The 2014 season began with a bang for nationally-ranked Texas A&M and Ole Miss Thursday night.

The same can not be said for SEC East members South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who suffered a pair of home losses by a margin of 54 total points.

Here’s what the coaches said:

KEVIN SUMLIN on Texas A&M’s 52-28 win in Columbia, S.C.: “Basically, nobody gave us a chance to even be close in this game. All I heard all last week was two touchdowns, if we could keep it close it would be great. I think what we did tonight kind of shows we’re not a one-trick pony. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re not going anywhere any time soon.”

STEVE SPURRIER on his first season-opening loss at South Carolina and the Gamecocks’ dreadful defensive performance: “That team was so much better than us, it wasn’t funny. They out-coached us, out-played us, they were better prepared and they knew what they were doing.”

HUGH FREEZE on the Rebels’ second-half surge in Atlanta: “Real proud of our defense and special teams. They really came to play and played with great passion and energy. Offensively, we were totally out of sync the entire first half … they’re a good defense, but we also hurt ourselves quite a bit. We’ve got a lot to get cleaned up, but at the end of the day, we beat a good football team tonight, and we’re excited to be going back 1-0.”

DEREK MASON on Vanderbilt’s seven-turnover disappointment in his debut: “A loss is a loss. I don’t care how you see it — whether it’s 7-6 or 37-7. You never like the way you lose, but the bottom line is that it never feels any different. I’ve been here before, and what you have to do is, you take it and you learn from it. You try to coach your guys, try to get your mistakes corrected and (just know) you’ve got nine days to get yourself ready to go play another football game.”