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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2018

Dino Babers

Greensboro, North Carolina

DINO BABERS: We're excited about having another opportunity to good on the road, try to get the monkey off our back, so to speak, to try to find a way to get a win. We understand that we haven't won at Wake Forest since I've been the head coach, and Coach Clawson does a fantastic job. Those guys are 2-0 against us, and we're looking forward to going down there and playing the contest.

Questions?

Q. Outside of the very tight game you played with Clemson, it seems like that program has maybe pulled away from the rest of the ACC. Do you think that's a fair characterization, and how do you see it?
DINO BABERS: Well, I just think that we have a very, very good league, and there's no doubt that Clemson has been fantastic for a long period of time. But I think in our league, if you get the right -- you play the right team at the right venue that there's always a chance that you could stub your toe.

Q. I just wanted to see if you had an update on how Chris Fredrick and Ifeatu Melifonwu were doing?
DINO BABERS: Both of those guys, not yet. We're going to see. They're both banged up. I don't know how it's going to look like at the end of the week.

Q. And then just to kind of follow up, a question on the pass defense. Obviously NC State has some really, really good players in Harmon and the rest of those receivers. I'm curious when you look at their success this weekend, how much of it is just based on you guys playing a really, really good team, or did you see some things kind of within your defense that are kind of fixable and you're trying to address moving forward?
DINO BABERS: I think there's always time for improvement, not only on the defense but the special teams and the offense, as well. So we're always trying to get better. If we stay the same, if we stay at week 4 or week 6, we're not going to be able to accomplish the goals that we've set for this season. We're always trying to get better.

Q. How much of a factor has Eric been in helping you instill a culture that you want to instill in the program?
DINO BABERS: I don't think it's just Eric. I think it's all our seniors. When you're recruited by one head coach and then he leaves and you have to play for another, I think it's important that you get the senior leadership and the older guys on the football team, as many as you can, to buy in, because they will help you to establish the culture. And I think his class along with other people in his class have helped us to do that.

Q. But he's been an exemplary leader, has he not?
DINO BABERS: Yes, he has.

Q. Is there any aspect of your team that has been better than you thought it was going to be this season, any aspect that you were kind of concerned about going into the year that's been a pleasant surprise for you?
DINO BABERS: Well, you're always concerned about your special teams. I really feel like our special teams have overshot the mark. They've raised the bar on what my expectations were, and now I'm not going to lower them again. I think that Coach Lustig, our special teams coordinator, does a fantastic job, and I'm really happy with the results so far this season.

Q. In terms of what, what part of the special teams has really caught your attention?
DINO BABERS: All of them. We're really good at all of them.

Q. What does becoming bowl eligible mean to you, all the hard work that you've been in at Syracuse over the years?
DINO BABERS: Well, I don't even look at it for myself, I look at it for the football family. I think you're going to get some young men that have been here four and five years have never gone to a bowl game, they've never had a winning season, for them to get that monkey off their back and have an opportunity to not only leave major college football as a winner for one of their seasons, and then to have the opportunity to experience the things that go on in bowl games, I think that those two things will be something that they'll be able to cherish the rest of their lives, and that's the thing that makes me the most excited about getting to that sixth win.

Q. Talk about Wake Forest's run offense. How are you going to stop that Saturday?
DINO BABERS: Well, hopefully we're going to be able to tackle that running back. I think any time it comes to stopping the run, I think you need to tackle well, and I think that in the times that we have not been able to do that, missed tackles has a lot to do -- a lot to say with what kind of results you have and whether you're positive or negative in stopping someone's running game.

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