“South Alabama has a good football team and we knew it was going to be a challenge. Our plan coming in was to run better offensively than we did. The big concern defensively was their quarterback. In the third quarter we still had a good opportunity, but it just got away from us. They have a good football team and we have a lot of work to do.”
DE Ronald Blair
On troubles getting pressure on USA's QB:
“They were emphasizing help with the back so there was an extra guy we didn't anticipate having. We were expecting them to get out of there kind of quick. We really just weren't on today with our moves. We were just a step slow.”
On another slow start:
“I think we just held ourselves back as we have in the past when we started out slow. We come out fiery and I think we over-hype ourselves before the game. We expect a little too much of ourselves and we need to calm down a little bit.”
QB Taylor Lamb
On slow offensive start:
“First half we shot ourselves in the foot. We had some penalties, some drops and some bad throws. We opened it up in the second half which got us going on a couple drives but it just wasn't there tonight.“
On South Alabama defense:
“They are really fast. They are one of the top defenses in the Sun Belt and that showed tonight. They really fly to the ball.”
On regrouping after a rough start to season:
“It's all about getting better every day. You have got to finish the season out. We're 1-4 right now but every Saturday we have a chance to win every ball game. That's the way we have to look at it. We're 0-0 right now and next week we have Liberty and we'll try to win that one.”
South Alabama
Head Coach Joey Jones
Opening statement:
“I am very proud of this football team. Last week we traveled across the country to play Idaho and played a good game. We came here this week to Appalachian State where they have a lot of tradition. They have great facilities here. It's a great venue, and our kids played extremely well. They have that look in their eyes right now, and they are understanding what it takes. But I'm just real proud of the way we played. We played much better offensively. We should have pushed the ball in the end zone a few more times in the first half, but I thought we played really well. Defensively, I thought we played extremely well. They are continuing to get after the quarterback and just play good defense. I thought they played tough. We missed a couple of field goals on special teams so we have to get that fixed, but I'm real proud of these young men.”
On the defense creating good field position early in the game:
“The defense comes out ready to play every game. (Defensive coordinator) Coach (Travis) Pearson and his staff do a great job with them. They just motivate their players; they just get after it. When they play that early, it lets the offense get rolling. But when they come out and play that well early, it sets the tone.”
On the offense not turning the ball over:
“I think we're loosening up a little where we are throwing the ball downfield more and our receivers are going and getting it. Brandon (Bridge) is doing a good job of getting it out there, and we're running the ball well. But we can get better. The thing about a game like this is you want to pat yourself on the back, and I do want to pat our guys on the back because they did a great job. But there's always room for improvement, and we're going to find ways to get better this week. This conference is tough, and you have to take that attitude.”
On the upcoming bye week:
“I think it comes at a good time after being on the road back-to-back weeks like this. The guys are going to have some kind of jet lag flying across the country (last week) and then up here this week. It's probably coming at a good time. We're a little banged up, so I think it's coming at a good time for us.”
QB Brandon Bridge
On his performance:
“I think I played alright tonight. There were a couple of plays I would like to take back, but we did a great job offensively. The offensive line did a great job of keeping me clean, and the receivers did a good job of getting open and making the throws easy for me. I just owe it all to the whole offense. They made it easy for me. All I have to do is just get the ball to them. I thought we did an excellent job tonight.”
On the offense's success the last two weeks:
“After our loss to Georgia Southern, Coach Jones told us that we were about to start clicking. He saw that we prepared hard last week, and we had the same mentality this week. Everyone wants to make plays, and this entire offense is starting to roll right now. We just need to continue to do that after this bye week, and not get complacent.”
On not turning the ball over:
“I felt like we should have had more points in the first half. We have to do better finishing in the red zone. Three points isn't enough sometimes – we obviously want seven but we'll take the three. We did a good job of protecting the football, and if you don't turn the ball over you obviously have a better chance of winning the game. We did an excellent job of protecting the ball.”
On the running game:
“They did an excellent job. The offensive line is making their calls. We made a halftime adjustment, and I don't think I got touched in the second half. The offensive line did an excellent job for us, and I am really happy for the win.”
WR Shavarez Smith
On the win:
“I always talk about our team being resilient. We have resilient players and coaches, and a resilient program. I knew we weren't going to be affected by our last loss. It just motivated us to come back to work and work harder, prepare better and work to win the rest of our games.”
On his performance:
“I attribute all my in-game success to my preparation. I take pride in it, and try to make sure I am doing everything I can to be prepared for every game. I like to think I was prepared for this game, as well as all of our other games. I'm just going to continue to prepare as well as I can, and do what I can for my team.”
DB Montell Garner
On the win:
“I want to congratulate the coaches and players for giving everything they had. We really needed this win. We need consistency in performance every day. We were able to make plays out here, and that's what we need. We just have to make consistency in performance an everyday thing.”
On the defense creating good field position early in the game:
“Early in the game, we just had guys giving all they had and everyone was doing their job and handling their assignments. We were able to make plays. And we watch so much film that we know what people are doing. But preparation for this game set us up for a great win.”
