(Considering) Brandon's ability, I think he played average. He's got a chance to be a real good player. He did a lot of real good things. A lot of those (mistakes) were mental. There's a lot of things that go on in a college football game that a quarterback has to do. (Cox's) mind is going 500 miles per hour. It's just not natural to him yet. |
(Gunn is) still the most physical guy we have on defense. He plays hard every down. |
(The) offense didn't show up most of the day. We pretty much got whipped on the line of scrimmage. We have a lot of work (to do) on the offense. We had some good individual performances, but this is not an individual sport. |
[As recently as New Year's Day, weeks after making their case to the best of their ability in the regular season, the Tigers still were clawing for respect. Unanimously delegated by the AP, coaches and BCS rankings to the No. 3 spot behind USC and Oklahoma, the Auburn folks told every reporter who would listen that they deserved consideration as split national champion via the AP poll -- Orange Bowl bids be damned.] Obviously, we feel like there's one more vote, ... We'll be auditioning. |
[Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, whose team finished No. 2 in the final polls last season, says he considered voting for Texas, Iowa, Miami and Virginia Tech before settling on Michigan for No. 2 on his preseason ballot.] I had no clue, ... Just take one of them out and put them in there. |
[Carnell Williams, Auburn: The Cadillac, 5-11, 204, is a versatile back with the speed to get outside and the strength to pound it when necessary. A workhorse when he needs to be, he's had four career 30-carry games, including a 40-carry, 202-yard performance against Syracuse as a sophomore.] He runs hard, he runs behind his pads, he protects himself pretty good, ... One guy can't get him down -- that's what makes him a great back. |
[It's also unfair to have two tailbacks with the talent and experience of Brown and Williams in the same backfield, especially when matched with a coordinator like Borges, who puts them in all the right places.] You can't defense them, ... You can't do it. I'd hate to be calling defenses on the other side. |
[SEC coaches who have played at the Coliseum in recent years said it has a loud crowd, but not as loud as some stadiums in the SEC.] It’s a little bit different environment [compared to] what Arkansas or what we are used to going into here in the deep South, ... They are vocal, obviously, and [Trojans Coach] Pete [Carroll] has done a great job of turning that program around and winning consistently, and I’m sure their fans have gotten into it more. |
a clone of Jason Campbell. |
A good day for the Auburn Tigers. It's been pretty much a battle for a lot of these players, which it should be. We feel like we got the guys we need to help us win championships. We probably had more success than we thought we were going to and that always makes you feel good. Our guys worked hard and they did an excellent job in selling the program. |
A lot of other teams didn't want us to have that open date. I like for the team to have a week off before that. And I really don't want two weeks off before the Iron Bowl week. |
A lot of people wonder why you want a coaches challenge if every play is looked at by the officials. The problem is when you go back and look at situations where there's a question about a play. You only have 10-15 seconds for them to look at the play at hand. |
Academics are the No. 1 thing. It's the first thing we tell players when they come to Auburn. They are here to get a degree first and foremost. Once they understand that, they understand that football is second. |
After the first game, we get hard-headed and saying we've got to take the pressure off of (Cox). You see what that gets you into. No matter what happens, you've got to run your offense. (If) they put nine up there, you've got to throw the football. You just can't block them all. You know, we made some yards. |
As coaches, we approach any game the same, whether it's a bowl game here or in Atlanta or New Orleans. But the thing we want to do is to make sure the guys enjoy it and have fun. It's supposed to be fun. |