Louisville vs. Southern Miss Post-Game Quotes
October 17, 2001 | Football
Oct. 16, 2001
Recap?|? Final Stats?|? Notes
Louisville Head Coach John L. Smith
"When you're number one and number two go-to guys go down, you've got no go-to's. You don't have that on the game plan, so we had to invent something. Our coaches did a great job. We hung in there and battled."
(on the play of the back-up receivers) "They did a great job. They dropped some balls, but caught some too. All of the routes may not be exactly the way we'd like them, but they're going to learn. But they're not the only guys who made mistakes out there."
(on Dave Ragone) "You talk about tough, you talk about competitive ... he finds a way. He's going to do everything he can do."
(on offensive adjustments) "We tried to go sound plays on sound or get it off quicker. They were moving around so much and bringing pressure. They present you some problems."
"We're the defending league champs. We've got that bulls-eye on our chests. Everybody's going to give us their best shot. Are we going to be able to stand up to the challenge? We have a couple of times, but we've got to go do it again next week.""
Dave Ragone, Louisville junior quarterback
(on losing Branch and Ghent during the game to injuries) "It was tough. J.R. Russell stepped up and made some good plays and we just found a way to win."
"It took a little bit to get back into the flow. I just tried to make something happen and get the first downs."
(on his performance) "We scored 24 points and won. I don't care what I did. We won the game. We played great and there is no other way to describe it. We came out, did what we were supposed to do, and won the game."
Anthony Floyd, Louisville junior defensive back
"Offensively, they didn't change much from their schemes they ran last year so we felt like we knew what to expect. It was just a matter of stopping their key receiver. With their offense being similar to ours, we felt like the practices this week helped us to be really prepared for this game. Our film sessions were a big key in stopping them defensively."
(on his interception) "We were mixing up coverages and we knew who to key on. When they threw his way, I was there to pick it off."
Nate Smith, Louisville sophomore kicker
"It felt good to put points on the board early. The first kick had a little bit of a cross wind, but it wasn't much of a factor. I was happy I was able to make the long field goal but I was more happy our team won."
(on the field goal that broke a 14-14 tie) "I wasn't nervous about the kick. It didn't cross my mind that the score was tied."
Southern Mississippi Head Coach Jeff Bower
"It was very simple. We self-destructed. We beat ourselves. You can't make that many mistakes and give them an opportunity. I'm disappointed. When you make that many mistakes, you make it difficult on yourself."
(on difference between first and second halves) "We played well in the first half. In the second half, we didn't do well defensively on third downs. We didn't create turnovers. And when we had a chance to win, we didn't."
"The bottom line is turnovers and they deserve to win. Turnovers is how we lost last week and that's how we lost this week."
Southern Mississippi DB Chad Williams
"We didn't get any turnovers. They got a couple of big third downs in the second half and were able to win. We held them well in the first half. In the second half, we gave up a lot of third downs. Unfortunately, the ball didn't bounce our way and they made the big plays they needed to make."
"Hopefully we'll bounce back next week, have a good game against Houston and get back on track."
Southern Mississippi QB Jeff Kelly
"I think our defense really packed it in there the best we have all season the first half and most of the third quarter. Then they started teeing off and getting momentum. They made the big plays down the stretch."
"We just need to get back and work hard. It's a long season and we still have things to accomplish. If we work hard, good things will happen."
