What Joe Milton III said after No. 14 Tennessee's 36-7 loss at No. 16 Missouri
Joe Milton III completed 22 of 34 passes for 267 yards with a touchdown. He threw an interception that returned for a touchdown and also lost a fumble in No. 14 Tennessee’s 36-7 loss at No. 16 Missouri Saturday afternoon.
Here’s what the fifth-year senior quarterback said after the most lopsided loss of the Josh Heupel era at Tennessee:
Tennessee only running three offensive plays in the first quarter while Missouri controlled possession
“Yeah, you didn’t get the ball that much, and as an offense and as our offense, since we’re a fast-paced offense, we want to be able to get the ball and keep going. But at the same time, based off their offense, they held the ball, ran the ball a lot more and actually got yards off it. So we had to just sit right there and wait our turn.”
If players try to push more when Tennessee doesn’t have the ball as much
“I mean, no. You’ve just got to take what the game gives you. Control the controllables. If their offense is out there still getting first downs, then you’ve got to try to figure out what we need to do on offense so we can get ourselves going, too.”
What went wrong to keep Tennessee’s offense from finishing drives
“Shooting ourselves in the foot. Pretty much the same thing that happened the Florida game. Just all the self-inflicted wounds. False-starts, holdings, things like that that can kill a drive. That’s what happened.”
If the best response moving forward is for Tennessee to let this loss hurt or wipe the slate clean
“You kind of want to do both. You’re kind of in the middle of both. You want to wipe it clean, but also you know next week is very important as well, too. So just like this week, want to be able to go there, flush it. Once you get off that plane, it’s a whole new week coming, so be ready to flush it and get ready for next week.”
Tennessee playing Georgia next
“I mean, it’s nice having any game. It’s an opportunity for us as a team to go out there and showcase our talent, but having them coming to our stadium next week, there’s only one way we play when we get inside that stadium. So that’s what we’re going to try to do our best at.”
The fumble he lost in the second half that hit Dylan Sampson’s arm
“That’s just me. I’ve got to clear the back. That’s nothing to do with the whole offense. It’s just me. I’ve got to clear the back if I’m ready to throw. Just got to clear the back, that’s all.”
If the way Tennessee played surprised him after this team has played tough for most of the season
“I mean, mistakes happen. You’ve just got to be able to correct them. You’ve got to be able to correct them fast, especially in games like this, especially when you’ve got an offense that has a great running back and great quarterback and some guys that’s on the outside that’ll make plays. You’ve got to be able to flush it and refocus and get ready for your opportunity to show up.”
The interception Missouri returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter
“It’s just Cover 4. That’s all it is. Just Cover 4 with double slants. You know, just (have to) take care of the ball, pretty much.”
