Opening statement…
“We’ll give Auburn credit for their excellent performance. Their game was ready. We seemed to be wrapping up the week, in my opinion. We had a great practice week, but we were outmatched today, so we need to get back to work and find out why.”
What happened?…
“On defense, we were unable to handle the edge. We experimented a bit, but we were unable to keep up with Auburn whenever she wanted to push herself. We weren’t very good at it. We lost five sacks when we went to an area with poor protection. We performed rather well last week, but we were unable to run the ball or were impeded when trying to run the football. We had a great practice and preparation week, in my opinion. I was feeling great before the game.
They attacked us on the opening drive, held us, and then returned with a punt. However, we did the same thing to Florida the week before, and they came back, and we never did, and we didn’t block or tackle well throughout the entire game. Although we haven’t encountered this predicament before, we did so today and attempted to fight our way out, but we were never successful.
On his team’s third-down struggles…
We struggled mightily to win first down, and we had trouble with third-and-long. We made a number of different attempts.They simply outclassed us physically and had a strong physical presence.
On if his team’s energy dropped after Auburn went up 21-0…
You’ll frequently say, ‘You get the momentum back.'” We simply didn’t have it.They simply outmaneuvered us physically during the entire game.
On if he is concerned about losing his job…
“I am not.” Permit me to explain why; it has always been about me and these kids, not about me being the head coach. To respond to your inquiry, though, I’m not.
On the decision to switch to Criswell at quarterback…
“Obviously, I wanted to look at Jacolby and talk to KJ because we’re down 41-3 and KJ (Jefferson) is really beating him up back there, and I thought he played really well.”
On if any players seemed defeated on the sideline…
As one might expect, you’re attempting to stay inspired and driven. Some of the kids are, and we are. To be perfectly honest, the sideline was about what was happening on the field. We never gave up; we simply don’t feel like we ever started today, and that applies to the whole group.
On if anything changes now that his team cannot make a bowl game…
“Well, we must prevail. We intend to play for victory.We will therefore keep doing what we believe will help us win, and I believe that a lot of it will depend on our physical positions.
On how to keep players focused over the final two games…
“Winning today was crucial to maintaining (Arkansas’s) bowl hopes.I don’t think we have an issue with the locker room; today we really got our ass kicked.
On the way Payton Thorne operated the Auburn offense…
It was excellent. excellent athlete who is able to throw. In the last two or three weeks, they have undergone a slight alteration. They’re returning to a slightly quicker-paced, hurry-up style of offense, but he’s still very good and valuable to them. Their offensive line was outstanding; they performed flawlessly. However, he was an excellent time manager, passer, and offensive coordinator.
On the Auburn offense’s third-down success…
“On defense, we gave up first down all day long; it felt like we were always in the second, third, or fourth situation. They should have had some success on third down because they were ahead of the chains for the majority of the game, but we were unable to win on first down.
