Football vs. Mississippi State Postgame Quotes
11/10/2018 6:46:00 PM | Football
Head Coach Nick Saban
Opening statement
"I think that in this day and age, you're not going to get judged on whether you win, you're going to be judged on how you win. I never thought that I would be in the position to say that you get style points, but that is the way it is and the way our system is. That might be the way it is, but I'm saying all that to say this – we knew this was going to be a tough game. We have a lot of respect for this team. They are a great defensive team. We started a little bit slow out there today on offense. We had some mistakes. It would be a great lesson for us to learn from the adversity and how we are going to respond to it. What we need to do is get things fixed and be more consistent. We had way too many negative plays, but kudos to the defense in terms of the way they played. We have a lot of respect for this offense and this system. I thought the players did a really good job, except for the one drive where they busted the big run on us and had a pass. I thought we played a really good game. They were 1-of-13 on third down. We stopped the run pretty well, so I was very pleased with that. Any time you win a game in the SEC, obviously concerned with having an emotional hangover after the LSU game, I think that may be true to some degree, our players need to learn that you have to be able to play every week. Everything is like a playoff now, so we have to play well every week. We have to play to our best, and our standards need to be based on who we are and what we can do. It shouldn't have anything to do with who we are playing. If you want to be the best, you always work to try to be a perfectionist. You never ever get there, but you certainly would like to try. That's what we need to try to continue to do. I am pleased with the win. A lot of things we can learn to do better in the game. I think that Tua could've gone back in the game if he needed to. I know the first thing you will ask me about is his injury. He got hit low a couple of times out there today. I think he got hit in the front of the knee, not the back, which is where his initial problem was. I think he is okay. Deonte Brown went out of the game. He got turf toe. That maybe more of an issue for him. Especially for next week."
On the Importance of defense pressuring Nick Fitzgerald
"It was really important because we got a lot of pressure, and we got a lot of pressure when we weren't pressuring. We were rushing with four guys and we could sit back and play coverage, which has been a real key for us. It was the same story last week. When we did pressure, I thought we did a good job of that. It was huge right before the half to get a sack and then he missed a field goal. I think that was a big momentum swing in the game, in terms of the outcome of the game, that they didn't score there."
On Josh Jacobs' performance
"Really did a good job especially at the end of the game. That was a great drive we had. I know we didn't score a touchdown at the end, but we took seven or eight minutes off the clock, which is what you want to do in a situation like that. Josh was a demon running it on a couple of those runs. I was really impressed with the way he played today."
#32 Dylan Moses, LB
On a second-straight shutout for the defense
"It's very special. There's still room for improvement. We've got to get better as a defense and keep moving on throughout the season. It's a great feeling. It means we got the job done. We'll celebrate this for the next 24 hours then move on to the next game."
On offense relying on defense
"That's every game. Our offense relies on the defense and defense relies on the offense. We're a team. We work together, so the last two games we're going to have to really pick it up, so we can give the offense some room to work. I feel like we did a good job with that."
#82 Irv Smith Jr., TE
On taking care of business
"I feel like we came out and started fast, scored on the first couple possessions. We're a little upset with ourselves about how we executed in the second half, but we're going to work on that and get better throughout the rest of the season."
On TE abilities and team's mindset
"I try to work on something every day and focus on getting better at something every day. Whether it's running routes or blocking. I pride myself on being a complete tight end. It's a grind, but you have to focus on the team and focus on yourself. You want to get better as a player. If you're not getting better then what are you doing? If you come every day with the right mindset and work, then it's going to help the team as well."
Head Coach Joe Moorhead
Opening statement
"First and foremost, you have to tip your cap to Coach Saban, his team and his program. That's a heck of a ball club right there. And from a program standpoint, that should be what motivates us every single day. You want to know what the best team in the SEC looks like? And a team to compete for a national championship? That's it. So, we wake up every day, and that's what we're chasing and that's the standard and the type of team we want to become.
"I think certainly, defensively, we continue to play well. We continue to fight our tails off. You know, we held them under 350 yards. It was most prominent bowing their back on that last drive and keeping them out of the end zone. That's the type of pride and physicality we play with defensively. We certainly gave ourselves an opportunity with how we played.
"Offensively, certainly two games in a row now they've pitched a shutout, and we're not going to beat anybody by scoring zero points. Had some opportunities throughout the game, but too many miscues. I mean guys open, balls being snapped early, but when you're not running it well and you're not moving it in the air and you're not creating explosive plays against a team like this, you give yourself a hard time to win.
"Special teams weren't very special. We've got to find a way to be better there. I thought our punting improved at times. We had a kid drop a punt. There's things in those ways when you're playing an opponent like this, the margin of error is small, that aren't going to lie to you in a game like this against an opponent like this at their place."
On if he considered challenging the no-fumble call on Alabama's first drive
"I considered challenging it, but the information I got from my guys up in the booth who saw it and had a great view of it said that the guy was down and it wasn't going to be overturned, so I trust those guys up in the booth to get that information and they said the guy was down."
On Leo Lewis' absence from the game
"Leo didn't travel. Leo's sick. He got an illness that prevented him from coming."
On the premature snaps in tonight's game
"One, it was loud. Two, we worked on it all week once again, and I don't want to say Elgton (Jenkins) was jumpy, but I mean we were working off a clap gage, and he said he heard something that sounded like a clap and the thing got snapped, so certainly those are things you get positive first down plays, two of those happened, push you into second and long. Can't be behind the sticks against these guys, and it happened twice. That's two too many times."
#6 Willie Gay, LB
On the adjustments made in the second half
"We know we started off slow and gave up a lot of plays in the run game. We knew we had to bounce back in the second half, and that's exactly what we did in giving up only three points."
On two sacks and an interception
"I knew I had to step up. I was just trying to do my job and help my team do whatever we could. For the interception, I was showing I was blitzing and he (Tua) just threw it right to me. I didn't know what to do when I caught it; I was kind of surprised."
#7 Nick Fitzgerald, QB
On the mood in the locker room
"No one's happy, but we're going to put it behind us. We're going to wake up tomorrow and watch the film and see what we can improve on."
On his play in today's game
"I think I played ok, just not well enough. As a whole team, we didn't play well enough and as an offense we didn't capitalize on the field position, didn't capitalize on the play-calling. We took too many steps back."
