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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 7, 2018

Larry Fedora

Greensboro, North Carolina

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora.

Coach, please give us an opening statement and then we'll take questions.

LARRY FEDORA: We're looking forward to a great game against one of our rivals that's just down the road, a team that's going to always be well prepared, a team that's going to get after you. We know that David Cutcliffe and staff will do a great job in preparation.

Q. I'm trying to collect the childhood athletic idols of the area coaches, was wondering who yours was and why?
LARRY FEDORA: Roger Staubach and Drew Pearson. I grew up in Texas, diehard Cowboys fan, just idolized those guys back then.

Q. Obviously you had some flux to deal with at the beginning of the year with the guys coming in out of being eligible. How much of the way you're playing right now is what you envisioned in terms of the style, and how much have you had to alter things based on what's worked and not worked for you this year?
LARRY FEDORA: We've had to alter quite a bit actually. I mean, but that's year in and year out. You have to alter for injuries. You have to alter for guys that are in and out of the lineup, for whatever reason. We've had to do that quite a bit.

But that's something that you have to do every single year. I think when we have our whole team together and our whole team playing, we have a chance to be really good. We can do the things that we like to do. When we don't, we have to adjust. We have to have other guys step up and make plays for us.

Q. How much would you say having to adjust and not being full, how much has that contributed to maybe slowing the development of where you could be right now?
LARRY FEDORA: I'm sure it's played a big part in that. I don't know how to tell you what -- I don't know how to put a number on it or anything like that. I would just say it's played a major part in it.

Q. Defensively how do you get your team back to the team that held Virginia Tech to 22 points? What do you tell your team to reach that level again?
LARRY FEDORA: One, you have to put last week's game completely away. Everything that you did in preparation for the triple option, there's no carryover whatsoever, so you have to go back to your base, what you've done before.

You get your guys as fresh as possible. You put a game plan in. You play hard. You do your job. That's what it takes.

Q. What did your team do particularly well in that game that was not the case the last three games defensively?
LARRY FEDORA: Well, the things that were good in that game have been good all along. We've got to do a great job of stopping the run. I mean, that's the key to it always. It starts there. That means the tackles for loss that you get in early downs are critical. You have to create as many third-and-longs as possible. You have to keep a team behind the chains. I would say our first down efficiency has to be really good.

Q. All programs start with the goal of getting to the conference championship game. When that goal can no longer be realized, is there a problem getting your players focused and motivated at practice?
LARRY FEDORA: I would say, and I can only talk about our team, there hasn't been with our team. I think our guys take a lot of pride in what they do. I think they care about each other. I think they love each other. I think they want to win for each other.

I don't think we've had an issue whatsoever as far as their morale or their motivation to play. Every guy has a why. I think these guys, it's obvious by the way they play. They play hard and they fight and they scratch. They don't believe they're ever out of the fight.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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