Postgame Quotes
10/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement
"I'm extremely proud of how hard we played and our effort. Our week of preparation was great. I don't know if we've ever had a better week of practice here. Our kids were locked in, they were fired up. They played well, but it's still a matter of execution. We played well in the first half. That opening sequence in the second half with the big kick return, and getting them into 3rd and 14 and allowing them to convert, which led to a touchdown. Those are all plays that happen early in the game, and at the end of the game that's why you end up not winning. That 94-yard run, we just handed it to them. He's a great player, he's a great back, and he's as good as we've seen, but we had three guys on him within five yards of the line of scrimmage. We have to get him down, and we have to get off the field. Florida State has tremendous skill. We had to limit their explosive plays. Offensively, we were very efficient. We made more first downs than Florida State and we outgained them. They've got great athletes, but I think at times we allowed them to make big plays that were defendable. That's the story of the game. I thought our offense played really well. We had a good balance of run and pass. Kendall [Hinton] played with tremendous courage and heart, and this game doesn't come down to one pick in the end zone. I'm proud of our players, we've just got to keep getting better. If we keep doing that, we'll start winning football games."
On the progression of the offensive line...
"We had a really nice mix going today. I think that is as well as we've run the ball against an ACC defense in the traditional way. Sometimes rushing yards are Kendall [Hinton] running and scrambling, but we ran normal plays. Those kids ran well. I've told you guys all year, we're getting better on the line. I thought we pass-protected well. Kendall Hinton took a lot less hits than he did a week ago. Our kids are working hard and they're getting better. Our kids care, they really do care. You can fault a lot of things about them, but you can never fault their effort. We've just got to keep pressing forward. This is the hump we've got to get over. We've got a team that cares, we've got a good locker room. We've got kids that work hard and execute at a high level for four quarters. Outside of a few plays, we executed at a really high level. But against Florida State, with those handful of plays with those skill players, you can get beat."
On the late-game scoring management...
"My thinking was that we wanted to stay in the game. If you're down 11 and you go for it and don't get it, the game is over. I wanted to put some pressure on them and make it a one-score game, and keep us in the football game. If it was six inches, maybe you try to sneak it. But I think in games like this, if it's a one-score game, you put pressure on them. If it's a two-score game, they run it and take time off, and the game was going to be over."
Wake Forest Junior Offensive Lineman Tyler Hayworth
On the offensive line play…
"You know, we're coming together. We're starting to mesh as a group. It just takes some experience. We're finally starting to build that up and get some experience. We communicated pretty well out there. We just fought as hard as we could."
Is there anything Florida State did to surprise you?
"They stayed pretty standard to what they do. They're a base team. They're going to try to beat you with their athleticism. They kept to what they usually do. Nothing crazy. Nothing different that we weren't expecting."
On the difference in blocking for Hinton vs. Wolford...
" We have a certain way that we have to block and we do it no matter who's at QB."
On what areas of the line have shown progress...
"We're pretty pleased with our progress altogether. We're running the ball better, we're protecting better. We just need to get over that hump."
Wake Forest Senior Linebacker Brandon Chubb
On close game against Florida State…
"Looking down the road, no team on our schedule is a loss. We can beat anybody on our schedule, and we that proved it against the No. 9 team in the nation. I think that says a lot. They out number us with stars and athletes. We're proving that we're hanging in the game."
On locker room chemistry…
"If we go into the locker room and we have that type of vibe that we lost a close one and we have seven games left, let's tank the season … that is not the right locker room mind set. We showed it against Syracuse. We did not let Syracuse beat us twice. That was a nail biter; a game that we should have won and wanted to win. That's why we came out and beat Army"
Wake Forest Freshman Quarterback Kendall Hinton
On the locker room…
"Locker room is pretty quiet because we know how close we are to the potential we have with this team. Going against a great team like Florida State and coming so close, you get tired of coming so close. We know we have the parts and players to reach full potential and have a great season."
On Dylan Intemann's leadership…
"As a senior he brings huge leadership to the team by keeping us going on offense. He does a great job of keeping up the encouragement. Physically he is a great guard: opens up holes and pass blocks well. On the field, he is a hardcore player."
Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher
Opening Statement…
"First of all, congratulations to our guys—they won a game on the road. It was a very hard-fought, tough game in crazy conditions. In the first half, the offense only had four possessions and we scored two touchdowns and had another drive going right before the half and had drops that cost us the first one. We only had 26 plays. On defense, we gave up too many nickel and dime yards—to many things that ate the clock. It was 14-10 at half. That's a good half. In the second half, we had a big-time drive to get momentum of the game to go up 21-10. The defense goes out and makes a great stop and we go back and get a big play and get down there ready to go up three scores and change the dynamic of the game and get great momentum. We had second and five at the five or something like that and we get a holding call. We get moved back and end up getting a field goal out of it. We got up 24-10, but we scored with the ball two out of two times and everything is going well. The defense gave up some yardage. We had some silly penalties on defense like an interference and a facemask. Even though they don't score and we do a good job on scoring defense, we gave up field position and on a day like today where it's windy, that is critical. We've got to stop taking penalties on defense. We've got to target lower when we tackle and not hold and do things like that—we'll look at all the calls. Then we get to drive and we move right down and get two big plays to midfield. We get a nice pass and get too greedy—instead of getting a 20-yard gain where we can at least get a field goal and get control of the game, we punt it and got them backed up down there. They took a penalty to get 2nd-and-20 and we give up a go-route and a hold."
