Sept. 15, 2007
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson:
Opening comments:
“It was a good win for us, and I’m excited for our team and coaches. It felt good to battle a good Ole Miss team, and we really took charge in the fourth quarter. It just seems that in this series with Ole Miss, we always seem to make it close.”
On offensive line:
“We had to keep plugging away. I really think Coach Caldwell did a good job getting this team and his unit ready this week.”
On winning a close game:
“We hope it’s a sign of maturity and mental toughness. We shook off a long touchdown pass and a missed field goal, but our defense never wavered.”
On winning after last week’s loss to Alabama:
“This was a must win for us. We didn’t like the way we played versus Alabama. We didn’t play physical last week, and today, we played physical on both lines of scrimmage.”
On Chris Nickson:
“He played pretty well. He had one little boo boo at the end of the half where he ran backwards, but he scrambled and made some huge plays for us all night.”
On Chris Nickson’s injury:
“Chris was fine with the injury, he practiced Wednesday and Thursday, and it wasn’t a strain or pull. Once he got the soreness out this week in practice, he was ok.”
On RB Jeff Jennngs not playing vs. Ole Miss:
“He twisted his ankle this week, so with the off week coming up, we decided to rest him.”
On his team’s physicality:
“If I would have known that we would have played this way, I would have gone home and enjoyed it on pay-per-view. We’ll take that every week.”
On toughness of SEC games:
“You never know. You’ve got to go out and fight for a win. I don’t care if you’re in first place or last place, you’ve got to fight for wins.”
On the team’s mentality after a win:
“Our players are going to be better in class, in practice, in everything. It really helps the psyche of our team.”
On defense:
“We fought a little harder tonight. Coach Fowler worked hard on that all week and he called a great game tonight. We did a good job on Green-Ellis. I don’t think he’s been held down that way all year. He’s an aggressive, good player, and it was good to hold him down tonight. We do have to get better defending the pass.”
On his team’s toughness after the missed field goal in fourth quarter:
“We went after them when they got the ball and we got a couple of sacks. We stayed aggressive and didn’t get passive in our defensive calls. Coach Fowler called a good defensive game tonight.”
On Ole Miss moving the ball in the first quarter:
“You can’t just change a game plan in a snap. You make adjustments, both on offense and defense, but it’s the same plan.”
Vanderbilt Players:
Vanderbilt Running Back Cassen Jackson-Garrison:
On his performance:
“I’ve been challenging myself all week to get the running game where we need it and to be a better player. The first two games I didn’t feel like myself and I haven’t been doing what I needed to do. I put a big emphasis on running the ball and doing what I needed to do.”
On running behind the offensive line:
“I feel like we kind of ran everywhere tonight. I don’t think it was over one side. The whole offensive line did great. Everybody did what they needed to do, and I give all the credit to them. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have gotten anything.”
Vanderbilt Wide Receiver Earl Bennett:
On bouncing back after the Alabama game:
“We stayed focused and worked hard the whole week. I felt like we were focused throughout the week. We practiced hard. We came out and executed. The offense got in rhythm a lot this game.”
On Chris Nickson’s performance:
“Chris is a strong guy. He played a heck of a game tonight. It’s hard to keep Chris off the field. He’s a great competitor. I knew he was coming back in the game because it’s hard to keep him out of the game unless it’s real serious.”
On being 2-1 going into the open date:
“I feel pretty good about it. We bounced back from a loss last week. We have an off week to get everyone healthy and get ready to play against Eastern Michigan.”
Vanderbilt Offensive Lineman Hamilton Holliday:
On the performance of the offensive line:
“We came into the game knowing we wanted to run the ball and be physical. We came in there and that was our mindset. We took care of business. We faced some adversity, but we came back and did what we had to do.”
On the drive after Ole Miss cut the game to 24-17:
“It was great. We ran the same play for five straight plays. They knew we weren’t doing anything special. We were playing hard-nosed football. We were going in there and doing what we had to do.”
Mississippi Head Coach Ed Orgeron:
Opening comments:
“I was very disappointed in the way we played. I thought we made some defensive adjustments at halftime, especially trying to limit them in the red zone. We got them to miss field goals, but we couldn’t get our ground game going and didn’t have protection. It was good to see Mike Wallace make some big plays. We didn’t play like we’re capable of playing. We’re going to have to get better.”
On Vanderbilt’s long drives:
“It was frustrating to see them driving and running the ball. We tried to call everything we had, but we’re inexperienced at linebacker. We have guys playing for the first time. They’re going to be good, but they don’t have the experience you need. There were a lot of plays they should have made.”
On the team’s morale with Florida and Georgia on the horizon:
“It’s all about the truth. I’ve got to take responsibility for it all. I have to coach my team better, we have to play better, and we have to start games better. I need to find out what we’re doing, deal with it, and play together as a team. I know our guys will be fired up to play Florida.”
Ole Miss Players:
Linebacker Ashlee Palmer:
On His Injury:
“I’m about 95 to 100%. It was just a little tweak, nothing serious. We have to tackle better. Vanderbilt was able to break plays and break off a bunch of yards at a time because we didn’t tackle.”
Quarterback Seth Adams:
On difficulty scoring:
“It’s frustrating to get down and not be able to score. We need to come in on Monday and figure out how to put points on the board. We need to help keep our defense off the field. We need to put up some points and help them out.”
