Sept. 11, 2009
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– Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Johnson
“I hope nobody left! We tried to make it exciting for everybody! I am really proud of our team and how we fought back in the fourth quarter. I don’t know that we could have played any worse in the third quarter on both offense and defense. We could not get anything going offensively. Our defense gave up too many big plays. It is a credit to Clemson for coming back to score 27 points. Our team just found a way to get to 30 points to win the game. I just really feel that the team we beat tonight is a very good football team. They are very physical and pounded us inside with their defensive line. Their two big defensive tackles, we just couldn’t do a bunch with them inside. We made just enough plays to get the win tonight. We made the field goal at the end and then the defense held them. We are off to a 2-0 start which makes the next game bigger. Then the next one gets bigger every time you win the a game.”
On the play of Nesbitt and Dwyer in the fourth quarter:
“We changed the formations a little bit which I really think helped. We were trying to double some of their guys early on and just could not get anything started. Things were able to change a little for us in that fourth quarter.”
On the play of kicker Scott Blair:
“Scott came up really big tonight. Scott always kicks well in practice and he made it when we needed him to tonight. I think that is really going to help him with his confidence. He made a couple of big field goals and threw a duck out there for a touchdown pass to really help us.”
On the thoughts behind Scott Blair’s pass:
“I just really thought that our guy would be open on the play. We put the play in this week and practiced it. It is something that I have done before when I was at Navy. Knock on wood, every time we have run the thing it has been successful. It is tough if you are not really paying attention as with all of those guys crossing on the field, it just works. Our guys went out on the field and really just made a nice play and got it in the end zone.”
On how the first two games have been very similar:
“I was surprised when I looked at the stats and realized that we had 418 yards because I never felt as though we really got any consistency on offense. We did not do well at all on third down conversions. The first half was funny as we really didn’t have the ball a lot. We had the one drive, but that was really it.”
On whether it is better to win ugly or lose pretty:
“I really don’t know if there are ugly wins. Any time you win a conference game and beat a good football team, I am excited that we won. We made a lot of mistakes, but you know it is early in the year and I hope we are going to get better. People tend to forget that we have a really young football team. We have played two games and every senior on our team has now been a captain. For the most part, I think we have two scholarship seniors playing in the top 22. We have a really young team and we have to get better at a lot of things. We have to get better at running the ball. We have to get more efficient, but I think Josh did enough to help us win the game. He made some mistakes with a few things, but I guarantee he is a smart kid and is going to learn from it. The more you play, the more you learn and I know he will get better at that stuff.”
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Scott Blair – Placekicker
Comment on ever playing quarterback in high school:
“I did not. Coach would not let me or any of the other kickers play any other positions in high school.”
Ever thrown a ball in a game before: “I have not. I ran the ball once in high school and that was it.”
Thoughts on the play in which he completed a pass for a touchdown:
“I honestly don’t remember throwing it, too much. I just went out there, did what I was told to do. Once I saw the ball in the air, I was hoping he (Demaryius Thomas) would catch it and the DB wouldn’t get there before the ball got there.”
Comment on having a big target to throw the ball to:
“It was really nice.”
Throwing a spiral pass:
“I don’t think the goal was to throw a spiral in that situation. Just get it to Thomas and let him do the rest.”
Comment on having a great day with a tackle, touchdown pass and game winning field goal:
“It was a pretty good day. The field at the end was more fun. I always wanted to kick a game winner and it was great to have it go through.”
Confidence builder of kicking field goals in tight game situations:
“I think it will help build my confidence. I have never been in that situation before and there is not going to be a much bigger situation than that. I think it definitely helped.”
Comment on the emotion of the last drive to win the game:
“I was just hoping they would get into field goal range, a touchdown would have been great but it came down to a field goal. I was ready. I tried not to psych myself out, just go out there and kick.”
Anthony Allen – A-back
Comment on the big run at the beginning of the game for a touchdown:
“You run triple option and you they are going to key in on that and they were going to play the pitch. They were rushing the quarterback and playing Jonathan Dwyer pretty hard and it’s whatever Josh reads when he is out there.”
“Oh man it (the field) was wide open and as soon as I caught the pitch Thomas made a good block on the wide receiver and Nesbitt made a good pitch. I almost gave up on the ten yard line, my legs got tired but I put it in the endzone for y’all”
Comment on why the play worked:
“It was just like the first play last game. The option ran perfectly everybody made their blocks and made the right read.”
Derrick Morgan – Defensive End
Comment on the team’s intensity level during the game:
“When we go out there and practice, we need to go out there with a certain type of intensity, certain mindset. Try get the players to step up keep that mindset and when we have adversity and know how to deal with it when it is coming.”
“We just need to come out next week and dive in and polish up our mistakes and just move onto looking at Miami.”
Morgan Bennett – Safety
Comment on the play of the Jackets:
“We knew it was going to be a dog fight anyway because last year we were up on them and they came back in the second half so we never got complacent we knew they those guys and knew it was going to be a tough task in the second half.”
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CLEMSON HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY
“It was a tough night. I’m sure it was a phenomenal game if you’re sitting at home with some popcorn and a coke, watching it. I couldn’t be more proud of out kids, to be down 24-0 on the road in a tough environment. They showed what they’ve got, and that’s heart and toughness. They didn’t quit. We scored 27 unanswered points. That’s not easy to do on the road against a top-ranked team.
“This team, at halftime, there was no doubt. They were focused. We made great adjustments. We scored 27 unanswered points and took the lead. We had a chance to win it at the end. Just like last year, we get a big holding call on another big completion to Jacoby (Ford). That’s unfortunate, and we weren’t able to overcome that. That hurt, but I’m proud of what I saw in the second half from the coaches and the players.
“I got my butt out-coached in the first half, because we didn’t go a good job. We had an issue on the fourth-and-inches. We had the right call, but we called it wrong. We had the pooch field goal where we were supposed to punch the ball out of bounds. I didn’t communicate that very well. Then we had the big play on defense. It was just a simple play. They cracked it. We didn’t do a good job on the blocking, and that’s what happens. They had a big play. Bam, bam, bam, 21 points.
“But outside of that, the Tigers dominated. That’s very, very disappointing. In the second half, again, we made great adjustments. I told the team, if we can harness that effort, that will to win, we’re going to have a special year. There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll have a special year this year. Maybe we’ll see this team again somewhere down the road. This is a good football team. We’re going to be a good football team. There’s no quit in that locker room, and I hope there’s no quit in anybody who wants to pull for the Tigers, because this team right here is a group of young men that will lay it on the line.
“We’ll learn from this. This loss won’t beat us twice. Just like had we won the game, we move on to the next one. This win wouldn’t have made our season, and this loss won’t cost us our season. We’ll fix the mistakes. We’ll learn from it, coaches and players, and we’ll be ready for Boston College. Every goal we have it still on the table. Good teams have to win on the road, and we’ll get some more shots. But first things first, we’ve got to take care of business at home.
“C.J. Spiller was the best player on that field tonight, no doubt about it. He’s special. Kyle Parker, freshman quarterback … you kidding me? This boy’s just going to get better and better. He made some mistakes, but this kid is special.”
