Let’s take a quick tour of the SEC to see what the head coaches were talking about on Saturday following their Week 5 games:

NICK SABAN, ALABAMA

On the performance of his front seven in a 38-10 win at Georgia: “We played against a really good team. I think in games like this, and we were going to play it close to the vest and try to run the ball, throw play-action passes because we did not want to get behind in the game. We were fortunate to get ahead in the game, got some good execution, we made plays, blocked a punt. I think it’s very difficult to come back when you’re taken out of your game plan in situations like that. Our guys did a great job in executing the plan and they couldn’t run the ball on us except on the one run. They got in a lot of third down situations, which is very difficult to manage on a day like today. I thought our defensive front seven did a great job, and I thought we played well in the secondary as well. It was obvious that their plan was to go after Marlon (Humphrey) early in the game so we flip-flopped corners and put (Cyrus Jones) on them the rest of the way and he did a good job.”

BRET BIELEMA, ARKANSAS

On his team’s resolve in breaking three-game losing streak with 24-20 win at Tennessee: “You know what? Just keep plugging away. A lot of people have these ideas and thoughts. The offense has been great. My wife and I sat there last night and had, like, 15 letters come in on Friday. Letters of encouragement to stay the course. Keep your faith. A lot of great people involved. Happy for the program, happy for these fans.”

GUS MALZAHN, AUBURN

On relying so heavily on the run to beat San Jose State: “We do what we have to do to win, and that’s just the way it was today. I was excited about the running game. We didn’t have to throw it that much. We had some short fields that had something to do with that, too. But we have a good idea about who we are moving forward.”

JIM McELWAIN, FLORIDA

On beating the No. 3 team in the country by 28 points: “Bit by bit, I see these guys growing up. That was a good football team we beat. Our guys took it to them.”

MARK RICHT, GEORGIA

On blowout loss to Alabama: “The dam broke, and unfortunately we just didn’t have enough counterpunches to get back in it. First, give them credit for the job they did. I’m disappointed for us as a team, players and coaches, but I know our fans are sick about it and I don’t blame them. It’s no fun to have that kind of performance. But it’s a long season and we have to get ready for the next one. We’ve got to make a lot of corrections and get back on track.

“We got whipped. We all know it and we’ve got to do something about it. We’ll watch the film and face the truth and look at ways we can improve. We, as coaches, have to make decisions to do that.”

MARK STOOPS, KENTUCKY

On beating Eastern Kentucky in overtime: “We just feel very fortunate. That’s the word that jumps out at me right now. Give (Eastern Kentucky) credit. I feel like they coached better than we did, they played with much greater energy and enthusiasm and executed better than we did. Fortunately, we had some guys step up and make some plays late. I am very proud of our team and our determination to stay with it and to finish the game and somehow find a way to get the victory.”

LES MILES, LSU

On Leonard Fournette breaking off a 75-yard touchdown run in a win against Eastern Michigan: “Leonard is liable to do something like that at any time. There is not a time when you hand him the ball that he doesn’t have an opportunity to hit a home run. I anticipate those kind of things will happen.” 

DAN MULLEN, MISSISSIPPI STATE

On losing to Texas A&M on Saturday: “When you’re on the road, you can’t come in and play the way we were playing and expect to win. It was pretty simple: they played better than we did tonight.”

GARY PINKEL, MISSOURI

On the performance of freshman quarterback Drew Lock in a 24-10 win against South Carolina: “Drew really did some good things for a young player. We were a little conservative (with play-calling) in the second half with some of the field position we had and trying to get our running game going. But I thought he really carried himself well. I thought that was good. He did a lot of good things, and he has a lot of ability.”

HUGH FREEZE, OLE MISS

On his team’s 38-10 loss at Florida: “Difficult night. They beat us in about every facet of the game that you can imagine. We did very well with the intensity that you have to play in an environment like this early on to be able to compete. We broke down in some coverages on third down and just things that we continue to do. We have to coach better. We have to get better. We didn’t take care of the football. Our plan was, I think it was a solid plan but we didn’t execute it, which means we didn’t do a good enough job preparing our kids to play in this environment.”

STEVE SPURRIER, SOUTH CAROLINA

On reasons for 24-10 loss at Missouri: “Missouri out-played us. That’s all you can say. They played smarter than us. They’re a better team, better coaches.”

BUTCH JONES, TENNESSEE

On getting over the hump in close football games: “How you get over the hump is you keep working and you win one of these games. That’s the only way you can do it. It’s resiliency. Again, we’re all being tested. And then how do we keep them together? We have good character in our football program. We have good character young men. And we have to. We have some good leaders. It starts with me. It starts with our coaching staff. It starts with our players, of staying together. We understand it’s very challenging right now, but we have to be very, very resilient and keep working.”

KEVIN SUMLIN, TEXAS A&M

On his Aggies beating Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott in his senior year: “You guys know how I feel about Dak Prescott. I’m just glad we don’t have to face him anymore.”

DEREK MASON, VANDERBILT

On the Commodores’  fourth-quarter comeback against Middle Tennessee: “Sometimes you run out of time,” said Mason. “Today, we almost ran out of time. It was our first road win since I’ve been here, and that’s huge for this young, growing football team.”