Houston Nutt's postgame transcript
Opening comments
I've never been prouder of a football team. I've never been prouder of the courage, their attitude. They never quit, they never say die. We've come a million miles since Aug. 29 and I'm just real proud of them, real happy for them and what all they've done. We had our chances. We put our guys in positions to win, and we just didn't get it done. It's a tough environment to play in but our guys grew up today.
Do you feel like you've been through a 15-round heavyweight fight?
Absolutely. It's been a 15-round heavyweight fight it seems like for the last six weeks, especially the last three or four. That quick a turnaround, [LSU] had two weeks to prepare, they were a little fresher. But, again, it went right down to the wire. Our guys knew or felt like on the sideline if we got the ball back we were going to win the game.
Your thoughts on Zak Clark.
Did a great job. Both our quarterbacks put us in a position to win. They both have their own separate abilities and they did a great job of executing.
Can you talk about that last interception of Jones'?
The guy made a great catch, an unbelievable catch. [The receiver] was wide-open, [Jones] threw it on time, the safety [Ryan] Clark leaped out almost with one hand and made a catch. Otherwise, that would have been a completion.
What about the interception in the third quarter?
[Jones] threw it under some duress. He's going to learn from that. He got away with one a couple of times earlier. He's so strong. He gets away with some of that because he's long and lanky, but he makes a lot of good plays, too.
Why did you go for two points at 19-14 in the first half?
We were just sending a message. Either way it goes. ... If you go for one, it's 20-14, they come back and swing one 20. Either way. That wasn't a factor at all.
You got five turnovers today and only got 10 points out of them. Was that the difference in the game?
I think it was. We should have capitalized on that more, but you've got to give them credit. They've got a good football team. We didn't execute the running game like I think we should have. [LSU] did a good job against the run.
Were Rohan Davey and Josh Reed more than you thought?
They had three receivers that we knew coming in were very, very talented. Davey, of course, a senior. You've got three guys that can run like that and catch it. They spread the field and then you add a tight end to that deal, it's hard to cover. You've got to cover every one of them. You just can't cover one.
Have you seen enough of Rohan Davey?
No, no. Rohan Davey I have an awesome respect for, but Rohan Davey and those guys know they're very fortunate to win this game.
This article was published on November 24, 2001
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