**Check out the last question..hahaha**
Opening statement: "Since y'all don't have any (questions), we got whipped about every way you can get whipped. We surely didn't slow them down on defense. Maybe we can cover No. 88 by next week some time. I don't think we've been beaten that bad physically in the last three years."
Question: Did it surprise you to see them dominate you up front?
Tommy Bowden: "Yeah. Yeah. It surprised me that we couldn't stop them all night. We couldn't find something to slow them down. I cannot remember us getting beaten that bad physically in at least three years."
Question: Can you talk about that play-call in the opening series and how big that fumble was?
Tommy Bowden: "We usually think that nothing will happen in the first five minutes of the game to cost you the game. The game is 60 minutes long. That's just one of two plays. I usually teach my team that nothing will happen early that'll cost them the game. It gave them momentum. I don't know if we could have regained it had we gotten a first down."
Question: Were you surprised the kickoff return for a touchdown didn't give you more momentum?
Tommy Bowden: "They stopped us and came out and scored. We never established any control of the game at any point. When a kickoff is the highlight of your offensive production, that's not very good."
Question: Did your team lack a sense of urgency in this game?
Tommy Bowden: "We didn't prepare any differently than we have in the past. Obviously we're not the ninth-ranked team in the country. I surely can say that we didn't have the sense of urgency that Alabama had."
Question: Do you feel your team was rattled in the first half?
Tommy Bowden: "I'd like to think we didn't. Cullen is an older guy. We've got a lot of skill guys who are older. Defensively I wouldn't think we got rattled. We've got some younger guys on the offensive front. I'm anxious to find the answer. I don't know why they would have been rattled. We surely didn't respond to the preseason hype of being No. 9. That's pretty obvious by the play of the team."
Question: Talk about the play of your defense overall.
Tommy Bowden: "I'm anxious to see (off the film). We'll watch it tomorrow. I have not seen that done to us the last three years. I don't know why it happened. Responsibility of getting the team prepared is mine. As I told the team, I didn't get them prepared. And that's my job, my responsibility. I'll find a solution to the problem. We'll go to work on Monday. It's one game out of 12. But we've obviously got a long way to go. I've got to start with myself and work down."
Question: Was it their scheme specifically that gave your defense problems?
Tommy Bowden: "I don't know. I'd have to look at the film. I just think we got whipped physically on both sides of the ball for about the whole game. It looked pretty simple, just mashed. Just physical football."
Question: Did you expect them to come out and just run right at you?
Tommy Bowden: "No, because nobody has really done that the last three years. No one has done that to us. That's what is surprising."
Question: Do you know the severity of your three starters' injuries?
Tommy Bowden: "No. I haven't heard a status." (Tigerillustrated.com... Ricky Sapp - knee, should play versus The Citadel, Jacoby Ford - mild concussion, should play versus The Citadel, Barry Humphries - knee; status unknown).
Question: Going to make any recruiting promises again (starting Jamie Harper)?
Tommy Bowden: "If he's here for three years – there are 1,000 plays in a year – that's 3,000 plays, and I played him one, that's a pretty good return, pretty good tradeoff."
