TRANSCRIPT: Lane Kiffin, Dayton Wade and Trey Washington talk with media after Georgia loss

ATHENS — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, wide receiver Dayton Wade, and safety Trey Washington met with media following the Rebels’ 52-17 loss to Georgia. For the Bulldogs, head coach Kirby Smart, QB Carson Beck and defensive lineman Zion Logue spoke.

Here’s what they had to say:

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin

Opening statement…

“First of all, congratulations to Georgia. They played extremely hard today. They played physical and tackled really hard on defense. They really dominated us on the other side of the ball to have a 10+ yards per play. I don’t know if I have been a part of that on defense. Not a good recipe for us to come in after 14-14 and not play well against the No. 1 team in a hostile environment. Add us to the list of whatever, the last 43-1 of their last 44.”

On Jaxson Dart’s status…

“He was able to return after being checked out. I just didn’t see a need at that point for him to come back in.”

On what Georgia was doing on offense…

“They got their tackle back and their tight end back. We didn’t tackle. They have got really physical backs. I said it earlier in the week, but I think that offense is overlooked because it is defensive made team people think. That is a really good offense. That was a concern. We really hadn’t played, no disrespect, a really elite passer for a while since LSU. I was concerned that may show up today, and we don’t do everything we need to do and certainly didn’t.”

Ole Miss wide receiver Dayton Wade

On the difference between the fast start for Ole Miss and the rest of the game…
“I would say consistency and bringing it to them. We came out of the gate and were bringing it to them and then they got a stop on us, so I can say that affected us and our play. But, we can’t let that happen.”

On if Ole Miss is prepared to bounce back for the rest of the season…
“Most definitely. We all have a salty taste in our mouth because we came in here confident, not even thinking, just trying our best to win. So, taking this loss is definitely going to leave a nasty taste in our mouth going into next week.”

On what Ole Miss’s hunger says about the program and expectations…
“It all starts with culture. We have this thing we call culture won. When your culture wins, things like that, you don’t worry about. You’re just trying to get a win, you don’t care who you play, you’re playing to win all four quarters.”

Ole Miss safety Trey Washington

On what he saw out of Georgia’s offense when they took over in the second quarter…
“Well, when they took over, they kind of took over from the start. We didn’t do a good job of executing from start to finish, so we’ve got to be better.”

On if there was anything specific that Georgia was doing that caused problems…
“No, I think it was us. We missed too many tackles. When you make check-downs turn into 60 yards or 50 yards, it’s hard to play good defense doing that, so we’ve just got to do a better job of tackling.”

On how confident he is in the defense’s ability to respond following tonight’s game…
“I’m confident. We don’t have quitters. That’s the thing we talk about. You can’t quit after a game like this. You’ve got to stand up and get ready for practice next week.”

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart

On Senior Night and celebrating those players…

“Probably the most decorated senior class that’s ever come thru. I have to ask Claude Felton what the actual win-loss record is for this class, some of them were here in 2019. Most of them were undefeated at home and what a game to finish that off with. The crowd was electric and the memory of having that game as your last game in Sanford Stadium will be hard to top.”

On the difference in this game for the offense to have so much success…

“We have good players on offense and good coaches. That combination is hard. We have pass protectors and run blockers, and the backs I thought ran really hard tonight. Carson (Beck) put us in the right place. Number 19 (Brock Bowers) and #84 (Ladd McConkey) are really tough to deal with. Dom (Lovett) and Rara (Thomas) did some good things. It’s a cumulative effect. I’d hate to be on that defensive side trying to stop those guys.”

On the key to the Georgia defense stopping Ole Miss…

“The key was stopping the run. They had good rhythm. We didn’t stop the run well early, which is not indicative of who we are. The biggest thing about slowing down their pass game was getting hands-on receivers- getting pass rush and affecting them. Once you control the run game it’s a lot easier to play the pass and I thought they did a tremendous job of doing that.”

Georgia QB Carson Beck

On when he knew the offense could move the ball at will…
“I mean, when we went down there that first drive, you know and had success, it’s always good to come out to a hot start, obviously. And then the second drive and then the third drive and then it just kept going and going and obviously you start steamrolling. And then the defense gets some stops, just all builds that momentum.”

On what it meant to play on senior night in front of such a great home crowd…
“Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s huge. For me, all the seniors, really everybody on the team, to be able to have a top-10 matchup night game. It’s not something that happens every year, so to be able to play in that type of environment and have the success that we had and execute at the level that we did was awesome.”

On the resiliency of the offense…
“I think we did such a good job. And that was really our key I guess for the entire week was just win the now, just win each and every moment that presents itself. And I know it’s so cliché to say just go play to play to play, and I say it every single week, but in all like realness I think we really showed that today. Even when we were setback, we came back and we fought and we had full confidence in that.”

Georgia DL Zion Logue

On adjustments made across the defense in the second half…
“Really just like every team, they always give us their first best nine to twelve plays, and we know they’re a good team. We knew that coming into the game. We knew we had to neutralize the speed of the fast ball, and I feel like we did that very well today. Aber those first 14 [points], it kind of slowed down for us.”

On how the defense was able to improve as the game progressed…
“I think it’s just that we’re in the tenth game of the season now, and you’ll say butterflies. But every game is kind of different. We anticipated the fast ball so much this week, and I think we were just overcompensating for things. We just had to settle down and play football.”

On his career at Georgia…
“I was talking with my D-line coach, Coach Tray Scott, earlier. It feels like just the other day that I was playing Arkansas State in my freshman year. Time waits for no man, and you have to grow up very fast here. This place has taught me everything that I know, and I’ll forever be grateful for Athens, Georgia.”