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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 18, 2017

Mark Richt

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We now welcome Miami head coach Mark Richt.

COACH RICHT: We know we've got a great challenge this weekend with Syracuse. I can't imagine how excited and energized their program is right now after last week's victory. And we know we're in for quite a battle. We're looking forward to the challenge of it.

Q. When the monsoon hit Miami on Saturday in the third quarter, does that change your thinking when calling plays on offense and how?
COACH RICHT: Well, it did. I threw a screen pass. I thought that might be a simple thing to lay out there to the back but we ended up dropping that.

And then I ran a naked bootleg, because those types of plays start one direction and then you change direction. Sometimes you get defenders out of position when you do something like that.

You just -- you worry about throwing and catching, quite frankly. And we did make a nice catch on that little naked bootleg I was talking about.

But the rest of the time we were hoping to keep the ball on the ground, and we were able to. And we actually scored on a big run by keeping it on the ground, because it's really the safest way to move the ball down the field when it's tough to throw and catch.

Q. In watching Syracuse Friday night against Clemson, I saw a defense that attacks every play with athletes and speed at all positions. In watching film are you seeing the same thing?
COACH RICHT: Well, we saw it live, too. Our team on Friday night, the night before our game, we have our offense and defensive meetings after dinner and then we come back together for a little bit of a social time and some snacks, and we'll usually -- we'll have the big game of the week or at least the Friday night game.

Of course that was the big game. We were all watching it. And it was very evident that Syracuse's defense was extremely fired up to play that game and you're thinking well maybe it's just this one against Clemson.

But when you start looking at the tape of all the games, it's the same thing. Fast, physical guys that are relentless in their effort and that's what great defenses are made of.

Q. Coming off those last two comeback, close wins there, is that indicative to you that your team has a certain something that has the ability to win close games, or do you look at it and say that's just a good play? Is there something that can be read more into that?
COACH RICHT: We certainly haven't quit or given up when things look rough, that's for sure. And that's a good sign. But what does it mean for the rest of the season? I couldn't tell you.

It could be two great moments in a season that's average or it may be a springboard to something bigger. We've just got to keep playing every week and getting to where if you continue to win, then those two games become much more meaningful.

If you start getting your butt beat and then those things are just kind of wonderful moments in time but people forget about them.

Q. Has it given you a sense that is this team starting to become the team you had hoped it would be at the beginning of the season, five games in now is it more evident what you've got on your hands there?
COACH RICHT: I think when adverse situations come up, it reveals to you whether or not you have a strong team or not. And so I mean it's a good sign that when things were looking rough in the Florida State game, when things were looking rough in the Georgia Tech game, that no one quit. Nobody felt like, oh, we're out of it or started to point fingers at one side of the ball or the other.

That's a great sign. And sometimes you make the play and sometimes you don't. We were able to make the play two times at the moment of truth, and that's why we won those games, along with a lot of other plays, obviously. But it comes down to one play: Do we make it or not? We've made it. So now we've won two close games.

A year ago we had three close games, lost them all. This year we've had two close games. We've won them both. So hopefully that trend will continue.

Q. To look at the Syracuse offense, I know you made some mention in your opener, but just to speak on their ability to convert on fourth down, they're 65 percent efficient on fourth down at this point. What can you say about their offense and their efficiency on fourth down?
COACH RICHT: Well, first of all, you're not going to go for it on fourth down unless you believe in what you're doing. And you may start the season being aggressive, but if you don't convert the fourth downs, after a while it loses its luster. You might lose field position or you've given up the ball in a spot where maybe you don't want to give it up. You lose momentum if you don't make it.

But because of the high level of success, they're encouraged to do it more and more. And usually third down is your possession down, but if you know you've got more one in your back pocket, you may change how you call third down.

If you know, hey, I'm willing to go for it on fourth down, it changes what you call on third down to put yourself in position for a more manageable fourth down.

Q. And as far as the defensive improvement for Syracuse under Dino Babers, what can you say you've seen from their defense on film and what they've been able to do this season so far?
COACH RICHT: First of all, a 14-point differential, and I'm talking about how many points per game they gave up a year ago to how many they're giving up a game on average at this point of the season.

Two touchdown differences is huge. It's big. And it's not happening on accident. It's happening because guys are playing very aggressively. There's a lot of man coverage, a lot of situations where they say, hey, this is your guy, whip him. You know? And if you're able to do that on the perimeter against your receivers, then you actually buy another defender in the box to stop the run.

And so that's how they're playing a lot of their first and second downs and they've been very successful with it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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