Highlights from Hugh Freeze’s postgame interview following the Rebels’ 43-37 win over the Tide on Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

On what it took to win the game: “God has been so good to us. I love our coaches. I love our kids and our administration. We believe in one another. My message right before the game was, ‘You don’t have to be something that you’re not this time. Let’s just go out there and handle the emotions and play.'”

On how the game played out: “I never would’ve guessed it would have been 43-37. I didn’t think that it would be that high scoring. We’re just blessed and honored to represent our university.”

On Alabama’s last drive: “I dream about those calls right there. Kick the field goal, the game is over. Get a yard, the game is over. We got neither. I was scared to try the field goal, get a block. I thought that was the best call. We used a lot of the clock, then our defense was able to play prevent there and get us out of here.”

On what went into him saying this was the first time coming into Tuscaloosa with enough talent to beat Alabama: “We’ve recruited well. We’ve built a program hopefully that is now relevant in the SEC. We came into a hostile environment. There’s some loud places, but tonight was extremely loud, and we handled it fairly well. It was a good test for us. I believe in what we do and how we do it.”