Wake Forest Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Clemson 42, Wake Forest 13
10/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2012
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Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe
On Wake's defensive play...
"I just don't think we respected their foot speed enough in the first half. We did a better job in the second half, but we just dug ourselves such a big hole. One of the things that was really disappointing was the fumble and then the short score. I think the short field was the hardest but big throws got us."
On Wake's pass coverage...
"I think it was a combination. Sometimes it was the corners and then other times it was the safeties. Sometimes you give up a big play or two and it gets everyone kind of spooked back there and then you end up giving up a couple more because you're not playing real aggressively. They have some good receivers that could catch the football. "
On Clemson's receivers' speed...
"They got behind us a couple of time, but I thought that we had pretty good coverage and then it was just a foot race. I thought that quarterback Tajh Boyd did a good job dropping the ball on those guys. They were right where they needed to be. It was a combination of really good receivers and a quarterback that was dropping it on them."
On the return of Michael Campanaro...
"I thought he looked okay. I thought we missed him a couple of times where we could have gotten it in there to him. I think he played really good for having missed over three weeks and it'll be nice to have him back full speed and in there healthy with a few practices under his belt. Hopefully by the time we play Boston College we will have Campanaro back full speed with a week of practice."
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney
Opening statement...
"Thursday is what we call a `Team Thursday' and that was the epitome of what today was. It was a great team win, all phases. We did some good things. We talk about holding the opponent to 17 points or less and we feel like when we do that we have a great chance to win a lot of games That's two weeks in a row we've been able to do that. But, it was a great job by the team and our staff and it was good to get a win on Thursday night. Everybody has been reminding me all week that Clemson is 1-9 on Thursday night games. So maybe we can start a new tradition now of winning those games."
On quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins...
"Tajh was just lights out. He got a little sloppy in the third quarter but really just lights out. I think he set a school record for passing yards and maybe everybody will quit asking me about Sammy Watkins now. He's played four and a half games now and I think he set the school record for receiving yards tonight. He had a great game tonight and it was great to see him have some big plays.
On the Clemson defense...
"Defensively, five sacks is tremendous. I think that's the most we've had in a game since 2010 and I think (Vic) Beasley had a couple of them. I'm really proud of how Cortez Davis played. Here's a guy that hasn't had a lot of reps in practice and hadn't had a lot of game time. He's had to mentally get ready and get his snaps when he can in practice. I thought he stepped up and did some good things and got a turnover for us. Just a lot of good things."
On wide receiver Charone Peake...
"He's been so close a couple times. He dropped his first touchdown last year...he was wide open and dropped it. That was the story of his season. Charone has been awesome since last spring and has had a heck of a year. It was really good to see him. We gave him the opportunity there and it was really well executed route by Charone."
On the Clemson passing game...
"They gave us man coverage and some one-on-one match-ups, playing some quarters and some one safety defense. We just took advantage of it. Early in the game we threw a ball to Sammy (Watkins) and Tajh missed it and threw the ball a little to far outside. That play set up the first touchdown. We came back and ran the come back off of that and he just broke the tackle. That's what happens when you have one guy playing one guy and you don't make the tackle. It's a big play. We came back and ran a crosser, and the safety bit down on the end cut and we had a post route which was a big play. We just made the plays that presented themselves and took advantage."
Senior FullbackTommy Bohanon
On chances to reach a bowl game...
"I think we still have a great chance to turn it around and still get to a bowl game. We have a great schedule coming up. I think all we have to do is put a few things together and hopefully we will get a few wins and be bowl eligible."
On 12 catches and 5 touchdowns this season...
"I like lining up at the H-back position a lot. I think that it has brought me a lot more opportunities to get the ball some. I think that versatility has been able to help the offense get going a few times."
Junior Nose GuardNikita Whitlock
On the defense's struggle against the Clemson's offense...
"I don't know. My main job is to run and I think we stopped the run pretty well. One of the things we wanted to do better this year is was give pressure. We were not able to give pressure and Tajh Boyd was throwing the ball fast and he had some good receivers. I don't know, I think I will have to wait until tomorrow when I watch the film."
On bouncing back after this loss...
"We have two games to win, at least, in order to be bowl eligible. I think we have some teams that are beatable coming up in the schedule. I think we have BC, NC State, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt. So we just have to bounce back because it is all about the bowl game and it's all about being eligible."
Senior Linebacker Riley Haynes
On Clemson's five straight touchdown drives...
"You know first off, we know that Clemson has a great offense with great players, dynamic wide receivers and a really good quarterback. I thought we got a little bit flustered after a few scores and we weren't able to weather to storm at that time. You can't give up big plays against those wide receivers because if you do they make you pay which is exactly what they did. They had a few big plays on us that got us playing a little bit slower and second guessing ourselves. You have to be able to weather the storm when the wheels start coming off. I thought we did a better job in the second half but it was too late at that point. We gave up five straight touchdowns and came out and pretty well, but we weren't able to slow them down in the middle of the first and second quarter."
On defense feeling healthier these past couple of games...
"We knew that they were a great offensive game and that they had great players. We knew that if we weren't in the right spot on every play they would make you pay for it. It's disappointing. I think we came out in the second half, played pretty well and got better. It was unacceptable at that point in the first half to give up that many big plays. You need to be able to buckle down and get it turned around. It took the second half to do that and it was too late."
Junior Flanker Michael Campanaro
On returning from the injury...
"I'm feeling good. The hand feels good. The legs are a little tired. I played a lot of snaps and wasn't expecting that. I came out healthy with my hand and I'm feeling lucky about that."
On what delayed the offense in scoring...
"I think we had a few plays where we just kicked ourselves in the foot. I think that fumble kind of hurt us on our second drive we were moving the ball pretty well. Clemson's defense did a great job with us all night. They took away the run and did a good job with the passing game as well."
