University of Memphis Athletics
Memphis Postgame Quotes
Sep 18, 2010 | Football
Sept. 18, 2010
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Memphis Head Coach Larry Porter
Opening Remarks
"Well this is a true team victory. We went through a series of circumstances in that game. In all three phases but our kids were just resilient in terms of staying together, and as a result we had a true team victory. I couldn't be more proud of these young men, in terms of how they carried themselves and put themselves in a position to pursue victory tonight."
On your first win at home
"Well the bottom line is we just wanted to win. We talked all week about the attitude of our team and the effort of our team, and our locker room is strong. It said a lot about them in terms of them truly wanting to be a team and go get it right, so that was my focus. Every single moment I get up, I think about improving this football team, and I know there are things that surround it every single week. We just want to put our team in a position to win games."
Turnovers by MTSU
"In the second half, they got five straight drives that kind of pinned us back and I would have liked to been able to turn the field over a lot sooner than we did. I would have been able to breathe a little easier going down the stretch there, but the physicality, the grit and grime to stand together, I was impressed."
On Your Defense
"That defense stayed together out there all night and I couldn't be more proud of them. Regardless of the adversity they faced, they stuck together. We had some young kids, Corey (Jones) had a big sack in the second half, Todd Washington had two turnovers. They played together as a unit, as well as a team, and I couldn't be more proud of them."
On Leading at the half
"Well, I told them that it wasn't about the score, it was about what was in their hearts. We talked about confirmation of this victory, to put ourselves in position to be a challenge to them and play together as a team. They understood that it wasn't about 30 minutes, it was about playing as a team."
On D.A. Griffin's Hit
"That was a big hit, but there were a bunch of big plays throughout the game that you could point to that really inspired not only our defense, but the team as a whole. That's what you want from your seniors."
On your field position late
"Our defense. We couldn't run the ball and they were stuffing us, and we were punting and Tom (Hornsey) caught rhythm and that defense, man oh man, they just kept fighting and making plays. That is what team is all about, and the most important thing is that there are a lot of things we can point to that we can improve on, and that is where our focus will be. It felt great."
Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Talk about the turnovers.
"That'll get you beat every time. If you can't protect the ball any better than that, you don't deserve to win. We had four turnovers; they got 24 points, but we still had a chance to win the game. It just eats at me. We throw three interceptions and put a fumble on the ground. You can't beat good teams when you do that."
Is there any common thread you think is causing the turnovers?
"We've had three fumbles this year. I mean, all the turnovers have been by the quarterbacks except for Malcolm (Beyah) and Phillip (Tannar). Phillip had a fumble, Malcolm had a fumble. Tyler Mason had a fumble. Then the quarterbacks had interceptions and fumbles. We have to get better; we have to get better."
How much of an impact have injuries had on your team?
"I don't want to use that as an excuse. It wasn't an excuse. We have a lot of people hurt, and we just have to do a better job."
How's Mark Fischer?
"I don't know. I think it's medial collateral, so that's probably two to four [weeks] or three to five [weeks]. I don't know how bad it is. We won't know till Monday."
Talk about your decision to move away from RB Phillip Tannar later in the game.
"Phillip put the ball on the ground. Malcolm put the ball on the ground on the kick return. He's just not out there. We have to do a better job of protecting the ball, and Phillip [Tannar] didn't protect the ball. That hurt us."
Your teams have always been predicated on not giving up turnovers. How much does the turnover bug this year bother you?
"It eats at my gut. We have to do a better job, one, of protecting the ball and things we can control. We have to protect the dang ball. And then, hopefully one of these days, we'll get a turnover when it counts."
Do you plan on using both quarterbacks next week as well?
"Yeah. You know, Logan [Kilgore], his foot, he couldn't get up on his toe, finish his throws. Again, that's not an excuse for his interceptions."
Talk about the difference between the two quarterbacks.
"Jeff [Murphy] can run the ball better than Logan [Kilgore]. We were just trying to find a way to get some runs in there with the quarterback. We had a couple there at the end that we couldn't execute."
Do you feel as though this team is a bit handicapped with all the injuries and off-the-field issues?
"That sounds like an excuse, so I'm not going to say that. We just have to get better. We have a lot of people hurt. Obviously, Dwight [Dasher] isn't out there. But, we have to get better. We have to get better this week. The good thing I told them is we are 0-0 in the conference, and that starts Monday. That's the most important thing right now."
Talk about the Memphis rushing attack.
"I thought they ran the ball well. I thought we missed some tackles early. I thought the second half, we did a lot better job stopping their run. They have some big offensive lineman, and their backs ran hard. They did a good job. We missed some tackles like I said earlier, and then I thought we did a better job in the second half.
