University of Memphis Athletics
Notes and Quotes from Memphis-Houston Football Game
Oct 21, 2000 | Football
Oct. 21, 2000
MEMPHIS, TENN. -
RIP SCHERER QUOTES: "You reap what you sow in life, and you reap what you sow on the football field. We shot ourselves in the foot with the stupid personal foul penalty in our third overtime possession. That was very stupid. We lost our poise and this is what happens when you lose your poise."
"I am proud of the way that we fought back and kept fighting back in the end, but that penalty just killed us."
"We have two choices with this. We can either fold up the tent and put our heads in the sand and quit, or we can fight on. This season is not over yet. We needed this open date, and unfortunately, we have to go into it with a loss. The challenge for this team is to bounce back. We have to get better. "
* AUSTIN GETS FIRST CAREER START: Redshirt junior Jason Austin, who has played as a reserve in the offensive line, gained his first collegiate start tonight against Houston. Austin has worked with the Tiger special teams over the past two seasons but has not played more than 32 snaps in a season. He has served as a center before moving to guard this season.
* SHAKIR CLOSES IN ON TACKLE RECORD: Senior inside linebacker Kamal Shakir entered tonight's game needing just two tackles to move into a tie for sixth place on the career tackle list. Through the first half of the game, Shakir had been credited with four stops to move ahead of Octavian Sharp and Jerry Dandridge for sixth place on the all-time tackle list.
* SUGAR IS SWEET FOR MEMPHIS: Sophomore tailback Sugar Sanders scored his third rushing touchdown of the season when he ran in from two yards out against the Houston Cougars during second quarter action. Sanders tied fullback Daqrche' Epting for the team lead in touchdowns. * STONE GETS PICK: Senior cornerback Michael Stone had his second pass interception of the season when he grabbed a Jason McKinley pass and ran it back to the Houston five yard line to open the second quarter of play. The play set up a touchdown run by Sugar Sanders. Stone has three career pass interceptions.
* PIGUE RETURNS AND SO DO FIELD GOALS: The Memphis FG & PAT team got a huge boost in confidence this week when freshman snapper Jared Pigue returned to action. Pigue, who had handled all of the Tiger snaps during the early part of the season, injured his knee in the Army game and has missed the past three games. An MRI this week showed that Pigue had damaged his MCL but had not torn his ACL. He was allowed to return to practice on Thursday with the aid of a brace. For kicker Ryan White, the return of Pigue was cause for celebration. White, who had had his last three FG attempts blocked, made his first attempt of the night, a 37-yarder as the half ended.
DANA DIMEL QUOTES: "The thing that most pleased me was the way our offense responded time after time. We had turnovers and miscues on special teams, but each time our offense came up with something against an extremely good defense. In the overtime period it seemed we were just a little bit up more than they were.
"Brian Robinson came up with a big play, and Jason McKinley kept his composure despite extreme pressure in his face. We still have some work on special teams to take care of, but I am really proud of the way we kept coming back.
"Our football team kept responding to everything they kept throwing at us. We needed a game like this. We are back on track, and these are the types of things we need to get better on with a young football team like this. A lot of players stepped up tonight. Early in the year these were the game we couldn't win. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come in the second half of the season."
WIDE RECEIVER BRIAN ROBINSON: "He got a good jam on me off the line. I got off of it the best I could and made the adjustjment for the catch. We fought our tails off for this win. We needed a win like this. It really feels good."
QUARTERBACK JASON MCKINLEY: "I didn't see the catch. I was lying on my back, but I saw the reaction of our fans and our team running of the field, so I figured Brian (Robinson) made the catch. The tight ends came up big tonight. I think they did a good job of taking our wide receivers out of our offense, but fortunately the tight ends (Stephen Cucci and Tommie Baldwin) played a great game tonight.
"Their defense is extremely good. They made us work for everything we got tonight. Our hats are off to them. They physically beat on you, and it takes a lot to keep getting up."
LINEBACKER WAYNE ROGERS: "Out of any college game I have been a part, I am most proud of this team the way we played tonight. We knew we had to shut their offense down, knowing how great of a defense they have. Their offense came up with the big plays when they had to, and that definitely kept us off guard. Fortunately for us, we came out on top.
"Our goal is to come back (to the Liberty Bowl) on December 27."
