Postgame Quotes: Tennessee 63, Missouri 37

Nov. 19, 2016

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Tennessee Head Coach Butch Jones

(Opening Statement)
"Really happy for our seniors. I told them in the locker room that they'll always remember that last walk into Peyton Manning Locker Room. Singing the fight song, counting the points up, every time they walk into that locker room, they'll always remember their last experience in that locker room. I'm so proud of them and everything that they've meant for us. I'd really like to take this opportunity to thank our fans, the best fans in America. I love you guys. It's the highest attendance for a total season since 2008. And we talk about the "Neyland Effect," and every week we've had the "Neyland Effect." I greatly appreciate all of them. I told you last week that we're not going to win the stat battle. It's not going to be pretty, but I thought our team really rallied. I liked the way that we came out in the second half. I challenged them a little bit at halftime. We knew it was going to be this type of game. Missouri has a very explosive offense. And what can I say about the performance of Joshua Dobbs? It was a very fitting last game in Neyland Stadium. I'm proud of how far we've come with our football program, in the last 17 games, we're 14-3, second in the Southeastern Conference. Over the last three games, I believe we've scored over 40 points per game, and that hasn't been done since 1995 -- so, a lot of good things happening. I'm proud of our seniors, and I'm proud of our football team to gut through this win and find a way to win a football game."

(On if he's ever seen an offense clicking like Tennessee's has over the past three games)
"I've had some, but it's just a confidence. And I think the other thing is just next man in. Our offensive line, from what I could see on the sideline, did a very good job. We're absent Dylan Wiesman and Chance Hall, but these kids just continue to work, and they've done that all season long. You have to win up front, and I thought we were able to do that offensively. But right now we have a very good rhythm going and have a lot of confidence. I think the other thing is that we're staying out of third down and long, and we're being very very balanced. And any time that you're balanced and you're not one dimensional, obviously it turns to your favor."

(On Josh Dobbs' success in the running game and passing game)
"Obviously it starts with protection and the one throw to Jauan. He was on his back and he didn't even see the ball completed. Again, I thought he was very poised in the pocket, and I thought our receivers were able to win some one-on-one matchups because we knew we'd get man-to-man coverage. We were able to do that. In the second half we felt like we needed to run him with all of the defensive looks and movement that we were seeing."

(On Josh Dobbs being able to place the 50-50 throws)
"We're winning the 50-50 balls. And he has tremendous confidence in our receivers, and they've done it all season - go up and get the football. From Jauan Jennings, to Josh Malone, to everyone. He has tremendous confidence, but he's putting the ball where it needs to put. We challenged him with the deep football, and he's been able to do that for us."

(On how he reacted to seeing the Florida-LSU score)
"Didn't handle it any way. The only thing that matters is being 1-0 this week and controlling what we can control, and that's winning the football game. We never addressed it one single time, and I think when you look at it, our character was displayed once again with our players. But again, everything is about our team and working to be 1-0, and that's all that matters."

(On if the win tonight was bittersweet with the way other games played out)
"You never heard me talk about it. Never heard the players talk about it. Our goal is to be 1-0 every week, and what happens happens. Again, I'm not going to sit in here and complain. We just won eight games, and that hasn't been done here in a long time. We have an opportunity to win nine. Obviously we have strong expectations for this football program, but right now, I'm going to talk about the win and talk about our seniors and how far our football has come.

(On what caused the success of the run game)
"I think just maintaining our blocks a little bit longer. I think obviously throwing the ball. We forced them more into Tampa 2 coverage and Cover 6 and rolling some different coverages so they couldn't outman the box. I think anytime that you run the quarterback you create an extra gap. It's a combination of all of those things. But I think he was effectively throwing the football and that forced them to go more 2 Shell and some different things that way, but the numbers game kind of went in our favor a little bit and we win some one on one matchups."

(On calling a timeout to take Josh Dobbs out of the game for the last time)
"I think he deserved that. You know, that was everything over the course of the last four years that he's meant to our football program. I thought he deserved to have that."

(On Josh Dobbs overall performance since the South Carolina loss)
"Very driven, very poised, has great composure. Has a lot of confidence. Has really stepped up as a leader, very very vocal. And you can just see the confidence that he has in himself and everyone around him. And I think we have some players playing really good football. I think Alvin Kamara, getting him back has really helped us obviously - John Kelly as well. Having those two individuals and the luxury of being able to run the football and then winning up front as well. I think our offensive line has continued to progress. I think our tight ends have as well. It's just the improvement in the entire offense. When you look at all of the position groups, they continue to get better and better and continue to progress. The quarterback is a byproduct of everyone around him."

(On his concern about the defense moving forwards)
"Well it's all about winning the football game. I thought we made some critical stops at some critical moments. We also took the football away, which was big. We talk a lot about taking the football away. So there were some things to build upon. But obviously, I think it starts first with tackling. We did not run our feet. There were too many missed tackles. We were lunging. We ran our gaps a number of times and just missed the tackle, so a lot of it sometimes is fundamentals. I could sit here and tell you that you're exactly right, that we're down, that the defensive tackles are down, and all the things that have happened this year. But again, I told our football team, this was a game where we had to have each other's backs. If we truly meant it, we had to have each other's backs. That's what good teams do is they pick each other up. And I thought that we were able to pick each other up. Missouri has very good special teams. For the most part our special teams did a very good job, and really, if you look at the first half, we were behind the field position game a number of times. I thought the 98-yard touchdown drive was huge. When you go back and you look at critical plays or critical drives throughout the course of the game, I thought that was a critical drive. We were able to show some resiliency defensively. But again, we have to continue to work and get better. We have a lot of true freshmen that are having to grow up. Some freshmen are learning that with preparation, it's one thing to be ready and it's another thing to be prepared. There's a lot that goes into your game preparation, but also the intensity that it takes. I didn't particularly like our intensity in the first half, and that's where I challenged our players. I thought in the second half we had much better intensity. But that's part of maturation. In this league, you better find a way to manufacture that intensity day in and day out and game in and game out."

(On the message to the team moving forward)
"1-0. Nothing changes. 1-0. We have an opportunity to win nine games. We know that we have two guaranteed opportunities left, and that's what it is. It's an honor and a privilege to coach here. It's an honor and privilege to play here and any time you put that orange Power T on, it means something. You're always playing for something when you're at Tennessee."

(On injuries)
"I'll know a little bit more. I would like to think that they'll be back next week. Again, I think we have to pound the treatments. Hopefully, we'll get Todd Kelly Jr. back and Dylan Wiesman should be back ready to go as well. I think that will help us as well. I haven't even met with Jason McVeigh, so I'll know a little bit more later in the evening."

(On what Josh Dobbs has meant to the program)
"I would say character, competitive character. That lady right there and her husband, it's all about them. They've raised a fine young man. And Joshua Dobbs - I'm not very political - but he could be the president of the United States if he wanted to. I think he's a young man that, when he puts his mind to accomplishing whatever he wants, he'll accomplish whatever he wants. We knew we had something special four years ago when we walked into that house in Alpharetta, Georgia. Just the character, everything. I got up Friday night in front of our team, and I told kind of a recruiting story about all of our seniors. I still remember that home visit, and I think it was like five hours. The thing that impressed me the most was when he came on his official visit and how he treated his mother, how he treated his father and the respect that he had. I knew we had a winner. So much of being a quarterback is about the characteristics, the intangibles that it takes to play that position. Josh has continued to grow and progress. People don't understand the rigors of the academic workload that he has and all the demands that people place on him from community service to being the quarterback at the University of Tennessee to the curriculum that he's in. I've never seen a more mature young man be able to handle that. And in Josh Dobbs' world, there is never a bad day. He's always got that smile, and he has the composure. He has the consistency like none other that I've ever seen. A young man like that only comes around so often."

(On Jonathan Kongbo)
"You saw a little bit of speed. I thought that was really good and the way our players reacted in reading the screen. They had heard a switch with the middle screen by the tight end earlier in the game, and he did a good job of retracing it and catching the ball. You saw a little bit of speed and burst at the end."

(On the evolution of the team)
"The easy thing is to talk about that part. I think the real thing is, is the resolve and resiliency of this football team. I love these kids. Jonathan played inside today, and it was the first time that he played inside today. You have another end in LaTroy Lewis that goes down and Jonathan stepped up and made some big plays for us. That's the way this team has been all season long. They're never too high. They're never too low. They just work every single day. They allow you to challenge them. I think the resolve and the resiliency of everything that we've been through this year speaks volumes about the character in our football program."

(On the competitiveness of Jauan Jennings)
"I'd rather say 'whoa' than 'sick them.' Jauan is a very competitive young man. He wants the ball in his hands. We can work with that. I'd rather be able to temper him a little bit, but I also I know this: when we show up to compete, Jauan Jennings is always going to be there. He wants the ball thrown to him. I love it. I appreciate it, and I think his mentality in terms of competitive character has really rubbed off on our football team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball."

Tennessee Senior QB Joshua Dobbs

(If it being Senior Day gave him extra incentive to have his best game at Neyland)
"I just wanted to come out and win and do whatever it took to do to win. I don't think there's any extra incentive in any game. Every single game I approach I know I'm going to play hard and do the things I need to do to put this team in a position to win. I was able to have a productive day through the air and on the ground and the numbers showed. I was just thankful to finish out my last game at Neyland strong, especially with a victory."

(On what's changed from his first start to today)
"A lot has changed both on and off the field, just the maturity level of learning how to be a successful starting quarterback, especially in the SEC from your preparation, to training in the offseason, to maintaining your body throughout the week, to understanding what you're going to expect on Saturday's, to just getting your mind ready to play week in and week out. I've definitely grown a lot since that first start, sure."

(On if he felt like he was in a rhythm all night long)
"Yeah I felt good. My goal was to just take advantage of what the defense was giving. In the first half we were able to hit some big plays in the air with Jauan [Jennings] running a great route on a go ball and [Josh] Malone running a great double move. In the second half we were able to take advantage of the ground game, whether it was me, Alive [Kamara], JK [John Kelly]. It's been tough to stop us all season, and it definitely was tough to stop us tonight."

Tennessee Senior DB Cameron Sutton

(On playing his final home game at Neyland Stadium)
"Definitely a special moment, obviously another opportunity to be out there with your brothers and your family to do the things that you love. It was definitely a special moment for all the seniors, and not just the seniors but our whole team, our whole coaching staff, just our last game at Neyland, something that you can't take for granted, so it was a great moment."

(On the importance of working back from the injury to get back on the field)
"It was very important. Obviously I took my time and took it one day at a time. Just the opportunity to get back out there is something that I don't take for granted and it's a true blessing. I just had a great support staff behind me from the coaches to the players to the training staff and the weight room. Everyone just keeping me uplifted each and every day, keeping a positive attitude behind me and like I said, just keeping encouraging me every single day which helped me in that process I was going through to come back with my boys."

Tennessee RS Junior DL Kendal Vickers

(On how the injuries at DT has impacted how the unit has had to play)
"Those guys come out every day and work. They know what we ask them to do and they embrace it and that's all you can ask for. [Jonathan] Kongbo stepped in, Dimarya [Mixon] steeped in, LaTroy [Lewis], KP [Kyle Phillips], those guys wanted to help. They knew we were low on numbers and those guys ask questions during practice, during the games, and I just try to give them little tid bits of what I know from playing on the inside to them."

(On what needs to improve over the last two games)
"I feel like we can be disruptive for these last couple games we have. Like I said, those guys are working hard and I'm taking more of a mentor role in it, but those guys are working hard and that's all you can ask."

Tennessee RS Sophomore DB Rashaan Gaulden

(On Cam Sutton's importance to the team)
"He's a great leader to this defense. He's one of those guys who you look at when you're a recruit and you're like, `man, he's one hell of a player.' You look at him as a role model, but at the same time, once you play with him, you have higher standards to live by and you have to play up to his level. Just having him here and all that he's done for us has definitely made an impact."

(On the frustration of giving up yards)
"Yeah it's very frustrating, I won't lie. I looked at the stats sheet and I saw 740 total yards, you can't really get too hot about that, because that's a lot of yards. All we can do is focus on the win, but at the same time, we need to fix the problem."

(On Josh Dobbs' impact)
"I don't really see an exit better than his. He almost went for 200-200. You don't really see that a lot in college football. Just his leadership that he's developed here; the relationships, he has all of my respect. Him putting his body on the line each and every week. The way he runs; he's fearless, he jumps over the piles and he does whatever he has to do to lead us. Just having him here, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Tennessee Sophomore RB John Kelly

(On the difference in the running game in the second half)
"They were out there flowing to the ball really hard. So instead of just running it side to side, we decided coming out in the second half to run it up the interior a lot more. So that opened up a lot for us and we were able to take advantage of it."

(On scoring touchdowns)
"Oh yeah, it's always good to score touchdowns. That's what we're going out to do every drive. It was really good for our team to go there and score as many points as we did."

(On if Florida's win over LSU is disappointing)
"No, they're a good team. It is what it is. I bet they put out a tough win."

Tennessee Junior LB Cortez McDowell

(On looking forward to next weekend's season finale, now that the SEC East title is out of contention)
"Just another opportunity with my teammates to go out and just compete. We really weren't worried about the SEC, we were worried about one game at a time, one day at a time. That's our team mindset. We're going to come in on Monday, review the film, and get better for that, get ready to go to Nashville."

(On the influence of the senior class)
"They're incredible. I look up to every one of them. Cam Sutton, Brett Kendrick, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, a lot of those guys I've looked at as my older brothers. They help me and the rest of my whole class develop and mature to help bring this program back where it belongs."

(On Jalen Reeves-Maybin's mentorship)
"[He told me] to just be locked in and ready to go. He knew, because I've spent countless hours with him trying to understand the game here; the game plans and the scheme we have in place. I just built trust and confidence in myself and I built it in him as well. So he knew if something were to ever happen, that he'd be fine, that our spot would be fine. Elliot Berry as well, we both take tremendous pride in what we do."

Tennessee Junior DE Derek Barnett

(On the runs Josh Dobbs is able to create and the kind of athlete he is)
"I'm just like man I'm glad he's on our team. The offense bailed us out a lot and Dobbs, I mean y'all saw the game, he's done some crazy things out there. But I'm really glad he's on our team."

(On what it would mean to break Reggie White's sack record next week at Vanderbilt)
"I would be excited to catch that record back home, but I'd be more excited if we get a W. Every time I step on the field that's what I'm worried about is winning and if that's me getting a sack, helping the team win then good. Or if that's me just affecting the quarterback, getting no sacks and we still win, I'm fine with that."

Tennessee Junior WR Josh Malone

(On comparing tonight's long TD catch to the one at Kentucky last year)
"Honestly, this one really impressed me because he [Dobbs] stepped up in the pocket and just launched it. I wasn't really expecting it to just get dropped like a dime like that so I would probably say the Missouri one."

(On the athleticism of Josh Dobbs)
"I just be down the field and be like there he goes again, running around. We all know what he can do when he gets to use his feet and get out of trouble. I'm just happy that he's with us."

Tennessee Junior OL Brett Kendrick

(On what Josh Dobbs has meant to the Tennessee program)
"I didn't expect anything else from him. He's a huge competitor. He's been one of my best friends since he has been here. He was talking all week about how this isn't our last game. He was excited to come out and play. I couldn't be more proud of him. I'd say that he, along with some other people, that he's done a lot to bring this program back to where it is right now. We owe a lot to him. He's been a special player for us."

(On Austin Sanders' collegiate career coming to an end)
"He's been huge for us. He's always been a guy that we can depend on. He plays multiple positions. We love Austin. He's the guy that always has your back no matter what. We feel like he'd take a bullet for you. He's been great. He's been one of my best friends since I've been here."

(On how efficient the offense feels this far into the season)
"We're really confident. Before every game, we say we're going to try to score 100 points. We have a really confident group. When Dobbs is throwing the ball as well as he has been, it's really tough to stop us. He can run it, he can throw it, and we have Alvin Kamara and John Kelly."

(On Florida winning the SEC East title)
"We're disappointed about that, but we still have a lot to play for. We have a big game coming up next week versus Vanderbilt, which is a huge rival game. We're playing for a good bowl game right now and a 10-win season. So, there's still a lot left out there for us. We're not going to hang our heads about it. I just actually found out what happened when I was sitting in there doing a radio interview, but I knew on the sideline that when they stopped showing the score up there something had gone wrong. We're not going to hang our heads about it. We've had a great year. Coach Jones was really forcing us to stay focused on our game and control what we can control."

Tennessee Sophomore DB Micah Abernathy

(On Missouri's offense scoring 37 points)
"We practiced with our offense every day. We knew they were an up-tempo team. They like to go fast. That created a lot of problems for defenses throughout the year. We practiced that a lot this week, and we felt like we did a pretty good job on that."

(On keeping motivation for the next two games)
"We don't have any quitters on our team. We have a lot of heart. You all can see that from the wins we've had this year. So, it's really our heart and our determination to win. We don't like to lose."

(On the defense being affected by injuries)
"We have a `next up' rule. If someone goes down, the next person has to step up regardless of that year's experience or anything like that. That's what we try to live by."

(On the significance of playing Vanderbilt)
"The Vanderbilt game is the battle of Tennessee. We want to make sure we win that game. We treat them just like any other opponent going into the week. We want to win that game just like any other game."

(On the run defense issues from the past couple weeks)
"I wouldn't blame it on our injuries because we have a next-up mentality. It's just the defense as a whole needs to fit the run plays. It's nothing the offense is doing, it's all on us."

Missouri Head Coach Barry Odom

(Opening Statement)
"Thank you guys for being here. Tennessee did a great job, they played really well offensively. I challenged our team at the beginning of the week, and as we got into the final 48 hours of preparation, we really talked about wanting to get it into the fourth quarter. If we got it into the fourth quarter, I thought we would have a chance. If we could just keep it close and get it into the fourth quarter. I am proud of my guys, they continue to fight, they continue to battle, we're playing hard. We're not executing all the time, but that has a lot to do with, coaching staff on down, putting them in a position to find a way to execute. At halftime I looked at the stats, made a couple changes."

"Rush defense I thought we were hanging in there pretty good. Josh (Dobbs) hadn't hurt us up to that point, then obviously he took over in the second half. They're a talented group, I looked at them last week against Kentucky; they ran for about the same amount of yards. We did some really good things in the first half defensively, rush wise and the second half got out of control."

"Offensively, again, 745 yards is a pretty good day. We turned the ball over four times, that's hard to put yourself in position there. But damn, offensively that's a pretty good day. I didn't have enough answers defensively to put us there to win it."

"We got to continue, our challenge now is to finish this week and try to get our guys in position to send the seniors out the right way. I feel very strongly about that, wanting that for this football time. They've given a lot, and we want to finish it for them the right way. Proud of the way they compete and that's something that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. We haven't got the wins that we wanted this year, but we talk about learning moments and teachable moments and things that this game is able to put you in position to learn and to teach and try to move forward from. We'll use it and try to get closer from. The foundation is going to continue to build and be strong and the wins will come at some point."

(On feeling like they had to score every possession in the second half)
"It did and we hadn't been in that feeling many times, but I did get to that point. I thought we turned the ball over early in the second half and they just kept coming. Our guys kept plugging away and making plays, making conversions and getting down the field. Like I said, I couldn't come up with an answer for them. Obviously, that turnover that flipped the field early, they got the ball at the nine-yard-line or whatever it was. First drive of the second half, that's a tough way to start, but that's football, that going to happen. We have to stand up and make a play, we didn't tackle really well. Big plays hurt us all night; first half it was in the pass defense, 1-on-1 balls, we were in position and didn't come away with winning one of those early. Second half, quarterback is a talented kid, Dobbs is a talented kid; he made a couple moves on one, and on one or two others we had guys in the hole and we weren't able to make a tackle. He's a really good player and credit to them."

(On illegal substitution penalty which gave Tennessee a first down)
"It was a big third down and I thought I had a timeout called and I didn't get it executed, that one's on me. It's hard to say out loud, but that's the truth. I tried to call timeout, didn't get it and they had already thrown the flag. We had defensive line that were switching trying to get to the next package and I didn't get it executed. Yea, it was a big play."

(On Damarea Crockett's performance)
"I think up front, our offensive line did a tremendous job blocking at the point of attack. I thought our offensive scheme going into the game was tremendous and they executed. Damarea ran well. He had 24 carries, Ish (Witter) had 31, so 55 carries between them. They carried a big load, played at a fast tempo. We had 110 snaps, that's pretty good. He had 226 and Ish had 163. That's a pretty good night by those guys. But you can't do that unless you have five guys blocking up front and a tight end. We got some things in the run game that gave us an advantage in the way we were lining up. Credit to (offensive coordinator Josh) Heupel and the offensive staff, credit to the kids for playing really well."

(On going for it on fourth down)
"I thought tonight we needed to go for it and try to get it. The one we fumbled, that's frustrating going in there. For us in that situation I thought we had some momentum offensively, wanted to keep it and get first downs. I'll look at it again tonight and reevaluate it all. In the moment of the game, going back talking with the offensive side we felt pretty good about it."

(On managing game when you don't trust your kicker)
"Early on, we called it a little bit differently, just because of that reason. I was proud of the way that he came in and kicked the ball. Tucker (McCann) came in after the first PAT miss. Tucker came in and kicked really well the rest of the night. Hopefully we get some confidence there and we are able to build on that. For Tucker to come in and do that after the things that he's been through; I'm proud of him. He's going to be a competitor and he's going to battle through it. He's going to be a really good player."

(On whether there was confusion on fourth down with Nate Strong on the field)
"I don't know, I'll have to ask and look at it a little closer. It seemed like the pitch relationship was definitely a little close. So I don't know if the read on the defensive end took the quarterback on a different angle or a different path. Without looking at it again or talking to the offensive staff, I'm not sure on that."

(On decision to start Ben Tesson at kicker)
"Coming out of this week, I felt like he was the guy. On the extra points, he was going to kick it. He went out and didn't execute it so we went with the other guy. Jake Brents did a nice job holding all night. Jake Trump went in and was a snapper all night in that environment. I was proud of those guys and how that was pulled out with Jake Hurrell out through the concussion protocol. They did some good things there. Snapper, first time he has really done it in a game and in an environment like that. He got plenty of work tonight on PAT's so he'll learn from it and continue to be in there. We solved some things there that we will build on."

(On reluctance to go for two)
"I wanted us to get into the fourth quarter. We always look in the fourth quarter, go for one or go for two. The way our offense was playing I thought we were going to have a chance yet there to score. Confidently, talking to the defensive staff I thought we had a chance to stop them and I didn't do it. We felt good about a couple two-point plays we had and then the turnovers affected that a little bit there. A lot of discussion was going on, on when those start. I thought we were able to get a stop defensively, but it wasn't able to happen."

(On Dobbs' seven-yard, third down run)
"It was a big one. We had the corner crashing, corner came, tight end blocked out, we had the safety in the hole and we just didn't make the tackle. The kid's a good player, backside pursuit was there, he just ran away from us. That was a big one; that hurt because we were right there. We got them in third down, I felt like we had a pretty good call on, but it didn't work out."

(On Dobbs' effectiveness)
"He has been effective all year. He's a great player, runs really well. He was throwing the deep ball well tonight early on. Then they went to the run game, talented kid. The two tailbacks, Kamara I am really impressed with and then Kelly; that has really opened up the run game the past few weeks. They have a good thing going on."

(On getting Nate Strong some reps)
"He's played a little bit in previous weeks, not much, but he continues to get better. Damarea (Crockett) got banged up a little bit and was out. Ish (Witter) was banged up a little bit, so he was the next guy. He's going to have a bright future. He had a high ankle sprain early in the year, it took him a little bit to get over it, but man I am excited about Nate. He's got quickness; he's got power. He's getting to be the guy that we saw through the recruiting process. It's good to see him back healthy and with a good offseason he's going to be a tremendous player."

(On tackling issues)
"I think you look at the number of guys defensively that are playing, that aren't proven tacklers and comparing it. I am just looking at this year, there are a number of guys that have tackled well. But overall we haven't played well enough defensively. That's hard to be in that position, and just go back-and-forth tonight. That's a bad feeling. We have to continue to work where they don't feel like they have to make the tackle one-on-one, gain an advantage that way."

(On how hard it is to accept result with offense's performance)
"You see those stats and you don't look at the other side, and it should be a good night, and it wasn't. I am proud of the team. Wish I could have found a way to win the ball game for them, but we didn't. Obviously, offensively we will build on that, we'll build on that. Doesn't seem like it at times, but we are not that far off from being a pretty good team."

Missouri QB Drew Lock

(On being surprised it was a three-score game given how many yards Missouri had)
"Yeah, regardless of how we play as a whole team, it's defense and offense. Regardless of that, the offenses' job is to at least score one more point than the other team. (We) could have done that, minimize the mental things, but that's kind of our outlook on the game."

(On Damarea Crockett's performance)
"He did a great job for us. They started having to play the run, and that opened up the pass for us. We started passing the ball, and that opened up the run. We were able to give a one-two punch there, and it's going to be hard to stop if we just fix the small things."

Missouri DL Charles Harris

(On what Tennessee adjusted to get Josh Dobbs' run game going)
"I'm not sure on that question, we'll have to see what happened."

(On how frustrating is it to have Tennessee runners wrapped up only to get away)
"Just got to go to practice and do better. Just got to get back to basics."

(On giving up so many missed tackles)
"Yeah, as a defense whenever you give up big plays and missed tackles, it surprises everybody."

Missouri DB Aaron Penton

(On Josh Dobbs breaking runs)
"We just kind of fell asleep on him or lost focus on him. The running backs and how physical they were running, we had a corner blitz called so I was coming on the D-gap, and he just hit the C-gap and made the safety miss and went to the house. It's frustrating but you know you've got a mobile quarterback on your hands that can make big plays like that, and you expect to contain them, stop them, but he still finds a way to break a big one for touchdowns."

(On what happened on the first quarter touchdown)
"I'd say he made a great play. I noticed the double move and got out early expecting him to throw the ball deep, and when I looked for it the ball was short and he (Jauan Jennings) made a great play."

Missouri OL Paul Adams

(On knowing there would be opportunities to make plays on the ground)
"Oh yeah, beginning of the week we saw flaws in their defense that we thought we could take advantage of, but whenever that would get shut down, we'd revert to the pass, and when the pass was - when they were starting to spread out a little bit - that's when we'd start to run more and more. Got to give a big shout out to Jonah Dubinski, that's his first-ever start and he played his ass off. Just really so proud of Kevin Pendleton and Tyler Howell, every one that's be going so hard lately. The past couple weeks, just the way we've practiced has not reverted to how we've been playing."

(On enjoying being able to run the ball so well)
"There's got to be a sense of pride that we've put the offense on our back the past couple weeks. We love it, so we beg coach to do it again. Run the same play, keep on going. We're not scared to run the same play over and over again because we know that it's going to be successful."

Missouri OL Kevin Pendleton

(On how tough it is to keep scoring)
"It's pressure, but it's our job. That's what you sign up for as an offensive player. That's what you like. You're supposed to go out there and be the better offense out on the field, and today we didn't get that done."

(On Crockett's future)
"Bright. I love that kid, and I'm excited for as many snaps as I get to play with him."

Missouri DB Ronnell Perkins

(On Josh Dobbs' running)
"It is what it is, but he ran hard. He got his yards. We've just got to counter and tackle better. All we have to do is tackle better."

(On the difficulty of having someone wrapped up and they break for a long run)
"It hurts; those are the ones that hurt. You just got to pursue, pursue good and don't think that somebody might tackle him. Keep running to the ball."

Missouri RB Nate Strong

(On seeing significant action)
"It was definitely good about the plays, about the game. A lot of emotions all over the room after the tough loss and everything. Our season has been up and down, a rollercoaster. And we're trying to pull everything together and play as one, stay close as a family."

Missouri RB Ish Witter

(On how frustrating is it to run so well and not win)
"It's real frustrating. People are starting to be proud like you did a good job. You rushed for this much. That doesn't matter if you don't come out with the W. It is frustrating."

(On did it feel like the game turned quickly)
"Yeah, just little mistakes. We've got to minimize the mistakes and we'll be fine."

(On you and Crockett making a big one-two punch)
"We always talk to each other to tell each other what we see out there. Our O-line did a real good job, and so did our tight ends. They had a big part of that blocking, so we got to put it on the O-line and tight ends."

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