better. It's huge building the depth.
Q. Kendrick [Rogers] had the touchdown last week and found the end zone again today, Coach. Is he just kind of being healthy, getting better? What are you seeing from Kendrick?
COACH FISHER: Mars, Pluto, Saturn and Venus are all lined up. We've been getting him in the mix. He's getting healthy. He's getting the practice time. Some of these guys are playing a lot and, you know, you don't get practice time. And it's hard -- it's hard as a coach to game plan around a guy. He's going to be in the game, but what can he really do? How well does he run that route? If you do a specialty route, how many times has he ran it? The timing with the quarterback, all those things that matter. Getting him on the practice field. He and Q (Quartney Davis) are getting on the practice field more and more. Q was banged up at times, off and on at times. It makes a big difference. With his big body, he can do some things.
Kendrick Rogers
"...when I got the ball, I was like 'I'm scoring no matter what!'"@KJ_13_ | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/nfusffHUKO
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 26, 2019
Jayden Peevy
"...we all grind every day in practice to make this stuff happen..."@JAYDENPEEVY | #GigEm pic.twitter.com/dDYcu0HqBR
— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) October 26, 2019
Jhamon Ausbon
Q. You've talked a lot recently about playing complementary football. Did you feel like you saw a lot of that offense and defense today, especially after turnovers, capitalizing on them?
JHAMON AUSBON: Yeah, we did a great job today, like you said, feeding off each other, defense making the big play, offense coming back scoring, completing the drives scoring in the red zone, did a good job of that. That was a big emphasis of what we tried to do this week in practice.
Q. That's three straight losses to those guys before today. How nice was it to go out there and turn the tables on them?
JHAMON AUSBON: It was nice. I mean, just anybody coming in your home stadium and the fact we hadn't beaten them made it even better. But just anybody, any conference game coming in to Kyle Field, we take pride in that and just try to come in here and not take a loss at home and take some pride in that.
Q. You've been talking about this offense feeling like they were almost getting ready to go over the hump, kind of across the hill. Did you have a sense that, today, you guys were going to break out and have a six-touchdown, seven-touchdown game like that?
JHAMON AUSBON: Yeah, like, I didn't know when it was going to come, but we had a great week of practice. You saw in the practice, we showed good signs of starting fast in practice and not having those lulls and not having those drafts in practice. So I feel like it turned out well in the game. It translated and made the right -- we got over that hump well. So, yeah, we made the right in the right rows. So we're looking to do good in the future now.
Q. Your first touchdown came right after Kellen [Mond] ran the ball, took that big hit. There was some kind of pushing and shoving. What do you remember about the lead-up to that play, and how important was it to get a score after y'all faced a little adversity like that compared to maybe some weeks past?
JHAMON AUSBON: Yeah, Kellen went down and got hit. Somebody grabbed his shoe or whatever. And we all kind of stepped up for him and just had his back. It was good to take that -- even though we got a flag, taking the score and putting it in the end zone for Kellen and just show him we're there for him and just help him out.
Q. How well do you think the offensive line played when you consider you ran for over 200 and, in this game, did not allow a sack either?
JHAMON AUSBON: They played really good. And there's some guys like Colton Prater that's banged up and playing through injuries. Those guys deserve a lot of credit. But, like I said, this week in practice was a great week. They were very focused and very locked in to what they had to do in their assignment. So it just showed in the game.
Q. We ask you every week about more explosive plays. We can't ask you about them today because you finally got them, yards after catch and down-the-field throws. What was different, and how nice was it to have some of those today?
JHAMON AUSBON: It was very nice, very nice to have it. It was very nice to see that your practice is paying off and you're correcting mistakes, film study and all that is paying off. Those are our base plays. We just executed them well because it was slowed down on the field for us. So I think that we just took it for what it was and executed well on the field when it came time to.
Q. I was wondering, when you talk about complementary plays, you obviously you did that well today.
JHAMON AUSBON: Yes, ma'am.
Q. Can you really practice that during the week? And if you do, how do you practice that?
JHAMON AUSBON: Well, you can't really practice that, but you can practice not having those drifts in practice. We had break periods where we take breaks and drink water. So I think, when we come back off those, it's kind of hard to keep that energy going. But we took a big emphasis this week in just keeping the energy level up and just staying focused. And I think that translated over to when we got back on the field in the game, and we just took advantage of the opportunity.
Q. I know everybody appreciates you having Kellen's [Mond] back, but is there a way to do that and not get personal fouls?
JHAMON AUSBON: For sure.
Q. Because, certainly, that has hurt you guys in the past. Luckily, it didn't hurt you today too bad.
JHAMON AUSBON: For sure. Yeah, you never want to have self-inflicted wounds. And Coach [Jimbo Fisher] talked about it. We're having his back, but when the guy walks off with his shoes, just let him have that, get the penalty for that ignorant play, and just kind of stay focused on the task. Yeah, you're right, though.
Q. Is that as good as y'all can play offensively?
JHAMON AUSBON: We played well. We learned from our mistakes in the past, from feeding off each other and executing those base plays that Coach [Fisher] calls for us. But, best we can play, I don't know yet. But definitely took a step forward in the right direction, though.
Keldrick Carper
Q. How would you kind of categorize this game defensively when you gave up a bunch of big plays, but you also had three turnovers?
KELDRICK CARPER: It's hard to look at it because, of course, you had the three turnovers that were big in those moments, but we let too many stuff get by us. We could have controlled that game more than we did. This shouldn't have got to the point where it was, to where they still had confidence at the end. So we just got to continue to work on sustaining success, you know, just being -- dealing with success is, I guess, the new norm, not getting complacent on the sideline and everything like that, then letting that translate to big plays. So, yes, the three turnovers were great, but we got a lot of work we got to do.
Q. How did it feel to be back and on the field? Two, really, how big was that interception by Devin Morris? You seemed to rip it out of the guy's hands.
KELDRICK CARPER: Yes. First of all, it feels great to be back. When you look on the sideline and you're watching your teammates play and everything like that, and then you get a chance to fill it up again, you really appreciate the opportunities you get to really be out there and play amongst a great fan base of a great University, in which your brothers are your teammates. So that was great to get to do that. I had to reflect on that.
Second, Devin Morris, great, great guy off the field. And he works his butt off. On that play, he saw it. The guy ran an underroute, and he was able to get his hands underneath the ball. He was kind of behind, so he was able to make a play on it. And he just didn't quit on it. He felt like the ball was loose, and he was able to get it out. That was a massive play. You know, they had a chance to potentially get something right there and, you know, maybe even 3 points. But we make a turnover, and then I believe our offense was able to drive and get a score. So plays like that, on third down especially, where we can get off the field, create a turnover, that's very big. He made a big play right there.
Q. Speaking of Devin [Morris], y'all have that third down dime package. How long have y'all been using that so regularly on third down? And what do you feel like that unit, that package, kind of brings to the defense?
KELDRICK CARPER: Coach [Mike] Elko does a great job of creating so many different packages for different schemes and sets that we want to run our defense against. So there's -- we got a dime package. We got a bunch of different packages that we like to go with. But the dime package has been there since the beginning of the season. This is all about personnel and what Coach Elko and the staff sees as a potential matchup that's good for us on our end and stuff we can throw at the offense to throw them off a little bit and have success. So, yeah, that -- when I see the dime package for third down, we know we're trying to get something done.
Q. You mentioned ripping the ball out in the case of Devin [Morris]. But in the case of the two fumbles, same thing. Was that something you were emphasizing in practice this week?
KELDRICK CARPER: Absolutely. For the majority of the season, especially early on, we had some interceptions but we weren't getting our hands on the football and creating strips. And we worked on that throughout the week. We worked on just ripping the ball out a lot more. And that's the technique, we call it, stuff like that. So I believe it was Demani [Richardson], the first one, and then Myles [Jones], the second one, who got their hands on the football. We did a great job. And then Dev [Morris], he was able to get his hands and get on the ball and secure it. And then, me, I was able to get on the second time. So, yeah, we definitely emphasized just trying to create turnovers any way possible. And at that moment, that was the opportunity we were able to take advantage of.
Kellen Mond
Q. You were 17 of 23 over 300 yards total offense and five touchdowns. And the O-line, I thought, did a really good job protecting you. Can you take us through their role and your productive day.
KELLEN MOND: Yeah, I thought the offensive line was really good tonight. One, I think the scout team gave us a really good look in practice. And just being able to get the ball into my hands pretty quick and the receivers able to make plays. So just kind of a whole offensive effort. Jalen [Wydermyer] was able to make a big play, Isaiah [Spiller]. So seeing those freshman grow from where they started and to now is pretty remarkable.
Q. Take me back through -- when you made that long run around the outside and set up the 19-yard touchdown pass to [Jhamon] Ausbon there, you got hit pretty hard. I think someone took your shoe. What happened in that little course of action there and how important was it to, A, see your teammates stand up for you and, B, be able to strike back right after getting that personal foul, and was that a momentum shifter?
KELLEN MOND: Yeah, so I had a long run down and couldn't real cut back. So he ended up getting a good hit on me and my shoe ended up coming off. And that defensive player who hit me grabbed my shoe and just started running with it. And my center, [Colton] Prater just went up and took the shoe from him. He might have bumped him a little bit, but then he flopped. So just caught a personal foul on our side. But no matter where we are on the field, we always believe we can score. And we ended up scoring the next play. And Jhamon ran a really good route and got open in the boundary.
Q. This was your first career three-touchdown passing, two-touchdown running game. Seemed like you were in command of the offense the whole game. Was there any point when you just felt like you were more comfortable today than you had been previously?
KELLEN MOND: I always feel pretty comfortable. But I feel like we were able to move it in the running game a lot. Isaiah [Spiller] was running really hard, especially in the first half. And we were able to stretch it wide and we are getting good blocks on the edge. Just being able to switch it up.
And I thought Coach did a really good job making sure our play calls sometimes the same play with different formations to disguise stuff. So I thought, one, definitely really good play calling tonight.
Q. What did you think of the touchdown by Kendrick Rogers and the way he was able to get away from all the defenders to get in?
KELLEN MOND: He made a really big play. I guess I'll tell you. He really ran -- he made a mistake on that play (laughter).
He made a big play and he made up for that mistake. So that's the type of Kendrick that we're used to seeing and him battling a lot of injuries and stuff and him being able to make plays two back-to-back weeks. One last week on a fade route against Ole Miss and then now being able to make a big play like that is -- starting to see that shift in his confidence getting a little bit better. So really excited about him.
Q. This wasn't my original question, but what was the mistake?
KELLEN MOND: So they brought a certain blitz. So we had Ainias [Smith] and Kendrick [Rogers]. Kendrick was supposed to run a fade route. Instead he ran his normal route because it was a blitz adjustment, and he ended up running the wrong -- Ainias ran the right route, and Kendrick ended up just making up for it.
Q. Anything last week or through practice or anything that would have made you sense that y'all are on the verge of having such a breakout game? And is this y'all's -- as good as y'all can play offensively?
KELLEN MOND: I don't think so. We still -- we didn't score every single drive. I had about three running routes that I missed today. So, obviously, we can still get better as an offense.
But it was really good. Starts with practice. In the past three, four weeks, I would say, we've taken a leap in practice in being more demanding and wanting to be great in practice. So just being able to start from that and go on to the games, it's really good for us. And we're looking forward to continuing that.
Q. Can you talk about -- it just seems like there were a lot of players that put forth a lot of extra effort to try to get an extra yard or get in the end zone. It just seemed like you guys were a team that was not going to be denied today.
KELLEN MOND: That's something that Coach [Fisher] emphasizes. It takes all 11 guys. And certain weeks if one guy messes up, it can cause a whole play to be disastrous or even be a negative play.
As a whole, as an offense today, I thought we were really prepared and I feel like really confident in our game plan. And we went out and executed really well.
Q. 8 of 11 on third downs. How big were those money downs in extending the drives? You guys a couple of conversions on multiple drives.
KELLEN MOND: It was a really big thing. I go back to in practice every day we have a third-down period. So just kind of talk about that scout team is such a big thing for us. And they're able to give us some really good looks. And, also, being able to get open was a really big thing. And Jhamon [Ausbon] and the receivers were able to do a really good job and create a little bit of separation and make big-time catches for us.
A lot of it goes to us staying ahead of the change, making it third and short sometimes also. So definitely a big-time thing for us being 8 for 11.
Q. After hard hits, you hardly ever look like you are fazed at all. Do you react that way on purpose or try to play it that way or what?
KELLEN MOND: I mean, it's part of the game. I've been doing it all my life. So hard hits, you just got to get back up and continue to play.
Q. You talked about the luxury of going to a number of receivers. It seems like you are starting to spread the wealth a little bit more as the season goes on.
KELLEN MOND: Like I said, it starts in practice. So we got a lot of versatile guys, in my opinion And being able to move those type of guys around, Jhamon [Ausbon] in the slot. And sometimes Quartney [Davis] or Kendrick [Rogers] are in the slot. And just being able to have those versatile receivers is a really big thing for us.
And we are starting to grow in practice and continue to make big-time plays and Coach is starting to get a little bit more confidence in those receivers each and every week. Just being able to spread it around is a really big thing going forward.
Q. Early in the season, you guys struggled at times to get touchdowns in the red zone. Tonight not the case, 6-6 on touchdowns. What clicked that helped you guys capitalize when you got down in the scoring area?
KELLEN MOND: Just being disciplined. And a lot of times it wasn't on the first play, something we had to grind for. But the offensive line, it started with them and being able to get a big push. And also, you know, on those passing touchdowns, being able to protect. So offensive line did a really good job in that red zone. Definitely hats off to them.
Buddy Johnson
Q. This is the first sweep over the Mississippi schools in six years. How nice is it to kind of get that monkey off your back moving forward with two straight wins?
BUDDY JOHNSON: That was pretty nice for us to get that win. We knew coming in this game it was going to be a big dog fight. They were going to come out and play their best and give all they got. So just knew we had to stay on our toes and keep playing.
This was a big game for us. I think guys stepped up and made a lot of plays. We looked ourselves in the mirror and knew this was a game we had to win.
Q. You guys obviously game up some big plays and yards. Three turnovers on the day. How big of an emphasis was that in practice? And how nice is it to get three take-aways?
BUDDY JOHNSON: Every practice we have a turnover drill. So no matter what it is, if it's scoop and score, if it's interceptions, no matter what it is, we have a turnover drill. I think that's big on us because you know what you learn in practice, it relates back to the game. I think Coach [Mike] Elko does a great job preparing us for the game, and we were just ready for them.
Q. Third down, you rolled out that other unit, that dime unit or whatever the package is. What have you seen from those young guys? It seems like the last two weeks they have really stepped it up and made some big plays especially a guy like Devin Morris.
BUDDY JOHNSON: Coming into this game, that was one of the key things this game, was win on third down. I think we were 4 for 11. I ain't no math major, but I think that's like maybe 36%. I think guys stepped up and made a lot of plays. The play Devin [Morris] made was outstanding. Devin has just been climbing and climbing and climbing and climbing. He keeps getting better, and I'm proud of him. He's just got to keep working.
And third down, you get off the field. We get the offense back the ball. That is big momentum for our team.
Q. Can you talk about the fact that you guys gave the offense the ball back after turnovers and then they were able to take the ball and put the ball in the end zone and basically make Mississippi State pay for the mistake that they made. Can you just talk about how big that is for your team.
BUDDY JOHNSON: That's very big for our team because Coach [Jimbo] Fisher always talked to us about putting pressure on the other team. I think that's something we did today. We put a lot of pressure on them because when they made mistakes, we were able to capitalize from them. That was big for our team, and we just got to continue to do that.
Q. How would you evaluate the overall play of the defense today in your opinion?
BUDDY JOHNSON: I mean, they had a lot of yards and we had very high expectations for our defense and how we do things and our standards. But I think a lot of it was, like, you know, a lot of misfits, things that we can get corrected or making tackles, things like that. A lot of the plays they made, they were big plays, explosive plays. I always talk about eliminating explosive plays. So I think as a whole, we did just okay. But we have to do better if we want to be a championship-caliber team.
Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State Head Coach
Opening Statement…
"We knew going into the game that we would be decimated by injury and have a bunch of young guys and a bunch of replacements in there having to play a significant and pivotal role. At the end of the day we didn't get things done. It comes back to the same thing we talk about all the time, not the ability but the consistency, explosive plays and turnovers. You're not going to beat a team like that on the road giving up explosive plays defensively. I thought we did a nice job on offense and then turning it over three times giving them extra possessions. There's no excuses, there's reasons and we have to find a way to get this thing to the point where we are playing clean, consistent football and giving ourselves an opportunity to win a game."
On Running Back Kylin Hill…
"I thought he was running with more physicality and pad level. We talk about his success running it, or lack of success running it, I think we played a pretty physical game up front and the guys did a good job about that throughout the course of the week and I thought he was seeing it well. He ran hard and the guys blocked well up front."
On the Energy and Effort of the Team…
"I think we played hard, I don't think we looked lethargic at all. I thought the kids came out of the locker room excited, I thought we competed. There's a difference between effort and execution. I thought the effort was there and I thought the kids played hard but you look back and it's a game of precision not a game of effort."
Jaquarius Landrews, Mississippi State Defensive Back
Regarding the mood in the locker room postgame…
"Everybody was down, tired of losing but we came through and just move on to the next one. That's all we can do."
On the assessment of younger players getting play time in today's game…
"It was pretty tough. We had to communicate a lot more because so they can know exactly what to do but it was great communication after that but we just gave up a lot of more explosive plays than we expect so we have to teach them to learn from there mistakes and just keep pushing forward."
Garrett Shrader, Mississippi State Quarterback
On the struggles of the passing game…
"Coming in the game we had a plan that we were going to throw the ball a lot, primarily to get the game going, eventually get the run game going. They had some blitz packages that we hadn't seen."
On not thinking about four losses in a row…
"I don't really worry about that; I take it one game at a time. If I don't do that then I won't have success which won't allow our team to have success on offense. That's his message always for me and that's what he tells me to take it one play at a time."
