Sept. 28, 2002

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South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Stadium

South Carolina Quotes

Head Coach Lou Holtz:
“I thought that our players competed very well. I compliment Vanderbilt – I thought they played well. In the second half, I was very proud of our defense. Offensively, Corey Jenkins and our split ends played very well.”

“It was a game that went back and forth. Vanderbilt did not make a mistake until the end. Any time you get a win in the SEC, you have to be happy.”

“I thought we did a pretty good job on offense on not giving them (Vanderbilt) good field position. We moved the ball pretty well, we just didn’t score when we had opportunities.”

On 3rd and 16 late in the game:
“It was big – Corey Jenkins just does a nice job. We just did not take advantage while we had the ball deep in Vanderbilt territory – that was a big play though.”

Wide Receiver Michael Ages (#7)
On the offense’s improvement throughout the year:
“It’s a matter of repetition. We’re throwing the ball a lot more now. I think guys are starting to get a lot more comfortable with what we are trying to do.”

Wide Receiver Troy Williamson (#82)
On scoring on the “jump ball” route in the second quarter:
” “You get more comfortable when you play more. If that’s what Coach wants to do to move the ball then that’s fine with me. We ran the same play three times in a row.”

Offensive Line Jeff Barnes (#52)
On his unexpected playing time:
“We practice day in and day out. It’s hard to play with two starters hurt but we are always ready. I was nervous but Coach had really prepared us well. Having to step in really builds character.”

Safety Jonathan Martin (#30)
On halftime adjustments:
“We knew we had to play better and make big plays on third down. Their offense was really moving he ball on our defense but we decided to step up and stop them.”

“It was hard this week trying to prepare for them (and their option game). You always want to hit the quarterback but sometimes they have to pitch it. I thought our guys really defended the option well even though their offensive line played really tough.”

Vanderbilt Quotes

Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson:
It’s the same story – another close game that we didn’t win. I thought our guys played hard and well most of the game. I think some of their (USC) good athletes made some good plays that allowed them to win the football game. Overall, I thought the guys got a little tougher and played hard.

On offensive scheme:
We try to possess the football and give the other team different things to look at with the passing game and option.

On USCs second quarter touchdown:
Obviously, it’s discouraging when you give up seven points, but I don’t think we were discouraged in any way. We were making some plays and their guy (Troy Williamson) made a great play. You never want to give up a TD before halftime because it doesn’t help your psyche.

On getting over hump and winning a big game:
There is no magic way. You have to get out and practice and do it every day. You have to keep working in practice and do all the things you have to do. You can’t miss tackles and drop passes. You just have to keep working and working.

On bye week and preparing for next game:
You tell them we are not thinking about abandoning anything and doing anything else. We’re sticking with our system.

Wide Receiver Dan Stricker:
They gave us a lot of problems, a lot of looks we weren’t expecting. They just did a great job.

With this new staff, we are looking to rebuild to do something special. As a senior, I want to be part of something special.

Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer:
I think that one of our weaknesses is depth. I don’t think anyone is ever going to question our effort – we work hard. If we can stay better conditioned, we can pull it off in the fourth quarter.

Strong Safety Jonathan Shaub:
It was one of those games where every little play mattered. It came down to six points. I think a week off will be a good thing – we’ll let everyone get healthy and get ready for MTSU.

On his first interception of the season:
We knew they liked to run the dig and post. They had beaten me on the dig before and that time I knew they were going to run the post. I was there and was lucky to intercept it.

Quarterback Jay Cutler:
We’re getting better every week, but we’re not getting the W’s to show for it. We just have to learn to start pulling it out and take the next step.

We’ve gone over it (two-minute drill) in practice several times. There just weren’t a lot of holes and you have to give South Carolina credit for that.

It was a hard fought game – The defense did a great job and they (defense) gave us a chance at the end.

Runningback Kwane Doster:
We’re very close – we know people are still going to doubt us. We had some mental mistakes tonight. We need to be ready to perform at practice.

South Carolina was blitzing and running all over the place – a lot more than Ole Miss – and it caused problems for us.

On Two-Minute Drill:
It is a lot of pressure, but we’ve got to keep our heads and and keep working.