Saturday 09/12/2015
Appalachian State Head Coach Scott Satterfield
Overall thoughts:
“First of all give, Clemson a lot of credit. They are a well-coached and a super talented football team. We knew that coming in based on what they did against Wofford and what they did last year. Everybody keeps talking about how young they are, but they’ve recruited well and have regrouped with some super talent.
“We just got out-manned the first half, there’s no question about that. They were stronger and bigger than we were. I thought our defense played well early and really gave us a chance. But we threw a couple of picks and then the ‘pick-six’ hurt us. Then we gave up a couple of balls late in the third quarter. We have to regroup and have a great week next week and get ready for Old Dominion.”
On what the Mountaineers lacked on offense:
“It was a lack of running and passing in the first half. What Clemson has in its secondary are three starters who are NFL bound, so they can man you up and then get an extra hand in our running game. We couldn’t get the run game going and then our wide receivers couldn’t get free because they were playing man-to-man. They are a very good defense.”
On quarterback Taylor Lamb’s interceptions:
“He has to learn from them and not try to do it again. Clemson is a well-coached team and they run a great scheme. They’re athletic enough to peal a defensive end on a running back…that’s pretty athletic. But giving them a free seven points on the ‘pick-six’ really put us in a bind. You can’t do that against a good football team.”
On the play of Appalachian State’s special teams:
“I thought our return game was really good. They started adjusting and not kicking it deep to us, and that’s a good sign. I thought our cover teams did well. We gave up the one big return where we had a couple guys get out of their lanes, but other than that, we did well. The one thing we have to clean up on our special teams is the penalties. You can’t have any penalties on special teams.
On Clemson’s physicality and talent:
“Clemson is a really talented football team and there’s a reason why they were picked to win the ACC and to potentially be in the College Football Playoff. I think Clemson is probably the most physically talented team I’ve faced as a coach. Their secondary is the best secondary I’ve ever faced. They make it so hard on you and there aren’t any holes where you can go get a free five yards.
“Shaq Lawson is an outstanding player. We thought we were going to be able to block their defensive line and create some things in there, but they played really well.
“And then their receivers have to be the most talented group of receivers we’ve ever played against. They just keep coming with one guy and another, and they just keep making plays. When you add their quarterback that can run and throw, it becomes a very dynamic offense.”
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney
“That’s why they call it a team sport. Everybody has to do their part, and sometimes you might need a spark from somewhere else on the team, whether it’s special teams, offense or defense.
“We had a couple of miscues on offense, but it was great to see us get a spark from Jayron (Kearse) and Carlos (Watkins) with the score, and then the offense came alive. It was explosive and quick.
“We had four touchdowns of 23 yards or more, and that’s a very frustrating thing for a defense when you can strike like that. They gave us opportunities for big plays, and Deshaun (Watson) was tremendous.”
On the performance by the backups:
“The biggest thing for us is that we were able to play a lot of guys this week. We have to get our backups better. We have to develop this team, and there’s an opportunity to do that.
“We have a little bit of growing pains when you’re trying to teach guys, and that’s the only way they’re going to get better…by playing football. We were very fortunate we were able to play a lot of guys.
“We have a quick turnaround against Louisville, so I feel good about the guys we were able to rest a little, and that will pay off for us.”
On defense’s second solid performance:
“We did a lot of good things defensively with 11 tackles for loss and four forced turnovers. Winning the turnover margin was a big thing for us coming into this game. Special teams had a huge kick return and Andy (Teasdall) hit the ball well all day long.
“We have a lot of things we can learn from this, but we have a quick turnaround, so we’ll be back here tomorrow, put this one to bed, make the corrections and on to Louisville.”
On solid fan turnout:
“I told our team this was a solid win…41-10 against a team that has the fifth-longest winning streak in the country. It’s hard to win. It really is. This is a very solid win for us and something we can learn from. But our fans are a huge part of that with the energy and the emotion. They’re loud and on their feet when the defense is on the field. You just can’t help how that feeds you a little bit.
“I’m really, really pleased with what we got done. Our first goal we’ve accomplished. We’ve gotten to 2-0 and our next goal is to win the division, and that what’s going to start when we travel to Louisville. It is going to be a difficult challenge, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson
On how he thought the offense did as a whole, especially coming out the way they did:
“I thought we came out really slow and sloppy at times. There are some things we can fix in the film room, but we got momentum back when Carlos (Watkins) made that good play and carried that through the second quarter. It’s nice to know when things aren’t going your way, there is still a chance when your defense is still making plays.”
After the bad snap and coming out of the game:
“I just got the wind knocked out of me. It was nothing grave or alarming, so I just sat out a couple of plays to gather myself before going back in.”
Thoughts on Charone Peake stepping up this game after Mike Williams’ injury last week:
“He did a great job. He’s a guy who has been around. He’s a ‘vet.’ He’s been doing this through camp and practice for us, so there wasn’t a ton of pressure for him. He just needed to be himself and do what he knows how to do best, and that’s what he did.”
Is it as good a touchdown pass as he has thrown in his short career here?:
“I don’t know. It might be second behind the Georgia one, being it was my first. But yeah, it’s one of my best I think.”
Clemson Linebacker Ben Boulware
Overall thoughts on the defensive plan against Appalachian State:
“We knew they were going to throw the ball a lot more this week, but we didn’t have anything specific as a point of emphasis. Our overall emphasis was on doing our job, and on everyone of those plays, you saw each one of those guys performed their jobs perfectly, and you saw the results.”
Did he think the defense picked up the offense after they came out somewhat sluggish?:
“Honestly, we don’t worry about that kind of stuff. The offense does and worries about what they do on that side of the ball, and the same goes for us on the defensive side.”
After having no turnovers last week, was it a point of emphasis to “get the ball?”
“The point of emphasis, like I said before, was doing our job. On all three of those plays, the guys performed their jobs perfectly, and it paid off.”
On the short turnaround going to Louisville:
“We’ve been ready. We are going to play a great opponent who has had some tough games up to this point in their season, so we have to be at our best.”
Clemson Wide Receiver Charone Peake
How gratifying was it being “the guy” out there today?:
“It felt pretty good. It was a lot different playing today as it was last game, being used more. It felt good to get out there and play fast.”
Is this game a confidence booster?:
“The injuries acted as a confidence booster on their own because it forced me to work hard to get back into the swing of things. Getting back on to the field healthy and normal made it come full circle.”
How does it feel to step up the way you did after Mike (Williams) went down?:
“It felt good. I take pride in knowing I can be a guy who can be counted on.”
On Deshaun Watson’s long touchdown throw:
“That’s a LONG throw. That’s a long pass right there. I didn’t even know he had thrown it my way or that he could even reach me until I looked up and saw it coming down.”
Clemson Defensive Tackle Carlos Watkins
When was the last time you scored a touchdown?:
“The last time I scored was probably my senior year of high school, so it’s been awhile since I have gotten to see the endzone from that perspective.”
How gratifying is it for you, after all you have been through, to get in the endzone?:
“It’s really every big guy’s dream to get in the endzone. I caught the ball, looked ahead and realized how close the endzone was. It was like a dream come true. It really felt great.”
Will that be a signature play you will remember forever?:
“Oh yeah, that will be something I remember forever. To finally get back on the field after all I went through and to get the amount of reps I did, it was a great feeling to say the least.”
“Did you start celebrating on about the five yard line as you were going into the endzone?:
“I don’t think I was. If it did, I didn’t mean anything by it because I was still kind of dreaming with all that was going on. When I finally did get into the endzone and I thought I was going to go ahead and celebrate on my own, my teammates were already there smacking me in my head, so it all got lost in translation really.”
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