Post Game Quotes - Georgia vs. South Carolina
September 13, 2014 | Football
Sept. 13, 2014
On game in general
I'm sure that was a fun game to watch once it got started, especially if you are a South Carolina fan. Hats off to the South Carolina program and the job they did. I think they definitely played hard; they wanted to win, obviously. I think they played hard enough to win. We just didn't seize the moment, especially with that big turnover deep in territory and get zero points out of it. Very disappointed. No matter what happened throughout the day, that was a moment where we had a chance to, at worst, tie it up. It's one of the things that got us.
On postgame conversation with kicker Marshall Morgan
I didn't say anything to him, not that I was ignoring him, but you just go on to the next play pretty much. I didn't get a chance to see him in the locker room. He broke an SEC record for most kicks in a row and then misses a couple which is not normal for him. I was watching pretty close, I didn't see anything. I didn't see an issue with the snap or the hold. It looked fine. One of them looked like it went almost right over the top of it. Obviously the officials thought it was out and I'm not really questioning that but usually he's right down the pipe and there's not much drama when he goes back to kick. He'll get back on track. He's a great kicker.
On South Carolina's success in the passing game
Part of the problem was we didn't put much pressure on the quarterback. We didn't even squeeze the pocket as far as I could see. He had a lot of time to stand back in there and size up and hit it. There were some times where we had tight coverage and he made nice throws; we just didn't cover well enough. They got a little bit better in the second half; we tried to pressure a little more in the second half because we just weren't getting much from the four-man rush. Their offensive line did a nice job.
Damian Swann Senior Cornerback
On Gamecocks offense
Yeah, you know, we didn't execute to the best of our ability and it always comes down to us. We let him [Dylan Thompson] sit back there and swing it around and anybody could have made those throws if we don't execute.
On why the South Carolina receivers were running free Yeah, you know, it's a lot of things. They didn't let us rush as good and they gave him a lot of time to get guys open. But you know, we are going to learn from this game - it's never over.
Hutson Mason Senior Quarterback
On why the Gamecocks won
Better execution. I don't know what our numbers were in the second half, I assume we were a little better. In the first half part, I don't think we got one first down.
On when Marshall Morgan lined up field goal to tie
Yeah, I mean Morgan has been clutch his whole career, so we had full confidence in him.
On Georgia's offense
As a matter of fact, the thing is, is we left 13 points on the board, so when you are playing in the SEC and you're playing South Carolina, you can't leave points on the board and expect to get away with the "W."
Marshall Morgan Junior Placekicker
On setting the SEC record with 28 in a row and then missing two
Yeah, I mean, I don't know, it just didn't go our way.
On the most frustrating part of the loss
It just started from the beginning. We had to wait a lot of time for the game to start and then once it started things kind of didn't go our way at first. I mean, we had a chance to win it, and we could have, but odds were in their favor, I guess.
Todd Gurley Junior Tailback
On his reverse of field for a 17-yard gain
I just knew we needed a first down and wanted to do everything in my will to get that first down - seeing it back side, I just ran.
Ramik Wilson Senior Linebacker
On the Gamecocks' offense
They were giving us a lot of formations, a lot of motion, and it was a lot of stuff to throw us off, but we adjusted pretty well. Really, we still have got to execute, because we had a great game plan, we got to execute better.
On the rest of the season
Oh, it's still early, it's still early. We'll keep trucking. This is in the past now, and we are not thinking about this from here forward. Our dreams and goals are still open for us.
South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier
Opening Statement
Some wins are better than others. I think this one was better than most others. I just told our guys, `if we can stop some people on third down, we're not that bad at defense, we're really not.' We weren't all that great on third down, we made a bunch early and then after that we didn't make very many. Dylan [Thompson] had an excellent game and threw the ball well; especially the first half and then we ran the ball the second half. I'll tell you one thing, when we had to stop them, some way or another we stopped them. We got that intentional grounding penalty and that was a good play for us. Their kicker, I guess he hadn't missed a field goal in two years or something, 20 in a row and then he missed two tonight. Sometimes all you can say is it was our turn to win and we were meant to win this game and Georgia was not. I'm proud of our players. Our guys played very hard, made a few stupid plays that could have come back to haunt us but we ran the ball pretty decent. Brandon Wilds had some good runs and Mike [Davis] had a few good ones. Georgia's defense was pretty good at times and other times they weren't quite as good. We were able to score touchdowns on almost all of our drives; we only kicked that one field goal at the end of the half, which is always crucial in close games. We feel very fortunate and blessed and hopefully we can use this as some momentum and start playing a lot better.
On resuming conference play
We were just happy to win the ball game. Hopefully we can start becoming a good looking team but we're not a good looking team yet. The way we give up those third downs really hurts us defensively, and offensively we didn't make as many [third downs] as we usually do. We only punted twice, they [Georgia] only punted twice and we need to force a bunch of punts if we want to be a pretty good team here before it's all said and done.
On the running game
Brandon Wilds is an excellent inside runner, that's what he does best. Mike [Davis] had some good runs in there also. Sometimes Mike wants to stop, juke around and go wide, so we have to get him going forward more because that's when he's best when he gets those shorter passes. The guys did run well. We had that one fumble and I was a little disappointed, `I said Brandon go get on it.' We do the fumble recovery drill about five out of seven days of practice. He didn't get two hands on it; we'll work on our fumble recovery again next week. Overall I'm proud of the guys, it could have gone either way.
Defensive Coordinator Lorenzo Ward
On defensive improvement
I think we definitely got better but we still left a lot of plays out there. In the first half I don't think they had a third down other than the penalty that they converted and then we gave up five in the second half. We still have a lot of things we need to improve on. I'm very proud of the way the guys played and the way they fought.
On the fans
We always feed off their emotions. I think all those delays all played into it. We have great fans like Dylan [Thompson] said. We just have got to give them a great product on the field.
South Carolina Player Quotes
Dylan Thompson Quarterback Senior
On preparation
Our coaches tell us some things to help us during the week. They were telling us all week those guys up in Athens are talking about "it's going to be a war, it's going to be a war." When you go to war you need soldiers. That's what I thought we brought. Every time we got on the field we had soldiers.
On personal performance
I'm just so happy we won. All you hear about all week is, how great Georgia is and I just got tired of it. We wanted to come out today and just show what we had. Bring our best game to the ballpark. I really don't want to take credit for this. It is much bigger than myself.
On improvement
I know everyone was probably writing us off after week one and that's fine. That's completely fine. But we believe in each other and tonight was a great example of that. We bent but never broke. I'm proud as heck of our team, the coaches and the staff.
On the fans
We have the best fans in America; I think everybody knows that. When they missed that field goal, I think that is the loudest it has been in a long time. We love our fans, we know how great they are and we are blessed to have them.
Rory Anderson Tight End Senior
On this being Dylan Thompson's best game
You could say that, I believe so. He just came in and had his mind right. Everything was just clicking on the offense. We got going pretty early. You didn't see too many overthrows or too many dropped balls. I think we just came out and executed the game plan.
On not being able to hold on to ball last week and coming up big this week
It felt good. Me, personally, I felt like I struggled a little last year but I work hard on myself. I'm a Georgia boy, and I felt like this was a personal game for me. First because I'm from Georgia and last year didn't go as planned. Stuff happens, but we were able to bounce back.
Nick Jones Wide Receiver Senior
On playing over the middle
First of all, I would like to thank our fans, staying through that whole weather delay. They are amazing, and I think we have the best fans in the country. The coaching staff, we had a great game plan. We've been working on that all week. We knew the middle of the field was going to be wide open. As for the catch on the sideline, everybody knows I dropped a big one at the [Texas] A&M game and I was mad at myself for that. So I just wanted to come back with a big one.
On what was going through his mind during the spot of the ball in the fourth quarter
I'm praying. I'm asking the Lord God to help us. He is amazing.
J.T. Surratt Defensive Tackle Senior
On preparing for Todd Gurley
Last year they put a big chip on our shoulder, so this year we came in, and we knew they were going to try to give him the ball a lot. Our main focus was to get 11 hats to the ball, to get him on the ground. We practiced all week trying to get 11 hats to the ball. It worked out for us. I give all praise to the defense as a team because we did what we came to do.
On this game after the loss to Texas A&M
It feels great. Every win feels great. This was just the next one. And the next one on the list, we'll try to get that one too. Wins are always what we try to get. That's what we strive for. Fans like winning, so that's what we try to do.
On keeping the guys motivated after Georgia's first drive
I was telling them that this game is not going to continue like this. We have to do what we came to do. We have a job to do, and our coaches have been preaching to us that our job is to do our job. In that particular [drive] we didn't. We can't go back out there and let them do what they did again. Regardless of what happens, it's over with. Let's get back out there and get some stops.
Brandon Wilds Tail Back Junior
On running the ball in second half
We were trying to run out the clock, and that was a key part in the last couple of drives. Getting a first down and being able to take a knee at the end of the game was a key part for us.
On his attitude after the fumble
It was kind of personal. I know I had to do better for myself and come back and not let the fumble get to me too much.
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
On game in general
I'm sure that was a fun game to watch once it got started, especially if you are a South Carolina fan. Hats off to the South Carolina program and the job they did. I think they definitely played hard; they wanted to win, obviously. I think they played hard enough to win. We just didn't seize the moment, especially with that big turnover deep in territory and get zero points out of it. Very disappointed. No matter what happened throughout the day, that was a moment where we had a chance to, at worst, tie it up. It's one of the things that got us.
On postgame conversation with kicker Marshall Morgan
I didn't say anything to him, not that I was ignoring him, but you just go on to the next play pretty much. I didn't get a chance to see him in the locker room. He broke an SEC record for most kicks in a row and then misses a couple which is not normal for him. I was watching pretty close, I didn't see anything. I didn't see an issue with the snap or the hold. It looked fine. One of them looked like it went almost right over the top of it. Obviously the officials thought it was out and I'm not really questioning that but usually he's right down the pipe and there's not much drama when he goes back to kick. He'll get back on track. He's a great kicker.
On South Carolina's success in the passing game
Part of the problem was we didn't put much pressure on the quarterback. We didn't even squeeze the pocket as far as I could see. He had a lot of time to stand back in there and size up and hit it. There were some times where we had tight coverage and he made nice throws; we just didn't cover well enough. They got a little bit better in the second half; we tried to pressure a little more in the second half because we just weren't getting much from the four-man rush. Their offensive line did a nice job.
Damian Swann Senior Cornerback
On Gamecocks offense
Yeah, you know, we didn't execute to the best of our ability and it always comes down to us. We let him [Dylan Thompson] sit back there and swing it around and anybody could have made those throws if we don't execute.
On why the South Carolina receivers were running free Yeah, you know, it's a lot of things. They didn't let us rush as good and they gave him a lot of time to get guys open. But you know, we are going to learn from this game - it's never over.
Hutson Mason Senior Quarterback
On why the Gamecocks won
Better execution. I don't know what our numbers were in the second half, I assume we were a little better. In the first half part, I don't think we got one first down.
On when Marshall Morgan lined up field goal to tie
Yeah, I mean Morgan has been clutch his whole career, so we had full confidence in him.
On Georgia's offense
As a matter of fact, the thing is, is we left 13 points on the board, so when you are playing in the SEC and you're playing South Carolina, you can't leave points on the board and expect to get away with the "W."
Marshall Morgan Junior Placekicker
On setting the SEC record with 28 in a row and then missing two
Yeah, I mean, I don't know, it just didn't go our way.
On the most frustrating part of the loss
It just started from the beginning. We had to wait a lot of time for the game to start and then once it started things kind of didn't go our way at first. I mean, we had a chance to win it, and we could have, but odds were in their favor, I guess.
Todd Gurley Junior Tailback
On his reverse of field for a 17-yard gain
I just knew we needed a first down and wanted to do everything in my will to get that first down - seeing it back side, I just ran.
Ramik Wilson Senior Linebacker
On the Gamecocks' offense
They were giving us a lot of formations, a lot of motion, and it was a lot of stuff to throw us off, but we adjusted pretty well. Really, we still have got to execute, because we had a great game plan, we got to execute better.
On the rest of the season
Oh, it's still early, it's still early. We'll keep trucking. This is in the past now, and we are not thinking about this from here forward. Our dreams and goals are still open for us.
South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier
Opening Statement
Some wins are better than others. I think this one was better than most others. I just told our guys, `if we can stop some people on third down, we're not that bad at defense, we're really not.' We weren't all that great on third down, we made a bunch early and then after that we didn't make very many. Dylan [Thompson] had an excellent game and threw the ball well; especially the first half and then we ran the ball the second half. I'll tell you one thing, when we had to stop them, some way or another we stopped them. We got that intentional grounding penalty and that was a good play for us. Their kicker, I guess he hadn't missed a field goal in two years or something, 20 in a row and then he missed two tonight. Sometimes all you can say is it was our turn to win and we were meant to win this game and Georgia was not. I'm proud of our players. Our guys played very hard, made a few stupid plays that could have come back to haunt us but we ran the ball pretty decent. Brandon Wilds had some good runs and Mike [Davis] had a few good ones. Georgia's defense was pretty good at times and other times they weren't quite as good. We were able to score touchdowns on almost all of our drives; we only kicked that one field goal at the end of the half, which is always crucial in close games. We feel very fortunate and blessed and hopefully we can use this as some momentum and start playing a lot better.
On resuming conference play
We were just happy to win the ball game. Hopefully we can start becoming a good looking team but we're not a good looking team yet. The way we give up those third downs really hurts us defensively, and offensively we didn't make as many [third downs] as we usually do. We only punted twice, they [Georgia] only punted twice and we need to force a bunch of punts if we want to be a pretty good team here before it's all said and done.
On the running game
Brandon Wilds is an excellent inside runner, that's what he does best. Mike [Davis] had some good runs in there also. Sometimes Mike wants to stop, juke around and go wide, so we have to get him going forward more because that's when he's best when he gets those shorter passes. The guys did run well. We had that one fumble and I was a little disappointed, `I said Brandon go get on it.' We do the fumble recovery drill about five out of seven days of practice. He didn't get two hands on it; we'll work on our fumble recovery again next week. Overall I'm proud of the guys, it could have gone either way.
Defensive Coordinator Lorenzo Ward
On defensive improvement
I think we definitely got better but we still left a lot of plays out there. In the first half I don't think they had a third down other than the penalty that they converted and then we gave up five in the second half. We still have a lot of things we need to improve on. I'm very proud of the way the guys played and the way they fought.
On the fans
We always feed off their emotions. I think all those delays all played into it. We have great fans like Dylan [Thompson] said. We just have got to give them a great product on the field.
South Carolina Player Quotes
Dylan Thompson Quarterback Senior
On preparation
Our coaches tell us some things to help us during the week. They were telling us all week those guys up in Athens are talking about "it's going to be a war, it's going to be a war." When you go to war you need soldiers. That's what I thought we brought. Every time we got on the field we had soldiers.
On personal performance
I'm just so happy we won. All you hear about all week is, how great Georgia is and I just got tired of it. We wanted to come out today and just show what we had. Bring our best game to the ballpark. I really don't want to take credit for this. It is much bigger than myself.
On improvement
I know everyone was probably writing us off after week one and that's fine. That's completely fine. But we believe in each other and tonight was a great example of that. We bent but never broke. I'm proud as heck of our team, the coaches and the staff.
On the fans
We have the best fans in America; I think everybody knows that. When they missed that field goal, I think that is the loudest it has been in a long time. We love our fans, we know how great they are and we are blessed to have them.
Rory Anderson Tight End Senior
On this being Dylan Thompson's best game
You could say that, I believe so. He just came in and had his mind right. Everything was just clicking on the offense. We got going pretty early. You didn't see too many overthrows or too many dropped balls. I think we just came out and executed the game plan.
On not being able to hold on to ball last week and coming up big this week
It felt good. Me, personally, I felt like I struggled a little last year but I work hard on myself. I'm a Georgia boy, and I felt like this was a personal game for me. First because I'm from Georgia and last year didn't go as planned. Stuff happens, but we were able to bounce back.
Nick Jones Wide Receiver Senior
On playing over the middle
First of all, I would like to thank our fans, staying through that whole weather delay. They are amazing, and I think we have the best fans in the country. The coaching staff, we had a great game plan. We've been working on that all week. We knew the middle of the field was going to be wide open. As for the catch on the sideline, everybody knows I dropped a big one at the [Texas] A&M game and I was mad at myself for that. So I just wanted to come back with a big one.
On what was going through his mind during the spot of the ball in the fourth quarter
I'm praying. I'm asking the Lord God to help us. He is amazing.
J.T. Surratt Defensive Tackle Senior
On preparing for Todd Gurley
Last year they put a big chip on our shoulder, so this year we came in, and we knew they were going to try to give him the ball a lot. Our main focus was to get 11 hats to the ball, to get him on the ground. We practiced all week trying to get 11 hats to the ball. It worked out for us. I give all praise to the defense as a team because we did what we came to do.
On this game after the loss to Texas A&M
It feels great. Every win feels great. This was just the next one. And the next one on the list, we'll try to get that one too. Wins are always what we try to get. That's what we strive for. Fans like winning, so that's what we try to do.
On keeping the guys motivated after Georgia's first drive
I was telling them that this game is not going to continue like this. We have to do what we came to do. We have a job to do, and our coaches have been preaching to us that our job is to do our job. In that particular [drive] we didn't. We can't go back out there and let them do what they did again. Regardless of what happens, it's over with. Let's get back out there and get some stops.
Brandon Wilds Tail Back Junior
On running the ball in second half
We were trying to run out the clock, and that was a key part in the last couple of drives. Getting a first down and being able to take a knee at the end of the game was a key part for us.
On his attitude after the fumble
It was kind of personal. I know I had to do better for myself and come back and not let the fumble get to me too much.
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