Mizzou Players | UCF Coach George O'Leary | UCF Players

Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel
On the win against UCF:
"Well It was an unusual first half. The offense really only had the ball for two series. The defense, I think we had three or four [defensive possessions] had trouble getting off the field, it was a really strange first half. I thought we really battled. We were playing a really good football team that had been in the arena before and had confidence. I thought we played a really good second half. Our defense did a heck of a job to hold those guys to that number of points. A lot of good things came out of that. One of the things I tell my players is that it's hard to win; there is nothing easy about winning. The situation that you're in, you have to deal with. At halftime, we had a close game, it was a battle. I thought for the most part we did pretty good."

On the second half performance:
"It was a really good performance in the second half. It wasn't that we didn't play well in the first half, you have to give [UCF] credit, they did some good things and our defense couldn't get off the field. Our offense scored both times they were out there and then we threw an interception and gave them great field position. Again, it was one of those halves where everything wasn't going well for us. But we had the lead, we were fortunate, and it's about how you respond to that as a football team. I told [Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Performance] Pat Ivey before we went out after halftime, we're going to find out about ourselves a little bit right now."

On improving each week:
"We are getting better. There's other little things we're doing wrong, but there are always things like that. Win or lose, you go back and evaluate, but I think we're a better football team than we were three weeks ago, and that's got to keep going and for the most part we came out of this thing pretty healthy."

On Maty Mauk:
"Wait until he gets good. There are a lot of things out there that he can do to improve and he knows that. He's a great, gamey player, he can make plays, he does those things and he's got some players making some plays for him. But he can get considerably better."

On Josh Augusta's interception:
"What a great play. You need a guy that big to make sure he made a play, but what great hands. The whole half changed, the whole game changed. It's one of those things where you don't know when those plays are going to happen, but you keep battling and it really changed the whole game."

Coach Pinkel | UCF Coach George O'Leary | UCF Players

MU Player Quotes
Senior WR Bud Sasser
On discipline and lack of penalties for this young team:
"Coach Pinkel instills that into each and every one of us as soon as we step on campus. It starts off the field and it goes into our game knowing your assignments and what you're supposed to be doing and not hurting the team in any type of way."

On Mauk moving past his interceptions:
"That's a god given talent he has to be able to make a mistake and get over it within five to 10 seconds. Most QBs are pretty upset, but by the time we sit down in those seats and we start going over what just happened. He's over it and trying to figure out what coverage they might have been in and why it was a bad read or a bad throw or why the receiver might have not been in the right place at the right time. Then we handle it that way and just get ready for the next series."

Senior DE Markus Golden
On seeing all of the defensive line play well:
"Josh (Augusta) got a pick today, that was pretty fun to watch. That's what we expect, Josh is a beast, he works hard in practice. Everybody knows Harold (Brantley) can be a great player and it's good to see him take a step forward."

On the impact of young players and watching them grow:
"It makes a big difference but that is what we expect from them. They work hard in practice, ask questions and never take days off. They're getting better and watching them get better is amazing."

On defensive struggles in the first half and how they turned it around
"Listening to Coach Stec, we came in and he told us what to do and we went out there and executed it."

Senior DE Shane Ray
On why it was hard to keep him out of the backfield today:
"I study film and Coach Stec called the right play calls and I was just able to be in the right place and make a play."

On sharing the spotlight with Markus Golden:
"Each week me and Marcus just go out and try to play to the best of our abilities, make as many plays as we can. Just play how we are expected to play by Coach Steck, run to the ball and be physical. It doesn't really matter if Marcus is in the spotlight or I'm in the spotlight as long as we are doing what we are supposed to do as a defense."

Sophomore QB Maty Mauk
On differences between the first and second half:
"If you look at the first half we had three series, 24 plays and the second series I went out there and threw an interception. We've gotta come out faster. The second half is the main thing, we came out and readjusted and knew what they were doing so we came out firing."

On third down execution:
"Really, it's just execution. It doesn't matter who we're playing, it's about how we play. We rep that in practice in getting better at third down conversions. We had a tremendous week at practice and it is really starting to show."

On UCF covering the deep ball and that setting up the run:
"I think that's where I started to put some stress on them. If they're going to drop back in coverage, I'm going to run the ball and then you have Murphy and Russell back there who are easy dump guys. They're a little better than me and can make some people miss."

Coach Pinkel | Mizzou Players | UCF Players

UCF Coach George O'Leary
Opening Statement:
"Well I think football is a game of momentum and obviously that play off the helmet, I thought, was the difference in the play as far as momentum was concerned. They came up with a pick and the next play you miss and tackle and they throw a touchdown pass, so I thought from that point on, sort of the floodgates opened up a little bit. And that's where the game was. From a defensive standpoint, I thought we had too many missed tackles in situations where we had them trapped behind us and they broke away. Give them credit, I think No. 6 and 32 are very good players for big plays when it should have been a loss play...I just think we hurt ourselves field position wise. Again, I thought some of the scores there, you know, we've got to make plays when we have the opportunity. Offensively, as bad as it looked for Holman, I thought he really grew up today. I really did. I left him in there, I wanted to see how he handled it. He's a young quarterback and he wasn't given much support. The ones he did complete, he was getting hit on after. I give credit to Missouri, I think they rush very well. We didn't handle some of the games well up front. Our game offensively, we've got to get chunk plays and we didn't get chunk plays today. I thought we dropped some balls we should have had. I think we can sustain a certain amount of plays, but we're too young in certain positions to sustain all the way down the field. I give Missouri defense credit, they didn't let us get behind them. I think that's what it's all about."

On Missouri's Pass Rush:
"It's very hard but I wanted to see it go. We kept six or seven guys in to protect, he shouldn't have been getting hit. He hung in there and as much as he took some hits today, I think he grew up as a quarterback. He really did. I think he was in the right reads and they changed up some coverage and played some soft cover two out there on him and he hit the open receivers when he had the time. I thought there was a lot of pressure on the kid today and the last play, instead of falling on the ball, the offensive lineman tries to pick it up and run. I said to the kids going into today's game that knowledge of assignments and effort to assignments are the two keys, and I thought we played with good effort. I didn't think we played with smart effort all the time as far as what we're doing and we've got to learn to finish: finish tackles, finish blocks. I thought they got off a lot of blocks and made some tackles that we should have had more yards on in the run game."

On having two losses this season:
"We've got a long season to play and we've got a lot of good kids out there. We just have to play smarter in some areas. Defensively, we missed opportunities on some key tackles and offensively, I think we had some third down plays out there and we've got to catch the ball. I think they were very catchable balls that he threw, and that sustains the drive. We gave up too much field position to Missouri in the second half. That was the difference in the game."

On Missouri's third down conversions:
"I think it was all manageable down distance. It was third and four, third and two, third and one. Those are all manageable. They played opposite. We were third and nine, third and eight. It's a little tougher to make those. Give credit to Missouri. They made plays when they had to make it. The quarterback played smart with the ball today and threw it to guys and made some first downs with his feet. It was the difference in the game."

On what he said to the team:
"I just said 'fellas look, effort-wise we'll continue working, we've got corrections to make and we'll regroup Sunday night. We have things to talk about as far as how we have to react to things. One thing I wanted to make sure of was that everyone in that room had a problem in the game. It wasn't just one kid or one group of kids. Everybody's involved. You win and lose together. And that's how it happened today. We lost together."

Coach Pinkel | Mizzou Players | UCF Coach George O'Leary

UCF Players
Senior LB Terrance Plummer
On the team's mindset after the loss to Mizzou:
"Our mindset was that we just let too many things go that went the other way for us, like third downs and missed tackles. We have to get better on third downs. I missed tackles and missed some plays. I felt like we came out of halftime and we had the momentum. We stopped them three times on third down, unfortunately we threw the ball and they got an interception and a big play on third down. Those things are killing us right now. The good thing is that we finally get a home game and we get to go back home and work on the things that are needing to be changed."

On not getting the 50-50 plays this year:
"That's just how it is right now. We just have to stay resilient and humble and hungry. That is what we are going to do. I have full confidence in my team. It is a good thing we are losing early and we can learn from it. I think we are going to change this season around."

On the physicality of Mizzou compared to Penn State:
"Not any more physical. The thing was they do a good job using their bodies. They're big bodies, so it's not even the physicality of the game but the fact that they're able to move themselves with their bodies in there and do what they need to do. I can't speak for the offense, but on defense they weren't any more physical. They use their big bodies in a good way."

Senior LB Troy Gray
On Mizzou's offense in the second half:
"We just needed to make sure we keep contain, keep a cage on (Maty Mauk). He got out of the pocket, and when he gets to running he's a good runner. So definitely we have to make sure we're close to the ball and that we tackle when he gets out in space."

On UCF's coaches' message at halftime:
"He just said we needed to work on our tackles. We had a lot of missed tackles in the first half, especially from the linebackers, myself included. So the missed tackles, had we tackled the ball the big plays wouldn't have happened." 

On playing against Maty Mauk and Penn State's Christian Hackenberg:
"The first quarterback at Penn State, he was taller. He wasn't a runner, but he had a good ball. Maty Mauk, he also has a good ball but he was a scat guy, he wanted to get outside and just run. It was two different styles of offenses and we needed to adjust. Two tough games."

Sophomore QB Justin Holman
On Mizzou's defensive line play:
"They had some pressure, but it's on me to get the ball out. That's my job as a quarterback -- stay in no matter what the pressure is back there and throw strikes."

On the challenge of facing Mizzou's defense:
"It was tough, they were a good squad. They came after me, but again, it's my job to get the ball out on time."

On keeping the offensive line encouraged against Mizzou:
"I let them know I believe in those guys no matter what the situation is. I don't care if we give up 10 sacks or no sacks, those guys are still my guys and I believe in them to get the job done."

On Mizzou taking momentum in the third quarter:
"It was a big momentum shift. Our guys stayed in it, I don't feel like anybody put their heads down. Our guys stayed in the game."