Oct. 5, 2002
Recap?|? Box Score?|? Notes?|? Photo Gallery
SOUTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH LOU HOLTZ
It’s good to win a conference game. The offense looked very good.
Corey’s ankle x-ray negative, same as Dennis Quinn’s. Just have to wait and see how bad it is tomorrow.
The offensive line played very, very well.
Overall, played well, except for two plays on defense, back to back.
We’ve got to eliminate the turnovers. Got to get more consistent at wide receiver
Overall , it was a good performance by the football team. We’ve got to get better. Two more games before we get an open date.
We played pretty well on defense. Everybody played well on defense.
We moved Matthew Thomas to corner. He’s got a lot of natural ability there. He had a good week. We felt we needed to play Matthew at corner. Muhammed got hurt, so we had to play Matthew. Except for the long pass, he played very well.
On playing Jenkins at tailback: It was Skip’s idea more than mine. We wanted to get Dondrial in and Corey in at the same time. We did a nice job with it. Corey ran well, he gives us more bulk. Our only other big back is Pinnock.
The first half, we played very well, except for the fumble at the goal line. Then, we just tried to preserve victory. We had some missed assignments.
The offensive line played well, specifically Travelle Wharton. I meant to give him the game ball. He showed great courage after the death of his grandmother. It is a difficult time for that young man.
Our kickoff and punt coverage was pretty good. The best thing we did was we didn’t give up the big play, other than one. We ran ball. We did so many good things, but we did some bad things. Fundamentals were the best thing. We were better fundamentally than we were last week.
We are starting to come together as a a team. Not a great team. I am encouraged by some things. I said to Dr. McGee that the team is coming together for the first time. I wish we had more games to get ready, but we don’t.
On meeting with Coach Sherrill: You’ll have to ask Sherrill about that.
On Mississippi winning: It tells me you can’t tell what will happen next week.
We are a pretty decent team at home, when don’t make mistakes and turn the ball over. We’re not a great team. … We just have to win and bowls take care of themselves.
I am scared to death of Kentucky. We know about Lorenzen, they have great chemistry. Next week, we have got to make great improvement.
On Troy Williamson: He’s got to improve. He drops too any in practice. He has got to get better. He is a wonderful young man. We have got to work hard at it. The whole entire receiving corps has to work at it.
MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH JACKIE SHERRILL
“In the first half, we were not able to stop South Carolina, but our kids never gave up. Our field position killed us. We did some things, but we couldn’t put it together. I was pleased for us not giving up many touchdowns in the second half.”
“South Carolina dominated our defensively. We were not sharp throwing and catching the football. In the first part of the game, we couldn’t make plays up front. They dominated us. Some true freshmen played today because our players are hurt. We had some defensive backs that didn’t make the trip because of injuries.”
“To this point, it is one of the most frustrating seasons. It’s frustrating because we had a chance to be better at the start of this season. But I don’t dwell on yesterday. Everything has to change. We need to make some changes and make some corrections.”
SOUTH CAROLINA PLAYER QUOTES
QB Dondrial Pinkins
“We were pleased with how things went. It feels good to be able to do what the team needs me to do when I get called on. With Corey’s ankle problems, it felt good to step in and do what I was asked to do.”
On Jenkins/Pinkins backfield “We started working on it on Tuesday. I hope we can run more out of it.”
“We’re getting close to where we need to be as a team. In the two games we lost, we beat ourselves.”
QB Corey Jenkins
On ankle: “It’s fine. There was a little trash talking so they played dirty. They were grabbing ankles. It’s a little sore, but it’ll be fine. The two headed monster (Jenkins/Pinkins) will be hard to stop. We’ve been working on rotating in and out all week in practice. We rotate really well. We get along really well.”
“We came out and played flat in the second half. They played tough.”
LB George Gause
“We are doing pretty good. We’re feeling confident. I will play wherever they ask me to. I like both positions.”
“We pursued the ball better than we have. We are flying to the ball really well now.”
CB Dunta Robinson
On interceptions: “I just made a couple good breaks. The line was really pressuring the quarterback. I moved around a lot today. I usually play on the left side, but I got both interceptions playing the right side.”
MISSISSIPPI STATE PLAYER QUOTES
98 Mario Hagan, LB
“A lot of coaches jobs are on the line.”
“[This season] it continues to go downhill. We need to keep playing, keep practicing, and turn it around. We’re just not getting the job done. We have to keep fighting – it’s a long season and we still have a long way to go.”
“This is not time to hit the panic button, but we can’t continue to rely on what we’re currently doing. We’ve got a lot of youth on this team and I don’t think they know what it means to fight for 60 minutes,”
16 Kevin Fant, QB
“Right now we don’t have more points then the other team.”
“We’re young upfront, we have first year starters. They are playing great to me.”
Should busted plays happen this late into the season: “No, when things aren’t going your way, they really aren’t going your way.”
“When everyone does their job we will put points on the board”
22 Darren Williams, DOG
On tackling Jenkins and Pinnock: “They’re strong, they have a good weight program, we had a poor game of tackling.”
“I found out I was starting on Wednesday, they told me I had to grow up.”
“I expect to keep seeing playing time.”
