Oct. 25, 2003

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Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
On the game:
"How about our football team? How about our coaches? I am very very proud of them. They work so hard and are so committed to the program. This game was huge, I told my players that this week. This keeps us in the North Division Title hunt, makes us bowl eligible, gives a chance to get back in the Top 25 and makes a statement about our program."

On starting the game on offense:
"We took the ball first because we wanted to make a statement to our offense and our football team that we were going to attack. It was good that we scored on that opening drive, that was very important."

On containing Tech quarterback B.J. Symons:
"We thought it was important to mix man, zone and pressure. He still did pretty well, throwing for 437 yards. I know that is about 100 yards below what he averages, but he did complete some passes. We also got some turnovers, which I thought was critically important."

On the defensive plan:
"We didn't change our scheme at all. A lot of people watch video of their defense and go numb. Then they want to change a bunch of things. A year ago we did that, this year we just changes a couple of things in our basic scheme. The other thing that I think was critically important is we had a complete substitution plan - almost two different defenses. We changed maybe 6 or 7 players."

On Brad Smith:
"That run he made along the sideline; I just looked at the coaches next to me and shook my head. He is an amazing athlete and only a sophomore. He is going to get a lot better. He is a gift."

Missouri sophomore quarterback Brad Smith:
On Tech's man coverage:
"They would turn and run with our wide receivers and that can tire you out."

On doubt in the third quarter:
"They had the momentum, we kept getting big plays, but they would be called back because of penalties. We were killing ourselves.

On the Tech offense:
"Every time they drop back to pass they could score. That kept us on eggshells until the clock had double zeros."

Missouri redshirt freshman rover Dedrick Harrington:
On lining up on the line of scrimmage:
"Coach put me there, and I just wanted to help my team. I knew if I made a mistake my team would be there for me."

On becoming bowl eligible:
"We made it a point of focus. Now we want a bigger and better one."

Missouri junior linebacker Brandon Barnes: On Texas Tech:
"They're a great team. They're going to get their yards, but we've got to shut them down in certain areas, get on the board and go after them."

On making a statement in the past 3 weeks:
"I hope so. I hope we get a little respect, but we've got to keep pushing. We've got Colorado coming up in a couple of weeks."

On playing against the Tech offense:
"I wasn't tired. We had a nice little rotation going. If you get a good hit on the QB, the ball's going to float somewhere and somebody's going to pick it off."

Missouri senior tailback Zack Abron
On hurting his ankle:
"It's the same ankle. It kind of stuck in the turf and then I got pushed in the back on the play."

On the Missouri running game:
"We knew it was key for us to sustain drives and keep their QB off the field. The defense did a great job. They had quite a few turnovers for us and put us in good field position to go out and score."

On Brad Smith:
"He played a heck of a game. He did a lot of good running out there, but credit the offensive line. They did a great job up front taking care of business."

Texas Tech Head Coach Mike Leach
On the game:
"We lost this game because I'm not a good enough coach to get our defensive players to believe in themselves. We lost this game because I'm not a good enough coach to get our offensive players to play in control when the other team scores a couple points and I'm not a good enough coach to get our kick off return team and kick off cover team to play."

On practice this week:
"This week I'm going to do my best to be a better coach. I'm only going to work with people this week that do their best to be the best players that they can be, but I need to find a another way to reach them."