Mizzou/Oklahoma Post-Game Quotes
10/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Mizzou Players | Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops | Oklahoma Players
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement:
"It's a historic night. It's a great win obviously. It's a great win for our fans too. Tiger Walk today was better than it's ever been. It was a battle. It went down to the end and they are a tough team. When you play a great team like that, not everything is going to fall into place."
On the performance of Mizzou's offense:
"Our offensive line did a good job of run blocking. Blaine obviously had a great day. There were some turnovers in the game and they hurt both teams and helped both teams."
On the play of Blaine Gabbert:
"That's huge that he didn't turn the ball over. It's a great win for him as a quarterback, because he did little things to help the football team. He also did some great things to give our team a chance to win the game."
On Mizzou's second-half adjustments:
"We struggled with the tempo in the first half and I thought we did a better job in the second half."
On the significance of the win and the upcoming schedule:
"It's obviously a huge win anytime you can beat the number one team in the nation. I am proud of our team and now the games get bigger. We will enjoy it tonight and get back to work tomorrow. Nebraska is a great team and we have great respect for them."
On the fans' support for MU:
"The fans were unbelievable tonight. This is a victory for our fans too. It's been a while since we beat Oklahoma or beat a number one team and that's a great accomplishment for our fans."
Coach Pinkel | Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops | Oklahoma Players
MU Player Quotes
Senior C Tim Barnes
On the game:
"I think we kind of had a bit of a challenge this week, and we kind of challenged ourselves as a group. We wanted to come out there and prove maybe we're a little better than people think or just to reaffirm what they think. So I think we came out and did a good job tonight and guys did a well communicating and just playing; it was real fun out there."
Senior DB Kevin Rutland
On working as a team:
"When it comes down to a game like this it makes those moments just so much more memorable now and they mean so much now because you're growing up with a family, not just a team. It's your brothers out there. When you win a game like this it just shows that it wasn't in vain, all your hard work wasn't in vain."
Junior QB Blaine Gabbert
On playing in a big game:
"You've just got to rise to the occasion. This is an extremely big football game for this team, this university and this state. We just showed them that we're here to stay."
On the team's focus:
"There were huge implications in this football game and we just had to go out, stay focused, and play our game. Oklahoma just gave us the second option in the vertical attack and we took advantage of that."
On the next opponent:
"Each game gets bigger and bigger. Nebraska's a great football team and we're looking forward to playing in Lincoln."
Senior S Jarrell Harrison
On the team's preparation:
"All week we worked on that up tempo style, we knew that they were going to try and fastball us but we were prepared for it. We knew they had explosive guys, but we came out and did our thing."
On making national headlines:
"That's what we wanted to do. We knew we had a chance to make Mizzou history and beat Oklahoma for the first time here in a while."
On being in front of the fans:
"It was great. From Tiger Walk, to the last second of the fourth quarter, they were great; and we can't thank them enough."
Coach Pinkel | Mizzou Players | Oklahoma Players
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops
On covering kickoffs:
"We've been great covering kickoffs all year, but we were just a little tentative."
On Blaine Gabbert:
"Blaine Gabbert played very well. He made very smart decisions and throws."
On the game expectations:
"You just can't turn the ball over, that's just a big factor of the game. You have to take things one at a time. We need to focus more on executing our plays."
On Missouri's defense:
"Missouri played very good defense, especially in the (second) half. When going into half time, it was crucial that we focused."
Coach Pinkel | Mizzou Players | Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops
Oklahoma Players
QB Landry Jones:
On Missouri:
"They did a good job. Missouri's a great defense. Watching film we had a lot of reads on their defense but they still made a lot of plays. They did a good job of disguising stuff."
On the lead at 21-20:
"When we went down and scored that last touchdown I felt like we were in a groove. I felt like our offense had a lot of momentum, but once again, we didn't make enough plays to win the game."
Freshman RB Roy Finch:
On being on the road for the first time:
"We came out with a plan and we didn't execute the way we wanted to. Coach put me in a lot this week and I just tried to go out there and do the best that I could."
On what they take from this loss:
"It's a great experience for all the true freshman who played in this game. Corey Nelson had a great game. This gives us experience for the rest of the season and next year. You saw how talented our freshman are to go into a hostile environment and really play well."
On what Coach Stoops said after the game:
"He just told us to keep our heads up. It's a long season, we still have a lot of football to play. We're in a great position. We are still number one in the south right now so we just have to keep winning out and hopefully we can be in the Big 12 Championship."
