	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 22, 2016

Pat Narduzzi

Greensboro, North Carolina

COACH NARDUZZI: We're looking forward to a great final 12th game here at Heinz field on Saturday. Had a nice win against Duke last weekend. We've got 19 seniors are going to play their last game at Heinz Field, and I think it's a special day for them. They have put a lot of hard work into, really, this program and to the 2016 season.

So open it up for questions.

Q. What went so right in the Duke game that you guys were so much in control?
COACH NARDUZZI: I'm not sure. You never know going in. I think our kids played with a ton of energy. We talked about, really, bottling the energy that we had against Clemson. I really believe our guys live and learn each game, and I think they saw the mind-set, the energy, the emotion that went into the Clemson game. We tried to match that, and I think we did.

Duke is a great football team, as I told them. You look at the schedule, I told our guys before the game, after the game, they are a great football game. But when you play on all cylinders and you play with energy, that anything can happen. Our kids played hard. They played tough, and you know, we made a lot of plays that day.

Q. You get a different kind of test this week against Syracuse, who throws the ball as well as anybody in the country and they play an extremely high tempo. Can you talk about the test that that poses?
COACH NARDUZZI: Yeah, it certainly poses a gigantic test. I think they are 13th in the country in pass offense. They have got four electric receivers that are as good as any receivers that we've faced this year.

Unfortunately, you know, in games this year we played against two of them, one on the right and one on the left, but I think they have got four very talented receivers. You know, they have got two good quarterbacks. Dungey is a heck of quarterback, if he plays this weekend, and Zack Mahoney has come in and done some great things.

And Austin Wilson, another guy that's got a cannon arm right now. You look at him you and go, wow. He's going to be a great player, as well. He's a junior. So I'm not sure what's going on there.

But they have got an explosive offense. The proof is there. They are going to try to tempo; you're going to snap the ball anywhere between, we told our guys, seven seconds and 19 seconds.

So it will be a big test for our guys to not only stay fresh, stay locked in, get the call and execute. There's a lot of things that can happen in seven seconds and they have taken advantage of people. They want to not sub a whole lot and ^ get their guys going.

Q. To follow up on that, sense you already talked about the emotion aspect these last few weeks, is there anything from an execution standpoint that you're seeing better in these last two weeks to explain the success?
COACH NARDUZZI: I think there's always, you know, we talked about emotion, but I think there's always, you know, the benefits of executing and using your fundamentals and techniques that you need to. I think that's something to learn. We're playing with a lot of ^ young guys on defense. Seems like there's a new guy in there every week.

Offensively, I think we've executed all year and we're executing at a high rate right now, and people are struggling to stop us on that end and that makes it a little bit easier to play defense.

But I think, you know, the big thing is that we have been able to do really the last two weeks and most of the season, I would say, I would say we are in the Top-10 probably in rush defenses. You've got to be able to stop the run. We've been able to do that the last two weeks against a great Clemson team and a very, very good Duke football team.

Now we face a very, very talented, athletic Syracuse group that can run the ball but likes to throw it more than they like to run it. So they can do a little bit of both.

Q. Obviously it's a different coach on the other side this time around, but the Syracuse and Pitt rivalry, what it's meant to the history of football and what it means to this conference.
COACH NARDUZZI: It's a partnership of the old Big East and moving on to the ACC, and it's an old-time rivalry for sure, one that goes back for years and I'm not even sure how many years.

But it's been one of those rivalries like a West Virginia, Penn State type deal, that always comes down to the wire. We expect the same thing this weekend.

Q. I know you spoke a little bit about the team, but as far as the coaching and how you've seen Syracuse develop on film this year from what you've watched, what can you say about Dino as a coach and how much you know about what he's bringing in.
COACH NARDUZZI: I know a lot about Dino. We've followed him through the years. He's a great motivator. I'm a big fan of his post game rah-rah they had after the Virginia Tech win. I think most coaches would watch that, and I'd want to go play for him. He's an emotional guy and I really respect that.

He's a phenomenal football coach. He's a funny guy. I don't know him real well as far as a person but I look forward to getting to know him here in the ACC as the years go on.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297