WATCH: Dabo Swinney NCSU postgame press conference

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Sat Oct 15 18:13:59 GMT-05:00 2016

Opening statement:

“Just another day in the office. We wanted to be sure ABC’s Coast to Coast ratings went up. First of all, I have to give NC State a lot of credit. We knew they were going to give us every ounce of juice that they had in their body, and they did. Right now, we’ve beat everybody but Clemson. We’re trying to beat Clemson, but we haven’t quite achieved that yet. We’ve had nine turnovers in our last two home games here, but obviously we’re finding ways to win against good teams. Today is a little disappointing because we get a stop on downs, then turn two over on the goal line and then we have a pick-six, and you can’t script it any better for NC State, so you have to give them credit. We moved the ball up and down, and there’s something to be said for finding a way to win, and that’s all I can say. It’s not always pretty and you have to win games like that along the way. At the end of the day, you have to love the fight of this team and their ‘never quit’ attitude. There were many frustrating plays, but you just had to move on to the next play.”

On Jordan Leggett:

“Wow. He converted on highly-competitive plays when we had to have it.”

On Clemson’s defense and Marcus Edmonds:

“Defensively, I thought they pushed us around a little bit. I didn’t think we were on our ‘A’ game defensively. You can’t allow teams like that to have those kinds of opportunities. But we played well enough. We had some interceptions and tackles for loss, but Marcus Edmond executed on the last plays of the game for two consecutive games and two of the biggest plays we’re probably ever going to have. It’s just awesome to see those guys perform.”

On special teams:

“I told the guys that we were going to win on special teams. They got nothing on returns. We executed on the tremendous fake punt. It gave us tremendous field position. However, the biggest play of the game was the blocked field goal by Christian Wilkins. I’m really proud with what we’re doing on special teams. At the end of the day, we’re 7-0 and the only team in the Atlantic Division that controls their destiny, and that’s where we wanted to be.”

On the fans:

“Awesome. They were a major factor in this game. NC State had a ton of penalties and false starts, especially early in the game, and credit a lot of that to the fans. I can’t thank them enough for the environment they give us to play in.”