Wake Forest Athletics
Post Game Quotes
10/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 1, 2005
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Quoting Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe
On the win:
"We went in at halftime and I told the team, `There isn't anything I can really say to you.' I wish I could just go out and give them some stirring halftime speech, but it was just one of those deals where the kids had to have a little heart and character and go out and find a way to win. It wasn't really pretty but we found a way. We needed a lot of defibrillators there at the end.
On the team's morale:
We've had some pretty good ones, but it's been so long for our staff. We lost so many heartbreakers last year and we were just wondering when {a win} was coming so it was fun to see that. The best thing about is we just put on the kids at halftime and said, `Guys if you want to win a game, go win it. We can't do anymore for you right now, you got to go do it.' There is a great sense of satisfaction with this football team.
On Cory Randolph and the passing game:
I think one of the factors was they were not letting us run our zone play. Whether it was an inside zone or an outside zone, those are our two favorite football plays and they just wouldn't let us run them. It was almost one of those deals where we were forced to throw the football and thank goodness Cory did a nice job. We decided we were going to beat them running between the tackles.
On his expectations of Cory Randolph:
This is the Cory Randolph we always expected. This is a guy who went out tonight and the thing I was so impressed with him was he did a really good job making decisions. They weren't always right but he was making decisions and he never had any throws where it looked like he was trying to make things happen in a hurry. I am just very impressed with him.
Wake Forest wide receiver Kevin Marion
On the touchdown:
"They thought I was doing a slant the whole time. I went down and I knew I could be the hero. We just go with the flow and suck it up for the team. We just had to focus. We were still in the game, so we had to go out and play like Deacs play. Cory's a good player; he just came back and played like he needed to play."
Wake Forest safety Patrick Ghee
On the last play:
"I didn't know it was the three-yard line. I was playing underneath coverage, so I trailed their number one receiver. I see Whitehurst throw the ball and the guy catches it and came my way. My first thought was to keep him in bounds and make the tackle. I didn't know it was the three-yard line. I just made the tackle. We stopped them and it felt great. I see the whole sideline run on the field to celebrate, and I ran and joined them."
Wake Forest quarterback Cory Randolph
On the game:
"It was a great game by 10 other guys on the field. The offensive line did an excellent job all night. Chris Barclay, there aren't enough words to describe that guy. Micah did a good job coming and spelling him. The young receivers came in and did an excellent job. Those guys really came together today and got a good victory when we needed a victory."
On returning to quarterback:
"Once you develop skills, you don't really lose them. After the first couple plays, you remember what you're doing out there. We just had fun."
On the last drive:
"We went to our 2-minute (offense). We called a couple plays and had a stalemate at midfield, and then Damon (McWhite) made a big catch and run. Then Chris (Barclay) came in and made another big run. Coach came to me and said we're going to take a shot at the end zone."
Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden
On the game:
"I think the biggest thing is at the end of the second half with about four minutes to go we had a chance to get a first down and put the game away."
On the fake field goal:
"I thought that we didn't need a field goal and that we needed to score a touchdown. There was a pretty good chance it would work, and we tried to make something happen to win the game. If we get a first down there, the game is over. I just wanted to win the game."
On settling for a field goal in the third quarter:
"Those come back to haunt you when you look at how the game ended. If we have them stopped on defense, I probably wouldn't be answering this question. When you turn the ball over like we did that will hurt you."
On losing close games:
"We cannot manufacture enough stops or turnovers on defense right now. We've now played five teams down to the wire, three of them have won. We had more rushing yards than them, more passing yards, more first downs; if you look at that part then we had a productive day. We try and see the bright spots, but it's hard when you lose."
Quoting Clemson center Dustin Fry
On the game:
"It's a good thing we have a bye week next week because we have a lot of things to work on. I guess it is a gut check and we need to check our guts. I don't want to say it's on the offense. It is on the whole team. I've played in tougher stadiums, but when these guys play us in this stadium, they come to play.
Quoting Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst
On the last play:
"It was a Hail Mary, it dropped to somebody else underneath. It just came up short at the end there."
