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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 12, 2016

Larry Fedora

Greensboro, North Carolina

LARRY FEDORA: We're looking forward to getting back out on the field after a disappointing loss this last week and playing a very, very talented and well-coached football team down in Miami.

Q. To take a look at this game against Virginia Tech, just what you can say about what Justin Fuente is doing with that team and how he has that playing, just what you took away from the coach on the other side.
LARRY FEDORA: I think Justin is doing a great job with them. I think the kids made fewer mistakes than we did, and they capitalized on the mistakes that we made and therefore won the football game. I think he's doing a great job with his team. I think they're playing well in all three phases.

Q. And then as far as the upcoming game, just what you can say about an in-division rival in Miami and what you've taken away from Mark Richt and what he's doing and the culture he's building in Miami.
LARRY FEDORA: Yeah, there's a significant difference in last year's team and this year's team, and Mark has definitely stamped his imprint on this football team, and these guys have bought into what he's doing. They're playing well in all three phases of the game. They're very well-coached, and he's got them playing hard.

Q. I was just wondering about carryover from last Saturday; is it easier to put that game out of your mind and dismiss it because conditions were so flukey that it took away your passing game, which is obviously one of the strongest things? Is that easier to just put it away and dismiss and come out of than in a normal situation?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, if those things would have happened to us in a normal situation, I'd be pretty depressed. But it is what it is. You know, again, I'm not going to say that the weather caused the problems that we had. We just didn't handle the elements very well, and we've put it behind us and we're moving on, and hopefully we'll play much better than we did.

Q. I was looking at the three games in the triangle, and none of the six teams threw for 100 yards. Was it even possible to throw the ball successfully in those conditions?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, you know, nobody did it that day, so I don't know. I really don't know. I would have thought so going into it, but evidently we didn't have -- we didn't have success doing it.

Q. You don't think there's a carryover from Mitch, he threw his first interceptions of his career, and he had been so successful that -- you're not worried about a bounce-back, are you?
LARRY FEDORA: No, I expect him to come out and play well just like he has the other weeks, and he'll learn from the things that happened in that game. He's a very level-headed kid. I don't think you're going to see any panic in him.

Q. I'm sure given those conditions that not having Elijah out there was not exactly an ideal scenario, either. What's his status for this week, and going forward, how important is it to kind of get him healthy and get him involved routinely in the offensive game plan?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, it's always important that we get him involved. I mean, he's obviously a force to be reckoned with. We definitely need to get him involved in the game plan and get him rolling.

I expect him to play. He's practiced this week and done well and had no issues.

Q. Talk about Miami's defense; they only gave up 12.8 points a game, and last week they had a tough loss to Florida State, their rival. Just talk about their defense. They've got a lot of underclassmen, are pretty good, like Shaq who's the freshman linebacker. What do you see on their defense?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, I think Mark and Manny have them playing really well together. I mean, that's one thing. They're very deep up front in their defensive line. They're young at linebacker but talented, and he's got them -- he does a mixture of things with his defense that can create some issues for a football team, and so I think he's got them playing really well. They believe in what they're doing. They've bought into it, and he's set a new standard for them.

Q. Have you seen a difference in Brad Kaaya this year compared to last year? Do you see a lot of improvement on his side?
LARRY FEDORA: I do. I think he's a very talented young man, and I think he gets better every week that he plays. I mean, I think as he gets more comfortable with the system that Mark has implemented, he'll even be better and better.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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