Opening comments…

“[I’m] disappointed. Give a lot of credit to Auburn, they took it to us in the first half. We struggled to score points in the red zone today, missed a field goal, had to settle for a field goal, and gave up too many explosive plays. Positives, I was proud of seeing a difference in the second half as a team. As opposed to last week, they came out and fought and we have to build on that moving forward. We’ve got three home games in a row and we are looking to build off the second half.”

On what team needs to change in order to be competitive in these types of games…

“We have to not give up explosive plays, can’t miss tackles, can’t settle for field goals when we get in the red zone. That’s where we are at right now. That’s what we’ve got to do. We’re starting to see some of the young guys grow up. I really thought in the first half it came down to them catching the fade ball, not us. I felt like today the ball went to the right spot a lot, and if that keeps happening over and over again, we are going to make those plays. I am starting to see some young guys grow up, gaining confidence, playing with an edge, not out there playing tentative. You know when you are doing the right thing and being aggressive. That’s where we need to improve.”

On problem with concentration and effort…

“I think some of it was some alignment and missed tackles. On the really long play, it was a missed tackle and we can’t miss tackles. There’s good players in this league and they are going to make you miss some. But when someone makes you miss, you have to have two or three other guys show up. So we can’t miss tackles and can’t give up big plays. We did a better job of that and challenged them in the 2nd half. 

On fixing mistakes…

“I think every coach talks about that every week. Alignment, assignment, blocking, tackling, catching, that’s what you do to win football games. So whether you’re winning or not, those are the things you are practicing. We have to continue to get better and go to work. The harder we work it’ll eventually turn our way.”

On what changed in the second half…

“No schematic changes. I told them I want to see a difference from last week. I want to see improvement and I want to build off this and this be the turning point in our season.”

On what helped the quarterback protect the ball better today…

“We simplified the game plan and knew where the ball was going a lot faster. Our tempo at times was the way I wanted it. We played faster at times. We got their D-line tired at times and really helped in protection. I think we just really have to build on that.”

Shea Patterson, So., QB

On the difference between the first and second halves…

“Going through the first half we went through some adversity. I think it was the adjustment we made in the second half. We really made a statement that we wanted to finish the game whether we win or lose with a good vibe coming out of the game. I think offensively we were rolling. I think we feel a lot better than we did last week coming out of the second half. So we can build on that momentum.”

On if he was more intentional in targeting A.J. Brown…

“Not really. A.J. gets open and when he gets open I am going to give him the ball. He had a great game and made some great plays for this offense. We are really glad to have him back healthy.”

On how tough this stretch of losses has been on him…

“We have a lot of competitors on this team, and I am one of them. I hate to lose. Whatever it is, I hate to lose. If you run to that door I am going to get there faster than you are. It hurts. That’s the way this team is. We have been through so much adversity. We can handle anything.”

Zedrick Woods, Jr., DB

On problems against the run…

“We came out not focused. That is what it was. It wasn’t anything special that they were doing. It was more misfits on our part. We didn’t execute. The second half we saw we could do it though, and we are just prepared to dominate the rest of the season.”

On Kerryon rushing for over 200 yards…

“It is a lack of focus like I said. It is misfits and tackling. In the SEC, you can’t spot a team and expect to come back. We are going to keep working and fighting.”

On why they weren’t focused after last week…

“Probably just out there playing scared to make a mistake. We didn’t want to repeat last week. We have to focus in and keep fighting.”

On getting better at alignment and tackling…

“We have to train harder and emphasize it. We have to harp on it every week and we will get better.”

A.J. Brown, So., WR

On being part of the gameplan this week…

“We practiced all week with a lot of players involving me and my job was to get open and make plays when my number was called.”

On being competitive earlier in games…

“Come out with edge, start fast, get rid the problems of the second half. Start fast, it’s the SEC. When you don’t start fast in the SEC, it’s kind of hard to get back.”

On mood between the halves…

“The mood was positive the whole game actually. We were trying to lift each other up. We were trying to make plays for the defense; the defense was trying to make players for us, so we were trying to lift each other up.”

On inability to score in red zone early on…

“We’re just killing ourselves. It comes down to one-on-ones and I guess in the red zone we didn’t really win as much as we needed. That’s the most important area so we’ve got to get in the end zone.”

On bringing team closer…

“We’re lifting each other up, we’re not pointing fingers. It’s all like ‘We got you.’ We’re going to go to work one day at a time.”