Sunday 11/06/2016
CLEMSON HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY
Opening statement:“Great job by our guys today. We spread the ball around to a lot of guys and Deon (Cain) had a career day. Our offensive line played great when we were down without (Jake) Fruhmorgen. (Sean) Pollard and (Tremayne) Anchrum stepped up and did a great job manning that right side today.”
On Nick Schuessler:“When Deshaun (Watson) got banged up, we felt we had good control of the game and he was ready to come back in the second half, but (Nick) Schuessler did a great job stepping up today. “He set a great example for his teammates. It’s a hard to continue to have to prepare each and every week like you’re the starter. It’s a hard thing to do, but that’s what it’s all about. I’m so proud of Nick for going in there and making some great throws. We kept on clicking and it was an outstanding win.”
On Clemson’s special teams:“Their punt return team was No. 1 in the nation coming in and we held them to nothing. We didn’t punt the ball a lot today, but when we did, we negated that by making a couple of kicks. It was a dominant performance all the way around.”
On creating turnovers:“Ryan Carter got us going with his interception in the first quarter. The interception return by Tanner Muse was a thing of beauty. To get a shutout like this against a team that is capable of scoring and knows what they’re doing offensively is amazing. Give a ton of credit to our coaches and players for their performances today. We want to set the tempo, and I think we did just that.”
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SYRACUSE HEAD COACH DINO BABERS
Opening Statement:“Obviously, we played a fantastic football team in Clemson. My hat goes off to coach Dabo Swinney. Unbelievable team, offensively, defensively, kicking game. Definitely a team that’s worthy of its ranking and I wish them the best of luck on their goal to win a national championship.
On Eric Dungey’s status:“The medical people haven’t given me the details. They just said he couldn’t come back into the game.”
On how things changed offensively after Dungey’s injury:“I don’t think the mindset of the team changed, but I do think that any time you lose your starting quarterback on an offense that’s geared towards the pass, then that’s going to get dramatically changed. And until we build the depth and all that stuff up with our program, that’s going to happen. When you’re in a complicated passing offense, you don’t have time to sometimes give the twos the threes as many reps as they should get, but they will get a lot more based off of what happened with this injury now. But that’s pretty typical even in the NFL…you lose your starting quarterback early in the game it normally doesn’t work out well for you.”
NICK SCHUESSLER, QB
On being able to step in and play when his number was called:“Yes, I always tell myself that I spend too much time standing on the sideline to go out there and play scared, so if I ever get the chance I am going to go out there and cut it loose. I think that is how I felt I played out there…I cut it loose. The coaches did a great job of getting us prepared. It helps when you get to go out there and throw to receivers like we have here.”
On getting to play in the first half with the starting wide receivers:“It was good to get on the same page with those receivers. We try to do a good job in practice, getting the timing down so Deshaun (Watson) is not always throwing to the ones. He throws to the twos a little and I throw with the ones a little bit to try and get in the rotation. It was good to get some live work with the guys and beneficial for me for the rest of the season.”
SEAN POLLARD, OT
On when he found out he would be getting the start this week:“They told me about it Wednesday when I was taking first-team reps and to be ready.”
On how playing at Florida State prepared you for the moment:“Our practice prepares us. They are one-game seasons for us. It is a new season for us. I listen to the coaches and that is what prepares us.”
TANNER MUSE, S
On his first touchdown:“It was an incredible feeling, especially when my teammates come down and celebrate with me. It was an amazing experience.”
On his big hit on special teams early in the game:“On the first one, they trapped me, so I knew I had to bring it a little low for that one. It played out the same way. I got my pads behind me and I was fortunate enough to be there and make the play.”
BEN BOULWARE, LB
On the shutout:“It’s awesome, just getting all those guys in to play. We bust our tail Monday all the way to Saturday morning. There’s so much preparation that goes into it, stuff that people don’t know about. We have a really good team. Syracuse has a lot of athletes and has a really difficult scheme. To get a shutout is a really difficult thing to do. I’m proud of our team.”
November 30, 2024
