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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 9, 2016

Larry Fedora

Greensboro, North Carolina

LARRY FEDORA: I think we've had a short week after a very physical game this past Saturday. I think our guys have handled the short week well. We will hopefully be mentally and physically prepared and ready to go Thursday night. We know we've got a tough task playing on the road at a Coastal Division rival in Duke.

Q. What have you liked most about your team's play during this winning streak?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, I'll tell you what I've liked most is just the way we've prepared. I mean, I think what it boils down to is how we practice on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Our guys are really practicing at a very consistent level with the way they approach practice each and every day, and I think our preparation is the key and the reason why we're playing well.

Q. There's been an outcry over the redesigned Victory Bell. Did you have any say on the redesign?
LARRY FEDORA: No, I didn't. I didn't have any. It caught me by surprise.

Q. What do you think about it?
LARRY FEDORA: Why do you want to do me like that?

Q. Because there are petitions that have been started asking for it to go back to the way it used to be. I figured I'd ask you for a comment.
LARRY FEDORA: You know, I'll tell you what; Bubba and I have talked. Bubba has got his thoughts on it, and I've got mine. But I think, first of all, everything he does, he does for the love of UNC and doing things for this program and for the entire athletic department, and I think Bubba will come around. I really do.

Q. So with this redesign, if you could clarify for me, does this mean that the bell doesn't get spray painted anymore?
LARRY FEDORA: I don't know that answer. I don't know what that means. It looks pretty. Whoever did the painting did a nice job.

Q. I just wanted to know if some of your players might come equipped with spray paint on Thursday night.
LARRY FEDORA: I hope not. We don't want to take any spray cans over to their field or anything like that. I think what we need to do is just really focus on winning a football game, and I think all the rest of it'll take care of itself in the long run.

Q. I was wondering from a grading of the Georgia Tech game, was that as well as you've protected your quarterback this season?
LARRY FEDORA: You know what, probably as a whole from the offensive line, running backs, tight ends are involved in protection sometimes, I would say yes. I think he felt very, very comfortable back there.

Q. Since he's come back from his injury, Elijah Hood has seemed to be really at the top of his game. Can you talk about what he's meant to your offense?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, he brings a whole 'nother dimension that we were missing. I mean, and he is, he's probably as close to 100 percent as he was back in training camp, and that was the -- I would say going into this past week against Tech, that's when he started feeling that way, and I think it was -- you were able to see that in the game. It brings another dimension to us that we really need.

Q. I talked to Naz Jones the other day, and he basically said, we're praying for Georgia Tech or somebody else to beat Virginia Tech for us. I'm wondering if you feel that sentiment from the players, hoping for something to happen so that you guys can get your way to Orlando?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, I don't think there's any doubt that they feel that way, and you know, any time it's brought up, all I do is just, hey, guys, all we can do is handle what we can take care of, and so we need to make sure we take care of this game that we've been focused on this week. We can't worry about the rest of it. It's out of our control, and whatever happens will happen.

That's just the way the game is. You don't get any do-overs, so you have to live with what you get. I mean, basically you get what you earn.

Q. Has there been any looking back for you in terms of things that could have gone differently or better for you in that game?
LARRY FEDORA: I mean, I'm pretty focused each week, and so I won't look back until this season is over with. Right now it's all about Duke.

Q. What do you see with the Blue Devils, what kind of team you're going to be facing, and what your concerns are.
LARRY FEDORA: Yeah, I mean, first of all, this is a rivalry game, and we're playing on the road in a short week. We've had a tough road schedule all year, and I know David Cutcliffe is going -- he's a great football coach, and he's going to have his guys prepared, and they're going to give us their best game. We know that. We anticipate that, and I hope that we will be able to give them our best game. They're going to -- they're very effective running the football, especially with the quarterback adds another dimension to them, and so they kind of outnumber you, and so that's always a problem. He throws the ball very efficiently. The tight ends are -- they get a lot of catches, so they create mismatches there.

Defensively they're probably blitzing more than they've ever had, and so they're going to be sound. They're going to be where they're supposed to be, and they're going to make their plays, and they're not going to beat themselves.

Q. What was your impression overall of Georgia Tech's defense? Obviously it wasn't their best game against you guys.
LARRY FEDORA: Yeah, I think we played really well in the game offensively. We were very, very efficient. Hood was back 100 percent, and he ran the ball really well, so that added something else to our game, which enabled everything to work in the passing game. I mean, but going into the game, we were worried about them. I mean, they had done a really good job of being in the right places, and we knew we were going to have to earn everything we got, and fortunately for us that day, we played really well.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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