Saturday, November 22
Cape Girardeau, Mo.
1 p.m.
Jacksonville State University
at
Southeast Missouri
John Grass Press Conference Quotes - The Southeast Missouri Game
11/17/2014 4:00:00 PM | Football
Jacksonville State Head Coach John Grass
November 17, 2014
The Southeast Missouri Game
November 17, 2014
The Southeast Missouri Game
JSU GAME NOTES (.pdf)
Opening Comments:
"It was a good day Saturday and it was a great day for football. To win an Ohio Valley Conference Championship was one of our goals this season and now the next step is the playoffs. We have to take care of business this weekend against a good team in Southeast Missouri. We have to go there and they have been really good at home. This game is very important to us because we can get a bye week in the playoffs, which would be huge for our football team. We enjoyed the victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday and Sunday, and now we are moving on to this week. I know our kids will come out and have a great week of preparation. I was real impressed with how our team handled last week and how we played on the field. We did what we needed to do to win the game. I am just proud to be OVC Champs."
On the team staying focused after winning the league:
"I think they are not satisfied. They know winning the conference championship would go a long way with where we want to be and that is a National Championship. We are not satisfied and being ready to play every week has been a sign of maturity and growing up to handle all the different situations. We know we are playing a good opponent every week, and this week won't be different than the past two weeks. I think our guys want that off week the following week, and they know how well the open weeks have been for our football team. They have been good for our team. We had one in October, which was huge to have one for any football team during October. We also had one after the first two road games of the year and we came back off of both of those off weeks very fresh and ready to play. It is huge to get to where we want to be, to get to Frisco, Texas. If you look back at last year's playoffs, three of the four teams that were in the semifinals last year, all had a bye week the first week. We have a lot riding on this game and we just want to win and you don't want to drop a game at this point of the year. It is very important to finish the OVC season undefeated and be the first team in school history to be undefeated in OVC play."
On SEMO:
"They are a dangerous football team and they have lost some very close games the last couple of weeks. If you look at them early, they remind me of our football team from last year. They won some close games early and had some tough games early, and were able to pull off the big upset of Southeastern Louisiana, who was ranked No. 3 at the time. It is a different mentality there now than it was last year. They could easily be sitting here with a chance to go to the playoffs with those close games early. They will be hungry and want to go in to the off-season on a good note, and no better way to start that by knocking a team like us off. We will get their best and we know that. We have to go do our job and we know that. They have a great quarterback and one of the best receivers in the league."
On how he spent Sunday:
"Worked on SEMO. We got Saturday behind us and we started breaking down the opponent and we usually get a head start on that on Wednesday or Thursday the week before. It was business as usual and the approach each week the same. It is a big game this week, and it's bigger than last week."
On Sigler and Landrum adjusting at JSU from other schools:
"I think it's the environment that we have in place here. We welcome them with open arms and invite them in to our family. You would never know that these two guys were not here four or five years. They are a Gamecock as much as anyone that has been here awhile. It is a very unselfish environment, and these two guys give up a lot of tackles to play assignment football.
Devaunte Sigler
Jr., Defensive Line
On Staying focused this week:
"The off week would be perfect for us and it would get people healthy. Having that week off would have everyone fresh for the playoffs."
On third down defense:
"We are great run-stoppers, but everyone is trying to get to the passer on third down. Our mentality is that it is third down, so we have to go get him. When someone gets a first down on us, it upsets us because we are not satisfied. We want to get our offense on the field."
Chris Landrum
R-Jr., Defensive Line
On Staying focused this week:
"Players are banged up and having the off week would help us get healthy. The coaches do a great job of getting us healthy during the open weeks."
On his personal goals:
"We are winning games so personal goals are good, but when you are winning it is more about the team than personal stuff. You still want to do well as an individual, but the team is more important. To have a good game and lose, I wouldn't be happy at all but to have an average game and win – it is a lot more important that the team wins."
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
DL
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