OLE MISS POST-GAME QUOTES

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR TYRONE NIX

On Ole Miss' defensive performance today:
"It was truly a blessing for the Cotton Bowl to get us here in the first place for the second year in a row. Our kids really focused and they kept it a challenge. They knew our last time out wasn't the way we had been playing all year. We wanted to make the statement that we're a good defense and that we know how defense is supposed to be played. We wanted to finish on the right note."

On creating so many turnovers:
"Sometimes they come in bunches. It's just like sacks and turnovers; they are kind of contagious. One guy gets an opportunity and another guy creates another opportunity and the ball just starts bouncing our way. It just goes back to the credit of our defensive staff."

CB MARSHAY GREEN

On the success of the Rebels' defense against Oklahoma State:
"In the last game we played against Mississippi State, we a bad taste in our mouths. Everybody on the defensive staff made a promise to each other that we weren't going to leave the field like that. Basically we came out and played balls out today. Anybody that came into our area we were knocking heads."

On the defensive keeping the game close:
"Coach Nix always tells us ‘you can only control what you can control'. Our offense kind of struggled today but we (the defense) can control what we can control so therefore our job was to stop them from scoring and play balls out on defense. That's what we did."

LB PATRICK TRAHAN

On the defensive success against Oklahoma State:
"It was just a battle. Their (Oklahoma State) defense was coming up with turnovers. Whenever we play a game we want to be the best defense on the field. We made it an initiative to outshine their defense because that's who we have to compete with. Their defense could get turnovers on our defense so why couldn't we get turnovers on their offense? We continued to fight. We just made it happen every time something went wrong we took that as a challenge to go back out there and make something happen."

On what this win means for Ole Miss:
"It means a lot. It's been a long time since Ole Miss won two bowl games back-to-back. They say this game is the first game of the next year and it's like an extra spring (practice) for next year. As a senior, we're leaving a good legacy that we can build on for Coach (Houston) Nutt and the staff for years to come."

C DAVERIN GERALDS

On how Jevan Snead played after re-entering the game:
"He didn't show any signs of maybe being a little dizzy or anything of that sort. He still seemed the same when he came out there to the huddle when coach put him back in there.

On the change at quarterback when Nathan Stanley replaced Jevan Snead:
"We just tried to make it as easy as possible on a young guy like Nathan. He came in and did a wonderful job for us, stepping in for Jevan with it being his first true few snaps he's taken. We just stepped up the game plan and just put it in his hands. He just did a great job of taking up front. He just did everything we could ask of him.

QB NATHAN STANLEY

On his thoughts when he realized he would have replace Jevan Snead at quarterback:
"I saw him take the hit and realized that was a nasty hit. I immediately went over and grabbed my helmet just in case. Soon as I got over there, GA (graduate assistant coach) Clark Irwin got over there and told me to get ready and get loose. I just started getting focused, getting ready. My number was called so I had to be ready."

On his first couple of plays:
"It was good. I just wanted to get in there and make plays, make something happen and get a drive going. It was really great for my first play to hand off to Dexter (McCluster) and it went for 85 (yards). That kind of broke the ice. It was good."

On how this experience will help him grow as a quarterback:
"It's definitely going to help. It's just a lot more experience. Definitely a good experience for me to have in a big game, a bowl game, especially in a stadium like this, it's just for the better and only helps me. I'm ready now."

DT JERRELL POWE

On the play of the Ole Miss defense in the second half:
"For us to make a goal-line stand when the game was on the line was real big. … It kind of showed our toughness. Especially in a game like this, we want to show that the SEC is the strongest conference. I talked about that at the media conference the other day. For them to score on us, they had to use a (Tim) Tebow play (jump pass). It is always fun when you stop teams down on the goal line."

On being called on to carry the ball on offense from the one without scoring:
"No lie, I smiled. I just knew I was going to score. When I saw the linebacker there, I thought he was going to cut me, so I just took off. When I came out of the pile, I was on the line, and I thought it was a touchdown."

On what he told the Oklahoma State offensive players after that:
"I told them, ‘If we didn't score, y'all ain't going to score.' I told their offensive line. I was just talking trash."

On what he told the Oklahoma State offensive linemen after the Cowboys jump pass for a touchdown:
"I told them that was weak. I told them to run the ball."

FS KENDRICK LEWIS

On the role the Ole Miss defense played in causing Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson to struggle:
"Our defensive line put so much pressure on him that he was forced to make those bad decisions."

On the overall Ole Miss defensive performance:
"We were playing good defense. We were making big plays. We were pretty comfortable the whole game."

OLE MISS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR KENT AUSTIN

On the favors the Ole Miss defense did for its offense:
"Thank goodness the defense got those turnovers back for us. That changed the game."

On how QB Jevan Snead reacted to a hard hit:
"I thought he was out. He got hit under the chin, and then he got whiplashed on the turf. He's a tough kid. There aren't many guys who would come off that hit, I'm telling you. That's as good a clean hit as I've seen."

On putting Snead back in the game after having used redshirt freshman QB Nathan Stanley:
"The interception before the half helped us make that decision. We moved Dexter (McCluster) out into the slot, and our key was to go to that side of the field. He forced the ball. But we wanted to give Nathan a chance and watch him for a couple of series. … We just felt like it was a chance for us to change the pace. After they turned the ball over and gave us field position, though, we decided that we had to go with the guy with the most experience."

QB JEVAN SNEAD

On the playmaking abilities of Dexter McCluster and Shay Hodge:
"When I need a good, big play, Dexter and Shay are the two guys I go for. Shay just did a heck of a job for us today, just like he did the entire season."

On his game at quarterback:
"Obviously, I'm frustrated and I'm disappointed with the way I played. The offense as a whole didn't play well. It will be easy to see when you watch the film – just the simple stuff we messed up on as far as jumping offside and not getting the snaps good. That was extremely frustrating for us."

On being replaced for several series by redshirt freshman QB Nathan Stanley:
"When you're the quarterback, you want to stay the quarterback. You want to stay in the game. You want to lead your team to victory. It was ugly, but I'm still excited about this victory."

On Stanley's performance at quarterback:
"They kind of threw him into the fire right there. He's a young guy, and he really hasn't gotten that much experience. To be thrown into that, I think he did a good job. He's a heck of a quarterback."

After taking a hard shot that caused Snead to leave the game for a time:
"I had to talk to the trainers. They wanted to make sure I didn't have a concussion or anything like that. They kept asking me a lot of questions and making me walk around. It rung my bell a little bit. I had a headache and all of that. I still have a little one now. Other than that, I was fine."

On the Oklahoma State defense:
"Obviously, they did a good job. But a lot of it had to do with how we played. We didn't play up to our expectations. We didn't play the way we know we can play. For that, I'm extremely disappointed. I'm disappointed in myself for those turnovers. I just know we can play much better."