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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 2, 2011

Jimbo Fisher

MIKE FINN: We now welcome Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher. We'll bring on coach, ask for a brief opening statement, then go to questions.
COACH FISHER: Very pleased with our team's performance last week at North Carolina State. I thought our defense played extremely well, made a lot of improvements. Offense and defense did a nice job. We're continuing to grow as a team. Some of our younger guys are really learning what preparation means. Hopefully we can do it on a short turnaround this week as we head up to Boston College.
They're a well-coached team, tough place to play. We're going to have to bring our A game to play on the road on such a quick turnaround.
MIKE FINN: Questions for Coach Fisher.

Q. What has been the biggest difference between the three-game losing streak and the three-game winning streak?
COACH FISHER: We're executing. We're keeping our poise. I think we got our leader back. Our kids feel very comfortable, can control a lot of things, fix a lot of things. Our kids are gaining confidence. Some of those young guys are learning the power of preparation. It's not just a one-day thing, it's an all-week thing. We're continuing to grow in a lot of little areas.

Q. What is it about E.J. that has had such a dramatic impact?
COACH FISHER: A whole combination. He's a leader. He's a leader off and on the field. He understands our offense. He makes the guys around him better. His physical skills bring a certain level of talent to the field. He's executing right now. He's in a good groove where he's playing well and he's building confidence, they're building confidence in all of our phases.

Q. How does your practice week differ when you're preparing for a midweek game after playing Saturday?
COACH FISHER: It's a lot different. There's not a lot of time to put things in, do a lot of changing.
The big thing is you have to have your kids be careful not to physically drain them because of how physical the last game was, the recovery time that's needed. The mental strain of coming off a game, how you quickly have to turn that around, be able to execute.
There were quite a few areas that we changed. Sunday was complete walk-through. We ran, but we did no physical contact. Monday was a little tougher than a normal Monday, almost like a Tuesday. Yesterday was more like a Thursday with a little extended thing. We had to be very careful on how we did that.

Q. Does it motivate your team any more when you come off such a good performance?
COACH FISHER: You hope it does. One week doesn't always carry over. We played well last week because we prepared well and practiced well. I felt we practiced well this week on the short week. Hopefully we'll play well again.
I don't like for them to feed off of that. You feed off of what you did well, correct what you did wrong each week. It goes bad, you say, What did they feed off of? Each week is different and I think our guys understand that.

Q. You mentioned E.J. being in a groove. What have you noticed that contributed to that groove of late?
COACH FISHER: I think it's just his confidence level. He's understanding what we're trying to do. The guys around him are playing well. He's able to execute. He's seeing things. He's asking the right questions, doing the right things. I think he and I understand what each other want, where we're going. That relationship continues to grow. As he makes plays, his confidence grows.

Q. Coach, in your experience, everybody likes the home-field advantage, is it more of a home field on Thursday night games because of the national exposure, the atmosphere?
COACH FISHER: I think that's part of it. I don't think that hurts it. The other team has to travel a day early. I think it makes a difference because we're traveling today, where they're resting. One team has to travel, one team has to be home. That's just the way it is.
It doesn't hurt that it's Thursday night, national TV. Kids get pumped up to play on national TV, no doubt.

Q. Do you like playing Thursday night, even if it has to be on the road?
COACH FISHER: I'm okay with it. We do it. It's part of it. I'd prefer to play on Saturdays. But it doesn't matter. That's what we have to do so we do it.

Q. Will Muschamp, he's in his first year, things aren't going well. What do you imagine the past must have been like for him?
COACH FISHER: I've been so caught up in myself. Will is a great coach. He'll do a great job. He knows how to fix things. He will. Like I say, I haven't got a chance to see him. He'll bring them around and they'll be a good football team when the year ends, I promise you that. Like any coach, there's ups and downs. He's handled it, he's been there, I think he'll do a good job with it.

Q. Do you feel like you're playing your best football now or do you hope it's still yet to come?
COACH FISHER: I think it's still yet to come. We have a lot of room for improvement. We have a lot of young guys. Lines are starting to grow together hopefully a little bit. We're playing better, but I don't think we're anywhere close to where we need to be and can be.
MIKE FINN: Coach, thanks for being with us. Good luck tomorrow night. We'll be talking to you next Wednesday.
COACH FISHER: Thank you very much.
MIKE FINN: This concludes today's ACC football coaches teleconference. Please join us next Wednesday for another edition of the ACC football coaches teleconference.

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