Tommy Bowden Weekly Press Conference Highlights |
Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden's comments on:
The death of Clemson legend Bob Bradley yesterday "I have only been here about a year and a half so I did not get a chance to know Mr. Bradley as well as some of you, but you do not have to be here very long to realize how much he meant not only to the athletic department but to the entire Clemson community. I know he will be sorely missed and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family over these next few days." The Florida State defense and the problems they pose for the Clemson offense "The biggest problem for us is their speed. We play better against slower, bigger defenses and the fast, quick ones like Georgia Tech are the one that give us the most problems. I really think their defense this year is better than last years and their overall team speed is tremendous. Also, they have excellent depth so they are able to keep fresh bodies on the field at all times." What it is going to take for Clemson to win the game: "There is know doubt that you have to play David versus Goliath in this game. For us to win, the scenario will have to be similar to last year's game. We are going to have to play extremely well and play with great effort. They are going to have to turn the ball over and played uninspired. We have not scored a touchdown in Tallahassee in over five years and with their defense being better this year the odds are definitely in their favor." If the players and coaches have put the Georgia Tech loss behind them "The players seemed to put the loss behind them pretty quickly and the coaches have no alternative but to put it behind them because we had to start preparing for Florida State on Sunday. I have got an older staff and I know that everyone on the staff has lost a game before, so professionally we know that we have to get over it very quickly. The personality of teams change every year and this year we have new group of leaders and we will just have to wait until Saturday to see how they will respond to the loss." How his team will respond if they give up a few big plays early in the game "We were down 7-0 at Virginia and NC State hit a big third down touchdown pass on their first drive of the game to go ahead of us. We were also down 17-0 at North Carolina but in all three of those games even though we fell behind quickly we were able to come back and win the game. Our offense is suited to come from behind so if we fall behind early I think we will continue to play hard and fight our way back into the game." If they have a handful of trick plays for this game "We have got some and they will be needed. In the Georgia Tech game, though, they did not rush one single guy on our first field goal attempt. The tricks are not as good if the other team does not rush and apply pressure so we will just have to wait and see what they give us."
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