Postgame Quotes
11/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening statement…
"We got shut out in the first half and we didn't make any plays. I thought our guys battled back in the third quarter there and made some big plays - touchdown pass to Cam (Serigne), touchdown to Cortez (Lewis). I really thought we had gained control of the game back. Then we had the lead, we punted it to them. They had the long run, they hit the skinny post for a touchdown. We drive right back down the field, and that was my call on the trick play. We thought we had something, and we had Bachman wide open right down the middle of the field, and we just didn't get the ball off, and obviously the penalty - and that falls on me. In retrospect, we should have just run the offense and kept moving the football. It shouldn't come down to one play or one kick. There were a lot of opportunities to make plays earlier in the game that we didn't make. We're disappointed, but we're getting another month together and we find out where we're playing in a week."
On the team's effort...
"We've played hard all year. There's not one game that our guys didn't show up and play hard and play with great effort. There's no doubt in my mind we'll get them back."
On whether the loss lessens the year's accomplishments...
"We won three games last year, we got six this year and we're going to a bowl. That's our body of work. I wish we wouldn't have lost to Army, I wish we wouldn't have lost to BC, I wish we wouldn't have lost to Louisville and Clemson. We're improved, we're better, we doubled our wins and we're going to a bowl. Do I wish we would've won eight games or nine games? Of course I do. To say it detracts from what we accomplished, I don't agree with that."
On the differences between the defense and offense...
"Our defense has played great. They're not going to be perfect. Their other two scores were on short fields, off turnovers. To say you're going to play a football game and not one time is the other team going to drive and score, that's not a fair expectation of the defense. To me, the bigger story is just, again, we start so slow on offense. We get shut out in the first half, we just didn't make plays. I thought we gave our receivers opportunities to make plays in the first half on deep balls and they didn't make them, and in the second half they did. They've got to make those plays consistently. You guys have seen it. Against the elite defenses in this conference - Clemson, these guys, Louisville - we struggle. We still don't have a lot of favorable matchups on the perimeter and that's clearly where we've got to get better."
Boston College Head Coach Steve Addazio
Opening Statement…
"Third bowl game in four years, that's a great accomplishment for our seniors. I just really appreciate our players and their grit and determination. That's what we talked about downstairs. We started out the year and hadn't yet learned how to close a game out when you have adversity. Today, we learned how to close a game out. Maybe the greatest lesson of all is things were really going our way in the first half and in the second half they really weren't and we still found a way to win the game. Those lessons can really be catapulted to a team and I'm really proud of it. Defense played lights out which we needed. We were struggling offensively with penalties and drops and a host of things along the way. But we found a way, special teams and defense, and then we made the play we needed to make on offense at the end in order to win the game. As a coach, you get aggravated when you watch things like that but you also say to yourself that maybe the best lesson that you learn as a team is finding a way to win on the road in adverse conditions, adverse situations in that we are not playing well and closing it out and getting your sixth win and getting to a bowl game."
On what his team's effort showed him…
"I think it shows resiliency of our team and our team was really resilient. We battled, we scratched, we clawed, we hung in there and overcame a bunch of stuff. We had some hard defeats, some close some not but we hung in there and everyone all around us was counting us out but no one inside was counting us out, they were all counting us in. We were able to scratch our way back in and get into a bowl game. There is nothing more satisfying than watching our kids' faces in the locker room. It's all about the players. You watch them, together, will their way to this, together, is worth everything. We will keep working on the other stuff and fixing stuff and this and that but that moment was worth everything."
On the future of his team…
"I think with the bright future that we have right now with the guys that are coming back, we will lose a few on defense but we have a bunch coming back that have played meaningful snaps. We've been through that metamorphosis last year when we lost five games by less than three points. We've battled back this year through this, our offense will become and older and more mature offense. Our offensive line is in place. The tangible things are in place to win and I like where we are headed and I like the future."
Wake Forest junior quarterback John Wolford
On game performance…
"It's obviously tough. It's kind of a tale of two halves. First half we couldn't generate any points, and we turned the ball over. It was rough. The second half we were consistently moving the ball."
On missed opportunity on trick play…
"Alex Bachman was going to have a touchdown. It was a deep-post route, and I was rolling out as fast as I could but couldn't get the ball there."
Wake Forest redshirt junior tight end Cam Serigne
On feelings after game…
"This one hurts. It's one of those games when you look back on it it's going to sting a little bit. We just have to let it make us stronger. We'll take 24 hours to mourn over it and then get ready for our bowl game."
On moving forward…
"You have to be mentally tough. Things are going to happen, and it's not all going to be sunshine and roses. This one is a jab at us, and we just have to come back stronger. We need to be mentally tough and get ready for our bowl game."
Wake Forest redshirt senior defensive lineman Josh Banks
On missed opportunities…
"People get open, and we just have to stop the down eventually. We just have to keep playing."
On comparisons to Boston College…
"They kind of remind us of ourselves. They're very physical. There is good defense on both sides. It was a pretty toe-to-toe match. The better team today won, and we just have to go back to the basics."
Wake Forest senior cornerback Brad Watson
On potential senior day distractions…
"Everybody has some type of emotion on senior day. Starting slow is something we have been working on. We just have to get back in the game and find our groove."
