Arkansas/Kentucky Post-Game Quotes
Kentucky at Arkansas
Sept. 22, 2007
Post-Game Quotes
Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt
“When you’ve got them by the throat there in the second quarter, you’ve got to finish. You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t drop third-down passes. (Third down) is where we really miss Marcus Monk. We gave them a gift at the end of the half, and you just can’t do that.”
(On Kentucky’s offense in the second half)
“They started running the ball well, being very physical. They really got their run and pass going, and kept us off-balance. “
(On his team not sustaining drives in the second half)
“We’ve got to be able to stay on the field. It’s frustrating.”
(On his team’s mindset)
“We’ve got to hang in there. (Our players) are going to hear a lot of negativity. I told them to blame me. I’ve been (in this situation) before, and all we can do is keep fighting, keep working. There’s a lot of football left, and that’s all that matters.”
Arkansas players
Darren McFadden, TB
“We stumped our toes again in the fourth quarter. We thought we had it won, but were unable to seal the deal. Again, we just need to put this behind us and keep on keeping on.”
(On dehydration symptoms suffered at the end of the first half)
“I just lost some fluids, so I had to take a trip to the locker room to re-stock. Long runs had something to do with it as I begin feeling bad soon after that.”
(On watching Kentucky’s offense marching on Arkansas’ defense in fourth quarter)
“It was frustrating. We knew we had the game won, but just could not finish. Credit Kentucky, they knew what our weaknesses were and they exploited them.”
Weston Dacus, LB
“The defense just didn’t get it done during crunch time. I was shocked that Kentucky was able to move the ball on us as well as they did. We can’t point any fingers; we lost this one as a team, and need to regroup and come together as a team.”
Jonathan Luigs, OL
(On playing with a turf toe injury suffered against Alabama)
“It hurt. There were times when I couldn’t feel it, and there were times when I was almost immobile.”
(On offensive line performance)
“There were holes early and the backs did a great job finding them. However, we couldn’t get it done when we really needed to. This loss is all on the players, as the coaches did the right things to win the ball game. It is gut check time for us right now.”
Fred Bledsoe, OL
“Times are hard right now. Sometimes you lose, and you just have to get over it. We worked hard and had the game won, but we let ourselves down in the fourth quarter. I wasn’t really satisfied personally with my play. There are some kinks that need to be worked out.”
Peyton Hillis, FB
“The loss is very frustrating. We have to learn how to finish ball games. We were too inconsistent on both sides of the ball tonight and that’s something we really need to work on.”
Felix Jones, TB
”Tonight was a tough loss to swallow. We need to work harder in practice so that this doesn’t happen. We thought the game was ours, but we just could not hang on.”
Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks
(On getting back in the game)
“We were fortunate to make a play and strip the ball that got us back in the game. Our defense played a lot better in the second half and offensively we moved the football very well.”
On the Razorbacks
“Our team managed to win on the road against a good team and at a tough place to play. We beat the defending west champions on the road. It is a significant win. Noise was a factor and we had a few guys with procedure penalties.”
On McFadden and Jones
“(McFadden and Jones) are two of as good as backs that I have seen in my coaching career.”
Derek Locke, RB
(On putting Kentucky up 29-27)
“It felt good to get my number called. I really wanted to play so I went out there at 110%. When (Coach Brooks) called my name I thought ‘yes, this is my time’.”
Dikki Lyons, WR
“Finishing is what we are good at. We have that confidence now.”
