Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Postgame: A&M 30, South Carolina 6
Nov 16, 2019 | Football
Postgame quotes and press conference video following the Aggies' win over South Carolina are below.
QUESTIONS FOR COACH JIMBO FISHER
COACH JIMBO FISHER: I thought that was a very physical football game. I thought the game was truly won in the trenches. South Carolina was a very physical, tough football team. They had a lot of big hits. but I think the key in that game was our defense played outstanding. I think our front did a heck of a job, held them to 45 yards rushing, which limited them to being one dimensional. And I thought that allowed our players to tee off and play and do the things and win those first down battles, getting them to second and long, third and long. Allowed us to execute. I thought our defense was outstanding in the night.
Offense, we had 549 yards, ran for 319, threw for 220, but still didn't play close to what we could play and how we could play. I was disappointed coming out the second half with the time out for misalignments. Couple things there, our guys didn't focus on some things. Had a penalty right off the bat, and we went out and got a drive right before half to make it 13 3 and a two score lead. And then we got to come out and make it a three. And very disappointed in that for three or four drives.
The third quarter didn't play well. Our defense held them to 22 yards total offense
And then, the fourth quarter, we got going. But, again, another sign of our offense growing, putting things behind them. We lined up and ran that football. Had two backs over 125 yards in the game. When we had to run it, big runs, big plays. Kellen [Mond] did a good job managing the game, getting us in the right checks, doing the right things again, being selfless. And he took some shots took too many shots in the game. We got to clean some pass blocking up to allow some of that to get better.
But I thought our special teams for the most part, [Braden] Mann shanked one punt. Other than that, we had the last kick off return, which was disappointing that they broke out of there. But, for the most part then we missed the field goal, which was very critical in the game. So there's still a lot of things here that we can play a lot better, and we're going to need to with the next two games coming up. We got to go on the road and play a great Georgia team, and we got to go play LSU. So we got a lot of work to do. Our team is getting better at staying more physical. We're getting better at the line of scrimmage. We just got to clean up some technical things, and we'll see where we go from there.
Q. Every single game against a Power Five team, your run performance has been able to build upon what it did in the previous game, every single. What do you think this run game is capable of here down the stretch?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Well, we'll find out. We're going to have some great opponents to do it against. Some guys are playing the run very well, and we're going to have to have that. You can't have your quarterback make every play. And you got to be able to respect the run so you can get the plays and the passes and then take some pressure off of them, which we were able to do tonight at times. But, hopefully, we'll keep growing in that area.
Q. The way y'all run the football, was that kind of the game plan coming in, try to establish that run and maybe take advantage of something that they weren't doing or was it about y'all having some trouble early protecting, things like that?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: No, we had some protection. But we had some run pass options, RPOs, a lot of things. We hit some nice plays to the tight end, and then they had to start respecting those things, the balls we were getting to the flat, to the tight ends, and to the backs and some of that stuff. So it opened things up inside, and we were able to keep a good mix.
And Kellen [Mond] was checking us and getting us in the right things. He does a great job of understanding the big game plan. He's growing mentally as a football player really well. But you have to be physical. We want them to be physical. Because if you allow their front to be one dimensional, they're too good. They were going to hit you. And you saw it tonight. They brought some pass rush at times.
Q. How valuable is it for you to have two running backs that can do what they were able to do tonight?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Big time. How they overload a side, you've got to be able to check and get back out of it. Like I said, the old school, people say you get two backs in the backfield. That's the thing that people don't get to practice. In the old days, you used to be in the spread offensive. Boy, how do you simulate that when teams start bringing it out? It's different. How do teams simulate two backs? They don't do it. All of the spread teams, they got to practice. It's a whole different animal, taking those blocks and angles and things on there. That's allowed us to be a better football team.
Q. Your defense was only able to get one sack tonight, but I don't think that would be necessarily reflective of
COACH JIMBO FISHER: No.
Q. how well you guys were able to get to the quarterback. Just your overall thoughts on your defensive line being
COACH JIMBO FISHER: I thought they were outstanding in the run, goes to 45 yards. And affected the quarterback. They made throws come out early, they made balls come out early, and got hits, legal hits, after the play. That's what I thought played very intelligently, didn't take cheap shots, didn't have bad penalties.
Like I say, toughness is intelligence is the key. Now, if you don't have intelligence with being tough, it doesn't work for you. Our guys are learning to do that and play more disciplined football.
Q. You were able to get points on all your red zone appearances
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Yeah. No touchdowns.
Q. No touchdowns. What was going wrong there?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: We had some execution issues. We missed a throw. What happened the first time down there? I'm trying I remember, the second time, we overthrew Ainias [Smith] on a route to the sideline. We misread and thought he was going up. But he broke it off, and he was right. And we missed that one. We had a pushoff, did we? Wasn't it a pushoff, when we had the ball on the 1?
(Laughter.)
Everybody is out here chicken fighting and everybody is having a war, and all of a sudden they're going to call all that. Them guys are mugging you and holding you the way they let you hold in college football, which is ridiculous, and never mind. It is what it is.
On that one and then it's fun. Who cares? I said it good. I let it go. I let it go, and the other. But we got to get better. What's funny, we've beat them 11 for 11 the last two games. But then we got them at the end. We got them down there and got the one in, and pounded it in. But we'll get better at it and work at it. Because they were a good team. They were a man long. I told you, defense, they were long in the secondary, had a good front. And they're tough down there.
Q. How important was it for your team to take care of business in the stretch at home considering what you have looming?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Big. And it shows you the maturity we had. Like I say, these games, you know, you have a chance to do it and do it in your home field. And it's big to play. I want to do it here for 12th Man, too. There's not an atmosphere and environment like this in college football, and what a fan base.
Q. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the emergence of Cordarrian [Richardson]. He's gone from basically getting no time a month ago to 130 tonight.
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Well, he decided he wanted to do things right. When they decide they want to do things right, we play them. Until then, we don't. And I don't mean that in a bad way. he's a good player. I love him. But there's so many little things before you put a guy in the game. That guy controls a lot. He is a very talented guy. He's big. He's 240 pounds. He's physical. Those guys, they're hard to tackle. He's learning to be a great blocker and do some things, and he's a big weapon for us. There's no doubt. And I'm very happy he's playing like he's playing.
Q. Another guy that's been in and out of it, up and down throughout most of his career, but [Charles] Oliver keeps getting opportunities. Now, you'd probably rather him pick a couple of those balls off, but I don't know if I've ever seen six PBUs in one game.
COACH JIMBO FISHER: You say that. As I was at the end of the game, I said, dadgum, he's in a lot of plays tonight, batting balls. He needed to be here when Lester [Hayes] was here. He needed to battle Lester Hayes days. Put what Lester had on there, he might have gotten something, 14 picks like Lester did with the Raiders. That would have been good.
Q. Just kind of going off that, where do you like where the momentum is with the team headed into these last couple games?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Here's what I like the most: We're practicing better on the practice field. We ain't having the mistakes. Practices are getting over because we're not having repeats. They're coming ready to practice, being physical in practice, being more consistent. And it's showing up on the field.
We had a few extra penalties tonight, which was very disappointing I thought we had too many but we hadn't had them in practice, our alignments, taking care of the football. We had the one turnover at the end, which was unfortunate. But we're learning to take care.
Our practice and preparation is getting so much better. And I think now they're starting to see cause and effect. Young people don't always understand cause and effect. Because I do this, this is what happens. They want to blame everything in the world over listen, you control what happens to you. How you prepare, how you play, and what you do gets you the results by the choices you make. And I think they're starting to buy into that and understand it truly.
Q. Could you just talk about Isaiah Spiller's performance tonight and just what he contributes to the team.
COACH JIMBO FISHER: A young guy who's, again, another 100 yard performance for a true freshman. I still think there's a lot of things he can get better on. He's still got to get better blocking and some things and, like I say, keep being physical inside. But he's a natural runner, he's big, he's very deceiving. What did he have? 124 carries tonight, too. That's getting a load and carrying it for 129 yards and his long run of 20.
See, that tells me something. It tells me he's getting tougher, learning to take that pounding, learning that's what you do against good defense. And when you go play these good teams like we're fixing to go play on the road right now, all these 80 , 90 yard runs, that's all great. That ain't happening against them good people. You got to pound, pound. And those will come in time if you can wear and tear on them. And he's learning that. And that's what kind of back he can be.
Q. On [Cordarrian] Richardson's 17 yard touchdown catch, he was wide open over there. Do you hold your breath a little bit on that kind of play because it just seems
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Heck, no. I was excited. I don't ever get them that open. That was something we had on a bingo play. That was a completely different formation. We had a lot of runs out of that and really nice play and execution by all of them.
QUESTIONS FOR BUDDY JOHNSON, ANTHONY HINES III, KELLEN MOND, COLTON PRATER
Q. Buddy, you guys held to 45 rushing yards. 10 of that was by the punter. Can you take us through the outlook tonight and how you guys were able to shut down the run?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: Coach Fisher, before the game started, Coach Fisher asked us to dominate the line of scrimmage. I think the defense and the guys up front, the D-line they stepped up tonight big and they dominated the line of scrimmage. And we had -- our backers, we stayed nice and safeties came down here and corners and everything, so everything was right in place.
Q. Gabe took my question, but I was going to ask ***Oz about [Ryan] Hilinski. He was 16-41 tonight. You guys hit him an awful lot. Did you feel like the pressure you were putting on him started to affect him as the game went on?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: Most definitely. I think the more pressure we put him under, the more, you know, it was hard on him. Coach Elko always have a great game plan for us, and his game plan was just a great ***game, like always. We just stepped up to the plate and made -- we just executed.
Q. Buddy, can you just kind of talk about how this prepares you for hitting the road for the next two, especially next week going to Athens to take on Georgia?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: This is huge for our team, this win. I think it's huge for our defense as well. It's a big momentum for us. We're fixing to go on the road and play a great team, so we're going to have to execute like we did today. We're going to have to have a great week of practice, like we did last week. I think this is a learning curve for us because Coach Fisher told us we had a great week of practice. So if we can continue to practice how we're practicing, then good things will happen for us.
Q. You guys did a good job of holding them on third down. What did you guys do mentally to kind of keep them off the field?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: We locked in and executed, you know, executed the game plan. We had guys step up in big roles tonight and make plays. That's what it's all about. I think we kept the quarterback contained and, you know, made him make the throws, and our DB just stepped up and was making great plays.
Q. Two guys I want to ask you about, if you could speak on both of them. Anthony Hines continued to emerge here of late. He had two and a half tackles for a loss. And then [Charles] Oliver was in on a ton of plays. He had six pass break-ups. If you could discuss both of those.
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: Anthony Hines, this year he's coming back from his injury and he's slowly coming back to, you know, what he used to be. I just love playing next to him. He's tough. He's a tough guy. And, you know, he knows his assignments and he's a switcher. He's fast getting to the ball. And I think he's just getting back comfortable, you know, getting back into his game. He's just got to keep improving, and I think Chuck Oliver, he's making plays. He's stepping up big-time. He's stepping up big-time, making plays for us, and he's honing in on everything. He's doing what he has to do and he just has to continue doing that.
Q. Kind of a two-parter Anthony. Individually your efforts with two and a half tackles per loss, limiting them to 35 rushing yards, 10 of their 45 was the punter.
LB ANTHONY HINES: This was a huge performance for us defensively. Just to be able to limit them to so many rushing yards and it comes down to we were -- we were (inaudible) in our assignments and true to our gaps and when there were plays to be made we made them.
Q. Anthony, how does a performance like this getting rad Defor next week's road game against a Georgia team that has a lot to play for and doesn't want to -- doesn't want to be spoiled?
LB ANTHONY HINES: It definitely gives us confidence. You know, not only the Quinn but just, you know, how well we played as a defense and as a team. You know, it really gives us confidence going into next week. And they're a good team and we're just going to have to get right back to it this upcoming week.
Q. Anthony, you guys have played well the last several weeks but late in the game, you know, Mississippi State came back and got some points. You really slammed the door tonight. Was there a little emphasis on making sure they did not get back in the game tonight?
LB ANTHONY HINES: Absolutely. We've been working on finishing games and that all starts in practice. This whole week and the week before we made sure we finished practices strong, and it's starting to show on the field on game time.
Q. Kellen [Mond] Kell, how much did the running game open things up for you. I know the second half it was tough. You moved the ball during the third quarter but seems like those big runs really opened things up?
QB KELLEN MOND: Yeah, C.J. and Isaiah [Spiller] did a really good job. A lot of those were check plays and we were able to get the right look, whether it was a check or not. The offensively line did a good job of blocking those up. Every week a full offensive effort blocking the receivers down field also so it's a big thing for them.
Q. How important was it for you guys to take care of business and win these games at home considering the games you have in the rest of the season?
QB KELLEN MOND: It was big. We don't want to look any games ahead, two games, one game ahead. We want to focus on what we have that week and we're able to close out at the 12th in Kyle Field and 12th man and get a big win in the SEC.
Q. What's been a key really of getting [Cordarrian] Richardson more and more involved in what you're doing on the ground?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think more trust. Every week it starts in practice. He's getting a little bit more confident. Coach is trusting him each and every week a little more and he sees the type of impact he can have on this offense. He's a real physical runner and could be versatile and both a run game and pass game. So I look for him to be, you know, more in the offense each and every week.
Q. On that 17-yard pass to him where he was that wide open where you had to float a ball over to him, he was that wide open, do you hold your breath a little bit to make sure he gets the catch and it end up in the end zone and all easy it seems?
QB KELLEN MOND: He was wide open. That wasn't the first time doing that. He caught that ball multiple times in practice. Maybe he didn't trust himself as much the way he fell down but he made a good catch.
Q. Do you razz him at all after that for kind of the awkward finish on his first receiving touchdown here?
QB KELLEN MOND: No, I just congratulate him.
Q. Kellen, it seemed like it took you guys three quarters to really get rolling. You had some decent stats but you just weren't able to convert those into, you know, touchdownss. You kicked three field goals or whatever. Was there anything that South Carolina was doing or was it kind of those -- you talk about those self-inflicted wounds that was keeping you from putting up the points to match the regards that you had?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think a little -- a combination of both. A lot of the times we were driving but just couldn't convert in the red zone or penalties, you know, kind of kept us out of the end zone. It was a mixture of everything. In the first quarter, pretty much a lot of-' sometimes in the first half I wasn't as clean or as perfect with my reads. Just something that everybody I feel like needs to clean up.
Q. Kellen, now you guys have taken care of business these last four games how do you like where the momentum is coming into the next two and the opportunity you have?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think the biggest thing is our confidence. We want to take it one game at a time. So we're 4-0 in these last four and mostly SEC play and, you know, getting ready for a number 4 in the country and number 1 in the country. Like I said, we're going to start with Georgia tomorrow and, you know, got to have a good week of practice.
Q. You mentioned the red zone. You got points but they were mostly field goals, not touchdowns. Do you feel like that needs to be a focus heading into these next couple of weeks into how to turn the field goals into touchdowns?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think that's always a focus and something we've been really good at the past couple of weeks. So something we need to clean up and we'll get it back on track.
Q. Was a big part of your success as time went on in the game the fact you look at the stats you held 41:39 so as time went on started leaning on it did you feel like that helped you open up those really big plays?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think so. When the defense is on the field that long in the fourth quarter you see it -- that wear and tear and we're able to kind of pound it and, you know, that's something that Coach Fisher always emphasizes. When you're up like that in the fourth quarter you have to have a run game and we were able to have a run game with, you know, what we had on the field so they did a really good job.
Q. Colton, what did it like to walk off of Kyle Field having run for 319 yards and a win?
C COLTON PRATER: Start off with the emotional question. It was awesome. It was very surreal. You know, I mean, I wanted to come out here last game on Kyle Field and get the win. But to get 300 yards on the ground is -- you know, that's awesome. Especially that last what was it like 80-yard touchdown run. I mean, I -- I expended the rest of my energy celebrating that one. That was -- it was a lot of fun. So I've had a really good time with these guys this year. 12th man has been awesome coming out to our games. I mean, it was -- it was very surreal moment. And I will certainly miss it.
Q. Talk about in the last five games y'all have increased your rushing output in each and every game. Talk about how your team has been able to increase the rushing yards, increase the rushing output in each game?
C COLTON PRATER: Well, I think we're getting a lot better. And I think that shows. we struggled a little bit at the beginning. Beginning of the year. But, you know, we've really started to mesh. You know, sometimes it's like that with an offensive line. You know, it's -- sometimes it's tough to get five guys plus a tight end all on the same page sometimes, you know? That's what's beautiful about football. It's not an individual sport. You have four guys be perfect and one guy not and it's not going to go anywhere. So I think we've really come together and meshed and the communication and coach Hinson has done a great job with us, you know, learning how -- what plays are best for us and what we do well. And you know what we don't do well and then getting better at those things. So I think that's what I've been most proud of this year, is that our group has every -- every week gotten better. So really proud of those guys.
Q. How big is the way you guys were able to run the football for you going into next week's ball game against Georgia?
C COLTON PRATER: It's huge. You know, South Carolina had a really good defensive front. Give them so much credit. Those guys really play hard and they're good. You know, they're up there the best that we've played this year. So being able to run the ball like that tonight, if anything it just gives us the confidence going into these next two weeks that we can -- you know, we can run with the best of them.
Q. Then to follow that up, just having a pair of backs go over 125 yards each, I think that's the first time you've had that this year. As an offensive line man you've got to be proud about how [Cordarrian] Richardson and [Isaiah] Spiller were able to eat up a lot of yards?
C COLTON PRATER: Absolutely. Isaiah [Spiller] has been excellent stepping up. I know from experience what it's like to play as a true freshman and the stage wasn't too big for him. He's really come on. He's done a great job for us. C.J. has been unbelievable the last few weeks. So I'm really proud how those guys have been working and they just never quit. I mean, at times it's been rough but they've never quit. They just keep chopping. So proud of those guys.
Q. That 17-yard touchdown pass to Cordarrian [Richardson] core early was an important . because first reps in touchdown. Do you kind of hold your breath when a guy is that open and floating over and secures it in and gets the points?
C COLTON PRATER: If I'm watching receivers wide open and catching balls it's probably not a good thing. I didn't see it. I didn't see it. I had number 3 in my face.
(Laughter.)
I was fighting for my life.
Q. Which you hold the ball for 49:31 as the time goes on clearly you have more and more success as time went on in the game. Did you start feeling the fatigue factor start settling in with the team you were blocking?
C COLTON PRATER: Yeah, sure. I think that's -- I think that's one thing that, you know, if you look over the last couple of years, that's one thing that this team has been good about is we always beat people down. You know, so when it comes down to these tough hard-fought games it's always them rolling over, not us. So, you know, yeah, I was -- there was a couple of times how long have we had the ball? This is crazy. And their defense was out there complaining about it. And they were feeling -- they were feeling it, too. So yeah, I mean, it was -- that's fun for an offensive line man to hold the ball that long. Just beat people down and put your wall on them. Love that.
Will Muschamp, South Carolina Head Coach
Opening Statement…
"It was a two-score game with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, we just can't get anything mustered up offensively. We lost some confidence and can't stay on the field on third down. They [Texas A&M] aren't a tempo team and they end up running 80 snaps. So, it's just frustrating. I'm frustrated for our kids. We need to do a better job for them, and obviously execute a little better. We just couldn't get anything going in the run game. We're having a hard time piecing anything together offensively. I thought our kids played hard and gave effort, but we just didn't play very well, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, late, we started to stunt and try to create negative plays, and when you do that, you're going to end up giving up plays like a 75-yard run. It was disappointing. The drive before that was all in the run game. You knew Jimbo [Fisher] was going to try to run the football, and we tried to stunt to create and make some plays, and we ended up giving up plays. So yeah, I'm disappointed. I'm extremely disappointed for our players."
On South Carolina's game plan offensively…
"I thought we had some good things in the run game, and we knew [Justin] Madubuike and those guys were going to be good up front. We've had trouble blocking them for the past two years. We knew that was going to be an issue, so we tried to create some things in the run game. We just keep having a hard time trying to create anything explosive and getting people off of us. So, that's very difficult right now."
On his team losing confidence towards the end of the game…
"Well, throughout the game you can feel it on the sideline. You get the frustration, and it's not just your offense, it's your football team. When you're not able to produce and put yourself in a position, then guys start trying to make plays instead of doing their job. That happens on both sides of the ball."
Ernest Jones, South Carolina Linebacker
On the mood of the locker room…
"Everybody is disappointed. We're sitting here at 4-7. There's no way you could have told us that earlier when we were sweating our butts off, and just working so hard. You couldn't have told us that we'd be sitting here at 4-7. But that's just the way life is going for us right now. I just had to tell them, 'We're family. People are going to try to bring us down and turn us against each other. They'll try to put blame on the offense, or say that the defense didn't do this all season, or the offense didn't do this all season.' But you got to block that noise out, and just keep playing. We've got one more game left with each other, and I'm ready for the next game. I'm not ready for the end, but that's just the way it's going right now."
Jaycee Horn, South Carolina Cornerback
On how tough it is on the defense to be on the field for so long…
"It had a big impact. We're playing a tough SEC opponent that's very big and physical. When you're on the field a lot, that's a lot of wear and tear on the players. Like I said, we've just got to do a better job of giving our offense better opportunities in the fourth quarter."
QUESTIONS FOR COACH JIMBO FISHER
COACH JIMBO FISHER: I thought that was a very physical football game. I thought the game was truly won in the trenches. South Carolina was a very physical, tough football team. They had a lot of big hits. but I think the key in that game was our defense played outstanding. I think our front did a heck of a job, held them to 45 yards rushing, which limited them to being one dimensional. And I thought that allowed our players to tee off and play and do the things and win those first down battles, getting them to second and long, third and long. Allowed us to execute. I thought our defense was outstanding in the night.
Offense, we had 549 yards, ran for 319, threw for 220, but still didn't play close to what we could play and how we could play. I was disappointed coming out the second half with the time out for misalignments. Couple things there, our guys didn't focus on some things. Had a penalty right off the bat, and we went out and got a drive right before half to make it 13 3 and a two score lead. And then we got to come out and make it a three. And very disappointed in that for three or four drives.
The third quarter didn't play well. Our defense held them to 22 yards total offense
And then, the fourth quarter, we got going. But, again, another sign of our offense growing, putting things behind them. We lined up and ran that football. Had two backs over 125 yards in the game. When we had to run it, big runs, big plays. Kellen [Mond] did a good job managing the game, getting us in the right checks, doing the right things again, being selfless. And he took some shots took too many shots in the game. We got to clean some pass blocking up to allow some of that to get better.
But I thought our special teams for the most part, [Braden] Mann shanked one punt. Other than that, we had the last kick off return, which was disappointing that they broke out of there. But, for the most part then we missed the field goal, which was very critical in the game. So there's still a lot of things here that we can play a lot better, and we're going to need to with the next two games coming up. We got to go on the road and play a great Georgia team, and we got to go play LSU. So we got a lot of work to do. Our team is getting better at staying more physical. We're getting better at the line of scrimmage. We just got to clean up some technical things, and we'll see where we go from there.
Q. Every single game against a Power Five team, your run performance has been able to build upon what it did in the previous game, every single. What do you think this run game is capable of here down the stretch?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Well, we'll find out. We're going to have some great opponents to do it against. Some guys are playing the run very well, and we're going to have to have that. You can't have your quarterback make every play. And you got to be able to respect the run so you can get the plays and the passes and then take some pressure off of them, which we were able to do tonight at times. But, hopefully, we'll keep growing in that area.
Q. The way y'all run the football, was that kind of the game plan coming in, try to establish that run and maybe take advantage of something that they weren't doing or was it about y'all having some trouble early protecting, things like that?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: No, we had some protection. But we had some run pass options, RPOs, a lot of things. We hit some nice plays to the tight end, and then they had to start respecting those things, the balls we were getting to the flat, to the tight ends, and to the backs and some of that stuff. So it opened things up inside, and we were able to keep a good mix.
And Kellen [Mond] was checking us and getting us in the right things. He does a great job of understanding the big game plan. He's growing mentally as a football player really well. But you have to be physical. We want them to be physical. Because if you allow their front to be one dimensional, they're too good. They were going to hit you. And you saw it tonight. They brought some pass rush at times.
Q. How valuable is it for you to have two running backs that can do what they were able to do tonight?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Big time. How they overload a side, you've got to be able to check and get back out of it. Like I said, the old school, people say you get two backs in the backfield. That's the thing that people don't get to practice. In the old days, you used to be in the spread offensive. Boy, how do you simulate that when teams start bringing it out? It's different. How do teams simulate two backs? They don't do it. All of the spread teams, they got to practice. It's a whole different animal, taking those blocks and angles and things on there. That's allowed us to be a better football team.
Q. Your defense was only able to get one sack tonight, but I don't think that would be necessarily reflective of
COACH JIMBO FISHER: No.
Q. how well you guys were able to get to the quarterback. Just your overall thoughts on your defensive line being
COACH JIMBO FISHER: I thought they were outstanding in the run, goes to 45 yards. And affected the quarterback. They made throws come out early, they made balls come out early, and got hits, legal hits, after the play. That's what I thought played very intelligently, didn't take cheap shots, didn't have bad penalties.
Like I say, toughness is intelligence is the key. Now, if you don't have intelligence with being tough, it doesn't work for you. Our guys are learning to do that and play more disciplined football.
Q. You were able to get points on all your red zone appearances
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Yeah. No touchdowns.
Q. No touchdowns. What was going wrong there?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: We had some execution issues. We missed a throw. What happened the first time down there? I'm trying I remember, the second time, we overthrew Ainias [Smith] on a route to the sideline. We misread and thought he was going up. But he broke it off, and he was right. And we missed that one. We had a pushoff, did we? Wasn't it a pushoff, when we had the ball on the 1?
(Laughter.)
Everybody is out here chicken fighting and everybody is having a war, and all of a sudden they're going to call all that. Them guys are mugging you and holding you the way they let you hold in college football, which is ridiculous, and never mind. It is what it is.
On that one and then it's fun. Who cares? I said it good. I let it go. I let it go, and the other. But we got to get better. What's funny, we've beat them 11 for 11 the last two games. But then we got them at the end. We got them down there and got the one in, and pounded it in. But we'll get better at it and work at it. Because they were a good team. They were a man long. I told you, defense, they were long in the secondary, had a good front. And they're tough down there.
Q. How important was it for your team to take care of business in the stretch at home considering what you have looming?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Big. And it shows you the maturity we had. Like I say, these games, you know, you have a chance to do it and do it in your home field. And it's big to play. I want to do it here for 12th Man, too. There's not an atmosphere and environment like this in college football, and what a fan base.
Q. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the emergence of Cordarrian [Richardson]. He's gone from basically getting no time a month ago to 130 tonight.
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Well, he decided he wanted to do things right. When they decide they want to do things right, we play them. Until then, we don't. And I don't mean that in a bad way. he's a good player. I love him. But there's so many little things before you put a guy in the game. That guy controls a lot. He is a very talented guy. He's big. He's 240 pounds. He's physical. Those guys, they're hard to tackle. He's learning to be a great blocker and do some things, and he's a big weapon for us. There's no doubt. And I'm very happy he's playing like he's playing.
Q. Another guy that's been in and out of it, up and down throughout most of his career, but [Charles] Oliver keeps getting opportunities. Now, you'd probably rather him pick a couple of those balls off, but I don't know if I've ever seen six PBUs in one game.
COACH JIMBO FISHER: You say that. As I was at the end of the game, I said, dadgum, he's in a lot of plays tonight, batting balls. He needed to be here when Lester [Hayes] was here. He needed to battle Lester Hayes days. Put what Lester had on there, he might have gotten something, 14 picks like Lester did with the Raiders. That would have been good.
Q. Just kind of going off that, where do you like where the momentum is with the team headed into these last couple games?
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Here's what I like the most: We're practicing better on the practice field. We ain't having the mistakes. Practices are getting over because we're not having repeats. They're coming ready to practice, being physical in practice, being more consistent. And it's showing up on the field.
We had a few extra penalties tonight, which was very disappointing I thought we had too many but we hadn't had them in practice, our alignments, taking care of the football. We had the one turnover at the end, which was unfortunate. But we're learning to take care.
Our practice and preparation is getting so much better. And I think now they're starting to see cause and effect. Young people don't always understand cause and effect. Because I do this, this is what happens. They want to blame everything in the world over listen, you control what happens to you. How you prepare, how you play, and what you do gets you the results by the choices you make. And I think they're starting to buy into that and understand it truly.
Q. Could you just talk about Isaiah Spiller's performance tonight and just what he contributes to the team.
COACH JIMBO FISHER: A young guy who's, again, another 100 yard performance for a true freshman. I still think there's a lot of things he can get better on. He's still got to get better blocking and some things and, like I say, keep being physical inside. But he's a natural runner, he's big, he's very deceiving. What did he have? 124 carries tonight, too. That's getting a load and carrying it for 129 yards and his long run of 20.
See, that tells me something. It tells me he's getting tougher, learning to take that pounding, learning that's what you do against good defense. And when you go play these good teams like we're fixing to go play on the road right now, all these 80 , 90 yard runs, that's all great. That ain't happening against them good people. You got to pound, pound. And those will come in time if you can wear and tear on them. And he's learning that. And that's what kind of back he can be.
Q. On [Cordarrian] Richardson's 17 yard touchdown catch, he was wide open over there. Do you hold your breath a little bit on that kind of play because it just seems
COACH JIMBO FISHER: Heck, no. I was excited. I don't ever get them that open. That was something we had on a bingo play. That was a completely different formation. We had a lot of runs out of that and really nice play and execution by all of them.
QUESTIONS FOR BUDDY JOHNSON, ANTHONY HINES III, KELLEN MOND, COLTON PRATER
Q. Buddy, you guys held to 45 rushing yards. 10 of that was by the punter. Can you take us through the outlook tonight and how you guys were able to shut down the run?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: Coach Fisher, before the game started, Coach Fisher asked us to dominate the line of scrimmage. I think the defense and the guys up front, the D-line they stepped up tonight big and they dominated the line of scrimmage. And we had -- our backers, we stayed nice and safeties came down here and corners and everything, so everything was right in place.
Q. Gabe took my question, but I was going to ask ***Oz about [Ryan] Hilinski. He was 16-41 tonight. You guys hit him an awful lot. Did you feel like the pressure you were putting on him started to affect him as the game went on?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: Most definitely. I think the more pressure we put him under, the more, you know, it was hard on him. Coach Elko always have a great game plan for us, and his game plan was just a great ***game, like always. We just stepped up to the plate and made -- we just executed.
Q. Buddy, can you just kind of talk about how this prepares you for hitting the road for the next two, especially next week going to Athens to take on Georgia?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: This is huge for our team, this win. I think it's huge for our defense as well. It's a big momentum for us. We're fixing to go on the road and play a great team, so we're going to have to execute like we did today. We're going to have to have a great week of practice, like we did last week. I think this is a learning curve for us because Coach Fisher told us we had a great week of practice. So if we can continue to practice how we're practicing, then good things will happen for us.
Q. You guys did a good job of holding them on third down. What did you guys do mentally to kind of keep them off the field?
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: We locked in and executed, you know, executed the game plan. We had guys step up in big roles tonight and make plays. That's what it's all about. I think we kept the quarterback contained and, you know, made him make the throws, and our DB just stepped up and was making great plays.
Q. Two guys I want to ask you about, if you could speak on both of them. Anthony Hines continued to emerge here of late. He had two and a half tackles for a loss. And then [Charles] Oliver was in on a ton of plays. He had six pass break-ups. If you could discuss both of those.
MLB BUDDY JOHNSON: Anthony Hines, this year he's coming back from his injury and he's slowly coming back to, you know, what he used to be. I just love playing next to him. He's tough. He's a tough guy. And, you know, he knows his assignments and he's a switcher. He's fast getting to the ball. And I think he's just getting back comfortable, you know, getting back into his game. He's just got to keep improving, and I think Chuck Oliver, he's making plays. He's stepping up big-time. He's stepping up big-time, making plays for us, and he's honing in on everything. He's doing what he has to do and he just has to continue doing that.
Q. Kind of a two-parter Anthony. Individually your efforts with two and a half tackles per loss, limiting them to 35 rushing yards, 10 of their 45 was the punter.
LB ANTHONY HINES: This was a huge performance for us defensively. Just to be able to limit them to so many rushing yards and it comes down to we were -- we were (inaudible) in our assignments and true to our gaps and when there were plays to be made we made them.
Q. Anthony, how does a performance like this getting rad Defor next week's road game against a Georgia team that has a lot to play for and doesn't want to -- doesn't want to be spoiled?
LB ANTHONY HINES: It definitely gives us confidence. You know, not only the Quinn but just, you know, how well we played as a defense and as a team. You know, it really gives us confidence going into next week. And they're a good team and we're just going to have to get right back to it this upcoming week.
Q. Anthony, you guys have played well the last several weeks but late in the game, you know, Mississippi State came back and got some points. You really slammed the door tonight. Was there a little emphasis on making sure they did not get back in the game tonight?
LB ANTHONY HINES: Absolutely. We've been working on finishing games and that all starts in practice. This whole week and the week before we made sure we finished practices strong, and it's starting to show on the field on game time.
Q. Kellen [Mond] Kell, how much did the running game open things up for you. I know the second half it was tough. You moved the ball during the third quarter but seems like those big runs really opened things up?
QB KELLEN MOND: Yeah, C.J. and Isaiah [Spiller] did a really good job. A lot of those were check plays and we were able to get the right look, whether it was a check or not. The offensively line did a good job of blocking those up. Every week a full offensive effort blocking the receivers down field also so it's a big thing for them.
Q. How important was it for you guys to take care of business and win these games at home considering the games you have in the rest of the season?
QB KELLEN MOND: It was big. We don't want to look any games ahead, two games, one game ahead. We want to focus on what we have that week and we're able to close out at the 12th in Kyle Field and 12th man and get a big win in the SEC.
Q. What's been a key really of getting [Cordarrian] Richardson more and more involved in what you're doing on the ground?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think more trust. Every week it starts in practice. He's getting a little bit more confident. Coach is trusting him each and every week a little more and he sees the type of impact he can have on this offense. He's a real physical runner and could be versatile and both a run game and pass game. So I look for him to be, you know, more in the offense each and every week.
Q. On that 17-yard pass to him where he was that wide open where you had to float a ball over to him, he was that wide open, do you hold your breath a little bit to make sure he gets the catch and it end up in the end zone and all easy it seems?
QB KELLEN MOND: He was wide open. That wasn't the first time doing that. He caught that ball multiple times in practice. Maybe he didn't trust himself as much the way he fell down but he made a good catch.
Q. Do you razz him at all after that for kind of the awkward finish on his first receiving touchdown here?
QB KELLEN MOND: No, I just congratulate him.
Q. Kellen, it seemed like it took you guys three quarters to really get rolling. You had some decent stats but you just weren't able to convert those into, you know, touchdownss. You kicked three field goals or whatever. Was there anything that South Carolina was doing or was it kind of those -- you talk about those self-inflicted wounds that was keeping you from putting up the points to match the regards that you had?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think a little -- a combination of both. A lot of the times we were driving but just couldn't convert in the red zone or penalties, you know, kind of kept us out of the end zone. It was a mixture of everything. In the first quarter, pretty much a lot of-' sometimes in the first half I wasn't as clean or as perfect with my reads. Just something that everybody I feel like needs to clean up.
Q. Kellen, now you guys have taken care of business these last four games how do you like where the momentum is coming into the next two and the opportunity you have?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think the biggest thing is our confidence. We want to take it one game at a time. So we're 4-0 in these last four and mostly SEC play and, you know, getting ready for a number 4 in the country and number 1 in the country. Like I said, we're going to start with Georgia tomorrow and, you know, got to have a good week of practice.
Q. You mentioned the red zone. You got points but they were mostly field goals, not touchdowns. Do you feel like that needs to be a focus heading into these next couple of weeks into how to turn the field goals into touchdowns?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think that's always a focus and something we've been really good at the past couple of weeks. So something we need to clean up and we'll get it back on track.
Q. Was a big part of your success as time went on in the game the fact you look at the stats you held 41:39 so as time went on started leaning on it did you feel like that helped you open up those really big plays?
QB KELLEN MOND: I think so. When the defense is on the field that long in the fourth quarter you see it -- that wear and tear and we're able to kind of pound it and, you know, that's something that Coach Fisher always emphasizes. When you're up like that in the fourth quarter you have to have a run game and we were able to have a run game with, you know, what we had on the field so they did a really good job.
Q. Colton, what did it like to walk off of Kyle Field having run for 319 yards and a win?
C COLTON PRATER: Start off with the emotional question. It was awesome. It was very surreal. You know, I mean, I wanted to come out here last game on Kyle Field and get the win. But to get 300 yards on the ground is -- you know, that's awesome. Especially that last what was it like 80-yard touchdown run. I mean, I -- I expended the rest of my energy celebrating that one. That was -- it was a lot of fun. So I've had a really good time with these guys this year. 12th man has been awesome coming out to our games. I mean, it was -- it was very surreal moment. And I will certainly miss it.
Q. Talk about in the last five games y'all have increased your rushing output in each and every game. Talk about how your team has been able to increase the rushing yards, increase the rushing output in each game?
C COLTON PRATER: Well, I think we're getting a lot better. And I think that shows. we struggled a little bit at the beginning. Beginning of the year. But, you know, we've really started to mesh. You know, sometimes it's like that with an offensive line. You know, it's -- sometimes it's tough to get five guys plus a tight end all on the same page sometimes, you know? That's what's beautiful about football. It's not an individual sport. You have four guys be perfect and one guy not and it's not going to go anywhere. So I think we've really come together and meshed and the communication and coach Hinson has done a great job with us, you know, learning how -- what plays are best for us and what we do well. And you know what we don't do well and then getting better at those things. So I think that's what I've been most proud of this year, is that our group has every -- every week gotten better. So really proud of those guys.
Q. How big is the way you guys were able to run the football for you going into next week's ball game against Georgia?
C COLTON PRATER: It's huge. You know, South Carolina had a really good defensive front. Give them so much credit. Those guys really play hard and they're good. You know, they're up there the best that we've played this year. So being able to run the ball like that tonight, if anything it just gives us the confidence going into these next two weeks that we can -- you know, we can run with the best of them.
Q. Then to follow that up, just having a pair of backs go over 125 yards each, I think that's the first time you've had that this year. As an offensive line man you've got to be proud about how [Cordarrian] Richardson and [Isaiah] Spiller were able to eat up a lot of yards?
C COLTON PRATER: Absolutely. Isaiah [Spiller] has been excellent stepping up. I know from experience what it's like to play as a true freshman and the stage wasn't too big for him. He's really come on. He's done a great job for us. C.J. has been unbelievable the last few weeks. So I'm really proud how those guys have been working and they just never quit. I mean, at times it's been rough but they've never quit. They just keep chopping. So proud of those guys.
Q. That 17-yard touchdown pass to Cordarrian [Richardson] core early was an important . because first reps in touchdown. Do you kind of hold your breath when a guy is that open and floating over and secures it in and gets the points?
C COLTON PRATER: If I'm watching receivers wide open and catching balls it's probably not a good thing. I didn't see it. I didn't see it. I had number 3 in my face.
(Laughter.)
I was fighting for my life.
Q. Which you hold the ball for 49:31 as the time goes on clearly you have more and more success as time went on in the game. Did you start feeling the fatigue factor start settling in with the team you were blocking?
C COLTON PRATER: Yeah, sure. I think that's -- I think that's one thing that, you know, if you look over the last couple of years, that's one thing that this team has been good about is we always beat people down. You know, so when it comes down to these tough hard-fought games it's always them rolling over, not us. So, you know, yeah, I was -- there was a couple of times how long have we had the ball? This is crazy. And their defense was out there complaining about it. And they were feeling -- they were feeling it, too. So yeah, I mean, it was -- that's fun for an offensive line man to hold the ball that long. Just beat people down and put your wall on them. Love that.
Will Muschamp, South Carolina Head Coach
Opening Statement…
"It was a two-score game with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, we just can't get anything mustered up offensively. We lost some confidence and can't stay on the field on third down. They [Texas A&M] aren't a tempo team and they end up running 80 snaps. So, it's just frustrating. I'm frustrated for our kids. We need to do a better job for them, and obviously execute a little better. We just couldn't get anything going in the run game. We're having a hard time piecing anything together offensively. I thought our kids played hard and gave effort, but we just didn't play very well, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, late, we started to stunt and try to create negative plays, and when you do that, you're going to end up giving up plays like a 75-yard run. It was disappointing. The drive before that was all in the run game. You knew Jimbo [Fisher] was going to try to run the football, and we tried to stunt to create and make some plays, and we ended up giving up plays. So yeah, I'm disappointed. I'm extremely disappointed for our players."
On South Carolina's game plan offensively…
"I thought we had some good things in the run game, and we knew [Justin] Madubuike and those guys were going to be good up front. We've had trouble blocking them for the past two years. We knew that was going to be an issue, so we tried to create some things in the run game. We just keep having a hard time trying to create anything explosive and getting people off of us. So, that's very difficult right now."
On his team losing confidence towards the end of the game…
"Well, throughout the game you can feel it on the sideline. You get the frustration, and it's not just your offense, it's your football team. When you're not able to produce and put yourself in a position, then guys start trying to make plays instead of doing their job. That happens on both sides of the ball."
Ernest Jones, South Carolina Linebacker
On the mood of the locker room…
"Everybody is disappointed. We're sitting here at 4-7. There's no way you could have told us that earlier when we were sweating our butts off, and just working so hard. You couldn't have told us that we'd be sitting here at 4-7. But that's just the way life is going for us right now. I just had to tell them, 'We're family. People are going to try to bring us down and turn us against each other. They'll try to put blame on the offense, or say that the defense didn't do this all season, or the offense didn't do this all season.' But you got to block that noise out, and just keep playing. We've got one more game left with each other, and I'm ready for the next game. I'm not ready for the end, but that's just the way it's going right now."
Jaycee Horn, South Carolina Cornerback
On how tough it is on the defense to be on the field for so long…
"It had a big impact. We're playing a tough SEC opponent that's very big and physical. When you're on the field a lot, that's a lot of wear and tear on the players. Like I said, we've just got to do a better job of giving our offense better opportunities in the fourth quarter."
Players Mentioned
RB
/ FootballThe Drive
Monday, September 15
Notre Dame Postgame: Mike Elko
Sunday, September 14
Notre Dame Postgame: Marcel Reed
Sunday, September 14
Notre Dame Postgame: Nate Boerkircher
Sunday, September 14
