Opening statement:
"Coming up this week got Southern Miss, really excited about traveling down to 'The Rock.' Very good football team we're about to play, I think statistically they're probably leading the conference in a lot of areas. A great challenge for our team, one that they're very excited about. Been down there several times to play, I love playing down there, it's always a great environment. I know they'll be rockin' and rollin' in Hattiesburg, but our guys are ready to go."
On the challenge of playing Southern Miss:
"I think they're probably the most complete team, if you look at them statistically. Leading the league in passing, total offense, they're up there near the top in defense, they have good kicking specialists. They just make it really hard on you. So, we have to play our best football, and we have a good football team as well. We have some momentum coming off the big win at Arkansas, we probably played our best team football against Arkansas, and we have to carry that into Southern Miss. Two good football teams going to play and it should be a good game."
On Southern Miss' recent home success:
"That's what you want, you definitely want to have that home-field advantage. It's always been a tough place to play. I've been in this conference since 1996 as a player and as a coach off-and-on, and every time you go there it's just a tough environment to be in. But our team's done well this season traveling. Our team likes to travel and really looks forward to playing in a tough environment, I think we excel in that kind of environment. We have a mature football team in that sense, I think our guys really are always up to those challenges and this will be a good test for us."
On playing some of the best teams in C-USA:
"There's a fine balance. I think when you play the better teams in our conference you can't play passive, you have to be aggressive, and I felt like we've done that. But at the same time you have to play smart football, and there's a fine line there. When you play good football teams if you have several turnovers and they don't, you're just not going to win the game. So, we have to find that balance, and this game will be no different. They do a great job with their run defense, not a lot of people have had success running the football against them in our conference, but we have to be able to establish a sound run game. Really, I'm not trying to say we need to go out there and rush for 150 yards, we just have to make them honor the run and get some tough yards, and that should help us with our passing game. They've done a good job of keeping people just one-dimensional. So, we have to be able to say we're not going to be one-dimensional so that Ty doesn't have too much put on him and we don't put Ty in some bad situations in the passing game. We have to find that balance there, if we can find the balance and be aggressive, we should have a lot of success."
On QB Ty Storey's success in recent weeks:
"It's just a lot of hard work coming together. I think he's found a rhythm and the players know what he's thinking and he knows what they're thinking. When you can find a rhythm and get momentum in the last part of the season, it's a very special thing. We have two games left and we're carrying a lot of momentum, so I'm hoping that we haven't seen Ty's best football. I think he's got a lot left in the tank, he's very motivated right now, our players are very motivated. It's the culmination of a lot of hard work, getting down the stretch and trying to finish strong, and I think that's why you've seen some of the results that you've seen with Ty."
