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Vanderbilt vs. LSU Post-game Quotes
10/8/2005
Vanderbilt vs. LSU
Oct. 8, 2005
Vanderbilt Stadium
Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson
Opening Comments:
“Obviously, we had a pretty rough night offensively and put our defense in too many tough situations. We played pretty hard on defense for at least the first three quarters, but when you can’t get anything going offensively, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things got away from us at the end and a close game turned into a laugher.”
On LSU’s Pressure Defense:
“They had some good pressures that we didn’t do a good job of picking up. We probably had people available to pick them up, but just didn’t do a very good job blocking.”
On Vanderbilt’s Offense:
“We had a lot of trouble running the football and, as I’ve said before, I don’t care how good your passer is, you have to be able to run the football and we were not able to do that. That allowed them to run the pressures. They did a good job covering, also. When we did have good protection, they did an outstanding job of covering up our receivers.
On LSU’s Skyler Green:
“We tried to kick it away from him as best we could or at least put the ball where we could concentrate some people and it seemed to work pretty well for us. He didn’t return one for a touchdown, which was good.”
On the Team’s Confidence:
“That’s going to be a big factor for us for the rest of the year. If you look at the first three quarters, especially the way we played on defense, we have a few things to build on. We’re going to have to get to work offensively to get their confidence back. We got banged up on the offensive line today. It’s just hard to be consistent when you’re moving guys from position to position. We’ll have to see who’s going to be available next week.”
Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler:
On the play of the VU defense:
The defense played awesome. They were carrying us all game, we just couldn’t do anything with the turnovers.
On the team’s prospects:
We’re still 4-2 and this is still a good football team. We have a lot of football left, we’ll bounce back.
On getting hurt at the end of the game and the offensive play:
I’m feeling alright. I have some bruises, but it’s football. We struggled tonight and we’re going to need to look at the film.
Cornerback Andrew Pace:
On his hit that caused a fumble:
We were able to call the play at a great time and I got to the QB.
On getting turnovers:
The offense is always able to break out if we give it a chance. We just try to stop (the other team) on defense and let the offense do their thing.
On play of the defense overall:
We got a little tired and frustrated near the end. But no matter how tired and frustrated, we still need to execute.
Offensive lineman Brian Stamper
On injuries to the offensive line:
We have some guys in there who haven’t played a lot in the past. It’s tough to get thrown in there against a great team like LSU.
Wide Receiver Erik Davis:
On LSU’s defense:
They were getting pressure from all different angles.
On Vanderbilt’s defense:
Our defense played extremely well the first three quarters. Then they got fatigued and that was (the offense’s) part.
LSU Head Coach Les Miles
(Opening statement)
Certainly with the number of errors we made in the game, there was going to be a lot to coach. The thing I enjoyed was here we are on the road, playing an opponent that we gave every opportunity to be in the game and play us well, and we came in at halftime and did the things we were supposed to do, and came out and controlled the game and won going away.
Our defense played extremely well from start to finish. That’s the style of defense that we’ve got to have.
(On how they’ve improved since losing to Tennessee)
I think we’ve improved in specific spots. I think our defense is better. I think offensively there are some personnel that are improved, but we’re going to need to make greater improvement to eliminate some of the mistakes we made on offense.
(On pressuring Cutler)
He had 11 completions on the night, and that was very significant. He’s a very talented guy; he’ll play a lot of football. We wanted to get the ball out of his hands quickly, and that’s what happened.
We just brought guys. We brought a number of linebackers, safeties and corners from a lot of different areas. And we have a really talented defensive line that got up the field on their offensive line at times.
(on stopping the Vanderbilt running game)
When you make a team one-dimensional and they’re going to go back and throw — that certainly lets our guys get up the field, even when it’s just four guys rushing the passer. We were able to defend well based on the fact that we were getting up the field.
(on their defensive game plan)
We felt like we had a good match-up with our guys versus their receivers, and the plan was to get after them and get the ball out of Jay Cutler’s hands.
(On wrapping up their first “normal” week)
I feel so well rested that it’s unbelievable. I’m just looking forward to get into a routine. We start a four-game home stand and we look forward to getting back into Tiger Stadium.
LSU Left Tackle Andrew Whitworth
Opening comment
It definitely was a big win for us. They are a good team and we knew that coming in here. We didn’t execute our plan in the first half. At halftime, we got rid of mistakes. We need to take that mentality into each game and make less mistakes.
On gaining 303 yards in the first half
We had 303 yards of offense in the first half. It definitely was going really well for us. It was tough, though, because we couldn’t convert. We kept making mistakes to end our drive rather than putting points on the board.
On LSU’s defense
The defense played great. They stuck to their plan and executed really well. The played with so much heart and left it all on the field.
LSU Wide Receiver Early Doucet
Opening comment
Getting the win is really all that matters. We made mistakes but had enough scoring plays to put points on the board. We had a few missed opportunities, particularly in the first half.
On the halftime speech
At halftime we talked about all of the missed opportunities. We discussed getting our composure together. We went out in the second half composed and executed our game plan.
On turnovers
As games go by, we want to have fewer and fewer penalties. We had a lot in the first half, but definitely less in the second half. Hopefully we can have even fewer in the game next week.
On wide receiver Dwayne Bowe
Dwayne had a great first half. He was able to get open. Even when he wasn’t open, he still was able to catch the ball.
On getting field goals instead of touchdowns
It was frustrating, driving so far and only getting field goals. But we’ll take points however they come. Every receiver made great plays.
On moving the ball
We were moving the ball well which shows how good our offensive line was. We thought we should have been up by more going into the fourth quarter, but a lead is a lead.
LSU Right End Chase Pittman
On defensive scheme
We are going to keep playing this scheme. It is LSU football because it is aggressive. It was the same scheme we run every week. We try to play aggressive. It is a great game plan.
On stopping Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler
Cutler was getting frustrated as the game went on. He kept getting hit and hitting the ground.
LSU Running Back Joseph Addai
Opening comment
We weren’t worried about the score board. We were working as hard as we could on the field on every play and that is all that matters. If we go out there and give it our best and still lose, we can deal with it.
On the penalties
It was frustrating because we kept killing ourselves with penalties. We knew we needed to play LSU football and not whatever we were playing. In the second half, we knew we needed to tighten up on our mistakes and the stuff we were doing would start working. Our coaches told us to just stay focused and everything would come together.
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