University of North Carolina Athletics
Coach Torbush Post-Game Quotes
November 5, 2000 | Football
Nov. 5, 2000
"We beat a good football team tonight. They've had a very good chance to win every game that they lost. They lost a game tonight like we lost a game (Virginia) last week. I think they had 400 yards of offense and threw the ball extremely well.
"I thought we threw the ball pretty well, we just didn't make the play at certain times.
"I want to give Walt Harris a great deal of credit. The improvement Pitt's made since we played them two years ago in Chapel Hill is phenomenal. He's done a great job. With their new facilities and new stadium, there's no reason they can't return to the power they were in the past.
"I'm very proud of our team for fighting through adversity. We had a lot of chances to lose the football game, but we kept fighting back.
"I didn't realize it would be as low scoring a game as it was. Pittsburgh plays very hard on defense, they give you a lot of different looks. They're very aggressive, they do some good things. I was very impressed at what they threw at us defensively.
"Willie Parker made some key runs for us. Being able to run the last couple of minutes off the clock was very big for us. Willie showed us some great quickness.
"I think we've got a good situation at tailback. We've got three good, young players. Anthony Saunders ran the ball well inside.
"We had a few good catches, but there were some catchable balls that we should have caught. I thought Ronald (Curry) was sharp at times, at other times he wasn't so sharp. The wind was a factor for both quarterbacks, depending on which way they were throwing.
"We did the things we needed to do to win the football game, and that's the most important thing.
"Defensively, we stopped the run pretty well. They tried to establish the run early, and I think we did a pretty good job of shutting that down.
"I thought overall our pressure up front was good. Julius (Peppers) made some big-time plays again. Our defensive backs were challenged. We put them on some islands, and they responded some and got beat some, but kept fighting back.
"I thought Coach Browning and Coach O'Cain and the staff did a great job preparing the football team. We came up here with a lot of confidence. We were relaxed and wanted to have fun.
"It's really good to see this team have some success. It's been a long time coming. We've still got a little light at the end of the tunnel.
"I thought our defense was like a tough boxer. They'd get knocked down, jump up and keep fighting. I take a great deal of pride in this team in fighting and winning a game that we had every chance to lose.
"It might have looked like we went into a prevent defense on Pitt's last drive, but we didn't. We zone blitzed quite a bit, they hit some out cuts, then hit a couple of big passes over the middle. I'll have to look at the film. I don't know how the coverage was but, no, we didn't go into a prevent defense.
"The trick play is a play we've been playing around with for about three weeks.
"We feel some relief. I may look kind of stoic, but I'm real happy. I try not to get too hot or too cold. This is just one game.
"If we can pull out our last two games, you'll see me happier than I am tonight."
