Finley: "We Persevered Through A Lot"

NC State senior quarterback Ryan Finley met with the media after the Wolfpack's 28-23 win over Boston College.

Opening Statement...
As a team, I think we persevered through a lot today. I think it says a lot about our team that we can win under those circumstances. Obviously, we know the importance of the turnover margin.

For our defense to come out and play the way they did with some of the situations that we put them in as an offense, it was a truly incredible performance by those guys.

Do you just expect Kelvin Harmon to get open on third downs in those situations?
Third downs are all about matchups, and I feel really good about Kelvin all the time. A lot of times, the coverage dictates that the ball gets to Kelvin, but when it’s man-to-man, you’ve just got to find the best matchup.

I trust Kelvin, and we’ve kind of a connection that we’ve developed for a long time, and that’s kind of what third downs are all about.

You nearly had two backs over 100 yards. I guess that makes it more open for the receivers...
Yeah, it does. Our run game is really starting to come together. It was meshing really well with a lot of explosive runs for 10 yards, it felt like. When you’re calling plays as a quarterback, it’s super easy when you’re running the ball like that.

Shout-out to the offensive line, the “Band of Brothers,” who played really well today. And Ricky, Reggie, and Brady ran the rock.

What is the mood in the locker room as you rest and recharge in the bye week?
I think a bye week is exciting. You get guys healthy and calm your mind.

I think it also gives us an opportunity to start on Clemson a little early. We'll watch the game they are playing right now, and we'll have extra time against them.

It will be great.

You brought up the Clemson game in Charlotte.  You circled that game. Now that it's here, what is it like?
I think it's the most important game on our schedule since it's the next one. They are a good team.

We're excited to play them, and we're going to give them everything we've got.

What is the benefit of having this game where it did get close and you were composed to get the win?
I think you make a good point. Winning games like this is important because if it happens again you have a sense of, "Been there, done that."

Running the clock out and being in those pressure situations, that was really important.

The defense is not shy talking about wanting to prove themselves.  What's it like being opposite those guys?
They are playing like they have something to prove right now. They are playing as a unit. That's the one thing you can say about our defense, they are playing together.

They are smart and play really hard, from watching the tape.

It's exciting on Sundays when we go in as a team and watch the film... we watch the defense. It's exciting some of the things they are doing.

This game wasn't on them, to be honest. They really played well, and I think they are the reason we won.