This comes in from our correspondent, Zach Hanby:
(Edited transcript of Tony Elliott's post-game meeting with reporters)
"It's like we talked about earlier in the week. If you got hot, we'd roll with you. We had five guys and we wanted to give them all an opportunity but Wayne Gallman was running hard, he was finding it and was consistent and we didn't want to take it out of his hands. I think those guys on the sidelines recognized that. They were supporting him and pushing him."
He shows some toughness that we didn't see very often last year.
"That's something we've known about with Wayne from day one. I think it was more of a confidence issue last year. He was a young guy out there just trying to figure it out. Now he knows what he is suppose to do. He understands the run schemes better. He knows what we're trying to get accomplished and you've seen a more physical mentality."
Using Deshaun more in the run game was part of your thought process coming into the game.
"Absolutely. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands whether he's throwing it or running it. They presented some opportunities for us to run him. That's something that we have been working on that we did not show in the first two games. We were able to get some mileage out of him. He's a warrior. I think everyone challenged us to run the ball.
We had some adversity tonight. We had Joe Gore go out early, then Fruhmorgen comes in and he goes out, then Maverick Morris who's mostly at guard comes in at tackle. Joe came in and the doctors said he was fine. It was good to get him back."
You've won dozens of games now when leading going into the fourth quarter. What does that say about this program?
"It's a testament to what Coach Swinney has done with this program. I have been around a long time and I was part of games where we didn't win those games in the fourth quarter. It goes back to the foundation of mental toughness. It goes back to understanding why we work in the summer, that's why we work everyday and finish every drill. It will come down to details and situations. Not every game you will win by a big margin and we understand that. The key is getting into the fourth quarter with a lead and we feel like we have the mental toughness to finish it off and win."
Did you think you were the fresher team in the fourth quarter?
"You know coach Batson and his group do an unbelievable job with our guys. If you just watch us the last two years in our bowl games, we've been well prepared and well conditioned. I think our guys practice fast. The defense has to go against us in practice. We don't keep them on the field long, but we're going fast. We get our work in. We practice fast so that we are the fresher team down the stretch."
The formation on the second touchdown, did they show you something or did you have that ready and were just holding it for the right time?
"That's a play coach Morris brought with him here. Jeff and I liked it so we kept it. We scored on the same play at N.C. State a couple of years ago. We knew on a short week it would be difficult to prepare for everything. We knew we would be in a situation where we'd need a little something. We had a certain portion of the field where we wanted to run it. The look was there and they just executed it well."
What happened with Joe and Fruhmorgen?
"Joe, I believe was an ankle. Fruhmorgen, I believe was a knee. I don't know the severity of it."
(Edited transcript of Tony Elliott's post-game meeting with reporters)
"It's like we talked about earlier in the week. If you got hot, we'd roll with you. We had five guys and we wanted to give them all an opportunity but Wayne Gallman was running hard, he was finding it and was consistent and we didn't want to take it out of his hands. I think those guys on the sidelines recognized that. They were supporting him and pushing him."
He shows some toughness that we didn't see very often last year.
"That's something we've known about with Wayne from day one. I think it was more of a confidence issue last year. He was a young guy out there just trying to figure it out. Now he knows what he is suppose to do. He understands the run schemes better. He knows what we're trying to get accomplished and you've seen a more physical mentality."
Using Deshaun more in the run game was part of your thought process coming into the game.
"Absolutely. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands whether he's throwing it or running it. They presented some opportunities for us to run him. That's something that we have been working on that we did not show in the first two games. We were able to get some mileage out of him. He's a warrior. I think everyone challenged us to run the ball.
We had some adversity tonight. We had Joe Gore go out early, then Fruhmorgen comes in and he goes out, then Maverick Morris who's mostly at guard comes in at tackle. Joe came in and the doctors said he was fine. It was good to get him back."
You've won dozens of games now when leading going into the fourth quarter. What does that say about this program?
"It's a testament to what Coach Swinney has done with this program. I have been around a long time and I was part of games where we didn't win those games in the fourth quarter. It goes back to the foundation of mental toughness. It goes back to understanding why we work in the summer, that's why we work everyday and finish every drill. It will come down to details and situations. Not every game you will win by a big margin and we understand that. The key is getting into the fourth quarter with a lead and we feel like we have the mental toughness to finish it off and win."
Did you think you were the fresher team in the fourth quarter?
"You know coach Batson and his group do an unbelievable job with our guys. If you just watch us the last two years in our bowl games, we've been well prepared and well conditioned. I think our guys practice fast. The defense has to go against us in practice. We don't keep them on the field long, but we're going fast. We get our work in. We practice fast so that we are the fresher team down the stretch."
The formation on the second touchdown, did they show you something or did you have that ready and were just holding it for the right time?
"That's a play coach Morris brought with him here. Jeff and I liked it so we kept it. We scored on the same play at N.C. State a couple of years ago. We knew on a short week it would be difficult to prepare for everything. We knew we would be in a situation where we'd need a little something. We had a certain portion of the field where we wanted to run it. The look was there and they just executed it well."
What happened with Joe and Fruhmorgen?
"Joe, I believe was an ankle. Fruhmorgen, I believe was a knee. I don't know the severity of it."
