Postgame Quotes

ARKANSAS’ JAMAAL ANDERSON

"It was a well‑fought game. We came in and started out kind of slow, but the second half we came out there, we produced, we got up, had the momentum. Just one play right there changed the momentum around and got to them, and it was hard for us to get it back. Just a couple mistakes here and there would have changed the outcome of the game."

"We also had a spark right at the end of the first half with Marcus Monk’s touchdown, and I think that gave us a lot of momentum going into the half. We knew that we weren’t that far away, and it just sparked the plug in us. We knew that half was over and we had another 30 minutes to play, and we came out there on fire in the beginning.

ARKANSAS’ MARCUS MONK

"We played a good team, a great team, and like Jamaal said, we had a few too many mistakes. We knew coming in, the game wasn’t going to be given to us. I felt we came in the second half, played hard, and I felt we played hard the whole game. I mean, someone has to lose, someone has to win, but unfortunately we lost this one. We’ve just got to stay focused right now and just bounce back because the season is not over yet."

"You know, there was a certain change in the game. I mean, we had other opportunities, though. You just can’t put it out on their plate. But it changed the momentum some."

"(On the halftime switch) I mean, we compete; we’re not going to give up. I felt we fought to the end tonight, too. We went in at halftime and we understood that we gave away points, we just had to come out and play hard until the game was over with, and I felt we did that."

"(On being down early and making a comback) It’s been like that all season in a lot of our games. The coaches, they tell us to keep fighting, don’t ever give up. We wasn’t just going to quit just because we was down at halftime. We kept fighting, just a few mishaps and no telling who would have won."

ARKANSAS’ DARREN McFADDEN

"Like they said, we had too many mistakes. We had a slow start in the first half, came in third quarter, playing good. We knew coming into the game that they were a good team, so we knew whoever had the fewest mistakes was going to win the ballgame."

"I felt like we had the momentum and we had the muffed punt. So it was just a real change in momentum real quick."

"We had a slow start in the first half, but we knew going into the half that we had to make some adjustments and come out and play our best ball."

"(On the consistency of the running game) Well, they’re one of the toughest defenses in the country this year. We came out there and ran the ball, we just didn’t get the big runs we wanted."

ARKANSAS’ HOUSTON NUTT

"I’m just really proud of this football team. I really love them. I just love their heart, their determination. They’ve never given up. They’ve never let go of the rope. It could have been‑‑ there was two, three, four plays where I really thought we had the momentum there, especially that third quarter, really had the momentum on our side until that fumbled punt. That really hurt. But I thought we played hard. We played hard, and that’s the reason we’re in Atlanta. These guys earned it. It’s not easy to get here, guys, as y’all know. It’s not easy to get here. I’m just really proud of the way they played and competed."

"(On Florida playing for the National Championship) Well, I’m always for our conference. You know, this is the toughest conference in America. If we were sitting on the other sideline we’d be saying absolutely. I wish them all the best and hope they have an opportunity to go.

"You’ve got to give them credit. They did a great job of really getting off blocks. It wasn’t any one thing, one particular defense. They crowded the line of scrimmage but everybody has crowded us all year long. They have tremendous athleticism, tremendous position. They did that all year. Their ends and linebackers are very, very quick, and they just did a good job. Again, we were still able to keep them off balance and score some points on them. We had our opportunity there in the third quarter."

"(On the plan for Percy Harvin) We definitely game‑planned for him. He is very, very difficult to stop because he can catch the football. They run screens with him and they move him back as a running back, a lot like we do with Darren McFadden. It’s hard to cover your bases with all the speed on the field, and you’ve got to do a great job. But I thought in the third quarter our defense really came on like they’ve done all year long. They continued to fight, they played hard, and they don’t give up. So I was proud of that point."