Nov. 17, 2001
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Kentucky vs. Tennessee
November 17, 2001
Post-Game Quotes
UK Coach Guy Morriss Quotes:
On his feeling about the goalposts…
“I’d be lying if I didn’t think they were going down. I don’t think there was any doubt on our sideline that we were going to go down and score and pull this win out.”
On the team staying in the game…
“They are good kids and it’s a credit to their character. I think it’s a testament to our kids and their belief in the coaches and the system and their willingness to work.”
On UK outplaying UT…
“I think we did. I don’t know from a technical standpoint until I see the tapes, but from my viewpoint on the sidelines, I thought we did.”
On the pass interference call against UK early in fourth quarter with Tennessee on third and two…
“It looked to me like an uncatchable ball and then they told me it was a block in the back.”
On Chase Harp’s fumble near the end of the game…
“I talked to him in the tunnel. I told him his fumble did not cost us the game. We had chances to score and pick up points and we just didn’t.”
On Jared Lorenzen…
“Jared is obviously a talented quarterback. He has to put himself in a position to make plays and I think he has been doing that. He is doing a good job of watching film, and he and Coach (Brent) Pease have a good relationship now.”
On going for it on fourth-and-two midway through the fourth-quarter with the game tied at 28…
“We were playing to win the game.”
UK Players
QB Jared Lorenzen
On the game…
“We really thought we had this game won. It was a great game, back and forth all day. Tennessee played great and adjusted well to come out with the victory though. If they weren’t the kind of team that could make adjustments than they wouldn’t be ranked so highly.”
On bad breaks…
“Tennessee has been the best group of athletes we have played against all year. It didn’t help us that we shot ourselves in the foot with some bad breaks. Winning teams get those breaks.”
On the upcoming Indiana game…
“They are the team that dominated Wisconsin and beat Michigan State. They can be dangerous. We really want to go up there and come out with a win for our seniors. They deserve it.”
WR Champ Kelly
On this Wildcat team…
“I am proud of this team. Instead of crumbling under the adversity that we have faced, we come back week after week and get better. As far as I am concerned, that is the sign of a great team.”
WR Derek Abney
On the rivalry…
“This is a great rivalry. I know how much UK fans hate to hear Rocky Top, we came out today and tried to give them something to cheer about. It was a great football atmosphere.”
On the coaching staff…
“The coaching staff deserves all the credit. Anyone who sees us play sees that no player on this team ever quits. The coaching staff deserves the credit for all the positives you see on the field.”
LB Chris Gayton
“This was another close one. This game was more special than all the other games because it showed what the future of Kentucky football can be. There has been something missing in this team for a while and I think we have finally found it.”
“It is going to happen. Kentucky is going to be really good. I wish it would have happened this year, but it will happen.”
“I am happy because we showed that we can put together an entire game and play well against a good team. We finally have everything in place.”
DE Dennis Johnson
On losing close games…
“It gets frustrating. It is especially frustrating knowing that you went out and played better than the other team. We knew we had a good week of practice and we had a good game plan. But once again we didn’t get the win.”
On the defense at the end of the game…
“We were definitely confident. We wanted to be on the field and show what we could do. Even when the fumble (by Chase Harp) happened, we were ready to get back on the field.”
WR Dougie Allen
“We have to play a game where it doesn’t come down to what it did today. We need to be up ten points at the end and not down three.”
“We were really confident that if the defense held them to a field goal at the end that we could go out and score.”
Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer
On win…
“I’m proud of our kids coming back and getting the win and I think you certainly have to give Kentucky a lot of credit. They emotionally and physically outplayed us for a period of time during the ballgame. We said coming in that it would take a team effort to win the game and that’s what it was.”
“Defensively they got a couple more on us than we thought they would. Kentucky is a good offensive team and we gave them more than we needed to let them have today. Offensively, we did not get off to the start we wanted to with them dominating the time of possession. Obviously we did a better job as the game went on.”
On special teams…
“Our kicking game stepped up huge in this ballgame with the game-winning field goal being the most obvious. (Derek) Abney is an outstanding returner and we did nice job on him on punt and kickoffs. Our punter had an excellent day.”
On win…
“I’m proud of the win and I compliment Kentucky on what they did. That’s the way I remember Kentucky and Tennessee football games as a player and an assistant coach. They were always a battle and always will be.”
On kicker Alex Walls…
“I trust Alex Walls completely. I see him every day in practice and we spend a lot of time on the kicking game. He’ll kick 15 balls in practice and make 14 so you got to like that ratio.”
On Jared Lorenzen…
“We were all over him but we just couldn’t get him on the ground. He did a great job of avoiding the rush and obviously we have some things to work on. You have to give that kid a lot of credit, he is one tough son-of-a-gun.”
On Kentucky’s emotion…
“We were not as emotionally prepared to play as we should have been and I take responsibility for that. We should have been more emotional for this game but there are teams all over the country last week, today and will be next week that will get beat when a team matches up with their potential, so we’re just glad to come in here and get the win. They were more emotionally ready than we were. We were not up to our best even though we prepared well and had our best Thursday practice. I just don’t know if the kids really believed that Kentucky would be that tough.”
On throwing deep…
“We felt coming in that we could throw the ball long but they were playing pretty soft and we started throwing some under routes. We probably teased them into coming up a little bit. We’ve had great success with crossing routes this season. Casey (Clausen) and our receivers played a great game.”
Tennessee Players
QB Casey Clausen
On the game…
“We knew the Kentucky defense would be tough. We tried to move Kelley (Washington) around and make some passing plays. In the first half we couldn’t execute well but got our rhythm back offensively in the second half. “
“You have to give Kentucky credit for what they did today. We as a team cannot come out and play like we did today. I guess a win is a win but we need to go back and study our film to get better.”
On the first half…
“I think both the Kentucky offense and our defense had an equal effect. We tried to make it hard to run but they kept making passing plays. We had a lot of guys step up in the second half to change the game.”
“Being a team in this conference, you have to expect a tough opponent. We knew it was going to be a good game, but we tried not to be nervous or overly confident.”
WR Donte Stallworth
On his near touchdown toward the end of the game…
“I had it in my hands. I should have caught it. But we were able to score anyway. It feels good to get the win.”
On Kentucky…
“Kentucky has a great offense. They’re able to spread the ball all over the field. We knew we had to control the ball to keep their offense off the field as long as possible.”
“Kentucky always comes out and plays us hard no matter what their record is. We know we can’t play flat against anyone.”
On his blocking…
“I have to contribute to the team any way possible. If I’m not catching the ball, I have to get out there and block for my teammates.”
