Clemson Tigers College Football Pregame Quote, 11/12/2019

First of all, I want to congratulate our men’s soccer team, off to a great postseason here. Our women’s soccer team as well, going into the tournament. Men’s basketball has won two in a row, so we’ve got a lot of good things going on and women’s basketball is playing tonight, so a lot of stuff happening this time of year in Clemson Athletics so it’s pretty cool. In fact … how many goals does Clemson Soccer have? 63 Goals? We have 61 touchdowns, so both football teams are scoring some points. [Clemson Men’s Soccer Coach Mike] Noonan and the boys are getting it done. Excited to see them hopefully make a great run here in the postseason.

I’ll tell you, this is a great week, it’s a fun week, but it’s a little bit sad, too, every year because, again, I love home games, and there is just nothing better to me than being in the season, just the challenge every week and being with the team and there’s just nothing like a game day in the Valley ‚Äì Tiger Walk and all that comes with the preparation of game day. It’s kind of sad because we’re kind of nearing the end of our season and last home game, always a little sad there.

Last time to see some great football players have a chance to play in the Valley and run down the hill. It’s a special, special week and, again, something that we put a lot of effort into in honoring our seniors all week long. All of those guys will be captains and all the way up to game time we try to make it a special week for those guys. It’s also a little bittersweet there just because you know that it’s the last time you’ll get to see a lot of these guys play in the Valley, and we’ll probably have a few juniors too that will probably be playing their last game. It’s a tough week from that standpoint but I’m happy for them. I’m excited about seeing our team one last time here at home. I know it’s going to be a great crowd here to support them.

Wake Forest is a tough team. They have had a heck of a season, coming off a tough loss up at Virginia Tech. [They are] 7-2. I feel like I know more about Wake Forest than any team we’ve played all year because I’ve been looking at them for a month basically ‚Äì or longer ‚Äì both sides of the ball because we just have had a lot of common opponents: North Carolina, Louisville, Boston College, N.C. State. So I’ve just seen them a bunch. They’re just very impressive with what they do. Very, unbelievably well-coached. I think well-coached would be an understatement. They do an awesome job offensively and defensively with their scheme and giving their guys a chance to be successful.

Defensively, they’re disciplined. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They cover well. They’re an under front, mix their coverages well, do a good job disguising. They will pressure you some. They’re not like the team we played last week, but they will pick their spots. Well-coached. They’re impressive up front. [No.] 9 there coming off the edge is a heck of a defensive end. They’re 290-ish [pounds] inside. They’re not as big as maybe some of the guys we’ve seen, but they’re never in one place, they’re always moving, so catching movement and being able to block these guys and counter that is going to be critical. They do a great job in the secondary, so again, just very well-coached.

They have created a lot of turnovers as well. We’re plus-nine in the turnover margin, they’re plus-seven, so they have done a really good job. They’ve won some close games and that’s been the difference in a couple of those games. They do a good job on getting some hands on some balls and, again, just being disruptive on defense.

Offensively, everything starts with this quarterback. He’s a really good player. He’s a pro, no doubt about it. He is big, he is accurate, he’s a physical runner, and he’s 6-4, 230 pounds and can make all the throws. He’s blessed to have some great wideouts. This is probably the best group of receivers that we have played. Big. [Nos.] 7 and 14 are really big, big-bodied guys that use their bodies well. They’re great on-the-ball guys, as far as finishing. They play with length, and a lot of times they’ve got guys hanging on them and they still make the catch. No. 2 is the most elusive. He’s a very good route runner. He creates separation. He’s as good as anybody we played. He used to play quarterback for them. He’s a really good player. Their group of receivers are really talented. You watch the tape and you’re like, ‚ÄòWell, that’s not going to be complete,’ and then it’s complete because the quarterback is very accurate and these guys finish on the ball. And then the tight end is a very good player.

They have got a really good group. They’re kind of similar to us. They have a very good quarterback. They have a really good offensive line that’s very well-coached and they’re physical. They get after you. They have an identity and a scheme they believe in and really understand how to run it. They’ve got excellent skill on the outside, and then they’ve got some backs that just pound you. If you don’t tackle with physicality, two-yard runs become six-yard runs with this group, and they play all three of them. All three of them have similar numbers and do a heck of a job. Very impressed with their offensive line.

This will be a big challenge for us, and we knew for a while. I’ve been having this one in my mind for a while, because, again, I’ve been watching them for four different opponents, so I’ve just seen them a lot on both sides and then obviously studying the Virginia Tech game. I’ve known this was going to be a big one and a big challenge for us coming in, especially I think [because of] the way the game went last year. I don’t think they were real pleased with how maybe they played last year, and I’m sure that’ll be something for them coming in to try to play a little better.

For us, it’s just about sending these seniors out with a win and getting an 11th win and closing up Death Valley in a really positive way for the year and continuing to build momentum into our postseason.‚Äù

On potentially setting a school record for consecutive home wins:

It would be awesome. This group, they kind of are making history. Every week it seems like there’s something big happening each week. Obviously this past week to win the division for the fifth time [in a row] and to get to 10-0 for only the fifth time ever, the 10th win, those are lots of things. The seniors have got a chance to get a 52nd win in their career. To get a 22nd home win [in a row], which would set a school record, I mean, that’s awesome. It’s awesome when you’ve got an opportunity like that to go and shoot for. And last week, with some of the things that have happened offensively and defensively‚Ķ This bunch on defense, I think that’s 13 [consecutive] games they’ve given up 20 points or less, and that goes all the way back to 1958 with Frank Howard. Offense was a little different back in 1958. There wasn’t a lot of points being scored. It’s amazing, it’s amazing what these guys have been able to do, and so they take pride in that. They’ve had 10 games in a row of less than 300 [yards allowed]. I think that ties Alabama in 2011. There’s just a lot out there. Travis Etienne, he’s tied the school record for 100-yard games of five in a row. Trevor‚Ķ Just a lot of these guys have put up some historic-type numbers. So those are great things that are kind of challenges within the challenge, if you will. I think the consistency at home is something we take a lot of pride in. That’d be a really cool thing to be able to accomplish.‚Äù

On the differences in Wake Forest from 2018 to 2019:

They’re just a little more experienced. One of the things that Dave [Clawson] told me after the game last year, it was kind of a weird deal, he thanked me. He said, ‚ÄòIt was the best thing that happened to us,’ he said, ‚Äòbecause it made us better.’ I think they won like maybe five in a row after us or something. They went on a winning streak after our game last year. He just felt like it kind of got some guys focused the way they needed to be and they were able to get better from it. They’re just playing with great discipline. They don’t beat themselves. Again, they’re one of the best in the country in turnovers. They’re almost 50 percent on third down. What they’re doing on offense with that quarterback, a very experienced offensive line, they’re having a lot of cohesion. The backs know what they’re doing. Those guys outside are playmakers. You’ve got guys who are going to play on Sunday. Tight end is a very good player as well. So I just think they believe in what they’re doing. I believe they’ve been able to stay relatively healthy. I think that’s key. They’ve got one of their best players out at linebacker this week, but they’ve been pretty healthy. And, again, just well-coached.‚Äù

On when Clawson thanked him:

I can’t remember if it was at the Spring Meetings or somewhere else where I saw him. I can’t remember. I looked at him‚Ķ He was disappointed and I think it was kind of a wake-up to their team and just kind of got them refocused on the things that they need to do to win games. And they did. They went on and they really responded and had a really good year.‚Äù