ATLANTA - UNC football coach Larry Fedora met with the media Saturday after his team overcame a 21-0 deficit to beat Georgia Tech 38-31.
Here is what the coach had to say:
OPENING STATEMENT
Just a tremendous team win today. And it took everything we had. All the will and all their effort. As a team, they got it done and I’m really proud of the way they played.
On being down 21 to 0 and breaking this long streak
First of all, I think, one is our team never panicked when we were down 21 points. The offensive staff did a great job with just staying with the game plan. We continued to run the ball effectively and that was the reason they were able to get those two touchdowns right before the half, which was critical. There were no streak with these guys. They had never lost in Atlanta. The 15 team has only been here one time, so that’s the way we looked at it and they got the job done. Again, I’m really proud of everything they did today.
On the toughness of Marquise today
He was a beast today. What did he have, 148 yards rushing, two touchdowns, caught a touchdown. He took a lot of criticism last week; everybody questioning him on the outside and he did what he can do. He came out and played and was determined to play well and he did a great job.
On being down 21 early, what happened with the defense to turn it around
One thing was listening to them at halftime, there was no panic. Gene, after the coaches talked and he talked to the players, he said we’re not really changing anything. You guys get off of blocks, do the job you’re supposed to do and that’s what they did. The only way you’re gonna defeat blocks is to be more physical and have the mentality that you’re not going to be blocked. Get off the blocks, run to the football and make plays and that’s what they did.
On the double reverse pass with Quinshad, was there something you saw with their defense that made you wanna run that play
I think that play right now for us is 100%. We’ve used it multiple times in the past three years. We hit them with the fumble which was the turning point in the game and while you got them on their heels, came back at em with that big play. I think Quinshad’s thrown it a couple of times before today, hasn’t he. Yes, he 4 for 4 with 4 touchdowns. We probably outta call it more often.
On the defensive ends not having their hands on the ground
That was because they needed to be able read and get their hands on the offensive tackles. On their veer scheme, they needed to be able to press them down. They needed to be able to see their loop scheme. All those different things and that was the adjustment that was made.
On them getting used to playing that way, in game speed
I don’t care how good the scout team does it during the week, it’s not even close to that game speed. It took some time for our guys to adjust to game speed. We were that far away on so many tackles and that’s game speed. Against the scout team, they were all over it. But that’s the game speed. Georgia Tech knows how to run that offense and Paul does a great job with it. The best thing is, our guys didn’t panic, they just kept battling.
On when you got the ball back and were up 31 to 28, you gave the ball to Marquise and to rely on him in that last drive
He’s a 5th year senior. It means a lot to him and it means a lot to all those seniors. They know they’re running out of time. They came to Carolina to win a Championship, Quuise willed his way through that one. He took some licks. In fact there were a couple times where I was gonna call a pass, I suggested a pass in one of those situations and he said, "No, we’ll be alright," and he ran the ball and ran it well.
On winning in this fashion, being down early and coming back. What does this mean
It says a lot about this football team. We talk a lot about, with you guys, what happened last year and what we learned from that and how we addressed it and all those things. I think, these are the things that you’re seeing from all of that. The lessons that they learned, the ownership that they took in those issues and how they were gonna correct them. It’s them. It’s not me. It’s not the staff. It’s not the coaching, I assure you, it’s the our players. They are the guys that are getting it done. It will always be the players. They’re the ones that make it go.
On does this win feel like it could be a program changer
I hope so. I don’t know if it’s a turning point or us getting over the hump. I think we’ve been going in the right direction, so I don’t know if we’re turning. I think, maybe that gets us over the hump. There’s a lot of confidence in that locker room. They feel pretty good about themselves and they know we’ve still gotta long way to go. But, I’ll tell you what they’ll do, they’ll come to work next week with the same attitude that they have every week. And that’s one thing I can say about this team. Whether it was after South Carolina or any of the others, they all came to work the same way and that says a lot about em.
On the special teams issues
That’s a major concern. You know what we think about special teams and how much of an emphasis we put on it. I’m really concerned. I’m concerned about the opening kickoff that they got it out to the 35. We had two shanked punts. We’ve gotta do a much better job. I don’‘t know how many times they punted. They punted once, so with the punt return team, they didn’t get a lot of opportunities that way. Those other units gotta step up and we gotta do something. Their kicker kicked the ball outta the back of the end zone just about every time. The kickoff return team really didn’t get to do anything, so it just basically became your punt and kickoff team and we gotta do a much better job with our coverage units and our punting.
On the punting change. Was it a performance issue.
Anytime we change people, it’s a performance issue.
On the defensive depth chart’s contribution
First of all, I can’t really tell you what everybody’s contribution was during that kind of game. I know, that kind of game, it’s nasty up front. It’s a lot of cutting. A lot of double teams and a lot of veer blocking and you gotta be one tough sucker in there if you’re gonna be effective. All those kids bought in to being nasty and physical up front for us to be successful.
On the play of Cayson Collins
Cayson Collins in the last two weeks has made those plays for us. He’s finally understanding what kind of impact he can make, based on how he practices and he had a really good week of practice. And so, when you do those kind of things, good things usually happen. Sometimes the light doesn’t come on as quick as others. I think Cayson will see because of his week of practice, he was able to make really big plays out there. And hopefully he just keep doing that.
On Junior Gnonkonde, originally committed to Georgia Tech, what it it mean for him (today’s win)
Bo Hoo, it’s that right. Did you every get the spelling of that. He finally fessed up that that was his name. That was huge for him. That was a big play for him. I was kidding him, I said that big offensive lineman of theirs ran him down. He’s such a great kid. Too see him make a play in that situation like that, it was huge for this whole football team. That was the turning point in the game. That strip and getting that ball and returning that ball like they did and scoring on the next play.
Here is what the coach had to say:
OPENING STATEMENT
Just a tremendous team win today. And it took everything we had. All the will and all their effort. As a team, they got it done and I’m really proud of the way they played.
On being down 21 to 0 and breaking this long streak
First of all, I think, one is our team never panicked when we were down 21 points. The offensive staff did a great job with just staying with the game plan. We continued to run the ball effectively and that was the reason they were able to get those two touchdowns right before the half, which was critical. There were no streak with these guys. They had never lost in Atlanta. The 15 team has only been here one time, so that’s the way we looked at it and they got the job done. Again, I’m really proud of everything they did today.
On the toughness of Marquise today
He was a beast today. What did he have, 148 yards rushing, two touchdowns, caught a touchdown. He took a lot of criticism last week; everybody questioning him on the outside and he did what he can do. He came out and played and was determined to play well and he did a great job.
On being down 21 early, what happened with the defense to turn it around
One thing was listening to them at halftime, there was no panic. Gene, after the coaches talked and he talked to the players, he said we’re not really changing anything. You guys get off of blocks, do the job you’re supposed to do and that’s what they did. The only way you’re gonna defeat blocks is to be more physical and have the mentality that you’re not going to be blocked. Get off the blocks, run to the football and make plays and that’s what they did.
On the double reverse pass with Quinshad, was there something you saw with their defense that made you wanna run that play
I think that play right now for us is 100%. We’ve used it multiple times in the past three years. We hit them with the fumble which was the turning point in the game and while you got them on their heels, came back at em with that big play. I think Quinshad’s thrown it a couple of times before today, hasn’t he. Yes, he 4 for 4 with 4 touchdowns. We probably outta call it more often.
On the defensive ends not having their hands on the ground
That was because they needed to be able read and get their hands on the offensive tackles. On their veer scheme, they needed to be able to press them down. They needed to be able to see their loop scheme. All those different things and that was the adjustment that was made.
On them getting used to playing that way, in game speed
I don’t care how good the scout team does it during the week, it’s not even close to that game speed. It took some time for our guys to adjust to game speed. We were that far away on so many tackles and that’s game speed. Against the scout team, they were all over it. But that’s the game speed. Georgia Tech knows how to run that offense and Paul does a great job with it. The best thing is, our guys didn’t panic, they just kept battling.
On when you got the ball back and were up 31 to 28, you gave the ball to Marquise and to rely on him in that last drive
He’s a 5th year senior. It means a lot to him and it means a lot to all those seniors. They know they’re running out of time. They came to Carolina to win a Championship, Quuise willed his way through that one. He took some licks. In fact there were a couple times where I was gonna call a pass, I suggested a pass in one of those situations and he said, "No, we’ll be alright," and he ran the ball and ran it well.
On winning in this fashion, being down early and coming back. What does this mean
It says a lot about this football team. We talk a lot about, with you guys, what happened last year and what we learned from that and how we addressed it and all those things. I think, these are the things that you’re seeing from all of that. The lessons that they learned, the ownership that they took in those issues and how they were gonna correct them. It’s them. It’s not me. It’s not the staff. It’s not the coaching, I assure you, it’s the our players. They are the guys that are getting it done. It will always be the players. They’re the ones that make it go.
On does this win feel like it could be a program changer
I hope so. I don’t know if it’s a turning point or us getting over the hump. I think we’ve been going in the right direction, so I don’t know if we’re turning. I think, maybe that gets us over the hump. There’s a lot of confidence in that locker room. They feel pretty good about themselves and they know we’ve still gotta long way to go. But, I’ll tell you what they’ll do, they’ll come to work next week with the same attitude that they have every week. And that’s one thing I can say about this team. Whether it was after South Carolina or any of the others, they all came to work the same way and that says a lot about em.
On the special teams issues
That’s a major concern. You know what we think about special teams and how much of an emphasis we put on it. I’m really concerned. I’m concerned about the opening kickoff that they got it out to the 35. We had two shanked punts. We’ve gotta do a much better job. I don’‘t know how many times they punted. They punted once, so with the punt return team, they didn’t get a lot of opportunities that way. Those other units gotta step up and we gotta do something. Their kicker kicked the ball outta the back of the end zone just about every time. The kickoff return team really didn’t get to do anything, so it just basically became your punt and kickoff team and we gotta do a much better job with our coverage units and our punting.
On the punting change. Was it a performance issue.
Anytime we change people, it’s a performance issue.
On the defensive depth chart’s contribution
First of all, I can’t really tell you what everybody’s contribution was during that kind of game. I know, that kind of game, it’s nasty up front. It’s a lot of cutting. A lot of double teams and a lot of veer blocking and you gotta be one tough sucker in there if you’re gonna be effective. All those kids bought in to being nasty and physical up front for us to be successful.
On the play of Cayson Collins
Cayson Collins in the last two weeks has made those plays for us. He’s finally understanding what kind of impact he can make, based on how he practices and he had a really good week of practice. And so, when you do those kind of things, good things usually happen. Sometimes the light doesn’t come on as quick as others. I think Cayson will see because of his week of practice, he was able to make really big plays out there. And hopefully he just keep doing that.
On Junior Gnonkonde, originally committed to Georgia Tech, what it it mean for him (today’s win)
Bo Hoo, it’s that right. Did you every get the spelling of that. He finally fessed up that that was his name. That was huge for him. That was a big play for him. I was kidding him, I said that big offensive lineman of theirs ran him down. He’s such a great kid. Too see him make a play in that situation like that, it was huge for this whole football team. That was the turning point in the game. That strip and getting that ball and returning that ball like they did and scoring on the next play.
