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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 19, 2018

Dino Babers

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Syracuse head coach Dino Babers. Coach, please give us an opening statement, then we'll take questions.

DINO BABERS: We're just really excited to be having an opportunity to play the Huskies here on Saturday. We know Coach Edsall has been doing a good job, even though they're a young crew. We're excited about having an opportunity to line up and play against an old Big East rival.

Q. At this point in the season, did you have benchmarks, things that you wanted to see and learn about your team through the first few ballgames? If so, how has your team lived up to those?
DINO BABERS: I think one of the benchmarks you want to see if your team can fight through some adversity. Obviously we had adversity in the third quarter of the first game. We handled that, handled it very well in the fourth quarter of that game. That was always good to see.

There were some major things that we needed to clean up from game one to game two. I thought the defensive squad did a really fine job of cleaning that up, as well.

There were some things we really wanted to work on in game three. I thought that the defensive line rallied and came back from that and did a fine job getting after the pass-rusher in game three.

We do have some things we take from game to game. A lot of that stuff stays internal, but they have answered the bell every time we've asked them to improve in that area.

Q. Have there been any surprises in terms of what you thought the identity, the strengths and weaknesses, of the offense and defense would be? Anything that is different than you maybe projected?
DINO BABERS: No, not really. I think we have a really good quarterback. I think that the strengths of our football team is our offensive line and our defensive line. I think that's still the case.

Q. Talk about playing against UConn, what you see on their offense, in the 2.0?
DINO BABERS: I see a young football team with a quarterback that looks like a young Eric Dungey. This guy can create plays with his leg, he can run past DBs once he gets in the secondary, he has the ability to throw the football, touch all parts of the football field. You put an explosive players like that, get into a spread offense, give him some grass to operate, you never know what the heck is going to happen. I believe he has two games where he rushed over a hundred yards. He's the leading rusher on that team, which is similar to what's going on here at Syracuse.

We understand that they have a very explosive offense, they're really young on defense, but those guys are going to grow up someday. I know Coach Edsall is a fantastic coach. Went against him when he was at the University of Maryland. I was at Bowling Green State. I know what kind of job he's doing, they're going to be really, really good in years to come.

Q. Talk about your backup quarterback coming in, talk about his development. What is it like having somebody on the bench you could actually pull in if Eric gets injured again?
DINO BABERS: Obviously we're excited to see his development. The first game I would say, if it was credit, no credit, probably would have been no credit in the classroom. I thought the second game was definitely a credit situation. I think this last game, he's been above average.

I thought as he plays, he gets better, that's always exciting to see. We're excited to have somebody like that behind Eric.

Q. On Tommy, looking back at the Florida State film, are there one or two smaller things you took away, tried to work with him on this week?
DINO BABERS: We normally work -- I wouldn't say we've tried to work with him individually on anything. I thought that he did a nice job of throwing the ball away, which is normally when you get someone that age, they want to make a play.

He is very cerebral. He saw that certain guys were covered, he really didn't have anything there, he threw the ball away, which is advanced beyond his years. He also made the rookie mistake of throwing the ball away when he broke the pocket, not throwing, get it past the line of scrimmage, got a penalty called on us for the ball not passing the line of scrimmage.

He's developing. He's on pace. I think we're happy that we got him.

Q. (Indiscernible), watching him since he got here, it's very clear he's pretty fiery on the field. How do you try to channel that? What is your perspective on his in-game demeanor?
DINO BABERS: I think the biggest thing is it's a fiery game, you need to play with emotion, but your emotion needs to be controlled so you don't hurt the family.

Q. You mentioned having to clean up some things defensively after the opener. At least statistically you have gotten so much better against the rush. What has been the key these last two weeks?
DINO BABERS: I just think that the defense is really doing a nice job of getting in their fits. The big guys up front are doing a fantastic job of canceling their gaps. The safeties are coming in and making the tackles that they need to make in space.

I think while you're doing those things, it's going to give you a chance to have a good rushing defense.

Q. Your postgame the other day went a little viral on Twitter. Have you gone back and looked at the tape of that? How would you evaluate your performance?
DINO BABERS: No, I have not gone back and looked at the tape on that. I have looked at the Connecticut Huskies. We're just trying to find a way to win a football game so that we can be happy like we were last Saturday and not sad.

Q. This week the ACC and CFP are celebrating Extra Yard for Teachers. Can you give us an idea what role teachers played in your life, how they impacted your life?
DINO BABERS: First of all, if I wasn't a coach, I'd be a teacher. My degree is in teaching. For the most part they're almost like stepdads and stepmoms some of the times with the issues that you have, especially with me being a high school teacher, being a secondary education major.

But I just think their roles are bigger than what people really believe. I think one of the greatest injustices in our great nation is the salaries that those people get paid. Not only do they raise their own children, they have a tendency of raising other children, as well.

Q. On the secondary, what you can say about what they've done through the first three games, the depth that has been created there, what you see from them on film?
DINO BABERS: I'm seeing a well-coached unit. I'm seeing guys that after the first game, they're not letting balls get behind their head. I think back to a play in the Florida State game where they attempted a double pass, and our veteran corner actually bit on it where they were going to have an opportunity, our freshman free safety swooped across the middle of the field, got in front of the receiver, deterring the Florida State guy making an attempt on the football.

It was things like that that they were not doing in the first game that are showing up in the second and third game that are solidifying the defense we're playing back there right now.

Q. A lot of the guys, 68 guys, came back from those '90s teams. You spoke about Joe Morris coming back. What is the importance for you as a head coach to reach back out to the players that have been a part of the positive history, what they can do for your current players, help spread your message?
DINO BABERS: There's no doubt those guys are a part of it. We're a big family up here at Syracuse. All they did was win for three years. They were winners. That's something that we're striving very desperately to be this year.

To have an opportunity to have those guys come back, interact with our football players, for them to be able to stand on the sideline and root for us in a game like that, for us to have the blessings of coming out victorious, it was a really, really good day.

It was a good feeling as a head coach to be able to think that at least we put a good foot forward in front of some guys that not only have been very successful in private business, but a bunch of guys in that group that have done very well in professional football.

It was a proud moment. Luckily we could give them something to smile about and to continue all the good cheer they had going on the night before and into that last night.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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