University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
September 7, 2013 | Football
North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora
Opening Statement
Good to get a win, especially here in the Tar Pit in front of our fans. Our players deserved to have some fun today. We work extremely hard. We talk about it, we're going to outwork people and you get to have the opportunity to have fun on Saturdays, and that's what you've got to do. No matter what happens, we've got to play the game one way. I thought there were a lot of times today that we were playing the type of ball that we want to play, and then there were times we didn't. We've got a lot to correct. We've got a lot of room for improvement in all three phases. All three phases. But there were some really bright spots out there today.
On the passing game
No doubt about it. That's who we are. You push the ball down the field a little bit more, make some plays, make some explosive plays. I thought we were much better in that area of the game today. I know it hard to be hard on Blake [Anderson] with the plays calls because you just never felt like you got into any type of rhythm on offense, and a lot of that is because we didn't run the ball effectively today.
On Middle Tennessee's first drive
The main thing is we just settled down after the first drive. It was huge getting that turnover down there in the end zone on the first drive. They go 78 yards, they march it all the way down the field, get it down on to the one or two and don't get it in, and we get the ball back. So that's huge. I thought our defense, especially in the first half, really, really played really well.
On defense today
I think our guys did a nice job of hitting. I thought they did a nice job of wrapping up. We did a much better job of tackling today. I think the emphasis of the coaches in practice, the kids bought into it. They created some takeaways, and some of those were in the air, and that was a great thing.
On the bye week before Georgia Tech
I hope so. I hope it helps. We had it last year, and we weren't successful with it. But we're going to try to make the most of it, and we're going to try to get as many reps as we possibly can and get ready for our first conference opener.
North Carolina Players
Bryn Renner • QB,
Senior
On if the playbook was more open today
We had the same stuff in for the game this week, but I think we executed a lot better. Converting on third down, I think we did a great job. Obviously in the score zone we did a fairly good job, so I think we just executed a little more today. But nothing different in the package.
On if winning today helped the team move on from the South Carolina game
Oh, definitely. It's a lot better to win. It was good to come back home and have our home crowd here and get the victory. It helped us get the bad taste out of our mouths.
A.J. Blue • TB, Senior
On the running game
We just tried to set the edge. Romar [Morris] is a really fast guy, so we set the edge and he got that 26-yard run which was great. They put me in to just wear the defense down. That's what I do. I take pride in doing it. Then we put Romar and Khris [Francis] back in there to slash them. So we just took pride in doing that.
Kareem Martin • DE, Senior
On what the defense focused on in practice this week
Going into this game, one of the big things was tempo. We knew that they were an up-tempo team and could potentially hurt us, so just working with the coaches to get the assignments and get everyone lined up. The coaches put us in tough situations at practice and that really helped, because when we got to the game today it was a lot easier than what we were doing in practice.
On the defense's performance
There were definitely some good points in the game, but we definitely have a lot of stuff we still need to work on. The first drive, they came out and drove the ball down the field. That's something we can't have. We have to set the tone early, and that wasn't the right way to set it. We got the energy back when we stopped them, but we definitely have to come out harder than what we did.
Darius Lipford • B, Junior
On the focus going into the game
Definitely stopping the run. The coaches emphasized it the whole game. We knew that. We knew that they were going to throw the ball, but we all knew that they were going to continue to run the ball, to pound the ball...I felt like we did a pretty good job. We can always get better, [there were] little mistakes here and there, But overall I felt like it was a pretty good game.
Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening Statement
I told my team I was extremely proud of how they competed and how hard they played. I think that we were our own worst enemy today and [had] some self-inflicted wounds that we weren't able to overcome. We dropped two touchdown passes. We don't end up getting points on those two drives. The first drive of the game it looks like he is in there for a touchdown and they overturn it. We don't get any points, we throw an interception on that one.
Defensively I thought we played really good in the second half. First half we had a hard time getting off the field on third down. But as far as their competitiveness and the way they competed and how hard they played, I was really proud of the way they played. I told them that we have a good chance to be a good football team if we correct our mistakes and keep the same attitude and keep working.
On how the game would have changed if the touchdown in the first quarter wasn't overruled
You never know. That's one play that's early in the first half. There's still a lot of football to be played after that, but I think that the emotion of having a touchdown and then it taken away and you don't end up ultimately getting any points at all, I think it probably affected us a little bit maybe. We weren't very effective the next two possessions and two drives after that. He looked like he was in from my perspective. There's still a lot of football to be played after that.
On his opinion of Bryn Renner
I thought he was accurate, I thought he made some good throws. I thought he showed some toughness back there in the pocket. I thought he showed good poise and composure. I know he forced one and had the one interception there. He appears to be a good leader. I don't know that, but he appears to be a good leader on the field. I think he's really talented.
