Oct. 10, 2000

HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL

On the revenge factor that Georgia Tech might have after losing last year at Wake Forest:

I'm not sure about that. I think that is something that is concentrated on by the media a little more than the coaches and the players because they know what the difference a year makes and that you play so many games in between that it really isn't a real factor in this game. We are facing a good football team that certainly has a lot of firepower.

On Georgia Tech:

Their wide receiver Kelly Campbell is very effective. He has great speed and is very talented. The guy at the other end is also very talented, but their running back core is good and tough so they are a very good, solid team and they still play good defense. They have the same cast of characters, but they are more mature and they have a lot more experience. That is the nature of this game ö the older they get, the better they perform. They are certainly performing better than they have previously.

On being a couple plays away from winning last couple games:

That is very frustrating. That is the tough part about it, particularly when they are close and you've obviously been improving week-by-week. Typically the way you measure improvement is by winning games and we've been very very close to that, but overall I think our team is still hanging in there and we just need a victory.

On obtaining a victory:

Well against this particular team we are going to have to do things even better than the way we've been doing them most recently and can't do the things that have hurt us most and that's making mistakes and penalties. Also we're obviously missing opportunities to score once we get down in scoring territory.

On already tying last season's loss total with 0-5 start:

We're all very disappointed about where we are at this point in time, but there's nothing we can do about what's behind us. That is something that we don't dwell upon and we try to look forward and concentrate on that. The only way we can get better is to not make excuses for where we are and we just focus in on where we need to get better and start working towards it each week.

On the level of comfort of starting quarterback and true freshman

Anthony Young:

He's young and I would not anticipate that he would be extremely comfortable with anything for awhile. It just takes awhile. There are some things that he's doing better each game and he's been extremely productive and we hope that continues. We try and keep our freshmen rather busy in terms of their studies and monitoring their time management. That's why we're great believers in redshirting because not only from the physical standpoint of trying to gain some maturity in terms of strength and speed and things of that nature in terms of our climate academically. It takes a little while to get accustomed to the demand, in particular the amount of reading that has to be done and paper writing as well. It is a real task for a young person to come in regardless of good the person was in terms of their high school grades and credentials. It is still quite a challenge.

On the difficulties of two quarterback system:

We've been doing it consistently and I think that it's been proven that it is fairly productive ö not as productive as we would like, but we will continue to improve. I'm not certain that it is a real problem for us. I think it gives the defense that are preparing for us a little more of a problem than it would if we had one guy there with one style the entire ballgame. It just kind of keeps them off balance because they never know. Sometimes we change them in the middle of a series. So we can cause a few problems that way. The difference is that we've been moving the ball from the 15 to 15 essentially. We've been moving the ball. I mean a 20-play 10-minute drive is quite an accomplishment. It's hard to do in this day and age in this game that we play. These guys, both James MacPherson and Anthony Young, have been effective for young quarterbacks, but they still have a lot to learn. You can see our offense moving down the field more frequently.

On the effects of the Presidential Debate that Wake Forest is hosting Oct. 10 on this week's schedule:

It has not effected us that much other than it has been a real chore just getting to the office. Things are running fairly smoothly. It takes maybe another ten minutes extra to get to where we need to go. It is a special situation and a great event for our entire campus and the community. It is just outstanding and we are certainly fortunate to have this here and for some folks to have the opportunity to see them, but it is really a grand opportunity.

SENIOR LINEBACKER NICK BENDER

On Georgia Tech:

They are a dynamic team with a lot of threats. They running and passing games are both very effective. I don't think that they have changed their scheme much this year from last year and we're hoping to use what we've learned from them last year, as well as some film of them this year, to come up with a game plan to give it our best.

On the revenge factor that Georgia Tech might have after losing last year at Wake Forest:

There's got to be. We're expecting that. Against Georgia Tech last year we came out with nothing to lose and a lot to gain. I think a lot of the guys on the team even knew that we had a lot to gain. Halfway through the game the bowl talk started up again and that gave us the momentum and confidence to win the game. I'm sure that is still on their minds and I guarantee they will come out there to redeem themselves.

On the improvement of the defense:

The talent is definitely there. The athletic ability, the physical ability is there. The team dynamics are coming along. In every game you see more gang tackles, more emotion on the field, more people getting to ball and just more team unity. People are playing together instead of just playing their own game. We're really building on that and it's been getting better every game.