Oct. 15, 2011
Recap |
Final Stats |
Notes |
Photo Gallery 1 
|
Photo Gallery 2
COLLEGE PARK, MD. -
Postgame quotes following Maryland's 56-45 loss to No. 8 Clemson.
Maryland Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening statement:
"This was a tough one. I thought that we did some good things tonight. We just didn't play consistently good enough for the 60 minutes. We will come back in tomorrow and watch the tape. We will grade all of the guys and keep working and getting better."
On C.J. Brown:
"It was a game time decision to start C.J. (Brown). I have to watch the film but looking at the numbers you can see that C.J. did a lot of good things out there. I have to look at the film before I make a lot of comments."
On the challenge of Clemson's offense:
"I think that Clemson has some very good players on their team. They have an outstanding quarterback, a great running back and an outstanding receiver. The biggest thing is we have to go out and finish games. We didn't finish it the way we would have liked to. The guys that were out there are the best we have. I told them in the locker room that I thought we gave great effort. Effort doesn't get us wins. We also didn't tackle as well as we needed to."
On C.J. Brown's mobility:
"You can see that he did some things both with his feet and his arm. All we have to do is continue to work and have everyone stay together. We have to go out and get better starting tomorrow. That is exactly what we plan on doing. This one is a tough one because it's a game I thought we could have had. But we came up a little bit short."
On the passing game:
"We have had some more injuries. Matt (Furstenburg) made some plays. Matt had four catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. We have some more guys who will be out for an extended period of time. Once we find out more we will report it in given time. If we have guys who need surgery we will report it on Monday."
On the play of the offensive line:
"I will have to take a look at the film. I know we gave up two sacks but I think there was some pressure as well. I think there were a lot of good things out there tonight. I saw some good things offensively, defensively and on special teams. There weren't enough good things that happened for us to beat the number eight team in the country. The kids battled hard and battled back. I think that they gave everything that they had but they came up a little bit short."
Maryland Players
Junior Defensive Back Eric Franklin
On losing for a second straight week:
"You get sick and tired of coming close and not getting the win, but I think we'll bounce back and be OK.
"I'm not really sure [Clemson] they did, but we didn't execute the way we should have, and it cost us the game."
On starting freshmen:
"We have a lot of young guys playing for us right now; they're all very talented though. They can do the same drives that all the other guys can do, so I don't really think youth is a factor."
On the team's success:
"This kind of success makes us extremely versatile... it makes it tough for defenses and makes us extremely dangerous because there is no one person to focus on. All of us are capable of making the play."
Freshman Linebacker Lorne Goree
On the depth chart:
"I don't think [inexperience] was a big issue because everyone stepped up and we did what we had to. We played collectively as a unit. I don't think [starting freshmen] played a really big part at all [in the loss]. If somebody goes down, we have to step up and play we are the starters."
Sophomore Quarterback C.J. Brown
On his efforts in the game:
"Getting my first start was exciting and I was nervous and I had the energy. It felt good to get out there and show what I can do. It's disappointing that we came up short. Playing a top-10 team in our house, in Byrd, it was a great atmosphere. The guys left it out on the line and it's just unfortunate that we couldn't get it in the end."
On Clemson's play changes in the second half:
"The D-line stopped rushing. They made an adjustment to take the ball out of my hands and make me hand it off. They played well and we had a shot in the end, but we couldn't pull it out."
Senior Running back Davin Meggett
On the team's efforts against a ranked team:
"They don't judge you on how close you were. You either win or you don't. So we just have to try again next week."
On C.J Brown's performance:
"He played good football. He was consistent throughout the game and played really well. Just as a team we didn't play good enough and score enough points."
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney
"I could not be more proud of this football team. We were 18 points down, but there was no panic on the sidelines. It was the second greatest comeback in Clemson history (down 28 and won at Virginia in 1992). The entire team stayed together as did the players. The staff did not panic.
"Sammy Watkins, what can I say about him tonight? I told him after the fumbled punt in the first quarter that he owed me one. He certainly responded. He did show he was human tonight, but to break C.J. Spiller's all-purpose record (single game) in just seven games is incredible.
"Tajh Boyd got off to a bad start in the first quarter, but he did not quit or get down. He completed 11 of his last 12 passes in the clutch. What a performance.
"And there were others, Dwayne Allen, Adam Humphries, Nuke Hopkins and how about the clutch catches by Jaron Brown.
"The biggest play of the night might have been Bashaud Breeland's interception. We were down 18 points and they the ball. One more score and it would have been very difficult. That play turned the momentum.
"I am glad to be 7-0. Next week we have North Carolina coming to town and we will honor our National Championship team of 1981. It will be a great week at Clemson."
Clemson Players
Sophomore Quarterback Tajh Boyd
About coming back on the road:
"It was a big one. This is definitely what we needed as a program and as a team. We have to just keep working from here, I definitely feel like we put ourselves in a hole early on with turnovers, but the guys came back and persevered and that's what we really needed."
On his play in the first quarter:
"No, I came out a little sluggish; I can't really explain it at all. It's kind of one of those things where you have to dig down internally and find out what you're really made of. I'm glad the guys stuck beside me."
Junior Running Back Andre Ellington
About the running game breaking out:
"Up front, those guys did a great job. They took a lot of ownership during the week. We got after it this week. Coach [Swinney] said he expected us to have a great rushing game and we took it and went with it and tried to make the best of it"
Freshman Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins
About the return touchdown:
"That was big, because all week they have been stressing special teams and how we might need it. We haven't been doing really well on kickoff returns. We have been just really been practicing this week on it. I told them boys, 'just block one time and give me a crease,' and that's what they did."
About going forward at 7-0:
"Just never look down on a team, and just come out here and get ready to play against any opponent. It's just a wakeup call. We're not the best right now,;we still have stuff to work on. The coaches, the team, we just got to keep going."
