Tommy Bowden Press Conference Audio

Sept. 30, 2003

Head Coach Tommy Bowden met with the media on Tuesday to discuss Clemson’s upcoming game with Maryland. The coach discussed a variety of topics including what the team did on its bye week, Maryland’s defense and more. Click to listen to audio from the press conference.

Clemson Football Press Conference Media Player EventDownload the Free Real Player.Tommy Bowden(33:48)

Head Coach Tommy Bowden Press Conference Highlights September 30, 2003

On first impressions of Maryland: “I think the most impressive thing about Maryland is that their defensive coordinator does a really good job with their scheme. He seems to have a scheme for every game. He really has a nice wrinkle for every game. He’s a sharp guy.”

On facing Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen: “The last two years he’s certainly had our number. I think Clemson beat Maryland for eight straight years, and then we’ve lost the last two. It seems like we’re productive offensively against them. He’s a good motivator and has obviously done a good job with the team. His success as an assistant came offensively. He’s always got a really good plan. He has success against other teams as well, we’re not the only team.”

On learning from Rich Rodriguez and West Virginia versus Maryland: “Rich (former offensive coordinator) runs some similar formations to us. There’s not too much we can take from that game though. Their (West Virginia) quarterback is struggling, ours is not. I think our point of attack will be a little bit different. Maryland had some success last year pressuring Charlie Whitehurst. But again, that was the first game where he faced some really fast bullets. I don’t think it’ll be too much of the same attack (as West Virginia). But you’ll see some of it, because we do have similar formations. I have talked with Rich just once since their game. You learn a lot more from watching film.”

On preparations during the bye week: “I think it was really good for us. We did a whole lot of hitting, probably more than we’ve done in past years. We did some live scrimmaging. We did live short-yardage, live goal-line yesterday and the team responded well. We had a pretty hard practice yesterday in full pads. In years past, Maryland has been the hungrier team than us. Now the role is reversed, they’ve got the bullseye on them and I’m anxious to see how we respond. We feel pretty good about where we are. A lot of that has to do with seniors keeping the team focused.”

On the state of college football: “I think you have to bring your “A” game every given Saturday. Had Southern Cal brought their ‘A’ game, they probably would’ve beaten California. Had Kansas State brought their ‘A’ game, they probably would’ve beaten Marshall. Then Marshall didn’t have their “A” game for Troy State. That’s the hard part. You have to be ready every Saturday. If you look at the state of college football, very few people are doing it every week.”

On Clemson’s potential: “Very few people have their ‘A’ game the very first game of the year. What you do is like to show signs of improvement over the course of the season. I think there were signs last year, but all of a sudden we threw a freshman quarterback in there. This year, we’ve been healthy. The players have gotten a little bit better. It was a really solid performance against Georgia Tech. If we could bring that performance every Saturday, then we’d be a contender in the conference without a doubt. But you could say the same thing for just about every team in this conference.”