Virginia Head Coach Al Groh Quotes

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Virginia Head Coach Al Groh Postgame Quotes — Clemson vs. Virginia (Nov. 21, 2009)

Overall Thoughts:
“Well, congratulations to Clemson for winning their division. That is one
of the better looking teams we have seen in quite some time. They come at
you from all directions. The pressure is on every play. We stood up to
it well throughout, but there is just a lot of talent out there and some
of those playmakers made plays that made the difference in the game. I am
very pleased with the effort the players put in the preparation for it,
and some guys stepped up and made plays today. Unfortunately we had some
mistakes against a team that can now be called championship-caliber,
having won their division. Those mistakes created some field position
issues that ultimately swung the scales.”

On success of the wildcat formation in the first half prior to injuries:
“That removed the facet of our operation that had been successful for us.
I am sure Clemson would have made adjustments to challenge it. Those
things happen in games, I am sure Clemson had a guy that was unable to
finish the game, too.”

On Clemson’s defensive adjustments in the second half:
“I thought that the most significant thing in all of these schemes is all
runners look the same when there is no huddle, but they did a better job
with the screen and controlling the line of scrimmage. Then the absence
of the one scheme that had been successful for us was an issue.”

On his defense in the second half:
“I would say it was about the same. We had some difficult field position
situations in the first half. The first two possessions for Clemson
started inside the 50-yard line. Then we had a mishandled punt down there
and the turnover at the end of the half. Had we done a better job with
the ball we probably would have had a better chance at the end.”

On the team’s feeling at halftime:
“Good. Especially our attitude at that point, there was a lot to feel
good and positive about. Certainly there were some plays that we would
have liked to have done better on, but I am sure the other side felt the
same way.”

On Clemson’s six sacks in the fourth quarter:
“They have good pass rushers. They have four good pass rushers and they
just won.”

On the final possession of first half:
“We wanted to move the ball down the field and try to get into scoring
territory and try to get into the end zone.”