CHAPEL HILL - UNC football coach Larry Fedora met with the media following Saturday's 50-14 win over Wake Forest. Here is what the coach had to say:
Coach Fedora:
Great win for our team tonight and a great overall team effort in all three phases again, against an in state opponent. Our guys are playing well right now, they feel good about themselves as a team; the chemistry, the love they have for each other; it’s fun to coach this team.
On what you were thinking at the end of the first quarter when it was 7 - 0.
We had a couple of things happen there that didn’t go our way. We had a ball batted at the line of scrimmage on the second pass that was intercepted. The first one was just a missed read and miss-communication. I told them, hey guys, don’t panic, just play. We knew going into the game that they were going to create some issues for us with as much blitzing as they did. So we knew they were gonna hit us with some things and we knew that and we had talked about that; not get frustrated. They might put us behind the chains a few times, just play and we’d be OK and that’s what the guys did.
On you gaining 350 yards on first downs, what was the key to that.
We made some explosive plays. We had quite a few explosive plays tonight. You had 59 plays tonight and 50 points. We didn’t have the ball very much, 22 minutes I think. So, they are pretty explosive plays.
On the explanation you got on the Switzer punt return that wasn’t?
Referee said he saw a fair catch. So that’s what is was. I mean, what are you going to say.
On shouldn’t it have been a penalty for interference?
That’s a good question.
On what you saw from Marquise on the sidelines after the 2nd interception?
He was good. I mean, he didn’t want it to happen. I said don’t get frustrated, it’s fine, we’ll be OK and he didn’t. He did a good job of just staying pretty even keel all the way through the game, which shows his maturity and where he’s at as a quarterback and again, I’m pleased with the way he’s playing.
On Elijah (Hood) having only 8 carries for over 100 yards; he has three 100 games against power 5 opponents
We are happy with the way Elijah plays the game. He plays hard, runs hard. He does a great job in protection. You ask anybody on the team, he’s just a great teammate. He doesn’t care if he carries the ball, he just wants to win.
On Mack Hollins being back making big plays for you again
That’s one of the reasons we were so explosive tonight. Mack’s out there and he’s feeling good and he’s comfortable. Quise feels good about what he’s doing when he calls his number. Mack’s always shown that he can make big plays.
On Mack not being 100% and how that affected the him
Early in the year, early. He’s felt pretty good since probably Delaware. Early on, it affected him.
On how do you assess the play of the defensive front with all the injuries, especially Jalen Dalton?
Jalen got his first experience tonight, so that was awesome for him. We had quite a few guys on defense that weren’t out there today. I thought the guys that played in their spots did a heck of a job. The rest of the guys around them did a great job rallying around them; you got my back, I got your back. All the guys just rallied and they play well together.
On what was the keys to getting those explosive plays against their defense. Was it the blitzing?
Some of it was blitzing. Some of them were just, Mack is a great athlete and he can really run. But some of them were blitzing.
On what you liked about Jalen Dalton?
I like first of all, just getting out there under the lights. He played hard. I don’t think he probably played a tremendous game, but he played really hard and made some plays. He gave us something we didn’t have and we needed him. I’m pretty proud of what he did.
On all of the touchdown drives but one, the drives were shorter that 2 minutes
They love it. They love scoring quick. It makes it harder on your defense, I think they were out there for 37 minutes tonight, so it makes it tougher on the defense when you score so quick, but I don’t think the defense gets too upset about it.
On how impressive was Junior Gnonkonde tonight
He played really well tonight. That was obvious, without me looking at the film. I saw his number making a lot of plays tonight.
On did any other true freshmen play tonight, other that Jalen Dalton
Not that I’m aware of.
On the play of the secondary, especially being short handed
I thought they did a really good job. Malik Simmons came in and was really comfortable and coming out of camp, Malik was kinda the guy that was the starter would have been, so, I thought he played really well. There was no panic in him at all. He was ready to step into the roll and do what he needed to do and the rest of the defense felt comfortable with him being back there. I thought all those guys played well.
On what is the "Pitt" sticker on your jacket signify?
Jeff Naples was the Video Director at Oklahoma State University and he was a good friend of mine. Gunter Brewer and I both worked with him and he just passed away from pancreatic cancer two weeks ago. I just wore it to honor him. His name was Jeff Naples, but he went by "Pitt" because he was from Pittsburgh.
Coach Fedora:
Great win for our team tonight and a great overall team effort in all three phases again, against an in state opponent. Our guys are playing well right now, they feel good about themselves as a team; the chemistry, the love they have for each other; it’s fun to coach this team.
On what you were thinking at the end of the first quarter when it was 7 - 0.
We had a couple of things happen there that didn’t go our way. We had a ball batted at the line of scrimmage on the second pass that was intercepted. The first one was just a missed read and miss-communication. I told them, hey guys, don’t panic, just play. We knew going into the game that they were going to create some issues for us with as much blitzing as they did. So we knew they were gonna hit us with some things and we knew that and we had talked about that; not get frustrated. They might put us behind the chains a few times, just play and we’d be OK and that’s what the guys did.
On you gaining 350 yards on first downs, what was the key to that.
We made some explosive plays. We had quite a few explosive plays tonight. You had 59 plays tonight and 50 points. We didn’t have the ball very much, 22 minutes I think. So, they are pretty explosive plays.
On the explanation you got on the Switzer punt return that wasn’t?
Referee said he saw a fair catch. So that’s what is was. I mean, what are you going to say.
On shouldn’t it have been a penalty for interference?
That’s a good question.
On what you saw from Marquise on the sidelines after the 2nd interception?
He was good. I mean, he didn’t want it to happen. I said don’t get frustrated, it’s fine, we’ll be OK and he didn’t. He did a good job of just staying pretty even keel all the way through the game, which shows his maturity and where he’s at as a quarterback and again, I’m pleased with the way he’s playing.
On Elijah (Hood) having only 8 carries for over 100 yards; he has three 100 games against power 5 opponents
We are happy with the way Elijah plays the game. He plays hard, runs hard. He does a great job in protection. You ask anybody on the team, he’s just a great teammate. He doesn’t care if he carries the ball, he just wants to win.
On Mack Hollins being back making big plays for you again
That’s one of the reasons we were so explosive tonight. Mack’s out there and he’s feeling good and he’s comfortable. Quise feels good about what he’s doing when he calls his number. Mack’s always shown that he can make big plays.
On Mack not being 100% and how that affected the him
Early in the year, early. He’s felt pretty good since probably Delaware. Early on, it affected him.
On how do you assess the play of the defensive front with all the injuries, especially Jalen Dalton?
Jalen got his first experience tonight, so that was awesome for him. We had quite a few guys on defense that weren’t out there today. I thought the guys that played in their spots did a heck of a job. The rest of the guys around them did a great job rallying around them; you got my back, I got your back. All the guys just rallied and they play well together.
On what was the keys to getting those explosive plays against their defense. Was it the blitzing?
Some of it was blitzing. Some of them were just, Mack is a great athlete and he can really run. But some of them were blitzing.
On what you liked about Jalen Dalton?
I like first of all, just getting out there under the lights. He played hard. I don’t think he probably played a tremendous game, but he played really hard and made some plays. He gave us something we didn’t have and we needed him. I’m pretty proud of what he did.
On all of the touchdown drives but one, the drives were shorter that 2 minutes
They love it. They love scoring quick. It makes it harder on your defense, I think they were out there for 37 minutes tonight, so it makes it tougher on the defense when you score so quick, but I don’t think the defense gets too upset about it.
On how impressive was Junior Gnonkonde tonight
He played really well tonight. That was obvious, without me looking at the film. I saw his number making a lot of plays tonight.
On did any other true freshmen play tonight, other that Jalen Dalton
Not that I’m aware of.
On the play of the secondary, especially being short handed
I thought they did a really good job. Malik Simmons came in and was really comfortable and coming out of camp, Malik was kinda the guy that was the starter would have been, so, I thought he played really well. There was no panic in him at all. He was ready to step into the roll and do what he needed to do and the rest of the defense felt comfortable with him being back there. I thought all those guys played well.
On what is the "Pitt" sticker on your jacket signify?
Jeff Naples was the Video Director at Oklahoma State University and he was a good friend of mine. Gunter Brewer and I both worked with him and he just passed away from pancreatic cancer two weeks ago. I just wore it to honor him. His name was Jeff Naples, but he went by "Pitt" because he was from Pittsburgh.
