Postgame Quotes - Wake Forest vs. Florida State
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 14, 2009
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe
On Florida State's game plan...
"I think they did a really nice job. I thought their plan -especially their option stuff and getting the quarterback out of the pocket - was really, really good. It gave us fits. Their boots gave us problems, [and the] option gave us problems today. Plus, I thought their backs ran really hard. I thought their line played really, really well. They just did a nice job. They had a good plan and their kids executed it. I was very impressed."
On Florida State's offense...
"Actually, they just ran some flat-out inside zone plays at us. What gave us some problems was the quarterback was so talented when he kept the ball off the zone fake that we had to honor both of them. It kind of keeps you from loading up down inside to stop the inside zone and the quarterback takes it right out to the perimeter."
On Wake Forest...
"I just don't think we played very well. I think they did a nice job blocking on the perimeter; I thought the perimeter game really gave us some problems. And then as the game went on, I thought the success that they had on the perimeter hurt us inside some because we were really stressed out trying to stop the perimeter run. I thought they had a nice mix - I thought their throwing game was a good mix. And quite frankly, we just didn't make many plays today. We were in position a couple times but we weren't really able to force anything such as turnovers to get the ball back away from them. They really protected the ball well today."
On the loss...
"Our special teams were a disappointment today. I don't think we punted the ball very well... I didn't think we kicked it very well and then I thought coverage teams were a problem in special teams today. We didn't have a chance to return many. Their kicker kicked the ball out of the endzone several times. And then, offensively, a couple turnovers were big. The first turnover led to a touchdown and the other turnover was off the one-and-a-half yardline. It's really a team loss. I thought our defense didn't play very well but you can't just point to the defense. We knew coming in we were going to have to score some points today. And I'm really disappointed that we didn't play better in the kicking game."
On the team losing its final home game with 22 seniors on the roster...
"I think it's really tough. But our young guys don't like losing; this is not a loss that just affects the seniors. We've got a lot of young players - we played a lot of them today. We have a lot of young guys on the team right now that don't feel very good about this. Certainly, our seniors are disappointed because they had a little bit to live up to after the last three years. I thought Florida State played lights-out. I thought they were a very talented, very good football team. I don't think we're necessarily a bad football team with the losing record; I just think we've played some really good teams."
Wake Forest Senior RB Kevin Harris
On the Wildcat formation...
"I liked it. It was actually a throwback to our Orange Bowl year where we used to run it a lot. It was actually one of the first runs I ever had as a redshirt freshman. Obviously it was wide open today, so that was exciting."
Thoughts on Senior Day...
"It's definitely disappointing. We've had a lot of close games this year, but we've worked awfully hard over the last four years to make things happen for Wake Forest and this program. I think a lot of the guys in our senior class were major contributors in a lot of the bowl games we attended. We still have Duke left, so we need to get back to it and take care of business against them. They're a really good team and it's going to be a tough game, but if we win that game I think it puts our class as one of the most successful in Wake's history. That's really important to us even though we won't be going bowling."
On playing Florida State in his last home game...
"It was neat. It was pretty disappointing to lose to them, but we beat them three out of the four years and that's more than I could have asked for when I committed here. Being able to play them that tough and beat them three out of four years is a great accomplishment for Wake Forest. They played some really good ball today. They were on their "p's and q's" and they did what they had to do to put us out. We made a bit of a run there at the end, but it was not enough."
Florida State Head Coach Bobby Bowden
Opening statement...
"It feels good to get a win. We have been beaten a few times up here. (EJ) Manuel passed the test. He had done everything you could ask coming out of high school. He had a good reputation and played well in the all-star game. Then when we put him with the first team this week, he just did everything we could have hoped. You really never know how he is going to do until you see him in a contest but right from the first play, he showed a lot of confidence and poise."
On EJ Manuel's performance...
"It was impressive. He's a redshirt freshman. You're always leery about starting a freshman but he's shown qualities that he is going to be a pretty good player. That was a heck of a start for a freshman."
On the running game taking the pressure off of Manuel...
"It took a lot of pressure off him. Instead of having to throw it every down, we could mix it up a little. The offensive line was big today. I don't know if they (Wake Forest) ever stopped our running game."
On scoring a touchdown on the first drive...
"It's got to be big. It had to have helped his confidence. It was big for the coaches. It was big for the offense. It was big for everybody."
On how much he appreciates a win over Wake Forest... "It used to be you took it for granted before (Jim) Grobe came. He has really turned this program around. They beat a heck of a Stanford ball club this year. Since (Riley) Skinner has been, this is the first time we beat them in four years."
