Clemson vs. Miami Postgame Quotes

Oct. 2, 2010

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney

On the game: “We had a lot of turnovers and inconsistency throughout the game. You just can’t win without good ball security, especially with six turnovers. It was a disappointing loss. We dug ourselves into a hole in the first quarter with our defensive mistakes. This was a tough game, because in the past we’ve been taking care of the football very well and then today we didn’t do that.

“Our first half was really shaky, but we came back in the second half stronger. It says a lot that we only lost 30-21 to a very good football team in Miami with six turnovers. I want to congratulate Coach Shannon on an excellent win.

“I still believe we can bounce back from this loss and become the team I know we can be.”

On the defense: “Defensively we improved after the first half and played pretty well in the second half. But we had three huge busted plays, which cost us dearly. We need to grow on errors such as those, and that growth starts with me and my errors.”

On the offense: “We couldn’t sustain drives and had a lot of turnovers. There is no way to have an effective offense with flaws like these. We also had a lot of big drops by the wide receivers that were costly.”

On Andre Ellington: “He played a tough game and was consistent throughout the game. He got a little banged up during the game, but kept working hard.”

On DeAndre Hopkins: “Hopkins went out and earned his spot today. We’ve been having our own competitions in practice between the wide receivers and he stepped up today on the field and proved himself. The one thing he needs to work on is holding on to the ball, but he’s a freshman and will learn from his mistakes in time.”

Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon

Overall thoughts on the game: “Both teams had some big plays in the game. Both teams had bone-headed missed tackles and turnovers. It was just one of those games where I thought our guys really stayed focused and played hard and didn’t stress. Defensively, they really showed a lot of poise in the second half.”

On the situational play of tailback Mike James: “His number was called, and anytime somebody’s number is called, he steps up and goes. He caught a wheel route touchdown pass today. It was something that we use because he’s in the game sometimes as a fullback to block. We use him in every sort of way that we can to score points.”

On forcing turnovers: “It breathes something into your defense. If we can keep creating turnovers, we are going to be better as a football team. It’s all about field position. You want to have the field position. In the second half, we didn’t have the field position until we forced a couple of turnovers. That is huge for us.”

On the play of quarterback Jacory Harris: “Any time you go on in to score a touchdown, it was a right read and ball placement. You don’t want the turnovers, but he made some great plays for us today. We just have to keep working on it and keep cleaning it up. The one thing we can’t do is go shell-shocked. We won’t do that at Miami. We feel like we have a great quarterback that is going to give us a chance to win.”

On having so many turnovers and penalties: “It frustrates the players. We know that they work hard and keep up with everything. They know that if they eliminate the little mistakes, it will help us out.”

Clemson Players

Dalton Freeman, OL “Coach Swinney put it in our hands to get a first down on third-and-one and fourth-and-one, and we all said we wanted it. That’s just on us. We have to look at that and try to get better; it was very disappointing but things like that are going to happen. We had been running the ball right up the middle and we should have gotten a first down. That should have worked.”

“We did pretty well against their front line. There was a slight bit of miscommunication at times. They were in some different formations than we were expecting. All-in-all, you just have to credit Miami.”

Jamie Harper, RB “The leaders on this team are going to carry this team. We’re going to take this one and just roll with it.”

“Miami is a great team. I thought we came in and hung in with them pretty well but six turnovers is not how you win a game.”

“Every loss is frustrating. We had plenty of scoring opportunities and just couldn’t make it happen. We’re going to come out next week and move forward.”

Andre Ellington, RB “When you’re on the field, you think you’re doing your job but then you look after and you’ve had a blown quarter. We’ve just got to get back at it and keep going.”

“Turnovers are not going to win a game at all. It’s very frustrating and we have to do a better job of protecting the ball.”

“It’s frustrating to come so close against big opponents. These guys and the coaches know that this is a great team. We just have to start showing that.”