Oct. 23, 2011

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

SMU Head Coach June Jones
On what the Golden Eagles did defensively:
"Well, we weren't passing very well. We had a chance to score three touchdowns and didn't. We got inside their 10-yard line three times and didn't score."

"It was 13-3 when we threw an interception in the endzone and had the opportunity to make it 13-10. We just couldn't get the job done there. I think (McDermott) couldn't believe how wide open the guy was and it just hit his hand. But, that's alright."

On the missed opportunities:
"Well, they are a good football team. We knew that we had to execute and we didn't. I thought the defense played good enough to win. We just couldn't do it offensively."

"We had chances (in the red zone). We just didn't catch the ball or throw the ball the way we needed to right there. Hopefully we'll do better next week."

On the play of quarterback J.J. McDermott:
"(I don't think he was rattled.) He hung in there. We didn't protect very well. We had some routes that we had practiced and practiced...more mental errors than physical errors. We knew that we would have those. I was more disappointed in the mental errors."

On the crowd's influence in the offensive line's false starts:
"We knew that there was going to be five or six of those. Every team we saw on film had those. It's frustrating but you have to overcome those on the road."

SMU Quarterback J.J. McDermott
On the play of the Southern Miss defense:
"They played well up front and did a great job of taking the run away. We had opportunities and I have to play better. If I had hit (wide receiver Cole) Beasley there in the 4th quarter, that's seven points. But, I missed him and it got intercepted. We were playing from behind the whole time. They did a good job. It looks like they had a good plan coming in. They are a good team. You have to give them credit."

On the influence of the crowd:
"You have to overcome the crowd. You have to expect the false starts. You just have to overcome then. It was probably a little excessive but we definitely need to limit that. All in all though, with everything that happened, we still had a shot and just didn't execute."

On the mood in the locker room after the game:
"Everybody is obviously frustrated. We expected to come in here and get a win. But, it didn't happen. They are a good team. We just have to do everything we can to get back here."