Postgame Press Conference Quotes

by TigerNet Staff - Sun Sep 12 03:45:41 GMT-04:00 2004

Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden Quotes

On the outcome of the game

"We just didn't play smart football. It was a matter of execution on our part. It wasn't anything they did. Georgia Tech did not quit, and I give them credit for that. It came down to an execution stand-point on our pan and we had that fumble on the punt-snap. Geoff (Rigsby) hasn't done that in a year and a half, and it just happened to happen tonight. I think the problems happened inside our locker room and not inside theirs, as far as from correction stand-point"

On what to say to the team afterwards

"I don't want to take anything from Georgia Tech. They played hard all game, but as I told our team, the team making all that noise cheering wasn't the team that beat us. The team that beat us is in this locker room. It's my job as the head coach to make the correct changes to solve the problems. The problems were that we couldn't block one of their guys I can't do much about a 6'5" guy over a 5'10" guy, but there are some other things that I'll search for this week"

On the running game

"Kyle (Browning) and Reggie (Merriweather) broke through for some long ones. The running game picked up, but we didn't play smart and got a celebration penalty for it that gave them 30 yards and points with seconds that might not have been on the clock."

Clemson Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst

"It is a game of inches. I wonder how close we got on those two plays. But you have to give them credit for not giving up"

"We have had tough losses before. Wake Forest was a tough one last year. But we didn't give up and we won't give up now"

Clemson Running Back Reggie Merriweather

"It felt great to contribute tonight, but not getting the win really hurts. During the week the coaches told me that I would get an opportunity and I did. I just ran as hard as I could every time I was on the field. I hope this will give the coaches confidence in me."

Clemson Linebacker Leroy Hill

That is a tough one to take. To be that close to a win and have it taken out of our hands really hurts. As seniors we will regroup and have everyone focused on the next game. This game doesn't end our season. We still have everything to play for."

Georgia Tech Head Coach Chan Galley

"You may watch a lot of football in your life, but you may never see anything like that. I hope you enjoyed it. I did"

On the game's ending:

"You'd like to get a good punt return, or have someone get pressure and he (punter) bobbles the snap. Freaky things happen. The last extra point was really big. That was a huge play in the ballgame, and most people don't even think about it."

On Freshman WR Calvin Johnson:

"He has shown a lot of potential in practice, and he has made plays like that in practice. It was just a matter of time in our thoughts as to when he would make them in a game. And he really put it together tonight"

On play of Reggie Ball:

"Our protection was not very good at times, and it (pressure) really got to him. We just tried to simplify our protections, and it really helped us going into the two-minute offense.