Arkansas-Miss State postgame quotes

Arkansas vs. Mississippi State

Nov. 21, 2009

Postgame Quotes

Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino:

“This was a good win for us. It certainly wasn’t easy. We really had to fight. I don’t think it was the best game

we’ve played this year, but we worked hard and did a good job making adjustments and getting some key stops on

defense.”

On the play of the offense:

“It was hard. Their defense did a good job of keeping us off balance and not letting us get into a rhythm. We tried a

lot of play action to try to keep them guessing. They were committed to stopping the run, and part of me wishes I

could’ve thrown it every down, but that’s hard to do.”

On defensive scheme:

“We did a good job of mixing up what we did with our safeties and our front four. Our safeties were more involved

in the run game, and we had to do that. They were executing on the ground, so we had to do something.”

Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett:

“I thought the offense and defense did a good job of looking out for one another. When one wasn’t getting the job

done, the other stepped up and made some big plays. We played well as a team, and we need to continue that.”

On early struggles:

Those guys made a couple of good plays (on the two interceptions). The first one, the guy just squeezed the curl

route and made a good play. I was trying to throw it away on that second one, but didn’t get it out far enough.

You’re going to throw picks every now and then. You just have to bounce back.”

On reaching 3,000 passing yards this season:

“It’s an honor to reach a milestone like that, but the season isn’t over. There’s still time to do a little more and help

the team out.”

Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams:

On his touchdown:

“Whenever I touch the ball I want to score. When the guy hit me I realized he wasn’t really trying to tackle me. He

was trying to strip it so I just shoved him off.”

On playing LSU:

“We’ve got to go out and practice really hard. It’s always going to be a big game, it’s a rivalry. They’re going to

bring they’re ‘A’ game and it’s the last game of the season.”

On fans in Little Rock:

“The fans were great. They were loud and they helped us out in a great game.”

Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette:

On playing in Little Rock:

“We had a great crowd. I love playing here and this is my stadium from high school. It was a little slow at first, but

once we got some excitement going the crowd really got into it.”

On the defense:

“We got some big plays in there. Our safeties stepped up big, especially towards the end. They really turned the

game around.”

“We’re a defense that may bend, but we’ve got some big plays in us. We’ve forced a lot of turnovers this year

compared to last year.”

Arkansas wide receiver Cobi Hamilton:

On his first touchdown:

“They just told me to keep running. I know Ryan [Mallett] has a strong arm so I just went.”

On breaking out:

“It’s a great feeling. The coaches just told me to keep going at it, and keep watching Joe [Adams] and Jarius [Wright]

at practice. It helped me out a lot.”

Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen:

On Ryan Mallett’s performance:

“Five touchdown passes is a heck of a day. Our secondary didn’t make plays that were there to be made.”

On quarterback change:

“We weren’t doing a great job in the first half at quarterback, so we had to mix it up.”

Momentum change after fumble:

“After the fumble at midfield when we were down seven, we lost some momentum. We have found a way to make

turnovers at critical points in games.”

On defensive play:

“We stopped the run against Arkansas. We just gave up too many big plays on the defensive side of the ball.”

Linebacker Jamar Chaney:

On Arkansas’s offense:

“They were real efficient at throwing the ball. They have a good young quarterback.”

Running back Anthony Dixon:

On second half running adjustments:

“I think we started to run the ball down hill a little more in the second half.”

On second half fumble:

“I took the handoff and before I could turn right, the Arkansas defender was under me knocking the ball loose.”

Wide Receiver Chad Bumphis:

On play of wide receivers:

“We just need to improve on breaking off our routes and getting open.”