Arkansas vs. Troy
Nov. 14, 2009
Postgame Quotes
Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino:
On the game:
“I thought we really played hard. Offensively we executed most of the game. We got a lot of guys involved and we had guys out there making plays all over the place. Ryan did a nice job of standing in there, even though he got hit a couple of times, which I didn’t like to see. We really showed our speed with some big plays. Defensively, we just battled. They’re a very good offense. They were very impressive to me. Their quarterback, the way he can throw it and get his receivers the ball, but our guys kept hitting them and I think the hits just started to wear on them.”
On defensive staff:
“I think the entire team had to rally. We’re missing [Defensive Coordinator] Willy Robinson, which is unfortunate. Word is that he’s home and doing well, which is great. Everybody just pulled together and we had two reasons to win the game - one for the seniors and one for Coach Robinson, who we dedicated the game to.”
On being bowl eligible:
“Yeah we’re happy about that but now we need to win the next game. That’s the biggest thing for us, to go and do a good job and beat Mississippi State.”
Arkansas Quarterback Ryan Mallett:
On the game:
“We played well. I think we executed all around. The defense played well. The offensive line was great running the ball. We threw it well and the guys made plays. [Running back] Ronnie [Wingo Jr.] took it all the way however long that was and nobody touched him. We’ve got guys who can do that. It’s fun to play in the offense when you’ve got guys that can do it.”
On the records:
“We got the win. I’m always going to tell you that we got the win and that’s the most important thing. We’re bowl eligible and we’re ready to go bowling, but we’ve got to go play Mississippi State first and then go to LSU, and we’re trying to win out so we’ve got to go to work tomorrow and Monday.”
On getting easier:
“It never gets easier. We had a great plan going in. We studied their film and what they were doing. They were bringing a lot of zone pressure and we usually see man pressure, and our system is built to beat zone pressure so once we saw that, we’ve been waiting two years to make those plays.”
Arkansas Running Back Dennis Johnson:
On the running backs:
“Overall, all of the running backs had a good game.”
On Coach Robinson:
“We dedicated the game to Coach Robinson. All we did out there was for him.”
On being bowl eligible:
“We are very happy to be bowl eligible and hopefully we can win out.”
Arkansas Cornerback Jerell Norton:
On the game:
“It feels great to get a win. It’s exciting and it’s great to send the upperclassmen out the right way.”
Arkansas Safety Matt Harris:
On playing without Coach Robinson:
“It was definitely weird not having Coach Robinson out there.”
On the play of the defense:
“Overall, we did a good job, but Coach Robinson was definitely missed tonight.”
Arkansas vs. Troy
Nov. 14, 2009
Postgame Quotes
Troy head coach Larry Blakeney:
On Arkansas defense:
“They’re getting better each week. They play with a lot of passion. I thought we would do better on offense coming
in, and I think we could have done better than we what did. Their defense played well against us. I know they were
without their defensive coordinator (Willie Robinson). I hope he is doing okay.”
On Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett:
“He played well. He has a big arm and he’s proud of it. He was throwing the ball 60 yards, 10-15 times before the
game. He’s a great and passionate player. He’s very astute in what they do.”
On Sun Belt vs. SEC:
“There is a gap between the two conferences. The Sun Belt is improving. We as a team are improving. The gap will
always be there because the SEC is the best.”
Troy quarterback Levi Brown:
On Troy offense:
“We kept settling for field goals and you can’t do that against an SEC school and hope to win. We didn’t make plays
in the red zone. There were some positives for us, we moved the ball, but we just couldn’t get any points.”
On Arkansas defense:
“They blitzed in the red zone more and that kept us from scoring a lot. I think we stopped ourselves more than they
stopped us.”
On first interception in 265 attempts:
“It was not a smart throw. I wasn’t thinking about the streak because if I had been, I wouldn’t have thrown that ball.
I was just trying to make a play.”
Troy linebacker Bear Woods:
On frustration during the game:
“The game was frustrating. We kept fighting until the end and kept our heads high, but we could have played
better.”
On Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett:
“He’s a great passer with a big arm. Being big and tall definitely helps him in the pocket. He played a great game.
On missed tackles:
“Some of that was them making plays and the rest was us just missing. We didn’t make enough plays. They took
advantage of our mistakes and kept playing well.
