University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes - NC State
November 29, 2014 | Football
North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora
Opening Statement:
“Let's give credit to their coaching staff and their players. They were better prepared and they played a better game [compared] to us today. They were better than we were. So I give that team a lot of credit. We didn't play near as well as we would have needed to play to win a game like that. It was disappointing.”
On how stunning this performance was after Duke:
“Stunning is a good word. It was very disappointing. I was very surprised, actually. But, it's what it was. No matter how you look at it, they dominated the line of scrimmage. It's like what we did a week ago; it was the exact opposite this week. It's hard to win a game when you don't win upfront.”
On looking ready to play:
“I thought we practiced well. I thought our guys were ready to play. But we didn't, we didn't play well at all.”
On what was said in the locker room after the game:
“I basically said the same thing I said to y'all. Give their staff and their players credit. They outplayed us. There is nothing much you can say about it. We talked about [how] we have to play with great energy to be successful. I'm happy that we have another one to send these seniors out the right way”
On not liking how the team responded:
“Offensively that was as probably as bad as I have been around actually.”
On when he realized something was off:
“At some point late in the first quarter when we weren't making anything happen offensively and [Marquise Williams] was getting hit every single time he threw the ball. They were running the ball at will. [Jacoby Brissett] had 9 or 10 passes on the game, or 11, and probably didn't have to throw those. It just wasn't there today.”
On the reason things went poorly up front:
“I really don't have a reason. To play this game, you have to play with passion, you've got to play with energy, you have to play with enthusiasm all the time. That's the only way you can do it, and for whatever reason we didn't have that today.”
On losing Marquise Williams to injury:
“I don't think you ever want to lose your starting quarterback in a game but I thought Mitch [Trubisky] came in, did decent with the time allowed. I know there is the one ball that he through up that we didn't need to throw but other than that he just started getting himself warmed up towards the end and was doing a nice job.”
Mitch Trubisky, QB, Fr.*
On stepping in for Marquise Williams:
“It's a tough situation to go into, standing on the sidelines the whole game to get called in. But you just do the best you can and try to run the offense. I wish I had one throw back. That pick I forced…[it was] easily avoidable but I have to learn from it. Learn from it and move forward.”
On if it feels good knowing that there is one more game to play:
“Yeah, we don't want to end on that kind of note, and we have an opportunity to get the sour taste out of our mouth. We'll find out where we are playing for our bowl game and prepare for that. The seniors have one more game, and we want to get that bowl game win for them.”
Landon Turner, G, Jr.
On the performance of the offensive line:
“That was definitely one of our worst games as an offensive line. It wasn't a lack of ability. I think it was more of a mental gap. We got in our own heads today.”
On if NC State did anything different defensively:
“No. We lost individual battles.”
On the mood of the locker room:
“I'm sure you can imagine what it is. Everyone is pretty upset and disappointed about this game, but moving forward…that's all we really can do. We're going to respond how I know we can respond. We're just going to pick ourselves up and get ready for the bowl game.”
Ethan Farmer, DT, Sr.
On the defense's inability to stop NC State on third down:
“There were just a couple mistakes that we had. We were flat the entire game, and we're going to learn from it.”
On why the team came out flat:
“It's a big-time game between both of us, NC State and us. Both of us don't like each other, but they just came ready to play today and they had more energy than we had. You could already tell through the half.”
On if the outcome was surprising considering the team's performance against Duke last week:
“It actually hurts. As a senior and the rest of the seniors that we have, it actually hurts a lot. That's going to sting us for the rest of our lives. We beat Duke, but that was in the past. We should have been worried about today's focus, and that was beating NC State, which we didn't. We came up short.”
On what his time at Carolina has meant to him:
“It's meant a lot. I grew up as a Carolina fan my whole entire life, and for it to be my last ever home game here…I've cherished it a lot. I've been through a lot of adversity, but I had a lot of great experiences and this is something I'll never forget.”
NC State Head Coach Dave Doeren
Opening Statement:
“Very, very proud of NC State Wolfpack football team and our coaching staff and our players and the preparation. For two games in a row, we've dominated an in-state opponent, and that's what it was – 388 yards rushing and held them to 30. It was a great performance, in all three phases, by a bunch of different people. We asked Jacoby [Brissett] to run the football today because we knew they'd have a problem with it, and he did a great job. Our ball control. Coach Canada and his staff – the way they formationed them and got them thinking, moving around, unsure of their fits, and the way our guys moved them off the ball. Even losing [Quinton] Schooley didn't change anything. Sometimes things are just right, and they were right today and for a lot of reasons. I'm really proud to be here for this win, the way it was won. It's a great springboard for our bowl preparation. Obviously we only get to play two in-state teams this year, so for our schedule we are state champions and proud to be that way. Moving forward, look forward to whoever we get to play, the different practices we'll have, the bounce that we'll have in recruiting. Like I've said all along, we are getting better, and we are moving towards where we want to be. And this is a blue collar school. This is a work ethic, hands-in-the-dirt school. It's an agricultural school. It's a textile school. It's an engineering school. It's founded by tough people, and that's what this football team will be. And that's what we were today. Very proud of the guys for representing NC State and the alumni the right way. Loved our game plan, and loved how it was executed.”
On being physical:
“That's what we expected. That's fundamental technique. We knew they would come out talking a lot, and we felt like if we could be physical and put our hands on them and get in gaps – there's a lot of different formational things that we thought if they held true we could take advantage of and did. But when you play a quarterback-run team, which they are, you have to get off blocks, and our D-line was great with their disruption. Coach Huxtable deserves a lot of credit. He had a lot of good things going on, especially when you talk about how fast you have to look at their offensive formations and to be able to check into certain movements. He did a phenomenal job today.”
On the offensive success:
“Our strength staff deserves some of it just because of the way we played for four quarters, but the game plan was to run the football and to keep their offense off the field and dominate the clock and finish drives. We knew play action would be hard for them after we got going and it was. Just had a lot of things that we felt if we were physical would work and we were. And that's credit to the kids for believing in the plan and to the coaches for putting it together.”
On quarterback Jacoby Brissett:
“It was funny. I talked to Jacoby… yesterday in my office... I said, there's two No. 12's playing in this game, and I think you're the best one. Why don't you go show everybody because that's all they've been talking about's the other guy.' And he said, 'I got you, Coach. I will.' And he did. He played his butt off today. I'm proud of him.”
