Nov. 5, 2005
SMU vs. Rice
Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Phil Bennett
On the game...
"I thought we played good defense, but I think we've played well defensively for the last five weeks. Offensively, we were efficient. I thought we dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage. I thought we were sloppy in the second half, but it's nice to be sloppy and still win."
On DeMyron Martin's play...
"DeMyron just kept pounding out there. He just gets better and better. The more you feed him, the stronger he gets."
On his team...
"I thought we were focused and ready to play. That's one of the reasons I love these guys. Each week they play like they're playing for something regardless of our record. The want to keep getting better."
Safety Joe Sturdivant
On the different between last year's loss and today's win...
"The defensive scheme that the coaches came up with was the difference. We simplified things somewhat andhad our playmakers making plays. There was more reaction and less reading."
Running Back DeMyron Martin
On his third one-hundred yard game...
"It is a good feeling and we are starting to play better and get consistent. It's a team effort though, it's not one against 11. It's 11 on 11 and everyone has to play together and do their thing."
On having Cedrick Dorsey in the backfield again...
"It helps a lot. I don't want to shoulder the load by myself, even though I can. I would rather our running back crew do it together, instead of me by myself."
On seeing the field better as the season goes along...
"It's like a boxer seeing what they need to do early and then once they figure it out, they continue doing it. That is what I've been doing"
Defensive Tackle Adrian Haywood
On the special team sessions planning for Rice...
"We had not been defensively sound against them in the past so they changed a few things up and coach brought in a couple more athletes."
Rice Head Coach Ken Hatfield
On the loss...
"My compliments go out to SMU for playing hard. The extra week off gave them a chance to get rested and I thought they came up with a good game plan and came out ready to play. I knew the wind was going to be a factor and I hoped we would win the toss. They ended up getting the ball and they did a good job of taking advantage of their early opportunities. They played extremely wide and therefore you have to get good yardage inside and we did not get enough inside to be effective. There probably wasn't a bigger play than the holding penalty that cost us the touchdown. We could have gotten back in the game and that holding call killed us. Those mistakes were critical and our biggest strength was punting the ball."
On Rice's defense...
"The defense played admirably. We got three turnovers and those gave us a change, but I was disappointed that we couldn't take advantage of any of them. I thought they did good job on both third down to keep us in the game."
On shuffling around injured players...
"We had people playing other positions. Our starting tight end (Braxton Evans) broke his hand on the first play of the game and we had to go with Joe Wood who had been alternating in practice. He had to play both tight end and fullback and he wasn't as effective as he normally is. Not having Andrew Cates also hurt us because we did not have a couple of strong fullbacks to use. You have to play with what got, but I think we had 15 guys out before the game started that we thought would be playing this year and we lost others in the ballgame. It is late in the year and kind of hard to pull any redshirts at this point, so we just have to shift around and make due."
On coming out flat today...
"If I knew the answer I'm sure I would have done something about it. When we played here the last time we played well. I think the biggest thing was hurting ourselves early. The first three plays killed us. We practiced everything they did and there wasn't anything that was a surprise. The thing they had going for them was the extra week. I don't think there is any doubt that they did a better job with their base defense with the extra week of practice, than they could have done with one week to prepare. That is a compliment to them and their staff."
SMU vs. Rice Post-Game Notes
· Chris McMurtray has now made 11 straight field goal attempts, breaking a school record held by Roy Rios & Bandy Brownlee (10). His record-breaking kick of 48 yards was also a career best.
· The 92-yard Mustang scoring drive in the second quarter was the longest score to date this season.
· DeMyron Martin's 39-yard run in the third quarter was SMU's long run of the season.
· The fumble by Rice in the third quarter was the first career forced fumble for Justin Rogers and the second fumble recovery of the season for Joe Sturdivant.
· With 171 yards, DeMyron Martin recorded his third 100+-yard game of the season. It marks the first time an SMU player has rushed for more than 150 yards since Keylon Kincade had 180 at Tulsa in 2003.
· This is the first season SMU has won both the Iron Skillet and the Mayors' Cup.
· SMU improves to 5-1 all-time in Homecoming games played in Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
· The win snaps a three-game losing streak against Rice.
· The 20 points scored in the first half were the most scored by the Mustangs in the first half this season.
· SMU improves to 8-1 under Phil Bennett when scoring 24 points or more.
Recap | Final Stats
Coming Soon.
