University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes - SDSU
September 7, 2014 | Football
Postgame Quotes • UNC 31, San Diego State 27
September 6, 2014
North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora
Opening Statement:
"What a game. First of all I wanted to congratulate the crowd, our student section, and the Tar Pit. That was an unbelievable atmosphere. They did a tremendous job throughout the entire game. Our guys fed off of that the entire game. We needed every single person that was in the stands. As much yelling as they did, I know they are worn out just like our guys are worn out. So I really appreciate the effort they gave tonight with that atmosphere. With that being said, we got a win. That's about all I can say. We will learn a lot of things from this game. We made enough mistakes to lose the game, but we made enough plays to win the game. That's all it boiled down to. Our guys made plays when we had to make plays. So I give our team credit for how they persevered throughout the entire game. They were positive. We had great energy on that sideline. There were a lot of guys who were frustrated but they fought and fought until they got it done. But we won the game."
On the difference in the game:
"We didn't play good defense. We didn't play good on offense. We were just very, very average in our special teams. But defense created three takeaways and they scored on one of them. It was a 100-yard return and then they took one down to the 15-yard line. That was the difference in the game, it was the turnovers and they created those turnovers. That's nine turnovers in two weeks. That's not bad."
On Marquise Williams:
"I thought second half that he really did a nice job. He really did. He made plays when he had to make plays. There were a couple of throws he let get high on him but he made some nice throws. That throw to Mack Hollins, he put it out there. People saw that Mack [Hollins] can really run so he won't be a secret anymore. But I was proud of the way Marquise played throughout the game."
On running the ball:
"Anytime we can run the football we are going to be a better football team. We were not having success in that first half running the football. We really didn't make any adjustments. We just talked about what we wanted to do with them in the second half. It was a struggle for the offensive line throughout the entire night. It was tough. Then Landon [Turner] goes down and you put a true freshman in. It made it rougher but they did enough to get the job done."
On Brian Walker:
"He made plays for us. Two picks, took one for a hundred yards. That's an amazing night. It was really an amazing night of him. He did a great job. I'm proud of him."
On defense:
"A lot of missed tackles. We didn't stop the run. There were too many opportunities and we didn't stop the run. The guy made the first guy miss or he broke the tackle on the first guy. That concerns you. It always does. We will have to go back to the fundamentals this week. And when I say that, that does not mean that we have not been practicing fundamentals that just means that we have to go back and work hard on the fundamentals."
On Marquise Williams leading in rushing:
"That is always a concern for me. Our quarterback doesn't need to lead our team in rushing. But we found a situation with the draw that was a good thing for us out of that formation and he made some nice plays out of it. It was hard for Seth [Littrell] not to go back to that when it was good for us. And Marquise, that's how he picked up third downs."
On playing from behind:
"That's not concerning for me. That's a great thing. We played our best ball when we were down. I would much rather have it that way than the other way, that you don't play your best ball when you are down. We are going to be in that situation, there are going to be some times we are in that situation and I know how this team is going to respond. We will get better on the front end. We've got a lot of work to do but we are going to get better. We are not where we want to be right now, but we are 2-0 and that's the biggest thing right now. We are going into an open week, we can get some guys healed up, and we can continue to get better in all three phases because we haven't gotten anywhere close to our potential."
Elijah Hood, Freshman, Tailback
On the victory:
"It's really exciting. We came together as a team and got a victory, so it was real good. It was the kind of thing we talked about all year - just facing adversity and overcoming it. I think we did that today. I just think that's a testament to who we are as a team. We can respond when things just aren't going our way. We can still overcome that. I just think that's a tribute to us as a team."
On the emotions after the win:
"I can't even explain that feeling. It's probably one of the best feelings of my life actually. I've never won a game like that. I was so excited. I was just so happy for us. We work so hard, and just to see that pay off and us to get that victory. It was a great feeling."
On his first touchdown:
"It felt good because we got the lead. That was more of what I was worried about. I didn't really care how we scored. I just wanted to win. We got the lead, and then the defense was able to hold on, and we got the victory. That was the best part about it."
Mack Hollins, Sophomore, Wide Receiver
On his 91-yard touchdown:
"Earlier on we saw safeties roll a little bit and open up the deep ball. On the sidelines we talked about it. We talked upstairs about what they were seeing. We came out and we wanted to take a shot right at the beginning. I was lined up on the right, everybody else was lined up on the left, so 3x1 shifted the defense over, giving me a one-on-one, and I just ran. I just said, 'Quise, throw it as far as you can. If it's open, if the read is there, just throw it as far as you can.' So I just ran. I saw the corner's eyes look up, and that's when I always know the ball is coming, so I ran a few more steps, turned. The ball was a little bit out of reach, so I just put my head back down, ran, caught it, almost fell, caught my balance and off to the races."
On trying the deep pass:
"The deep ball was there all game, but it's hard to set it up when you've got a run game that is working or pass plays that are working that are shorter that you can just get chunks of yards. So that was the first opportunity that we really just said let's take a shot and see what happens. It worked out."
On the atmosphere:
"It's always good to get the crowd going because the crowd feeds off us, we feed off the crowd. It kind of works both ways. If we're dead on the sidelines, they'll be dead in the stands, so that kind of got everybody going. It got the student section going, and it kind of circles around everybody, and it gets everybody going."
Marquise Williams, Junior, Quarterback
On the deep pass to Hollins:
"We knew we had to find a shot tonight. Those guys are unbelievable on the defense with their schemes...We knew they weren't really respecting the pass, and I told Coach, 'let's go for a shot.' And Mack Hollins told me, 'I've been ready for a shot all night.' Unbelievable. Mack came down with the catch for 91 yards. It was great. The guy can fly. A lot of people sleep on Mack Hollins, but he's a great receiver for us."
On Hollins's touchdown:
"It feels good, but I give it to Mack. That was Mack who made that play, who ran the touchdown, who made a couple of guys miss and also who caught the ball. But I just give credit to the offensive guys. They did a phenomenal job tonight, and no praise to me. I love those guys, and they battled with me tonight. I'm just so happy we got this win."
Tim Scott, Senior, Safety
On his interception:
"I want to say emotional. We played pretty bad this game, I want to say, as a team. We really weren't energized. When we came to play, it showed. I feel like at the last drive we were energized, we were ready to play, but we just needed that one play to spark us. It just actually happened to be the last play."
On teammate Brian Walker:
"B. Walk's a baller. He's a playmaker, and everyone knows that. Him missing the first game really just made him more hungry. So when he came out here he knew he had something to prove. The quarterback kept testing him, and he kept on proving himself."
San Diego State University Head Coach Rocky Long
On his postgame words to the team:
"I told them that we did a lot of good things. Can't win a game like that if you don't play better defense in the fourth quarter than we did, and you can't win games like that if you throw interceptions."
On the outcome of the game:
"Well, it's always disappointing when your quarterback throws interceptions. That's always disappointing, but Quinn (Kaehler) is a competitor. He's trying to make a play to win the game. He got us down there, too. He took the ball, and he was the quarterback that drove us down there to have a chance to win the game also. So I think he underthrew that ball a little bit. That or you give credit to the defensive back that made a great play, cutting in front and intercepting it. They made a few more plays than we did."
On the difference in the final quarter:
"I think they (North Carolina) started executing a little bit better. I think our pass-rush lanes got out of whack in the fourth quarter. We did a pretty good job of keeping them in the pocket and not allowing them to scramble as much. The quarterback made a couple of really good plays scrambling with the ball in the fourth quarter and then scrambled around and completed some passes in the fourth quarter, too.
On the interception at the end of the game:
"I think that we're tying to make a play, and the kids are working so hard that they forget where they're supposed to be. They're just trying to get to the quarterback instead of knowing which lane they're supposed to be rushing, they're just trying to get there."
On the team's play throughout the game:
"I thought that our team played really well in the first half. We gave away seven points with an interception and we had some other chances to score when we threw the interception. So we had some scores left on the table so we probably should've been much further ahead at halftime than we were."
On the 91-yard TD pass to Mack Hollins:
"Everybody was in the right place. Their guy was faster than our two guys. I mean they were all in the right place. They just got outrun, and it was a good throw."
On how Quinn Kaehler will handle the outcome:
"I think he'll handle it the right way. I think he'll blame himself for us losing and I think he'll go back to practice and try to fix it. Hopefully, he doesn't do it again. I think he'll handle it all right."
