Football vs. Ole Miss Postgame Quotes

Alabama

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban

Opening statement:

"Well, that was obviously a good win for us. We have not really defeated a team, and especially that team, for a long time and haven't done it at home. Our players came out and really took care of business in the game, and I think there are a lot of things we can learn from this game. I hope that the players have the disposition to learn from it. We had some dropped balls; we had some miscues; we had too many penalties; and they had some big plays that we needed to eliminate on defense. But all in all, I thought the players responded well in the game by playing hard, playing tough, and it was a physical game. We are pleased with the outcome. Nothing is perfect, but we certainly need to work on the things that we need to do to improve.

"Da'Shawn Hand will be evaluated in the morning, but he probably has an MCL sprain, and Trevon Diggs has a foot injury, so he will also be evaluated in the morning. Those are the only two injuries we have to be reported.

"I thought this was a good team win, and we played pretty well on both sides of the ball. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Ole Miss, their offense, their firepower and their skill guys. Their quarterback made some good plays on us, but all in all, I thought the defense did a good job, especially on third down. Ole Miss didn't have the opportunity to extend drives, so that was really good for us. We kept the ball on offense, had a great time of possession and we got to play a lot of players. There were a lot of good things tonight, but also a lot of things we need to correct."

On affecting Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson:

"We had lots of opportunities. We broke the pocket, but, athletically, he escaped and scrambled, made a couple big plays. I do think we affected him, but the guy is a really good player. He's very instinctive, very athletic, and he extended some plays at times at which it was our goal not to allow him to do that. Our goal in the game was to make him scramble a certain way so that we could then put a spy on him. We succeeded in that a few times but sometimes we didn't. I thought, all in all, they averaged 400 something yards a game, and I guess we got 165. Pretty good job by somebody."

On quarterback Jalen Hurts and the passing game:

"We missed some throws early first time around, but we had some guys open and we missed them. We made some explosive plays in the passing game. I think Jalen settled down in the game. He seemed a little outsourced in the beginning of the game, but he settled down and played really well. Jalen did a nice job running and passing in the game, and so in all aspects of the game, and he did a good job to utilize all the skill guys that we have so the offense had a lot of production. And I think we need to, and can still improve in those areas."

On the quarterback play:

"I'm glad (Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa) had the opportunity to play, and we'll evaluate the execution about how they did. The experience Tua is getting is very, very helpful. He made mistakes just like we all made that he can learn from. He executes very well; he's smart; he understands the plan. You can't really fully evaluate player when the other team is tired and has played a lot in the game and these guys go in and play. Both quarterbacks moved the ball. They did a good job, and I'm pleased with the opportunity they got because they were playing in the game, and I thought they executed fairly well. "

#71 Ross Pierschbacher, Offensive Lineman

On the dominating performance of the offensive line:

"Yeah, we had another week of great practice. We knew (Ole Miss) was going to move a lot up front, and they did. Our line came out and executed, and I thought the play calling was really good tonight."

On the focus before the game on Mondays:

"Monday is a big day for us. We have whole new set of defenses that we see every week and all new and different stuff. I think Monday is the heaviest, just getting back into it and learning what we are going to see on that Saturday."

On the team's play against SEC teams thus far:

"SEC play is like a whole other animal. If we come out, and execute, good things happen. Good things will happen if we work hard and prepare for the week."

#39 Levi Wallace, Defensive Back

On what it felt like to get into the end zone:

"It was a great feeling. We've been wanting to do that all week. All the DBs talk about it, saying how no one on the team has gotten a pick-six yet. I'm just glad that I was in the position to get the interception, and then I had great blockers in front of me. It's the whole team effort that helped me get into the end zone."

On the defense's rhythm:

"We just pride ourselves in making it hard for other teams. We just stick to the game plan that Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt has for us every week, and it has been working out well."

Ole Miss

Head Coach Matt Luke

Opening Statement:

"Credit to Alabama – they're a really good football team, No. 1 in the country for a reason. They beat us soundly in all three phases: offense, defense, kicking game. I thought the biggest difference for us in the first half was we had a turnover for a touchdown. They were able to stay on the field, and we weren't. A lot of credit to those guys though. They're a very good team in all phases. The most important thing for us moving forward is to watch this tape and flush it and move on to the next one. We've still got eight games to go and eight chances to win, and I think that's the most important thing."

On his takeaway from tonight's game:

"We just have to find ways to win football games, and it takes all three phases: offense, defense, special teams. We have to find a way. On defense, we have to get off the field on third down. On offense, we have to sustain drives and score points. It's all of us working together and feeding off each other. I was very proud of (running back) Jordan Wilkins tonight. I thought he ran the ball good and showed some signs of what he can do. If there was one silver lining, it would be him."

On how the pick-six changed momentum:

"We just talked about playing one play at a time. You have to make those plays and can't turn it over for a touchdown. They throw you (an interception opportunity), and if we catch that, it's a big turning point in the game. You have to take advantage of every opportunity and we didn't tonight."

#20 Shea Patterson, QB

On playing Alabama for the first time:

"Watching them on film, I knew they were really good. They are the No. 1 team in the country for a reason and they made a statement tonight. They came out ready to play and we didn't in most of the phases of the game. They really showed how good they were tonight."

On being down 28-0 early and the game atmosphere:

"When you're playing on the road, you want to take the crowd out of the game as early as possible. The offense put up three points the whole game so that really didn't help out our defense. We didn't play very well at all tonight."

Biggest concern with the offense right now:

"I don't really have any concern. I think we didn't come ready to play tonight."

#22 Jordan Wilkins, RB

Overall thoughts of the game:

"We've got to tip our hats to Alabama. They played excellent offensively, defensively and on special teams. They had a great game plan and great team, so hats off to them. "

On 100 yards rushing in the game:

"You always want to get the 'W' but we didn't. I think our offensive line did a great job and I was just following the blocks, so hats off to our o-line."

On the impact the past three season's results had on this game:

"They were going to come out and give us their best shot. We have given them a tough battle the last two to three years but they came out ready tonight."

University of Alabama Athletics