Sept. 22, 2007

Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery

South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier

Opening Statement
“We didn’t play well enough to beat LSU, and they are a big, strong team that obviously controls the line of scrimmage. We couldn’t run the ball very well at all. We finally hit a few passes. I thought (QB) Chris Smelley came in and gave us a little spark and hit a few balls. We’re just not a real smart bunch right now. (TE) Weslye Saunders, a true freshman, made some catches and lost us a first down twice in a row. I’ve never seen a guy do that until today. He caught that ball and then went backward, and we hit him in the flat and he couldn’t put it out. He just got tackled, and I guess we missed it by an inch or two. We had some chances, and our defense hung in there and played well the second half.

“We are proud of our defensive guys for holding them to seven (points) in the second half. That’s after we couldn’t make two yards in three tries. We ran three times for two yards and couldn’t make it. I thought at that time it was important for our offense to stay on the field and make something happen. I guess that was their (LSU) lone touchdown of the second half. (SS) Emanuel Cook had one interception go right off his hands – so for us to have won this game we need to make that interception. We need to get that fumble. Their receiver fumbled after catching a little flat pass in front of our bench. If (CB) Carlos (Thomas) could have batted it up into the air instead of batting it right back to him that was another seven possible points there. So we didn’t get any real big plays that way. Our guys hung in there, and we have Mississippi State next week so we’ll get this one behind us real quickly.”

On going with QB Chris Smelley over Blake Mitchell in the second half
“We had to try something different. Blake couldn’t even catch the snap. He dropped two or three snaps, one went through his hands. We just had to try something. He (Mitchell) maybe didn’t do all that poorly, but we have to give Chris Smelley a chance. We’re going to give him a chance next week and see what happens.”

On if he was impressed by the fake field goal by LSU
“It worked perfectly. Obviously when they work they’re a good call. I was sitting over there wanting to go safe field goal (defense) because that guy (Colt David) had just missed a 30-yarder, and I was worried we were going to rough him. I said, `What are we doing here?’ and somebody said, `We’re going after him.’ I said, `Well, OK.’ I hesitated, but I would have said `Let’s see if he can make it’ because we had done a good job of holding them and forcing a field goal. But we went after him, and (CB) Captain (Munnerlyn) went. We had some guys standing around behind him, but they executed it perfectly. Give those guys credit for that.”

South Carolina Offensive player quotes

QB Chris Smelley

On being named the starting quarterback for next week’s game against Mississippi State
“You know that’s coach’s call…it’s great to hear. Just got to go out there and work hard and lad the team to some victories.”

On how good LSU’s defense is
“They’re a solid team overall like any SEC team we play basically. They do a lot of different things and they’ve got solid guys up front. They’re a pretty good team.”

On what positive things USC can take from the game
“We never gave up. The defense stayed in there and battled in the second half and didn’t give up many points. We never stopped playing.”

On if coach Spurrier emphasized getting rid of the ball early against LSU’s defense
“We talked about that all week, getting rid of the ball quickly because they have a good pass rush and a good d-line.”

On his thoughts about the game
“It was a game where we had a chance the whole time until the end. We worked hard and now we need to have a good week of practice going to play Mississippi State.”

On if he feels like playing against LSU will help him practice better
“Any time you get in a game it’s different than practice. I feel like gaining this experience will definitely be a good thing.”

South Carolina Defensive Player Quotes

S Chris Hampton

On LSU
“LSU out played us tonight, they (LSU) just made more plays than we did. They are a very talented team.”

On LSU’s offense
“Yes, we did struggle. They ran a lot of yards on us and it was embarrassing. We need to watch the films and see what the particulars are and what we need to do for improvement. Somebody needed to make plays and they (LSU) were making the plays.”

On the outcome being different if certain plays were made
“It could have been a different game. We missed out on some opportunities to get back in the game. We had some turnovers and they just made big plays.”

On playing against LSU in the SEC Championship
“Hopefully, we make it, it’s still our goal. They are a very good team, so they are favored to make it (SEC Championship). “

On being prepared next time they play LSU
“I don’t know, we’ve seen them and they’ve seen us so it equals out.”

C William Brown

On how LSU played tonight
“I think LSU is a great team. They are powerful and very talented.”

On LSU stopping the drive
“It’s frustrating when you get a big drive and it’s continually stopped by their defense. It’s frustrating for the offensive line. You have to play your assignment as best as you can. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go your way. I fumbled tonight and they made great plays.”

LSU Head Coach Les Miles

Opening statement
“Considering it was a quality opponent, I thought our team played pretty well. We had to deal with adverse conditions. As we continued to have bad weather, we went through the last two quarters with our footing a little shaky. I thought the defense played extremely well early on. On the offense, we need to feel obligated not to allow that ball to get picked. We didn’t call that one or wanted that one called. We would have liked to run the clock out and finish the game a little bit better. I think all things considered this team played pretty well against a quality opponent. South Carolina will go on and win some games in their division and we look forward to Tulane.”

On if the plan was to score on the fake field goal
“We were looking for a first down. We would have liked to have gotten the first down and march down the middle without having to use that play to score. It was there and certainly it was executed very well by (Matt) Flynn and Colt David.”

On how the poor weather conditions affected the defense
“Anytime that footing becomes a little bit looser in the game, when you have an advantage with quickness and speed, then the footing is going to be a little different.”

LSU Offensive Player Quotes

TE Richard Dickson

On playing South Carolina
“We were excited to play them. Steve Spurrier always has good teams, and they have been moving up in the rankings. But we knew we would have to come out here and play our best to beat them.”

On the offense improving each week
“I think it’s pretty much obvious that we’ve been better every week. We come out and are able to execute more things each week. Everyone is coming around. Everyone is learning the offense. We are just getting better and better.”

On the importance of defending Tiger Stadium
“We don’t want to lose at home. We have that legacy here at Death Valley. It’s one of the hardest places to play. We try to come out and play hard every time we play here.”

On playing Tulane next weekend
“It’s going to be a fun game back in the Superdome. We were there for the Sugar Bowl last year, which was a fun game. But we still have to come out and play hard. Anybody can beat anybody. We’ll still have to practice hard and prepare like we do for everybody.”

RB Jacob Hester

On LSU having running backs with different styles
“It helps. Me and Trindon are obviously totally different runners. But we really pounded at them the first couple of series and then opened it up for Trindon.

“He knows what he can do. He finds holes that most people don’t find. He’s so fast. It’s unbelievable how he can hit the hole so fast. Later in the game we pounded it again.”

On the trick play to Colt David
“That was a nice play. We work on that so much. I think we work on it everyday at practice. But it’s only been the second time we’ve run it in a game. It was really good to see it.”

On seeing that trick play work
“We didn’t think it would work that good. I was just looking to block somebody, but I couldn’t find anyone to block. It was definitely a surprise to us that it worked that good. I don’t know if it will work that good again.”

On the conditions of the field
“I like to mess around in that. When I see it get cloudy, I say `It’s about to be a running back game.’ I think it plays to our advantage. We have a lot of running backs, so anytime it rains, I think it plays to our strength, which is running the ball.”

RB Trindon Holliday

On the win
“We came out all week and had a good practice. We told each other that we were going to work hard and have a good game.”

On LSU’s offense
“The offense is coming together real good. We started off real slow, but we’ve picked it up as we’ve gone along.”

On LSU’s defense
“It’s an unbelievable defense. They come out and play hard every game. They give up nothing when it’s time to play football.”

On what it’s like playing at home against an SEC team
“It’s always tough to play an SEC team. The quality of the teams are high. We just come out and play our best game.”

LSU Defensive Player Quotes

PK Colt David

On the strength of the team growing week after week
“We are out there every day working hard, so that each day we can get better.”

On his thoughts when the trick play was called
“My first thought was not to slip. I just didn’t want to slip taking off. After that, I just had faith in everyone else to make the blocks.”

DE Kirston Pittman

On his feelings about the defense
“(The defense) puts in a lot of hours. Coach (Bo) Pelini and the other coaches work out a great scheme for every weekend. Our scout team gives us a good look at the things we could expect to see in the game. They prepare us so we can go out and play every time with a lot of effort for every game. “

On playing in Tiger Stadium
“You have to defend your house. It would be just like someone trespassing in your actual home. We don’t want anyone to come in and get a victory in our stadium. We feed on the energy of our fans here at home. When other teams come into Tiger Stadium, they know they are going to be in for a fight.”

On the game against Tulane next Saturday
“(The team) just takes it one day at a time. We haven’t watched the film yet, so we don’t know what they are running yet. LSU will be ready when the time comes though. We know that Tulane will be bringing their best game.”

S Danny McCray

On his interception in tonight’s game
“Well I ended up dropping it the first time, then it bounced off of Curtis Taylor. I was just hoping that South Carolina didn’t catch it when it bounced off of him. I looked up and saw it coming, so I just dove for it.