Coach David Cutcliffe transcript

OPENING REMARKS
I'm really proud of our staff and really proud of our team. Preparation all week was good. Our focus was really good. All three phases played big parts at different times throughout the game.
There were a lot of big plays that came in the kicking game, on defense and on offense. I think our players had a lot of fun playing today. This is something to build on. We've got an opportunity to continue to get better and I look forward to that challenge.

HOW BIG WAS IT TO GET THE KICKOFF RETURN AGAINST THEM FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW?
They are always big. When you can get one and get an opportunity to score after being scored on. Any time you get one is big. That time, momentum and energy, we feel like we're a good kickoff team. It's just a little odd that two years in a row it occurred against them.

WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE IN BEING HEALTHY?
We had some practice time. That's part of it. I don't know how many feel that much better, but they were on the practice field. We've just lost too much practice time. We got more of the players on the practice field and that makes a difference.

IS THIS THE MOST DOMINATING GAME UP FRONT ON OFFENSE?
I think our offensive line played better. They worked hard and pushed hard to do that. I'm anxious to see the tapes to see what we can build on with this.

TWO STRAIGHT GAMES WITH NO TURNOVERS. DEFENSE CAME UP WITH TWO BIG ONES.
I like that. That's part of what we truly believe in. Our players are doing a good job executing that philosophy on offense and defense.

WAS IT HARD TO KEEP DEUCE ON THE SIDELINE EVEN WHEN YOU'RE UP 21?
It depends on the situation. He's a heck of a player and you like to see him get as many touches as he can every game. We're going to play four games in 19 days and you're not going overuse anybody that you don't have to. We got a good lead early and we just wanted to continue to play well.

ON ROMERO'S FIRST TOUCHDOWN PASS TO DOUG ZEIGLER, WAS IT INTENDED FOR GRANT HEARD?
He threw it to Doug.

HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE FIELD POSITION IN THE SECOND QUARTER?
It was big because I felt very pinned back early. We had a hard time getting on track. But once we got the kickoff return and then a turnover and it flipped in our favor. That was a significant part in the game. It's difficult to play without field position and a whole lot more fun to play with it and it sure helped our team today, especially in the second quarter.

ARKANSAS WAS REAL AGGRESSIVE DEFENSIVELY EARLY WITH A LOT OF BLITZES AND THEN SEEMED TO BACK OFF SOME.
They didn't change what they were doing. They still blitzed. They're a good defensive football team. It just doesn't work all the time. They are a good football team. They played hard and are very well-coached. They didn't change a thing. They kept playing hard. I commend their staff and their kids for playing hard and continuing to compete the entire game.

TALK ABOUT YOUR DEFENSE.
Obviously, we played real well. We gave up some scores late, but we had turnovers and tackled a lot better. We gave up the two scores late and we'll have to see why, but I'm real proud of the way the players and our staff fought and worked hard.

YOU WENT TO THE LONG PASS SEVERAL TIMES. WAS THERE SOMETHING ON FILM YOU SAW?
We felt we had a chance to get there. I think if we executed a little better we might have had two or three.

ARKANSAS PUT THEIR BACKUP IN. DID YOU HAVE ANY CLUE WHO HE WAS?
I've been reading but didn't know much about him. I thought he did a good job.

TALK ABOUT ROMERO'S SCRAMBLING TODAY.
The last two games he's made some good decisions. He's really played well. The numbers didn't come out that way, but he played real well today.

DID MCALLISTER'S ANKLE GIVE HIM ANY PROBLEMS TODAY?
He wasn't 100 percent. He just felt like it was time. You could see in his eyes that he was ready to play.

This article was published on Sunday, November 5, 2000

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