Head coach Gary Pinkel
Opening statement...
"Good afternoon everyone. I'm excited about getting going here, following our bye week. I thought we had a good week (of practice). Every Monday morning after a bye week we go back and evaluate things and get some rest for our players. We got a jump on the game plan and a couple practices in."
"Georgia is a very good football team. I have great respect for head coach Mark Richt and the job he has done there. It's a lot about playing our best football Saturday and playing against a really good football team. We're excited about being back at Mizzou at 11 o'clock on Saturday. Everybody wear gold out there and crank it up."
On stopping Georgia running back, Todd Gurley...
"He's a great player, and I have a great amount of respect for him. He's strong and breaks tackles really well. That's the thing to me that makes him really difficult to contain. You're not going to stop him, so what you got to do is contain him. You do that through gap integrity and playing well up front with the defensive line. You can't allow big holes to open up. We obviously have to play physical against a really good offensive line. You also have to tackle well and pursue well. We recognize it's a great challenge, but we're excited about the opportunity."
On Georgia quarterback, Hutson Mason, and their offensive scheme so far this season...
"I think they're leaning on the running game a lot more. They are running the ball well and that's what they do. They stick to it. They do a lot of play action passes which fits perfect with everyone trying to stop Gurley. I think he's (Mason) doing well. That's their philosophy and that's smart. They have a real good offensive plan and it's working well."
On linebacker Kentrell Brothers' recent play...
"I think he was playing well early on, but we just have a high standard for him. We have an expectation level for every player here. He's a great competitor and he wants to be good too. We're excited he's playing well."
On the football traits that linebacker Michael Scherer's possesses...
"He's got maturity for his age. To be able to do what he's doing at his age sets him apart a bit. He's strong and very bright. He's a tough competitor. He can run and has all the ingredients you need to have to be a good linebacker. He's worked hard and developed in all those areas. He just needs more experience. The more experience you get the quicker you can react to things. A higher maturity level allows you to become your best quicker than other guys might."
On the importance of wide receiver Bud Sasser and his play this season...
"He's making some big plays. He's rising to the occasion. Not only with catching the ball and getting open, but he's also made some big plays. In the last game (Sept. 27 at South Carolina) he obviously made a huge football play. From a momentum standpoint it changed everything."
On quarterback Maty Mauk's growth from his first year at Mizzou to the current season...
"I think he has grown and matured. Three weeks ago (vs. Indiana) he got the ball on the six-yard line and drove us down to the 20-yard line to kick a field goal and put us in a position to win. Same thing with the next game (at South Carolina) as he put us in a position to win. That's kind of his `M.O.' That's what he does. He's a great competitor. He just wants to be a great player, and he'll work hard to get there."
On defensive tackle Lucas Vincent's play so far this season within the line rotation...
"I think Lucas is playing really well. We're playing well inside overall (on the defensive line). I think Harold Brantley is playing on a higher level now. Josh Augusta is doing a good job in there. Matt Hoch has had that injury he's been battling with, but I think he'll be 100-percent. Rickey Hatley plays in there also. I think he (Vincent) is doing a good job. We like to play a lot of players in there. This Saturday will be a great test for our defensive line. We all know the importance of playing well up front in big games."
On the team's preparation for early 11 a.m. kickoffs...
"I think every player and coach in the country would rather get up and play at 11 o'clock in the morning. They want to get it over instead of agonizing about it all day long. I don't personally ever look at it that way. It is what it is. There's a huge difference in playing at seven o'clock at night versus playing at 11 o'clock in the morning. You wake up and have your pre-game meal at 7 a.m. The second you bounce out of bed you better have your head right to play. You don't get any of your Saturday to work on getting yourself ready to play. It's all about preparation."
Sophomore QB Maty Mauk
On growth this season…
“You look at not just the games we've played, but who we've played against, they are very good football teams. For me to just go out there and work, the game has really slowed down for me. I can go out there and just be me and read safeties and get the ball out. Our guys are also doing a great job of helping me out.”
On advice from previous Mizzou quarterbacks…
“I haven't really though about it. Chase (Daniel) has reached out to me and helped me out. That's just how it is around here. We're all a family among guys that have played, so they're going to do whatever they can to help us be our best. You can't thank them enough.”
On playing without Darius White and Jimmie Hunt last week against South Carolina…
“It was different. Obviously, just how you said it. I wasn't with those guys all summer or all fall camp, they were usually with the twos. Just to come out there and have a good week and get their confidence up by. Get them some easy throws and catches. That's going to help them out the most. And then being in there with the environment they were in in South Carolina, that's what's really going to help them out. If you guys were there, it was unbelievably loud and really it was a hard environment to play in. They all did a great job of staying focused.”
On having a bye week this last week…
“It was good, especially when you're getting guys healthy. You got Darius (White) and Jimmie (Hunt) out. You want those guys you've been with healthy so you can get out there and do what we know we can do. The bye week, all in all, has worked out in the perfect time.”
Sophomore TE Sean Culkin
On getting Jimmie Hunt and Darius White back…
“They are two great playmakers. The leadership that we get from them during the game and leading up to it is a huge boost. It'd be very big for us.”
On Bud Sasser's leadership on and off the field…
“I think he's always been a great leader in a different way each year since I've been here. Obviously, as a team captain, his role is high and probably bigger than what it was last year and the year before that. It's not surprising seeing that from him.”
On being ready to go for an 11 a.m. start…
“What else could you ask for to just wake up and play? Great game. It's going to be fun to just wake up and play without having to think about anything. It's go time.”
Senior DE Markus Golden
On last time he played a player like Todd Gurley…
“Really, I've never played a back like Todd Gurley. I say, maybe back when we played against Eddie Lacy a few years ago. Todd Gurley, he's on a different level. We're ready to play him. He's a good player, but we live for games like this and we live to play against great players like this.”
On how the defense will stop Gurley…
“We just have to tackle him. You have to get out there and be fundamentally sound and play team defense and run to the ball. That's the good thing about us at Mizzou. We run to the ball around here and everybody's always around the ball. If one person is on him, I know I'm going to be coming and one of my teammate is going to be coming if I'm on him.”
On being aware of implications of this game…
“We don't really look at that. We just take it one game at a time, and right now, it's Georgia. We just want to get out there and beat them because we know we have a good team and they have a good team. It's going to be a good game, but we aren't really worried about the rankings. We just want to get out there and play Mizzou football.”
Senior TB Marcus Murphy
On having a bye week after an emotional win…
“We did have a good bye week. We were able to sit back and watch a lot of college games. It was a good bye week just to get some injuries healed and sit back off our feet and just relax.”
On what stands out about Georgia…
“They have a really good defense. They fly around to the ball. They're really big and strong. We just have to come out and bring our A game and bring some good focus this week to get the win.”
Senior WR Bud Sasser
On getting Jimmie Hunt and Darius White back…
“It's really big. It's a lot of experience out there. It's just good to have those guys back out there on the field. They're really great playmakers.”
On how the team enjoys 11 a.m. starts…
“It really doesn't matter what time we play, honestly. I just like to get up and play on Saturday. As long as we have a game, I'm fine with it.”
On Maty Mauk's growth through the years…
“He's matured a lot. He's done a lot of things that he's needed to do to put him where he's at now. He's throwing the ball and not running as much as he was. He's taken some shots that he probably shouldn't have taken, but he's also getting down as well. You can just see it in his play.”