9-0 & 6 TO GO!!! RECAP, DABO PC, PLAYER/COACH INTERVIEWS, HIGHLIGHTS, NOTES & QUOTES

CUTrevor 2019-11-02 18:22:54


TIGERS WIN 59-14!!!

They scored TD's on 8 of their first 9 possessions and have scored 45 points or more in 4 straight games for the first time ever. 702 yards of total offense, and that was basically in less than 3 quarters! They could have scored 100 today if they wanted to. The defense has allowed less than 300 total yards in all 9 games this season. First team to do that since Alabama in 2011! 

I'll have Dabo's PC and coach/player interviews posted in a bit!







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CUTrevor 2019-11-02 20:19:29









GAME NOTES

 

  • Clemson has now scored 45 points in four consecutive games for the first time in school history. The streak includes two straight games of 59 or more points for only the second time in school history, joining a two-game stretch against Florida State and Louisville last season.
  • Clemson gained 702 yards and recorded 700 yards of offense for the sixth time in school history, the fifth time under Dabo Swinney. It was Clemson’s first 700-yard performance since Nov. 24, 2018, against South Carolina (744).
  • Clemson outgained Wofford, 702-256. The 446-yard differential is tied for Clemson’s ninth-best all-time. Clemson has now outgained its last two opponents by a 943-yard margin.
  • Clemson recorded 600 yards of offense for a fourth time this season to surpass the 2012, 2017 and 2018 squads (three each) for sole possession of the most 600-yard games in a single season in school history.
  • Clemson has now posted back-to-back 600-yard games for the first time in school history.
  • The 600-yard performance marked the first time that Wofford allowed 600-plus yards of offense since Aug. 31, 2013, when the Terriers gave up 692 yards at Baylor.
  • Clemson exceeded both 300 passing yards and 300 rushing yards for the sixth time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. It marks the first time since at least 1954 that Clemson has rushed and passed for 300 yards in back-to-back games.
  • Clemson joined Oklahoma (three consecutive games to open the season) as the only teams to post multiple games with both 300 passing yards and 300 rushing yards this season.
  • Clemson, which averaged 7.9 yards per play against Louisville and 8.4 against Boston College, averaged a season-high 11.0 yards per play and has now exceeded 7.5 yards per play in three straight games for the first time in records dating back to 1954.
  • Clemson’s 11.0 yards per play were its third-most in school history, trailing its 11.6-yard average against Louisville in 2018 and its 11.2-yard average against Georgia Tech in 1903.
  • Clemson ran 64 plays and did not produce a single offensive play for negative yardage.
  • Clemson reached 500 total yards in a fourth straight game for the first time since a six-game stretch in October and November of the 2016 season. 
  • Clemson rushed for 419 yards, Clemson’s fifth 400-yard rushing performance under Head Coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson is 5-0 in those contests.
  • Clemson averaged a season-high 11.3 yards per carry, representing Clemson’s fifth time averaging double-digit yards per carry in a game in which it reached at least 300 rushing yards (13.3 vs. Louisville in 2018, 11.8 vs. Wake Forest in 2018, 11.2 vs. Georgia Tech in 1903 and 10.3 vs. Presbyterian in 1945).
  • Clemson has now recorded consecutive 300-yard rushing games for the first time since the South Carolina and Pitt games last year.
  • Clemson has now rushed for at least 275 yards in four straight games for the first time in the Dabo Swinney era and the first time since games 4-7 of the 1990 season.
  • Clemson produced a second straight game with zero giveaways for the first time since the first two games of the 2018 season.
  • Clemson finished plus-two in the turnover margin and has now won the turnover margin in four consecutive games for the first time since a five-game streak across the final three games of the 2018 season and the first two games of 2019. Clemson pushed its record to 53-3 when winning the turnover margin since 2011.
  • Clemson held Wofford to 256 yards and joined the 2006 LSU Tigers and 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide as the only teams since 2000 to hold opponents below 300 yards in nine straight games to open a season.
  • Clemson held Wofford to 117 passing yards and has now held seven consecutive opponents below 200 passing yards for the first time since a nine-game stretch in games 3-11 of the 2008 season. 
  • Clemson limited Wofford to a completion percentage of 40.0 and has now held four consecutive opponents to a completion percentage under 50.0 percent, Clemson's first such streak since a five-game run in October and November of 2014.
  • Clemson outgained Wofford in passing yards, 283-117, and has now produced more passing yards than its opponent in 12 consecutive games, dating to last season, for the first time since an 18-game streak across the 2015-17 seasons.
  • Running back Travis Etienne recorded a career-high 212 rushing yards on nine carries with two rushing touchdowns.
  • Etienne reached 200 rushing yards in a game for the third time in his career to break the school record for career 200-yard rushing games (two each by Ray Yauger, 1967-69; Terrence Flagler, 1982-86; Raymond Priester, 1994-97; Andre Ellington, 2009-12). He joined Flagler (1986) as the only player in school history to post two 200-yard games in a single season.
  • Etienne’s nine carries were the fewest needed by a Clemson player in a 200-yard rushing day in school history. His 12-carry, 205-yard performance in the 2019 season opener against Georgia Tech had previously represented the fewest carries by a Clemson player in a 200-yard rushing day.
  • With two rushing touchdowns, Etienne pushed his career total to 48, breaking James Davis’ school record (47 from 2005-08) for career rushing touchdowns.
  • Including his 212 yards in the contest, Etienne(1,102) reached 1,000 rushing yards on the year to give him 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He became the sixth player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in multiple seasons, joining Raymond Priester (1995-96), Woodrow Dantzler (2000-01), James Davis (2006-07), Andre Ellington (2011-12) and Wayne Gallman (2015-16).
  • Etienne reached the 1,000-yard mark in his ninth game of the season to tie Terrence Flagler's school record for fewest games needed to reach 1,000 rushing yards (nine in 1986). The 1,000-yard campaign by Etienne in 2019 is the 22nd 1,000-yard rushing season in school history.
  • During the game, Etienne (3,526) passed Wayne Gallman (3,429) and Andre Ellington (3,436) for fourth on the school's all-time career rushing yardage leaderboard.
  • Etienne scored on a 47-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, the 50th total touchdown of his career, as he joined C.J. Spiller and Travis Zachery as the only players in school history to record 50 career total touchdowns.
  • With 12 points on the day, Etienne (306) passed Travis Zachery (300) and Nelson Welch (301) for fifth on Clemson's all-time scoring list. 
  • Etienne added an 86-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to break Davis’ record for career rushing touchdowns.
  • Including a 90-yard touchdown run in the season opener against Georgia Tech, Etienne now has two touchdown runs of 85-plus yards this season. Since 1950, he is the first Clemson player to record two touchdown runs of 85-plus yards.
  • The run was Etienne’s third of 80 or more yards in his career, surpassing the school record held by Derrick Witherspoon and C.J. Spiller (two each).
  • On the run, Etienne also tied C.J. Spiller's school record for career total touchdowns (51).
  • Etienne rushed for 100 yards in a fourth consecutive game to match his career-long streak set in games 3-6 of the 2018 season.
  • Etienne recorded his 14th career 100-yard rushing game to tie James Davis for third on Clemson's all-time leaderboard for career 100-yard rushing games. Etienne is now three 100-yard games shy of Wayne Gallman's school career record of 17 from 2014-16.
  • Etienne averaged a career-high 23.6 yards perrush. He became the seventh FBS player this season to rush for at least 23.0 yards per carry on at least five attempts in a game this season.
  • Etienne averaged 10.0 yards per carry in a game on at least five attempts for the 12th time in his career to pass Colin Kaepernick for sole possession of the most such games by any FBS player since 2000.
  • With 235 all-purpose yards during the game,Etienne (4,234) overtook Jacoby Ford (4,083) for eighth on the school leaderboard for career all-purpose yards. Etienne became the ninth player in Clemson history to record 4,000 career all-purpose yards.
  • As a team, Clemson has now rushed for multiple touchdowns in 10 consecutive games for the first time since a 15-game streak across the 2016-17 seasons.
  • Quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 12-of-16 passes for 218 yards with three passing touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed four times for 33 yards with a rushing touchdown.
  • With three passing touchdowns, Lawrence (50) passed Charlie Whitehurst (49 from 2002-05) for the third-most career passing touchdowns in school history.
  • Lawrence has now thrown three touchdown passes in four consecutive games for the first time in his career, becoming the first Clemson quarterback to do so since Tajh Boyd in 2012.
  • On his fourth completion of the game, Lawrencebecame the eighth player in Clemson history to complete 400 career passes.
  • On his sixth completion of the game, Lawrence(408) passed Kyle Parker (401 from 2009-10) for seventh-most career completions in Clemson history.
  • Lawrence has now thrown a touchdown pass in 19 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the country. (Note: UCF's McKenzie Milton had a 24-game streak prior to suffering an injury in November 2018 that will likely preclude him from playing in 2019).
  • Lawrence rushed for his sixth rushing touchdown of the season, extending his career high, on a two-yard run in the second quarter.
  • With 251 combined passing and rushing yards in the game, Lawrence (5,746) passed Rodney Williams (5,510) and Cullen Harper (5,549) for seventh on the school's leaderboard for career total offense.
  • Wide receiver Amari Rodgers opened the scoring on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence. Clemson Is now 46-0 when scoring first since 2015.
  • It was Rodgers’ fourth touchdown reception of the season, matching his single-season career high set last season as a sophomore.
  • Running back Lyn-J Dixon scored on his first carry of the game, a 19-yard first-quarter touchdown run. The rushing touchdown was his fourth of the season and the ninth of his career.
  • Wide receiver Tee Higgins recorded his fourth touchdown reception of the season on a 22-yard pass from Lawrence in the second quarter.
  • The touchdown reception was the 18th of Higgins’ career, tying Glenn Smith (18 from 1949-51) and Jordan Leggett (18 from 2013-16) for seventh in school history. 
  • Wide receiver Justyn Ross added his fifth receiving touchdown of the season on a 34-yard pass fromLawrence in the third quarter.
  • The touchdown pass to Ross was Clemson’s third touchdown pass of the game. Clemson has now thrown at least three touchdowns in four straight games for the first time since a five-game streak to open the 2013 season.
  • Running back Darien Rencher, playing on his 22nd birthday, recorded his second rushing touchdown of the season and of his career on a three-yard scoring run in the third quarter. 
  • Linebacker Isaiah Simmons recorded his first interception of the season in the second quarter. It was his second career interception, joining a pick-six against Louisville last season.
  • Cornerback Sheridan Jones recorded his first career fumble recovery in the fourth quarter on a fumble forced by linebacker Mike Jones Jr., the first forced fumble of his career.
  • Linebacker Jake Venables tied a Clemson season high with 3.5 tackles for loss, matching Isaiah Simmons’ output at Syracuse and Justin Foster’s total at Louisville.
  • Clemson and Wofford squared off in Clemson for the sixth time in their last six meetings, dating back to a 26-0 win by Frank Howard's Tigers at Riggs Field in 1940. Wofford hosted five of the first six all-time meetings between the schools, including a 16-0 Clemson win at Wofford in Clemson's inaugural season in 1896.
  • Captains for the contest were wide receiver Tee Higgins, long snapper Patrick Phibbs, punter Will Spiers and linebacker Chad Smith. Smith ran the American flag down in the hill pregame as part of Military Appreciation Day. Smith comes from a family with extensive military ties, including:
    • Colonel John Smith, father, Air Force (Desert Storm, Bosnia, Somalia)
    • Colonel Eben Darrell Smith, grandfather, Air Force (WWII, Korea, Vietnam)
    • Senior Master Sergeant Monty “Bob” Auxier, grandfather, Air Force (Korea, Vietnam)
    • Senior Chief Petty Officer Rob Auxier, uncle (Desert Storm)
    • Sergeant Frank Blair, uncle, Army (Vietnam)
    • Captain Ben Smith, brother, Air Force Acquisition (Hill Air Force Base, Utah)
    • First Lieutenant Elayne Smith, sister, nurse, Air Force (Afghanistan). Presently on active duty and just this week qualified as an aeromedical evacuation flight nurse who will be stationed at Travis AFB in California.

 

WITH THE WIN...

 

  • Clemson has now opened a season 9-0 for the sixth time in program history and the fourth time in the last five years, joining 1948, 1981, 2015, 2016 and 2018. Clemson earned conference titles in all of the previous five seasons in which it opened 9-0 and earned national championships in three of those years.
  • Clemson won the first nine games of a season for the fourth time under Head Coach Dabo Swinney (2015, 2016 and 2018). All other coaches in Clemson history have combined for two 9-0 starts, including one each by Frank Howard and Danny Ford.
  • The 2019 Clemson seniors won their 50th game in the last four years to become the ninth senior class in FBS history to accomplish the feat. The 50th win tied the 2019 Clemson seniors with the 2017 senior class for the second-most career wins in school history.
  • Head Coach Dabo Swinney recorded his 125th career win in 155 career games as a head coach. Per records from Sports Reference, he is the 10th-fastest coach in major college football history to 125 wins in terms of games coached, trailing George Woodruff (142), Urban Meyer (148), Bob Neyland (148), Chris Petersen (151), Joe Paterno (153), Fielding Yost (153), Barry Switzer (153), Bud Wilkinson (153) and Henry Williams (154).
  • Clemson won its 24th consecutive game, dating to the start of the 2018 season, to extend the longest winning streak in school history and second-longest winning streak in ACC history.
  • Clemson won its 21st consecutive home game to tie the longest home winning streak in school history, set across the 2013-16 seasons. Clemson's last home loss came on Nov. 12, 2016, against Pitt. The current 21-game streak is the second-longest active streak in the country (Alabama, 31).
  • Clemson has now won 42 of its last 43 games at home.
  • Clemson won its sixth home game of the season to extend its active streak of winning at least six games at Memorial Stadium to nine years.
  • Clemson improved to 13-4 against Wofford all-time.
  • Clemson improved to 34-0 against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the NCAA formed the division prior to the 1978 season.
  • Clemson has now won 67 of its last 71 games overall dating to 2014.
  • Clemson has earned victories in 74 of its last 76 games when leading at halftime.
  • Clemson improved to 95-2 since 2011 when leading after three quarters.
  • Clemson now has a 95-2 record when totaling more first downs than its opponent since 2011.
  • Clemson is now 62-1 when rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
  • Clemson improved to 48-0 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney.
  • Clemson improved to 45-2 when having a 100-yard rusher since 2011.
  • Clemson has now won 70 of its last 72 games against unranked teams.
  • Clemson pushed its winning streak in Saturday games to 38 to extend the longest Saturday winning streak in school history. Clemson's current 38-game run of consecutive Saturday victories is the longest active streak in the country.


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CUTrevor 2019-11-02 20:36:59









CLEMSON HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY

Opening statement: 

“I’m certainly proud of our guys. Obviously, Wofford’s a team that didn’t matchup with us on paper. But I’ve been in a lot of those games over the years, and you’ve still got to play well. I’m   proud of our team. We had great energy and played well the whole game. We were incredibly efficient. The offense set the tone for us out of the gate. That’s four games in a row we’ve played really well.”


On Clemson’s offensive performance:

“Today was a day a lot of history was made. I’m super proud of our offense. That’s back-to-back games with no turnovers. We picked up 702 yards. That’s also back to-back games with over 600 yards of offense. This program has never scored 45 or more points four games in a row before today, too, so a lot of amazing things happened. It’s pretty remarkable what this group has done, especially when you talk about rushing the ball and spreading the ball around.”


On Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence:

“Trevor’s efficiency rating is higher now than it was at this time last year. We rushed for 419 yards. Etienne has set the tone for us for the last month. You think about all the great running backs who have come through here, and, today, he broke the school record for career rushing touchdowns. I’m really proud of Travis, and he’s got a lot more left. He’s been a joy to coach.”


On the Tigers’ defense:

“Defensively, we also made some history. That’s nine games in a row of holding opponents to less than 300 yards. And that’s happened only twice in 20 years, and that’s incredible to do in today’s world of college football. I’m really proud of how consistent our defense has been all year long.”


CLEMSON CO-OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JEFF SCOTT

Opening statement: 

“Obviously very proud of our guys. Over the last four weeks we have played very well. Like Coach Swinney talks about all the time, we are entering our championship phase during November. It’s all about improving and getting better, and I feel like our guys did that. 


On turnovers and the offensive line:

“A really proud two games back-to-back with no turnovers. Last week was the first game all year where we did not have any turnovers, so to do that back-to-back was big. No sacks, 419 yards rushing, our offensive line is playing some really good ball. Our offensive guys in general are not worried about anything.” 


On facing Wofford:

“These are the kind of games where physically, you have a big advantage versus your opponent. These are the types of games where you can tell a lot about the mentality of your team. I’ve been here long enough. I can remember playing this group in 2011 where we went in there at halftime close to a tie game. That was a very talented offense as well. It did not matter who we were playing today. Our guys were ready to go.”


On Travis Etienne breaking Clemson records:

“I am very happy for Travis breaking the Clemson rushing record for touchdowns. He has been outstanding, and he has the most 200-yard games at Clemson. Hopefully he tied the overall touchdown record.”


On Trevor Lawrence and the receivers

“Trevor has four games in a row with three touchdown passes, which has not been done since 2012. To have a few poor throws in the beginning of the year with all the talk out there nationally, it is not surprising he had four games in a row with four touchdown passes. He played very well today. I am really proud of where we are there. I thought it was big for all three wide receivers getting in the endzone.”


CLEMSON CO-OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR TONY ELLIOTT

Opening statement: 

On Travis Etienne’s record-breaking performance:

“I’m just really proud of him. He’s such a humble guy. I’m not a big fan of people deserving things, but if there’s anyone who deserves this, it’s Travis. He always deflects the attention, making it about his offensive line and his teammates. He’s got the ability to do it and it’s refreshing to see a young man who puts the work in and is able to achieve what he can.”


On deserving versus earning:

“Often we feel like we deserve more than we really work to earn, so my word is earn. Go out and earn it, because life isn’t fair and you’re not always going to get what you feel like you deserve. At the end of the day you will get what you earn, whatever work you put in, you will get the appropriate reward. It may not be what you want, but at the end of the day you can feel good about it.”


On playing starters:

“Wofford is not an easy team to prepare for. They’re one of the best teams in the FCS and they pose some challenges with their structure. The biggest thing for us is coming out and playing clean, no matter who that’s against. I thought the first halves of these past two games have been about as clean as we could be. The big challenge was coming out in the second half and challenging these guys to respond better than we did in the previous week. The biggest thing for us is being in ‘Championship Phase.’ It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it’s about how we play. When guys take care of business then we have the flexibility to play some other guys.”


CLEMSON DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR BRENT VENABLES

Opening statement: 

“First half I thought our guys came ready to play. We were totally dominant and squeezed the life out of them. That’s as good of a performance as we’ve had in the first half. I'm really proud of our guys. They displayed the right mindset, the preparation, the discipline and the fundamentals for the most part of four quarters tonight. All of our guys did a great job. The discipline is really going to pay off for us moving forward as teams continue to challenge us in different ways. It’s really great for us to continue to grow.”


On Xavier Thomas:

“We got other good players and we’ve played really well in our three games without him. Hopefully he’s healthy and can get back into the rotation, but those guys have really answered the bell and continued to improve and make plays.”


On Logan Rudolph’s improvement:

“He’s been good all year. Sometimes the plays are there and sometimes they aren’t, so he does a lot of the dirty work. He’s exactly who we thought he was going into the year. He’s one of our most consistent guys at that position. He plays with incredible effort and toughness within the framework of our defense. Tonight he had a lot of opportunities...He’s a great example of what hard work looks like and realizing the fruits of your labor.”




CLEMSON RUNNING BACK TRAVIS ETIENNE

On running the ball today: 

“I thought it was great. Give the offensive line some credit for opening up some holes. There were a couple of plays at the beginning where I felt like I could have gotten a little bit more. I feel like I can definitely get better from today. Again, credit the offensive line and the receivers. They did a great job blocking down the field. Tee, Jones, and all the receivers were great blocking down the field.”


On setting records:

“It is really great, but it is not just because of me. It is because of the team, the guys I have around me, the receivers that I have. The great receivers are willing to do it all, and Trevor too. I am thankful for all those guys to be out there. I would not be in this position to have all these records and accomplishments. I would like to think that.”


On knowing about breaking records:

“I knew about the James Davis one, but about the other ones, no, not really. It is special to be amongst those guys. I would like to thank God first, and my teammates because if it was not for them, I would not be here.”


On taking his game to a new level

“Oh, most definitely. I feel like I can always improve and get better each and every game. Just working on the little details helps each and every week by watching film to see what I really messed up on.




CLEMSON WIDE RECEIVER TEE HIGGINS

On today’s game: 

“We came in with the same mindset for any other team. We come in and dominate, just like we did tonight.”


On “Championship Phase”:

“It’s ‘Championship Phase’ now. We always have the mindset that we have to play better at this phase in the season, so we just go out there and ball out... We just keep being Clemson, practicing well, and executing the plan.”


On his performance:

“My goal is to never drop a pass. If I do that’s my fault, not the quarterback’s fault. I just go in with the same mindset to catch every ball.”


On Travis Etienne:

“Freshman year I thought he was a walk on when he showed up smiling with his braces. After that our bond got closer and closer. He’s extremely humble. After the game he gave a speech saying how he would not be able to do it without his offensive linemen and receivers blocking out there for him. He’s just really humble.”




CLEMSON QB TREVOR LAWRENCE

On today’s game: 

“It’s exactly how we wanted to start the game. It was similar to last week, we just want to keep that momentum. Like Coach Swinney always says, our best defense is a good offense. We just want to help our defense out and we’ve played really well the past few weeks.”


On the offensive rhythm:

“Last year we finished really strong, so it’s similar to how we were playing last year at this time. That’s just our main goal all season, to be playing our best and hopefully getting better every week.”


On Travis Etienne:

“It’s awesome to see him be successful. He’s a great player and he puts in a lot of work, so to see that be shown is great. It’s great playing with him.”


On how you respond to criticism:

“We remember all the criticism like it was yesterday, but all of that stuff doesn’t really matter. It’s about getting better every week and then seeing where we are at the end of the season. It doesn’t really matter where we were five weeks ago, it’s about where we are at the end of the season and how well we’re playing then. We’re just going to keep getting better every week.”



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CUTrevor 2019-11-02 20:47:25




CLEMSON LB ISAIAH SIMMONS

On team’s defensive discipline:

“It was just a test of our discipline. That’s the biggest thing about it. We saw how disciplined we are as a team. If one person does something wrong then they could make a huge gain. That’s the biggest thing in facing a team like Wofford.”


On his interception:

“I was talking to my dad before the game and he told me to get an interception today. I told him that they don’t really throw the ball too much, so I don’t know if I can do that, but things happen. It was a gift from God. I don’t know how they didn’t see me, but I’m happy they didn’t. Everyone said that if I had run up the sideline I would have scored, but I didn’t see that.”




CLEMSON QUARTERBACK CHASE BRICE

On his completion percentage: 

“It was just sticking to the plan. We had a good plan coming into the game and a great week of practice, so we came back from last week building off that momentum. We want to give our guys a chance. We know if we put the ball in the air, our guys will go get it and make plays after the catch.”


On the offense’s efficiency:

“It helps, obviously, our defense giving us that cushion. Every drive we are going in and trying to put points on the board. Giving them that comfort that if they do slip up or a big play does happen, they can rely on us to put up points. It’s just being efficient and I think we’re doing a great job.”


On next week's game:

“We’re just going to do what we’ve been doing the past three or four games and that’s just starting out fast. We’re going to try to get the ball into our playmakers hands and let them play. We are just going to do our job and be efficient.”


On his mentality:

“I’m going to be prepared no matter what, no matter how many snaps it is. When I go in I want to do well. I really want to be prepared well enough to look like I’m a starter. That’s how I’ve got to prepare and that’s how all of us prepare.”



CLEMSON LINEBACKER JAKE VENABLES

On having fun and being comfortable on the field: 

“It was a ton of fun. It is a lot slower out on the field than it is in practice, so that’s good. 


On connection with Baylon (Spector) and being Clemson’s future:

Baylon is like a brother to me. It is a lot of fun being out there at the same time. I could definitely see us playing in the future.”


On playing for his dad and spending time off the field:

It has been fun, what I expected. He has been just as hard on me now as when I was growing up. I am getting used to it, and it is slowing down for me. He (Brent Venables) was telling us about my brother winning the regional championship last night. My brother was not very happy with himself about the way he played, so my dad was out there watching game film to calm him down a little bit.”


CLEMSON LINEBACKER BAYLON SPECTOR

On knowing about getting snaps today: 

“Just to have the opportunity to come out there, the chance to play and do your thing is a great opportunity. Everybody prepared the same. We prepare the same every week. It is a great opportunity to get better for everybody.”


On being counted as a starter:

“Prepare the same every week. Try to put in extra time, and watch film every week. I do whatever I can to become a better player and person all around the field and off the field.”


On knowing Wofford would run:

It was fun. It was definitely all option all game.They did a lot of good things. We still need to get out there to prepare to play against that type of offense.”


On improving as a linebacker at Clemson:

I would say the number one thing is knowledge. Learning to watch tape the correct way, and what is going on around you. Learning how to call the defense gets better and better over time. Preparing, reading your keys, and doing your job. We always talk about doing your 111 and play within the defense. Do your thing, read the right things, and be in the right spot. Be where you are supposed to be and things should work out.”


WOFFORD HEAD COACH JOSH CONKLIN

On the team continuing to play hard in the second half:

“Yeah, I mean we’re gonna fight, you know, our guys...that’s what we’re made of. I was excited just to see the way they kind of responded and just kept executing and… you know, anytime you face good competition it’ll help you I think as you move down the road.”


On what it was like for the team to play in front of 80,000 fans:

“Yeah, I mean, we didn’t expect anything really, coming in here. I mean we just wanted to play and execute and see if we could stay with them for awhile, which we couldn’t, and we were just kind of disappointed in our execution in the first half, but I think we responded in the right way after halftime.”


On what his message was to the team in the locker room:

“Well, we gotta get healed up a little bit, I mean, we got, we’re banged up. Um, you know, we’re beat up... They’re a good football team, and they’re big and they’re physical, so we’ve gotta get healthy, and we’ve got to get ready to get back into it next week.”


On if it is encouraging to know that all the team’s goals are in front of them:

“That’s exactly right, yeah, that’s exactly right.”


On the way his team continued to battle:

“I thought they played well, the second half, they played better [in] the second half. Executed well, better than they did the first half, which is what we wanted to see. I mean that’s what we’re made of...we’re fighters, that’s what we’re wanna do.”





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CUTrevor 2019-11-02 20:59:24









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