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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: DUKE v FLORIDA STATEDecember 2, 2013David HardingCHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA DAVID HARDING: I mean, this season for Duke football has been extremely special, record‑breaking, and has just been a lot of fun for everybody involved. We know we have a big challenge this weekend playing Florida State, but we're looking forward to it. This team hasn't turned down a challenge all season, and we've been expected to lose a lot of our games, and so we're coming to work like we have been the rest of this year, and looking forward to it. Q. Just wondering, when did the players start to realize or to feel that this could be a special season, a season that Duke has never had before? DAVID HARDING: I think we knew we were capable of doing great things in the preseason, regardless of what the media thought about us. We kind of used that as fodder and a little bit of motivation. But I think we really saw a turnaround with the way we reacted to our two tough losses at the beginning of the season, coming off a pretty big loss to Georgia Tech and then a heartbreaker in the shootout to Pitt, and then to turn around, and the defense really stepped up and continued playing well the rest of the season. Once we kind of made that‑‑ got over that hump early with a lot of adversity we were experiencing, we realized the sky was the limit really. Q. Why do you think you guys were able to turn it around after that heartbreaking Pitt loss because maybe it could have gone the other way? Why do you think it went eight straight victories' way? DAVID HARDING: I think a lot of that has to do with the unselfish nature of everybody on this team. We don't have anybody that's a ball hog I guess you could say. Everybody is excited and happy when one of their teammates makes plays, and so that team mentality has helped us win. When one position group or one side of the ball hasn't been playing very well, we've relied on another position group to pick up the slack. I think we saw that in Georgia Tech and Pitt, and we had our starting quarterback out of the game, and people kind of had to rally around and took those two games to really, I guess, perfect the craft of everybody stepping up when another position was struggling. Q. You said that you were able to use some of the negative things said in preseason as motivation. Does that work again this week, because I'm sure you're reading and hearing that you guys don't have a chance Saturday. DAVID HARDING: Oh, definitely. I mean, Duke football has been the underdogs ever since I've gotten here. We embrace that role. We're working to change that, obviously. But we know that we have a great challenge this Saturday playing the No.1 team in the country, and we know that nobody is going to give us a chance to win. Really that's just business as usual for Duke football. Our coaches do a great job of getting us ready to play every game on Saturday, and our players come out ready to work on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, really, in preparation for whoever is on the schedule. Q. Most people outside the program see this season as like out of nowhere. Would you agree that the last two years at least there was a lot of progress but it was hidden by some bad luck, the injuries on the offensive line two years ago, which I know you had some of that, and then last year the secondary just‑‑ there were other places but mostly the secondary just got devastated and kind of artificially deflated the record over two years? DAVID HARDING: Yeah, I would definitely say so. I think everyone that's associated with this program has realized we're on the cusp of doing great things and rewriting history for the past few years. You're right, there's been one thing‑‑ if it wasn't one thing, it was another, a missed field goal here, injury in one position group there. But I think a lot of that comes with just building a program, and this year was the first year that we had the depth at pretty much every position group to where we were able to overcome some injuries. The talent of this team has definitely improved since I've been here. While you can say that we had some tough breaks early on, I think a lot of it speaks to just the experience and the talent of this crew to be able to overcome some of those tough times in the season. Q. After that Pitt game were you kind of wondering about how good your defense was after that game? And what changed after that game for them in your eyes as somebody who was going against them every day? DAVID HARDING: Well, the defense came into the season, really into the preseason, with such high expectations, and they have been working extremely hard in the off‑season, and we have great senior leadership on that side of the ball. They were really excited for what they were going to be able to do on the field this season. I know that they were disappointed with the way they played in the Georgia Tech game and then the turnaround and the way they played with Pittsburgh. So I think what really happened is that the leaders said, that's enough of that, and the coaching staff sought to fix some of the errors that had been occurring on the field, and everybody just came to work with an even more focused mentality. You know, in terms of having concern as an offensive player for the way the Pittsburgh game went, I wouldn't say we had concern. We contributed to those scoring opportunities greatly with all the turnovers that we had. We've had faith in the defense for the entire year. Q. I'm sure you've been asked this question a lot this season, but what is it about Coach Cutcliffe that's been so special, and why was he the right guy and why was he the one that was able to turn this program around? DAVID HARDING: Coach Cutcliffe is just a man of great integrity and work ethic. He came in with a vision, and is willing to pursue excellence no matter the cost. He's just a guy that is committed to the process and loves a challenge, and that's what made him perfect to turn really the worst Division I football program in the country around. He's done a great job, and I wouldn't have wanted to play for anyone else during my career. Q. You guys have allowed the fewest negative yardage plays on offense this year. That's got to be a source of pride for you guys. What do you think has been the key to that and to your success this year? DAVID HARDING: Yeah, that's been huge. You always want to stay on schedule offensively, and by that I mean getting some good yardage on 1st down, so you're not sitting at 3rd down and long. Those are tough situations to convert. Having success and gaining positive yardage has been huge, and a lot of that is a testament to how well our running backs run the ball. They're just such downhill runners and get behind their pads and are always making at least two yards after contact. They've done a great job of taking that challenge to heart and have proven to be a major winning edge for this team. Q. Florida State is one of the best red zone defenses in the country. You guys are obviously really good in the red zone. What are you guys going to do differently this weekend to try to get the advantage there? DAVID HARDING: We just have to execute. Each person on the field has to do their job. We know that we're facing a major challenge in Florida State, and they're the best team in the country and deservedly so. We just have to come out ready to work. I don't think we have to do anything different in our preparation during the week, and everybody just has to continue to believe in the process and to continue to get better this week in preparation for them. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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