Clemson vs. NC State Postgame Quotes

Clemson Head Coach Dabo SwinneyOverall impressions:“What an incredible game. We made it harder than it had to be, and we gave them a couple of sparks. It’s a good thing, though, because we haven’t faced a lot of adversity as of late. We missed a lot of opportunities early, turnovers were huge, but offensively for us to respond with so many records led to a great win. There were just a lot of things going on in the game.”On his senior class winning 10 games for a second straight season:“What a special group. They’re leaving here with the most conference wins in school history. We will enjoy the win and turn our focus to the next one tomorrow.”On the play of quarterback Tajh Boyd:“Late in the game he got the wind knocked out of him, but I went over to talk to him and told him to catch his breath, because he was going back in and finishing this thing.”On difficulty defending NC State early in the game:“I kept telling them it’s a long way to go, and that we could still crawl back in it. Defensively, the final two scores were very disappointing. The defense was put in bad situations, but Vic Beasley was awesome tonight.””I’m very proud of everyone for handling adversity and finding a way to win.On Dalton Freeman establishing a record for career snaps for a Tiger:“He’s a special person, a special player and a special leader. He is incredibly consistent. There is no doubt he is a great leader on and off the field. He will be hard to replace. It feels like he is part of my staff.”On next week’s rivalry game with South Carolina:“We need to turn our focus to the University of South Carolina. We need to make every day in the rest of our season count. I’ve told them the whole season, every week is the biggest game of the year and we need to finish off this season strong.”

NC State Head Coach Tom O’BrienOverall thoughts:“You have to give credit to Clemson. That’s a really good offensive football team; not a good matchup for us. But we left too many points on the board, way too many opportunities to score. You get a little bit closer or slow them down once, but they had too much skill for us, I guess.”On Clemson’s offensive line play:“They’ve got a lot of good, skilled offensive players. Looking back, I was impressed with their offensive line. We couldn’t get any pressure at all. We couldn’t get to him. I think that was one of the things we’ve counted on in the past. Then (Tajh Boyd) pulls it down and takes off running. He’s talented, there’s no question about it.”On Tobais Palmer’s record-setting day:“The kickoff return has almost been there. When that happens, those kids are really working hard back there. Early in the year, he missed some seams. He’s seeing it and feeling it much better than he was earlier in the year. He’s seeing the seams now and getting in the seams, and when he gets there, he’s certainly got enough speed to run away. We got a couple of deep balls. He made a good catch on the first one.”On the pace of the game:“That was part of what we were going to do. That was the plan coming in-to do it the way we did it. Once again, it was a game of runs. We thought maybe we’d come back in the third quarter and get our run back again. We just didn’t do it.”On his message to Mike Glennon:“I don’t tell him anything. I tell him to go get treated, get ready to go, and let’s go play again next week. I mean, that’s all you can do. It doesn’t matter. It’s the same thing now. We have to put this one to bed. We have to go home, and we have to find a way to get our seventh win next week. It’s Senior Day. There are a dozen guys that will be playing their last ballgame, so it’s a big game for a lot of reasons. It’s a pretty dang good football team we just played.”

Postgame Clemson Player QuotesQuarterback Tajh Boyd

On the next item on his to-do list:“Beat South Carolina. We have not defeated them in three years. It is one of those deals where it has to happen. We just want to be the best team possible. Right now, the best situation we can be in is to be 11-1. We would love to be undefeated right now, but it just did work out that way. You just have to be ready to compete.” Were you talking to the team after receiving the big hit late in the game?“I was not really talking to them. I was just catching my breath a little bit. He caught me underneath the shoulder pads. Anytime you can go and enjoy your time with your teammates and celebrate a victory with those guys, it’s an awesome feeling. You do not get that many chances to do it, that many opportunities. So, we have to take advantage of every opportunity we get. I’m very proud of the way those guys came out and preformed. Vic Beasley…it’s kind of hard to block the guy. He just came out and had three sacks tonight, no big deal. But, overall I was very proud of the way those guys performed and competed throughout the whole game.”Tight End Brandon Ford

On the high scoring game:“We had them on the ropes at times, and then we would let them get away again. It is our job to score every time we get the ball offensively. It is just a mindset thing for us. Our defense probably did not play their best game, but they came up big at the end. That is what a team is for: offense, defense and special teams. And next week, we just have to be better at what we do and if we do that, I believe we will have a great game next week.”Did you run out of gas there at the end of the long catch? “At first, I did not think anyone was chasing me because every time I looked, it looked like I was pulling away. When I slowed down about the 20-yard line, I saw one guy. I was thinking, ‘Oh no, I am going to have to dive for it because he had a good angle.’ I was determined to score because I got this far. I was not going to let them call me out. I just made sure I got in”Defensive End Vic Beasley

On a career-high three sacks:“When it is a pass down, I just look at the type of stance gives me a better chance of being able to get off the ball. So when I look at the tackle, I look at the type of stance and go from there.”On the South Carolina game next week: “The Clemson-South Carolina game is always a big rivalry. We are going to go out there and showcase our team to the best of our ability. South Carolina is a good team. They have a good quarterback, they have a good offense, but I believe our defense is up to the challenge.”