Rod Barnes Beat Quotations

I didn't look out there today and think we were overmatched. Without the turnovers, I don't know how many other teams would beat us.

It has been difficult the last few years to beat Mississippi State. And it will be difficult (today). The great thing about it, a lot of our guys have not been a part of those losses. A lot of our new guys, they've never played Mississippi State.

We've just gone to two places and got beat pretty badly. We go back home, the last time we were at home we played a great game. We're one game away from a regular-season winning season, and that's something we haven't done (since 2002). We get the opportunity to do that Saturday.

(Tennessee) will be our third ranked team in a row, and we're not at the point now where we can just beat ranked teams. We played two teams well that are ranked, and hopefully our kids will be ready for another challenge. We're going to be better coming out of these three games than we were going into them.

They beat us up pretty bad. It's a tough draw for us, but after the game against LSU, I feel better about our team's state of mind. I think they're in a better state than the last game against Kentucky. That's when the uncertainty (about Barnes' future) started. Words have been spoken. A lot of those questions are behind us.