Mizzou Head Coach Barry Odom
On the team’s victory over Delaware State:
“We talk all the time about being a winner or a loser every day, and for us, to have a chance to get back in the winning circle is what we wanted to do. We were efficient at times offensively. Defensively, we did some good things. Still, we’ll be a lot better football team. I’m proud of my guys and they worked hard this week. They like to compete and I’m excited to see them celebrate a little bit.”
On getting a lot of players into the game today:
“I think we played everybody on the roster, which is nice to do. It will get valuable experience for those guys. We’re going to need those guys down the stretch and it’s going to be important. I’m happy they got some game reps.”
On Drew Lock’s performance and his on-field chemistry with J’Mon Moore:
“They continue to develop that timing – the feel for each other. We also know that that’s not going to happen every week, so there’s a bunch of other guys who will step up and who will continue to develop the continuity on that side of the ball. He’s (Lock) a talented kid, got a lot of playmakers and we have to do a good job of coaching to put him in positions schematically to have a chance.”
Mizzou Player Quotes
Quarterback Drew Lock
On a successful game following the team’s loss to Georgia:
“We left a lot of things out on the table against Georgia and we knew that. We knew we had to come into this game and execute and take care of our business. It was about us this week, executing and trying to make things perfect, in a sense. We didn’t do that, we didn’t make everything perfect, but we played well enough.”
On his performance against Delaware State:
“I thought it was good. There are a couple things I wish I could take back, the placement of balls or whatnot. I’m going to work on that this week and just try to get better every single day.”
On his chemistry with J’Mon Moore:
“J’Mon’s a great player for us. I trust the ball, when it’s up in the air, that he’s going to go make a play for me. He shows that day in and day out.”
On playing LSU next weekend:
“I’m super excited, super excited about that. We’ve got to come out and we’ve got to play well. We’ve got to have a good week in practice this week and take care of our business. It’s about us, and if we can go out and execute, who knows what will happen.”
On his confidence as a sophomore compared to during his freshman season:
“I’d say comfortable is more the word to use, but comfortable comes from being confident. That’s a huge part of the difference in me this year, I feel like. Just understanding the game, knowing what I need to do to get things done. Just start from day one stuff and learn from it all over again. That’s put me here to this day.”
Offensive Lineman Kevin Pendleton
On Mizzou’s victory over Delaware State:
“We did a great job, came out with a game plan and executed it to the fullest. There are some things still to work on, obviously. We always look for stuff to improve week by week, but a great job overall, offense, defense, and special teams. Doing what we needed to do to get the win.”
On focusing on Mizzou, rather than the opponent:
“We come in each week with a focus on us. It’s our job to get better.”
On the performance of the offensive line:
“(We’re) coming together and working hard. It started back in the spring when the new coaching staff got here. It started back in the spring with Coach (Glen) Elarbee out here. It doesn’t matter how many starters or how many players we’ve had in the past. It’s a new offensive line, a new culture and we’re here to win games.
On playing LSU next weekend:
“When you sign on to play at an SEC school, especially here in Missouri, you know those are the games you live and die for. The games in Death Valley, and games at Alabama, at Arkansas, those are games at big time places and big time teams that you look forward to going in and competing hard and getting the win. So we’re definitely excited about it and it’s something to look forward to. But we’re taking it a day at a time and getting toward our goal.”
Quarterback Marvin Zanders
On his performance against Delaware State…
“I think as a whole we played pretty good, I think I did pretty good myself. The line did a great job blocking and the receivers did a great job blocking. I just made some plays out there. We all played a pretty good game. I think we could clean up a few things, but you know it was a good game to get ready to head into LSU next week.”
On playing LSU next weekend:
“This game we just wanted to come out and execute, just really work on our fundamentals, just get ready for that big game down in Baton Rouge.
On his running:
“My running ability is God-given, I thank him for that every day. I wanted to make a few plays with my arm in the passing game, but we were kind of up a few when I got in. I was able to make some plays on the ground and I’m just happy about that.”
Delaware State Head Coach Kenny Carter
On if it was worth it to make the trip to Columbia:
“Oh absolutely. It’s always worth it because we’re very young, 55 percent of our team are freshmen. Multiple times during the game, we had as many as six and seven freshmen on the field - true freshmen. When you play games like this, you play them with the understanding that it’s going to refine you. If you’re going to get stronger, the only way to get stronger is to lift heavy weight. You can’t lift light weight and then think you’re going to get any better. We understood there was a possibility that something like this could happen but you can’t be afraid of competition. Our kids need to be in that fire. We’re going to transition to our league now and we’re not going to play that tempo in our league. We’re not going to play people that are going to be like this in our league, so we needed this to get better.”
On the decision to shorten the third and fourth quarters:
“We were getting beat real bad, and it’s an opportunity you have by NCAA rules that you can do that (shorten quarters). Several teams have done that in the past and several teams have done that this year. It’s just smart. You don’t want to create opportunities that are going to really put a damper or influence what happens the rest of the season for both teams. So, instead of just letting the score keep going, let’s just shorten the quarters and continue to play football. Coach (Barry) Odom gave us that option and then I said, ‘sure let’s do it.’ It’s within the structure. Clemson versus South Carolina State was actually the reference that we had when we made the decision to do it.”
On if decision to schedule this game was to bring in money or play better competition:
“It’s a little bit of both. When you’re a school that’s our level and you have an opportunity to boost the economy of your athletic department, we’re going to take those opportunities. Quite honestly, if you’re a kid playing Division I football, you want to play against the best opponent that you can play against. I personally scheduled the game. Next year we will play West Virginia and Florida State. I scheduled those games, I want to do that. I’ve coached in the SEC, I’ve won a National Championship with Florida. I get it, I’ve done it, I’ve experienced it. I want my kids to experience it too.”
