Wake Forest Athletics
Weekly Football Press Conference Video & Quotes
11/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 8, 2011
On Wake Forest controlling its own destiny in the Atlantic Division...
"Certainly you would like to be in a position to do that. We've played well enough in the ACC so far to give ourselves a chance, but we know that we have a great challenge down in Death Valley"
On Clemson's speed...
"It's amazing really. Every week we're playing really good football teams, but their foot-speed stands out."
On playing in Death Valley...
"We've played well a couple of times there, and we've played poorly a couple of times. I think two years ago we played really poorly down there, so we know we have to bring our best game to have a chance. The crowd is tough, and their players certainly like playing at home. It's a great environment for the home team and a really tough environment for the visitors. I think sometimes it pumps everybody up. I think the best team's that we've ever had enjoyed playing in those types of environments, and hopefully our guys will go down there and play well, but I don't think there's any question that Clemson's players get an extra kick out of playing in front of that home crowd"
On the mindset of the team coming off of back-to-back losses...
"We're disappointed, but not down. I think we know that we still have a lot of good things to play for. I think we're very disappointed in the opportunity that we lost Saturday night (against Notre Dame). We had a great chance to beat a really good football team and didn't get it done. So we're not great mentally from the standpoint of being happy about the way that we played the past couple weeks, but at the same time, we know that we can play better and we know we have to this week."
On looking ahead to the matchup with Clemson...
"Well, Notre Dame was a disappointing loss, but practice yesterday went really well. The coaches have a great game plan for us this coming weekend, and we know that Clemson is going to be a tough place to play. They're a tough team, but we're confident and we're going to go in there and execute as well as we possibly can."
On still having a potential ACC Championship to play for...
"Obviously if we can win against Clemson the ACC Championship is still alive. It's a very important game this weekend and I think both teams realize that. Clemson's definitely going to give us all that they've got and we're going to try to do the same."
On Clemson's defense...
"They really get after the ball and they're very athletic. We trust in the coaches' game plan and we're going to do the best that we can to score points."
On playing in Death Valley...
"It's obviously really loud. When I took a visit there, it was just unbelievable. There's no place quite like it. I'm excited to go down there and have the opportunity to play a team as great as Clemson in their home stadium."
On having still having something to play for this late in the season...
"It's nice being able to play for an ACC Championship still this late in the process. Not many teams can say that. I think we have a little bit of confidence coming off last week. We weren't as physical as we wanted to be. We have that to work on that this week, but we know what we have to do to beat these guys and we know what we're going into. We're going to Death Valley in front of tens of thousands of people. It's going to be loud and it's going to be an awesome atmosphere and I think we're ready to go do that."
On the speed of Clemson's offense...
"It's hard to see Sammy Watkins on film. He's so fast. They're definitely fast. I think we have a great game plan to maybe help us catch up to them. I think we're fast on defense as well and that's going to play to our advantage. We're going to be working hard. We're going to be physical. We're going to be playing fast. They're a very fast team and we're going to have to do something to prepare for that."
On there being an intimidation factor against Clemson...
"I don't know about intimidation. This team doesn't really get too intimidated by anything. It's definitely going to be eye opening for the freshmen and sophomores that haven't been there before. I think we're really excited to get this for our team and for our coach. No doubt, they are an incredible team."
On the offense being able to score to keep up with Clemson's offense...
"I have faith in our defense. They're going to have a good game plan. They're going to make it a challenge. They won't be able to score at will on our defense. I think our offense is also up for the challenge. We're going to be prepared, ready and excited for the game."
On the excitement of going to Death Valley...
"Coach Grobe's never won there. It's going to be good to be down in an environment like that. I'm from 20 minutes (from Clemson) and I went to those games growing up so I know the environment. I know how much the people there look forward to game days in Death Valley. I've been looking forward to this game for two years to come back to Death Valley.
On the effect playing in Death Valley will have on freshmen who haven't been there before...
"It's totally different than anywhere we've played before. You really have to have a tough mindset to go in there and play in that football game."
