Wake Forest Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Duke 34, Wake Forest 27
9/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 29, 2012
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Wake Forest Head Coach Jim Grobe
On third down defense...
"We had two third and longs that were really disappointing. We tried to take them out of field goal range thinking we were doing the right thing coaching wise, but in hindsight we probably shouldn't have done that because even with a good possession, they're back in field goal range - so that's probably my fault. But still, you don't give up that big of a third and long. We then gave up another one that ended up in points. Other than giving up the big third and longs, I thought our defense rallied pretty good today"
On what they could have done differently...
"I think Duke's kids played good. I think they had a good pass rush up front and they did a good job on the back end. Maybe we weren't breaking routes off as sharp as we needed to, or we might have been running into the wrong coverage for us, and the right coverage for them. I'm sure protection was not as good as we'd like for it to be."
On Duke's team...
"They've been a little bit like us. They've had some injuries and they've had to rally with some injured players and some substitute guys they had to put in. I'm really impressed with the way they played, and I thought kids came in and played hard today. I think it's a pretty good team. They're like us - they play pretty good teams every game - it's tough"
On Campanaro's injury...
"We don't like seeing Camp hurt. He's a really good player, and an even better kid. It was really disappointing when he got hurt. He broke the back of his hand, and I don't know what the prognosis will be. I don't know if they'll set it or operate on it, but he'll be out for a while. It's about the only positions that you have to be able to use your hands. As a receiver, we need to get him fixed up and better - so that may be a while."
On playing without Campanaro...
"You've got to catch the football. We had a lot of opportunities to catch the ball today and we didn't do that. [Campanaro] has always been a money guy for us. When you throw him the ball, very rarely does he ever drop it. Somebody needs to develop - hopefully more than one guy."
Duke Head Coach David Cutcliffe
On the win over Wake Forest...
"I'm happy for a lot of Duke football players. This is our fifth season, so we've had four classes of seniors that have fought in this game very hard. Just a tough series from the Duke standpoint so for all of those guys, congratulations. For this team, we did what we had to do and we did it together. There were plays made by the defense; obviously four big turnovers or takeaways. The kicking game was as solid as it could be and we ran the ball when we had to. People stepped up consistently and made plays on offense."
On injuries Duke suffered in the game...
"It was hard to try not to overreact to injury. Just an old trick from an old coach is to look out there and see who you've got healthy and not who you've got hurt. We've got some good football players out there healthy so you just focus on that end of it."
On running back Jela Duncan...
"Every week Jela is just improving. He is a powerful, fast football player. He's difficult to tackle, and I just think the best is yet to come. He's also a good pass protector and a very good pass receiver. I was just pleased the back committee can help us with guys being healthy down the stretch."
On the play of quarterback Sean Renfree...
"When Sean was holding the ball, he was in a circumstance where there were some drops that we knew we were going to take some time. (Wake Forest) happened to guess right and have blitzes on and got hit."
On quarterback Anthony Boone who replaced the injured Renfree...
"He converted some third downs and ran our offense. He's a very poised and he's not really like a backup. We started the season with three really experienced quarterbacks, and that pays off in circumstances like this."
On wide receiver Conner Vernon tying the ACC record for receptions...
"That was a huge third down pickup on a screen and a good run by him. After winning, I'm glad that he has a chance to break that at home. That's a little more special in that regard."
Junior Offensive Lineman Frank Souza
On this loss compared to the Florida State loss...
"I mean they are all hard. Obviously, going out there and fighting like that and coming out with a loss is always difficult. We knew it was going to be a fight. We just had to lay it on the line and try and get that one, but they ended up with the win."
On pressure to win due to the winning streak...
"Yeah, there was definitely pressure and not just because of the streak. We kept the streak out of our mind. The pressure was mostly that this team is a new team, this is a new game. We had to go into it, try to focus and keep the intensity up. We just had to think zero to zero, forget about the stats, and try and have the mentality needed to win."
Sophomore Cornerback Kevin Johnson
On struggling on third-and-long plays...
"I think as a defense we didn't execute on those calls we had. We had opportunities where we could have pinned them back and we missed our assignments."
On reacting when it happens consecutively...
"Of course you get discouraged, but we just had to bounce back and try and get them in another situation like that and hopefully make a play."
On the loss...
"It hurts. We know that we let one go and we didn't play the best that we can. Duke was a great team, but it's definitely discouraging. We'll be ready for Maryland."
On Duke's performance...
"They were a great team. They had a lot of talent. They were veterans with a senior quarterback [Renfree] and receivers [Vernon and Scott]. They were pretty well-coached as well."
Junior quarterback Tanner Price
On the loss...
"We still have a lot of games ahead of us so we have to bounce back and put this one behind us."
On Campanaro's injury...
"It's never good when your top guy goes down because he's been such a vital part of the offense. It was tough when he went down, but other guys will have to step up and make good plays for us. That just didn't happen today."
On not taking advantage of possessions...
"When you have a momentum change like that and great field positioning, you have to capitalize and put seven on the board. We didn't do that."
