Opening Statement….
"Obviously we have a tremendous challenge in front of us. We are going to play a fantastic football team with great players and a coaching staff that has done a great job of putting them in position to have success. Our kids will be excited to go play in the game. We have a fantastic week of work here to prepare and then we'll kick it off Saturday early in the morning."
On when the bye week falls on the schedule …
"If I were to pick I would have picked an open date before a conference game but I certainly don't have any complaints about it. It's nice to have it not exactly in the middle of the season but after a chunk of games. We've played five games so it's nice to have it then as opposed to having it in the second week of the year."
What stands out about Ole Miss …
"Their team speed is pretty impressive on both sides of the ball. They have a quarterback playing at a high level. Their defensive line is pretty impressive to say the least, they are incredibly active, physical and well-coached. Those are the things that stand out. They can really run on both sides of the ball and special teams. Their defensive line jumps off of the film at you. Then their quarterback seems to be in control of what's going on and pretty good at getting the ball to their various playmakers."
Quarterback Chad Kelly …
"In my opinion, watching (Chad) Kelly play he has been pretty efficient and seems to be making good decisions, getting the ball to their guys on the edge. He makes some plays with his feet, running just a little bit. He's been a pretty good weapon for them."
Comparing to last year's game …
"When you look at the film from last year our defense played like the older unit, in comparison to our team, and held their own until the bitter end. Offensively we played like the young team and just struggled a little. Part of that is because they are very good and part of it is because we were a little bit bright-eyed. Hopefully we can keep our wits about us and put together a good plan that gives our kids a chance to succeed."
The Ole Miss wide receivers …
"We've seen some pretty good ones and I would say these guys are right in there at the top. I'm not the best at comparing and contrasting different players. They are very good. Obviously (Laquon) Treadwell is healthy and a big playmaker for them. He's very explosive. They have plenty of guys on the outside that can exploit you if you're not in the right spot."
The students lined up to get tickets Monday morning …
"It was really neat. It was really cool to pull up and see the kids out there excited for the game in line to get their tickets. Some of them spent the night and some had been there since the wee hours of the morning. Selfishly, it was really fun for me just to go be around them for 10 or 15 minutes. That was a fun thing and something that you always hope for. With where we were three or four years ago, that was kind of a cool moment."
If this game is any bigger …
"This is the next game for us. Our kids will be excited to play and it's a tremendous challenge against a great opponent but it counts as one. It counts as one nonconference win or loss. Anything more than that is a little much for us right now. The bottom line is, when the game is over six days later we have to be ready to play at Tulsa regardless of what happens. That does not mean we aren't going to gear up and prepare and do everything we can to be ready Saturday. But it's one game in a 12-game season."
Keeping the emotions under control …
"Part of our challenge is that we've go to play a little more under control early in the game. I don't feel like we've done a good job of that. I know our kids will be excited and there will be a great atmosphere and all those things but we've got to understand we can play with great emotion but we have to play with great intelligence too. Hopefully we can take those in stride and do a little better job this week."
"Obviously we have a tremendous challenge in front of us. We are going to play a fantastic football team with great players and a coaching staff that has done a great job of putting them in position to have success. Our kids will be excited to go play in the game. We have a fantastic week of work here to prepare and then we'll kick it off Saturday early in the morning."
On when the bye week falls on the schedule …
"If I were to pick I would have picked an open date before a conference game but I certainly don't have any complaints about it. It's nice to have it not exactly in the middle of the season but after a chunk of games. We've played five games so it's nice to have it then as opposed to having it in the second week of the year."
What stands out about Ole Miss …
"Their team speed is pretty impressive on both sides of the ball. They have a quarterback playing at a high level. Their defensive line is pretty impressive to say the least, they are incredibly active, physical and well-coached. Those are the things that stand out. They can really run on both sides of the ball and special teams. Their defensive line jumps off of the film at you. Then their quarterback seems to be in control of what's going on and pretty good at getting the ball to their various playmakers."
Quarterback Chad Kelly …
"In my opinion, watching (Chad) Kelly play he has been pretty efficient and seems to be making good decisions, getting the ball to their guys on the edge. He makes some plays with his feet, running just a little bit. He's been a pretty good weapon for them."
Comparing to last year's game …
"When you look at the film from last year our defense played like the older unit, in comparison to our team, and held their own until the bitter end. Offensively we played like the young team and just struggled a little. Part of that is because they are very good and part of it is because we were a little bit bright-eyed. Hopefully we can keep our wits about us and put together a good plan that gives our kids a chance to succeed."
The Ole Miss wide receivers …
"We've seen some pretty good ones and I would say these guys are right in there at the top. I'm not the best at comparing and contrasting different players. They are very good. Obviously (Laquon) Treadwell is healthy and a big playmaker for them. He's very explosive. They have plenty of guys on the outside that can exploit you if you're not in the right spot."
The students lined up to get tickets Monday morning …
"It was really neat. It was really cool to pull up and see the kids out there excited for the game in line to get their tickets. Some of them spent the night and some had been there since the wee hours of the morning. Selfishly, it was really fun for me just to go be around them for 10 or 15 minutes. That was a fun thing and something that you always hope for. With where we were three or four years ago, that was kind of a cool moment."
If this game is any bigger …
"This is the next game for us. Our kids will be excited to play and it's a tremendous challenge against a great opponent but it counts as one. It counts as one nonconference win or loss. Anything more than that is a little much for us right now. The bottom line is, when the game is over six days later we have to be ready to play at Tulsa regardless of what happens. That does not mean we aren't going to gear up and prepare and do everything we can to be ready Saturday. But it's one game in a 12-game season."
Keeping the emotions under control …
"Part of our challenge is that we've go to play a little more under control early in the game. I don't feel like we've done a good job of that. I know our kids will be excited and there will be a great atmosphere and all those things but we've got to understand we can play with great emotion but we have to play with great intelligence too. Hopefully we can take those in stride and do a little better job this week."
