Postgame Quotes
8/31/2019 12:52:00 AM | Football
Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson
Opening Statement:
"That was one of the best opening day atmospheres we've ever had. We wanted to give the fans a game that went down to the wire. We made a ton of mistakes tonight and there is a part of me that feels like we didn't deserve to win that game. We gave up so many big plays on defense, and offensively our short yardage package was ineffective. Despite that, we got a stop, and went 90 yards and scored. We're very fortunate to win, and it certainly feels good to be on the winning end of it. Utah State is a really good physical football team."
On the game winning touchdown:
"It was a great play and catch by Kendall Hinton, but before the catch we ran the ball three times and lost a yard. We had three cracks at it, and I was prepared to lose because if we can't gain one yard, we deserve to lose. We're very fortunate to win tonight, and we know that, but we played hard to the last whistle."
On the defense:
"We're going to watch film of this game, and not be happy with a lot of things. I'm proud of the stop we made on third down late in the game and then the pick. We made plays when we had to. There are a lot of plays we didn't make, but Utah State is going to do the same thing."
On Justin Strnad:
"He's been a good player for us for a number of years, and he's a captain. You want your best players to step up and make plays and tonight he did it again."
Wake Forest redshirt senior linebacker Justin Strnad
On the interception that ended the game:
"I am not going to say what my job description was because I don't want to give away our defense but I was just kind of reading the quarterback's eye and I had my man in the boundary. I was looking behind me and I got some depth in there. He tried to float it over or just throw it right behind me and I just jumped up and got it. I was just thinking redemption, and I had about 20 people here tonight and I just looked into the stands and was just happy to see my family and friends, I was just really excited."
Wake Forest redshirt senior wide receiver Kendall Hinton
On the game-winning touchdown after coming back for a fifth season:
"After the game I definitely thought about it and it just makes this moment even more sweet. Just being able to play with these guys for one more year, and just being able to share moments like this. I told him (coach) that I am just happy to be here with these guys."
Wake Forest redshirt junior quarterback Jamie Newman
On the game-winning drive:
"It was just like what we preach all summer, just fight all four quarters play to the last second. It wasn't really an emotional rollercoaster. I think we were very composed and I think the defense did a great job as well as offensive line in that last two minutes"
Utah State Head Coach Gary Andersen
Opening Statement:
"I'm very proud of these kids. This was a physical fight from the very first snap. It was a chess match on both sides - both offenses, both defenses, and quite frankly, special teams. These are two very well coached teams in my opinion and two very talented teams that battled like crazy today in the first game of the year. It went down really to the last play, I suppose. But I'm proud of these kids, I let them know that."
"It's been 48 years since we've been able to win one of these games against a Power Five School, and we were excited to finally get the opportunity to get one of those and win it. We came close to that tonight, but it didn't happen."
On QB Jordan Love and the offense:
"Jordan Love is a tremendous player. He continues to grow and get better, and he's got a whole bunch of new receivers out there that he's throwing to and that chemistry I think after one game will continue to grow. It should gain momentum and get better and better. I'm really proud of the four new starters on the offensive line; they got to line up against an ACC team for game one in their career. They battled, and that really helped Jordan also. It was good to see that. Jordan Love is everything you would want in a quarterback."
Opening Statement:
"That was one of the best opening day atmospheres we've ever had. We wanted to give the fans a game that went down to the wire. We made a ton of mistakes tonight and there is a part of me that feels like we didn't deserve to win that game. We gave up so many big plays on defense, and offensively our short yardage package was ineffective. Despite that, we got a stop, and went 90 yards and scored. We're very fortunate to win, and it certainly feels good to be on the winning end of it. Utah State is a really good physical football team."
On the game winning touchdown:
"It was a great play and catch by Kendall Hinton, but before the catch we ran the ball three times and lost a yard. We had three cracks at it, and I was prepared to lose because if we can't gain one yard, we deserve to lose. We're very fortunate to win tonight, and we know that, but we played hard to the last whistle."
On the defense:
"We're going to watch film of this game, and not be happy with a lot of things. I'm proud of the stop we made on third down late in the game and then the pick. We made plays when we had to. There are a lot of plays we didn't make, but Utah State is going to do the same thing."
On Justin Strnad:
"He's been a good player for us for a number of years, and he's a captain. You want your best players to step up and make plays and tonight he did it again."
Wake Forest redshirt senior linebacker Justin Strnad
On the interception that ended the game:
"I am not going to say what my job description was because I don't want to give away our defense but I was just kind of reading the quarterback's eye and I had my man in the boundary. I was looking behind me and I got some depth in there. He tried to float it over or just throw it right behind me and I just jumped up and got it. I was just thinking redemption, and I had about 20 people here tonight and I just looked into the stands and was just happy to see my family and friends, I was just really excited."
Wake Forest redshirt senior wide receiver Kendall Hinton
On the game-winning touchdown after coming back for a fifth season:
"After the game I definitely thought about it and it just makes this moment even more sweet. Just being able to play with these guys for one more year, and just being able to share moments like this. I told him (coach) that I am just happy to be here with these guys."
Wake Forest redshirt junior quarterback Jamie Newman
On the game-winning drive:
"It was just like what we preach all summer, just fight all four quarters play to the last second. It wasn't really an emotional rollercoaster. I think we were very composed and I think the defense did a great job as well as offensive line in that last two minutes"
Utah State Head Coach Gary Andersen
Opening Statement:
"I'm very proud of these kids. This was a physical fight from the very first snap. It was a chess match on both sides - both offenses, both defenses, and quite frankly, special teams. These are two very well coached teams in my opinion and two very talented teams that battled like crazy today in the first game of the year. It went down really to the last play, I suppose. But I'm proud of these kids, I let them know that."
"It's been 48 years since we've been able to win one of these games against a Power Five School, and we were excited to finally get the opportunity to get one of those and win it. We came close to that tonight, but it didn't happen."
On QB Jordan Love and the offense:
"Jordan Love is a tremendous player. He continues to grow and get better, and he's got a whole bunch of new receivers out there that he's throwing to and that chemistry I think after one game will continue to grow. It should gain momentum and get better and better. I'm really proud of the four new starters on the offensive line; they got to line up against an ACC team for game one in their career. They battled, and that really helped Jordan also. It was good to see that. Jordan Love is everything you would want in a quarterback."
Players Mentioned
Wake Forest Football 2025 Week Two Trailer
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Football Media Availability (9/3/25)
Wednesday, September 03
Football Media Availability (9/2/25)
Tuesday, September 02
Coach Jake Dickert Weekly Press Conference (Sept. 1, 2025)
Monday, September 01