Opening Statement:
COACH FEDORA: Our team is really looking forward to getting back home. Seems like it's been a long time since we've played at home and we're looking forward to it. We know we've got a battle against another coastal division opponent in Georgia Tech that will come in here, and they have won two games in a row and are playing extremely well at this point.
Q.I know obviously the end of season awards are probably not a priority in terms of what you're thinking about day-to-day, but with the year Mitch is having, are you surprised he's not getting more attention I guess in terms of Heisman rates and stuff like that?
COACH FEDORA: I haven't really thought about that. I do think he's getting a lot of recognition. He's up for a lot of the awards, post-season awards. It's not something that we've really talked about.
He and I haven't talked about it. We've talked about getting ready for this game and what we need to do on a weekly basis preparation-wise, and I think he's got a great head on his shoulders. I think he's having a great year. I think he's -- I think everybody is starting to see what we already knew.
Q.And I know there's been some I guess buzz about him and his potential NFL future, too. It seems like obviously for him it's been kind of a long wait to get out on the field and things have been a bit of a whirlwind since then. Have you had any conversation about what that future might be?
COACH FEDORA: The only conversations we've had is that we need to get ready for Georgia Tech, and he and I will talk at the end of the season. I do that with a lot of juniors.
So he'll be one of the juniors that I sit down and talk with them and their parents. I've have had numerous, over the years, conversations with juniors that possibly have those opportunities, but we don't talk about it during the season, no.
Q.I know you said last week you were going to spend some time doing fundamental work and focusing on Georgia Tech. How do you feel like you guys went through the bye week in terms of what you wanted to get done leading into this game?
COACH FEDORA: I thought our kids handled it really well. Early in the week, we did do that. We were able to pull off on some of the guys that have had quite a few reps in games.
So my main objective at the end of that last week was to come back completely fresh mentally and physically, as fresh as we could be at this point in the season.
So I thought we got some great fundamental work. We got a lot of reps with young guys. I think that our kids came back on Sunday and they were fresh and ready to go. We had a great practice Sunday and a great practice yesterday, and I anticipate having a great one today.
Q.Does playing Georgia Tech and then having such a short window to prepare for Duke make things any more difficult for you guys?
COACH FEDORA: Yeah, it does. It sure does. But it's the hand we're dealt. We're going to play it and we're going to get ready.
Q.Is Georgia Tech maybe like the one team you would want to have a bye week before just because kind of the unconventionality of their offense?
COACH FEDORA: Well, you know, we didn't have a bye week against them last year and we did okay.
I think really the bye week for me is more about the health, the mental and physical health of our football team and where it is in the season. I don't know if you get to pick the ideal time, but for us, we really needed it. We were beat up physically and mentally and it just so happens that it gives us some extra practices on Georgia Tech. So you hope that that's beneficial.
Q.You've had them as the team after the open date a few times now. I guess hasn't helped as much in the past. I guess that's something you have any control of, either?
COACH FEDORA: Oh, I don't have any control of it. I wish I did. I wish I had a lot more control over a lot of things.
Q.What have you seen in your defense the last two games to kind of explain why it's been your two stingiest outings?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I think, one, there were small incremental changes and improvement each and every week. Not things that probably the naked eye from a novice is going to see.
But as a coaching staff, we were able to see improvement in each and every week that we've been out there, and I think now we're getting to the point in the season where our guys are really comfortable.
They have seen the majority of what they are going to see offensively, you know, at some point, because we have faced a lot of different offenses and a lot of those were a lot of unknown situations because you had brand new coaching staffs and you didn't have much film on them to know exactly what they were going to do.
And so our guys had to adjust, and each and every week as they made those adjustments, they got better. I really think they are more comfortable in seeing the game now and playing better.
Q.A few years ago, these two teams played the highest-scoring game in ACC history, 68-50. The last few haven't been quite that bad, but they have all been pretty high-scoring games. Is that just a function of the matchups or is there another reason that that's been going on?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I'd say we probably had not played as well defensively as we would like to in those other games. I think we had one game where we held them to 24 points, I believe. It's a difficult offense and they are good. They execute it very well.
I think we've had success offensively and that's because I think we've executed. I don't know if it has anything to do with -- I don't know really what to tell you there. I know we've got to score at least one more point than they score. That's going to be what's important.
Q.The other thing is everybody talks about getting ready for the triple option and the different scheme. But beyond that, I was watching the Duke, Georgia Tech game Saturday, and Justin Thomas created things that weren't in the offense. They were him kind of improvising that really made the difference in that game.
COACH FEDORA: Yeah, explosive plays, and that's the thing that breaks your back. You defend the option, you get them into third-and-long situations, you know they are going to throw. You bring an extra guy, which forces him out of the pocket and then it's like death, because he can break your back. I mean, he can -- because he can really run.
I remember there was one play in the game where it was like third and 17 and they got him backed up in the end zone and they bring an extra linebacker, forces him out of the pocket and now he's gone. We lose contain and he goes -- I think they tackled him on the 50-yard line.
So most of that game was big, explosive catastrophic plays that you can't -- you know, if you give those up, it's going to make it really hard on you.
Q.I know you've taken on an option team this week. How do you get yourself ready for that and how do you get yourself recovered from one week playing an option school and the next week back to a team that does more I-Formation and more spread offense?
COACH FEDORA: First of all, getting ready for the triple option, you have to do a really good job with your scout team, and they have to execute so that they can give as good a look as possible, because that's the only way that you're get any kind of look.
The problem is that you still won't get game speed. And so it's always going to take a couple of series before your guys adapt to that game speed. So it's like they are a half-step off in a lot of situations and so if there's no way that you're going to -- unless you run the triple option, that you're going to be able to simulate that in a game.
And then we'll have to do like we do every week. It is more difficult because it's a short week and all those things, but we've got to turn it around and we've got to turn the page and we've got to move on to whatever the next offense is.
Q.Talk about Paul Johnson. What type of coach is he? He's always a good coach and his teams are always ready to play and they are always a tough team to play no matter if it's September or October, November, maybe January.
COACH FEDORA: I've got a lot of respect for Paul Johnson. Doesn't matter where he's been. He's always very difficult to play. His guys are ready to play. I think he's a heck of a football coach.
He's going to -- if you watch him, when he figures out what you're going to try to do defensively, because the other part, you know, that Paul has to deal with is Paul doesn't get to watch your team on film playing option football. So he doesn't ever really know exactly what your scheme is going to be to try to stop him until you get into the game.
So he has to have answers for everything and he's been running this offense for so long, it's pretty easy for him to make those adjustments.
COACH FEDORA: Our team is really looking forward to getting back home. Seems like it's been a long time since we've played at home and we're looking forward to it. We know we've got a battle against another coastal division opponent in Georgia Tech that will come in here, and they have won two games in a row and are playing extremely well at this point.
Q.I know obviously the end of season awards are probably not a priority in terms of what you're thinking about day-to-day, but with the year Mitch is having, are you surprised he's not getting more attention I guess in terms of Heisman rates and stuff like that?
COACH FEDORA: I haven't really thought about that. I do think he's getting a lot of recognition. He's up for a lot of the awards, post-season awards. It's not something that we've really talked about.
He and I haven't talked about it. We've talked about getting ready for this game and what we need to do on a weekly basis preparation-wise, and I think he's got a great head on his shoulders. I think he's having a great year. I think he's -- I think everybody is starting to see what we already knew.
Q.And I know there's been some I guess buzz about him and his potential NFL future, too. It seems like obviously for him it's been kind of a long wait to get out on the field and things have been a bit of a whirlwind since then. Have you had any conversation about what that future might be?
COACH FEDORA: The only conversations we've had is that we need to get ready for Georgia Tech, and he and I will talk at the end of the season. I do that with a lot of juniors.
So he'll be one of the juniors that I sit down and talk with them and their parents. I've have had numerous, over the years, conversations with juniors that possibly have those opportunities, but we don't talk about it during the season, no.
Q.I know you said last week you were going to spend some time doing fundamental work and focusing on Georgia Tech. How do you feel like you guys went through the bye week in terms of what you wanted to get done leading into this game?
COACH FEDORA: I thought our kids handled it really well. Early in the week, we did do that. We were able to pull off on some of the guys that have had quite a few reps in games.
So my main objective at the end of that last week was to come back completely fresh mentally and physically, as fresh as we could be at this point in the season.
So I thought we got some great fundamental work. We got a lot of reps with young guys. I think that our kids came back on Sunday and they were fresh and ready to go. We had a great practice Sunday and a great practice yesterday, and I anticipate having a great one today.
Q.Does playing Georgia Tech and then having such a short window to prepare for Duke make things any more difficult for you guys?
COACH FEDORA: Yeah, it does. It sure does. But it's the hand we're dealt. We're going to play it and we're going to get ready.
Q.Is Georgia Tech maybe like the one team you would want to have a bye week before just because kind of the unconventionality of their offense?
COACH FEDORA: Well, you know, we didn't have a bye week against them last year and we did okay.
I think really the bye week for me is more about the health, the mental and physical health of our football team and where it is in the season. I don't know if you get to pick the ideal time, but for us, we really needed it. We were beat up physically and mentally and it just so happens that it gives us some extra practices on Georgia Tech. So you hope that that's beneficial.
Q.You've had them as the team after the open date a few times now. I guess hasn't helped as much in the past. I guess that's something you have any control of, either?
COACH FEDORA: Oh, I don't have any control of it. I wish I did. I wish I had a lot more control over a lot of things.
Q.What have you seen in your defense the last two games to kind of explain why it's been your two stingiest outings?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I think, one, there were small incremental changes and improvement each and every week. Not things that probably the naked eye from a novice is going to see.
But as a coaching staff, we were able to see improvement in each and every week that we've been out there, and I think now we're getting to the point in the season where our guys are really comfortable.
They have seen the majority of what they are going to see offensively, you know, at some point, because we have faced a lot of different offenses and a lot of those were a lot of unknown situations because you had brand new coaching staffs and you didn't have much film on them to know exactly what they were going to do.
And so our guys had to adjust, and each and every week as they made those adjustments, they got better. I really think they are more comfortable in seeing the game now and playing better.
Q.A few years ago, these two teams played the highest-scoring game in ACC history, 68-50. The last few haven't been quite that bad, but they have all been pretty high-scoring games. Is that just a function of the matchups or is there another reason that that's been going on?
COACH FEDORA: Well, I'd say we probably had not played as well defensively as we would like to in those other games. I think we had one game where we held them to 24 points, I believe. It's a difficult offense and they are good. They execute it very well.
I think we've had success offensively and that's because I think we've executed. I don't know if it has anything to do with -- I don't know really what to tell you there. I know we've got to score at least one more point than they score. That's going to be what's important.
Q.The other thing is everybody talks about getting ready for the triple option and the different scheme. But beyond that, I was watching the Duke, Georgia Tech game Saturday, and Justin Thomas created things that weren't in the offense. They were him kind of improvising that really made the difference in that game.
COACH FEDORA: Yeah, explosive plays, and that's the thing that breaks your back. You defend the option, you get them into third-and-long situations, you know they are going to throw. You bring an extra guy, which forces him out of the pocket and then it's like death, because he can break your back. I mean, he can -- because he can really run.
I remember there was one play in the game where it was like third and 17 and they got him backed up in the end zone and they bring an extra linebacker, forces him out of the pocket and now he's gone. We lose contain and he goes -- I think they tackled him on the 50-yard line.
So most of that game was big, explosive catastrophic plays that you can't -- you know, if you give those up, it's going to make it really hard on you.
Q.I know you've taken on an option team this week. How do you get yourself ready for that and how do you get yourself recovered from one week playing an option school and the next week back to a team that does more I-Formation and more spread offense?
COACH FEDORA: First of all, getting ready for the triple option, you have to do a really good job with your scout team, and they have to execute so that they can give as good a look as possible, because that's the only way that you're get any kind of look.
The problem is that you still won't get game speed. And so it's always going to take a couple of series before your guys adapt to that game speed. So it's like they are a half-step off in a lot of situations and so if there's no way that you're going to -- unless you run the triple option, that you're going to be able to simulate that in a game.
And then we'll have to do like we do every week. It is more difficult because it's a short week and all those things, but we've got to turn it around and we've got to turn the page and we've got to move on to whatever the next offense is.
Q.Talk about Paul Johnson. What type of coach is he? He's always a good coach and his teams are always ready to play and they are always a tough team to play no matter if it's September or October, November, maybe January.
COACH FEDORA: I've got a lot of respect for Paul Johnson. Doesn't matter where he's been. He's always very difficult to play. His guys are ready to play. I think he's a heck of a football coach.
He's going to -- if you watch him, when he figures out what you're going to try to do defensively, because the other part, you know, that Paul has to deal with is Paul doesn't get to watch your team on film playing option football. So he doesn't ever really know exactly what your scheme is going to be to try to stop him until you get into the game.
So he has to have answers for everything and he's been running this offense for so long, it's pretty easy for him to make those adjustments.
