Tommy Bowden Press Conference

Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden’s comments on:

The speed and tempo of the Clemson offense after three games

“With our offense we try to get set as quickly as possible. From there the defense determines if we need to make checks at the line or not. Right now I would say that we are getting pretty close to where we need to be in terms of the tempo of our offense. With our tempo it limits defenses calls to some extent and it makes it difficult for the defense to make the corect substitutions. The fatigue factor is very important and also it is very difficult for opposing scout teams to try and copy our offense in only a week’s time.”

The Virginia coaching staff

“I think we will see a much different game against Virginia this year than we saw last year simply because of the fact that they now have more film to study on us. I think people forget that in the 90’s Virginia won more games against Clemson than Clemson won against Virginia. George Welsh has been there 18 years and over that time he has recruited excellent players for their system. He has the most conference wins of any coach in the conference and with his coaching staff we know we have a difficult task in front of us.”

The importance of the game for Clemson

“I think our players understand that the stakes have now gone up, but until Saturday we will not know if they know how to respond. Our players are in unfamiliar territory a little bit right now and while I think they understand mentally what they have to do, we will have to wait until Saturday to see if they can respond physically. We are going to practice extremely hard over the next couple of days and we are really going to push them to concentrate and focus on what is ahead.”

Playing on the road for the first time this season

“I think that playing on the road will be good for us becuase it allows our players to experience new things. Winning on the road is very important especially when you are playing in the conference. In the process of establishing respect for our program we have to be able to beat good teams on the road. We will not be a good team until we can do

that.”

If he thinks it will hurt Clemson to not have played in any close games this season

“Because we have not been behind in the fourth quarter yet this season that is a definitately a concern. Last year’s team is different than this year’s team and this team has not been challenged late in a game yet. I do not think conditioning will be a problem but until we see them respond both mentally and physically in that situation, we simply do not what to expect.”