“(We) didn’t play well enough in any facet to really win the game. We were fortunate that we had a chance at the end to come back and win. They’d struggled in the kicking game and we got some blocked kicks that kept us in the game, really.”
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson
“I thought we had OK practices. They weren’t great practices, but we never really got in any rhythm. The first drive, we were able to run the toss. We got in some formations and got ’em leveraged because they were popping gaps inside. And, really, there was nobody on the perimeter much. We had two or three blockers for two defenders and we were able to hit some plays. But we never really got our option game going at all. We never got anything out of it.”
Johnson, first about the impact of the layoff during bowl practice and then on the running game
“We just didn’t do a very good job of adjusting to it. The first three or four times we ran the true option, the triple, I think we missed the read every time. And then I think we got ourselves behind. They create some negative plays for us, and we got ourselves behind and couldn’t make the first downs.”
Johnson on the Ole Miss defense
“I couldn’t be more pleased. We knew and said all week long to anyone that would listen that there would be an adjustment period of the speed to which they operate their triple-option stuff. It’s many phases we had to work on that there is still no way that you can ask your scout team to do it at the pace that they had to do it. I thought you saw some of that early, particularly with their wide run game and toss sweep play that they had. Our kids made great adjustments.”
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze on his team's adjusting to the Tech offense
“You don’t expect that from Georgia Tech, ten points in that fast, but they did. And, again, that is to their credit, to coach Johnson’s credit, that their kids fought and they’ve got good players. If you watch and look at the numbers they’ve put up against good football teams, I didn’t expect them to go away. I’m real proud of our guys for taking the momentum back, and what a big play defensively that was, down there deep in the red zone to get a safety.”
Freeze on Tech’s rally
“Coming into the game, coach (Dave) Walkosky was telling us the guards are pretty much the weak point, so we tried to target them. We put three guys, it was me, Euclid (Cummings) and Brandon Watts, it was us three over each guard and we tried to blow him up and get a hand up. It was just fortunate that I blocked ’em. It was a team thing.”
Nose tackle Adam Gotsis on his two blocked kicks
“They were coached well and they wanted it more. It’s all about who wants it more and, obviously, they had the talent. We knew that coming in. They played well.”
Quarterback Vad Lee on Ole Miss
“He’s hurt, which is natural, because he wanted to help the team any way he could. We’re just trying to help him keep his head up. We’re always going to be proud of him. He’s always going to be a brother no matter what, because we all make mistakes.”
Tech wide receiver Darren Waller on wide receiver Corey Dennis, whose fourth-quarter fumble led to a safety
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