Oct. 25, 2014

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Mizzou Players | VU Coach Derek Mason | VU Players

Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
On the victory over Vanderbilt:
“Winning is not easy. One thing I told my players is that every win is a great win. Every win. Because it's very, very hard to win. That being said, when we get up tomorrow we'll evaluate this game like we do any game, win or lose. Obviously what stands out to me right now is that we had 14 penalties for 100 yards. I'm not going to deal with the team about that now because this isn't the appropriate time to do it. We need to find a way to win, and we did. We did the right things in the fourth quarter to win. We did very well, and I'm very pleased with our victory.”

On the team's excitement about another SEC win:
“Of course they're excited. I don't care, it's hard to win. I told you that a long time ago. Everybody just wants us to go out and have everything come easy. Well it's not like that. There are lessons to learn there. But we also haven't played our best football game yet, and we need to do that.”

On not turning the ball over:
“That's a huge plus. I think we got better on offense. I also thought they played pretty good defense. With the field position, going back and forth and long fields for both of us until the turnover.”

On the offense's play in the fourth quarter:
“You talk about a big play, on a big stage, in a big game, (Bud Sasser's touchdown catch) is huge. The first half, I think we had it four times. We scored one touchdown and one field goal. I think we only had it four times. One time we had a third down that was dropped across the middle, going in across the plus-30. Another time we missed a field goal somewhere in there too. The numbers are a little better than we made it look, but overall I saw progress.”

On the importance of being bowl-eligible:
“If that's the case, then Missouri people have a very, very short memory. We are bowl-eligible, that means a lot. We never talk about it because our expectation level is a lot higher than that. But six wins in October is good.”

On the Kentucky Wildcats:
“(Mark Stoops) is a good coach, and they've got a good football team. It's going to be another SEC game here. They're all tough.”

On his fourth quarter touchdown pass to WR Bud Sasser:
“It was just a little bit behind him, but Bud made a great play and came down with it.”

On running the ball a little more than usual today:
“Coach Henson talked a lot at the hotel yesterday, and we wanted to establish our run game and get that back to where it was. And that's going to open up the passing game, as well, when they stack guys in the box.”

Coach Pinkel | VU Coach Derek Mason | VU Players

MU Player Quotes
Senior TB Marcus Murphy
On the success of the running game:
“We fought hard in the run game just to open it up and spread it out and get some passing touchdowns. It has been a little while, but that shows that are getting back on track and continue to improve.”

On whether any time will kick to him again this season:
“I hope so. I don't know how that will go, but all the guys on the return teams will be ready and I'll be ready if I do get another opportunity.”

On the success of the two-headed rushing attack:
“Just focus. We knew that we were going to be a big part of today's game, and that we will be from here on out. We just have to increase focus and bring our A game. The offensive line did a good job blocking up front and creating lanes, and we just read it and ran hard. If you run hard, those are the results you are going to get.”

Junior DE Shane Ray
On how it feels to get a win at home:
“It feels good, but we can get better.  That's what it comes down to. You're supposed to be happy about a win, and I'm happy about it, but we can play better.”

On the expectations of the team:
“We have high expectations for ourselves. I personally have high expectations of this defense and myself, and I feel like each week we have to go out and get better and show our improvement. If we do anything less than that, then it's great if you can pull out a win. but you've got to get better.”

Senior WR Bud Sasser
On finding ways to win:
“Definitely, what we want to do on this team is win, period. As an offense, we have our set goals, and we were a little short today on a couple goals. We still have work to do, even though it might have looked pretty good, we still have work to do.”

On his battles with Torren McGaster:.
“Yeah we were talking. There wasn't too much talking after that touchdown. He's a really good corner, honestly. He challenged me the entire game.”

 

Coach Pinkel | Mizzou Players | VU Players

VU Coach Derek Mason
Opening Statement:
“I first would like to congratulate Coach Pinkel and his football team. I know they battled just like we battled. Maty Mauk made a couple plays that were pretty good plays, on the big scramble that led to a touchdown or field goal and on the last drive he had another big scramble with the added penalty and he made a great play. I thought Johnny McCrary played well. He came out and did a great job. We gave Missouri way too much in the run game. We did a good job versus Maty Mauk at times, but I just want to mention, again, that he made plays when he needed to. When you look at our run game, obviously we didn't get it on track in the way we wanted to, but we ran the play action and Johnny did a great job of trying to handle it by doing different things. Let me tell you, the young man gets better every time his feet touch the ground. We're going to keep getting better as a team. I thought this football team fought. We're going to continue to grow and learn from our mistakes, but the one thing you can say about this football team is that we're going to play four quarters, and that's what you saw.”

On pressuring Maty Mauk:
“I thought the pressure on Mauk all day was good. The issue was letting him escape to his right. We talked about making him escape to his left instead of his right because he's more dangerous that way as a runner and a thrower. He made plays when his team needed it, and for us we just have to go back and continue to make sure we understand what guys are trying to do to us and what our strengths are. We have to play to those.”

On Johnny McCrary's play:
“I think Johnny is, again, just going to continue to get better each time his feet touch the grass. He's earned his playing time. He gives us a different dimension, plays hard and does his job at managing the offense.”
                                                   
On tight end usage:
“I just think for us that our tight ends are older and I think it is a favorable matchup for us in terms of being able to find those guys. It's also a comfort level for the quarterback so he can look out and know those guys are capable whether in man-to-man or zone. We're still growing up some young wide receivers and I think our tight ends give us a nice complement to what our receivers bring to the table. That's what we're going to keep doing moving forward.”

On being closer to an SEC win:
“I mean I thought we were close three hours ago. We came away with a loss and what we're going to do again is just get right back to it. We're close. We're a growing, hardworking football team that's going to continue to move forward. I thought tonight they competed hard, but when we needed things sometimes it happened and sometimes it didn't and that's football. So what you have to do in football is keep moving forward. This group is coming closer together and playing like family. We just need to continue to understand that the harder you work, the more opportunities will come for you.”

Coach Pinkel | Mizzou Players | VU Coach Derek Mason

VU Players
Junior TE Steven Scheu
On the number of tight ends that were on the field:
“Absolutely, we have some very talented guys in my position, and we love the skill that we have. If we have three tight ends in the game, that presents a lot of matchup problems for other teams. We are confident that all our tight ends can make those plays.”

On what was missing with the running game:
“That's tough. We've been running the ball really well all year. I'm sure Missouri was really keying in on that all week, really focusing on our running game because that's our strength and they got us on that one.”

On Johnny McCrary's first start:
“I thought he played a great game. We are extremely proud of the way that he played. He put the ball where it needed to be.  If something wasn't there, he ran with his feet. We are very happy with him.”

Redshirt Freshman QB Johnny McCrary
On how he felt about today's game:
“I felt like I was comfortable by being out on the field with the guys. They have a lot of experience. It feels like I was living a dream. I know it wasn't the best time out there tonight, games like this are going to happen, but I know we have the right tools to be successful. Some of the decisions I made may have cost the game, but I will prepare for the future and play a lot better.”

On how the season has progressed to this point:
“First few games had growing pains. It will be that way when you get a new system. We just need to keep working like we are trying to do now. Each and every game we are getting better and over time, those things will really improve the program. We have great guys on our offensive line, defense and special teams. I believe with the right guys, we will really define who we are.”