Every head coach's one-liner for this weekend's games
Week 6 in the SEC is a pivotal one. Saturday’s slate features several key divisional matchups, including Arkansas at Alabama, Florida at Missouri and Georgia at Tennessee.
Here’s what the league’s coaches had to say about their teams’ respective games this weekend:
Nick Saban, Alabama: “I think that he has had a really good year so far,” Saban said of Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry. “I think it’s important for us that we continue to use him in a way that’s most beneficial to him and to us, which is sort of feeding him the ball.”
Bret Bielema, Arkansas: “To me, they’re the staple of what college football is, not just the SEC,” Bielema said of Alabama. “They’ve got a phenomenal head coach, their environment … It’s as good as any environment. I’ve been in the Big Ten and the Big 12 and been to every part of this country, and I think that environment is as good as any that there is for a home-game environment.”
Jim McElwain, Florida: “I’m kind of interested to see if our team is a one-hit wonder,” McElwain said. “You know, like Cyrkle, “Red Rubber Ball” … I mean, how many hits have they had? They had one. They’re a one-hit wonder. I don’t think we are, but we’ll find out this week if we’re a one-hit wonder.”
Mark Richt, Georgia: “We do feel like we put it behind us,” Richt said, referring to last week’s 38-10 loss to Alabama. “We feel like we’ve made the corrections we need to make, and we’re moving forward and hopefully be better because of the changes.”
Les Miles, LSU: “We’re looking at shuffling the lineup. We’re looking at all those things,” Miles said, whose team faces South Carolina this week after managing just 80 passing yards in last week’s 44-22 win over Eastern Michigan. “I like the effort of my wide receivers. It’s not as productive as it needs to be. It needs to be more in line with the coaching … We have to execute better. Period.”
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State: “Going to be a good challenge for us,” Mullen said of Saturday’s home game against Troy. “If you don’t come out and play, well, you aren’t going to win. We have to improve.”
Gary Pinkel, Missouri: “We’re excited about being at The Zou (Memorial Stadium) at night. It’s been a while since we’ve been there,” Pinkel said. “Our fans, I think, really enjoy that atmosphere and certainly we do, too, and we have to give them something to get excited about. So here we go.”
Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss: “I believe this team will respond. No question,” Freeze said of his Rebels, who lost 38-10 at Florida last week and play host to New Mexico State on Saturday. “We still have the ability to be one of the best teams in the country.”
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina. “You gotta hit him low,” Spurrier said of LSU running back and Heisman candidate Leonard Fournette. “You gotta try to get his ankles together if you can. Obviously, our defensive backs and linebacker-type guys, hopefully our D-linemen can stop him, hitting him in the waist area and so forth. It’s called gang tackling. You know, Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson, their teams didn’t win every game.”
Butch Jones, Tennessee: “You really in these times find out who’s with you, who’s against you,” said Jones, whose Vols blew a 14-0 lead before eventually losing 24-20 to Arkansas last week. “You just write it down, you put it in your back pocket and you file it away for future reference. We’re going to be fine. We’ve got a resilient group of kids, and we’re going to continue to make progress and move forward.”