University of North Carolina Athletics
Five With Fedora: Pitt Game
September 26, 2016 | Football
By Jeff Greenberg
Last season the Tar Heel football team came together around the mantra of “Got your back.” That mantra grew from the need to face the adversity thrown its way early in the season and persevere throughout the rest of the season. They went on to win 11 straight games on their way to the ACC's Coastal Division.
Early this year in spring practice, fall camp and leading up to the first game, head coach Larry Fedora said that the identity of his 2016 team would be hard to determine until they faced some adversity. How they responded to that adversity would reveal what this team was made of and what they were capable of this season.
That moment came during game four against Pittsburgh in the form of a 13-point deficit with a little over seven minutes left to play in the game. The defense needed to stop Pitt's vaunted rushing attack and give the offense the chance to go down the field and win the game. With two seconds left on the clock, Bug Howard made an amazing one-handed grab in the end zone to tie the game. Nick Weiler added the extra point and the Tar Heels had their first lead of the game. Two seconds more off the clock and they had won the game. This could be this year's team's “Got Your Back” moment, and they succeeded together because of it. Here's what the head coach had to say about it in this week's edition of “Five with Fedora."
FIVE WITH FEDORA - PITTSBURGH
1.) You've said in the past that when the ball is kicked off to start the game you are locked in at that point and try to set emotions aside. But you are human. With the way the game was going at that moment and where the momentum was, what were you thinking or feeling when Nick Weiler missed that field goal near the end of the third quarter? – “I was thinking about how much time was left in the game. I was calculating how many possessions I thought we could realistically expect to get down the stretch. If we scored did I need to start thinking about an onside kick? I was basically trying to figure out how we could win the fourth quarter in order to win the game. If you're wondering if I flinched when we missed the kick, then the answer is no. I ask my guys to play for 60 minutes. Well, if that's what I expect from them, then they should expect me to coach for 60 minutes. There is no time to panic, and no time to dwell on what just happened. You have to play the next play and you have to coach the next play. My attention was on winning the next series, and then one after the other on the way to trying to win the fourth quarter. I don't have time to dwell on something that doesn't go our way.”
2.) You said the defense in the fourth quarter got the stops they needed, not because of a schematic change, but because of a change in their will to get the stop. Can you use that film and compare it to earlier drives in the game to show them what could be a key to their success moving forward this season? – “I hope so. You always want to find those types of situations and use them as teaching moments for your guys. They can learn so much from what you just described. Here's a situation, in the same game, where they performed the same play calls with entirely different outcomes. The difference was their will. They stepped up to the challenge of getting the stops we needed to win this game. Our defense forced Pitt to punt on three of their last four possessions after only getting them to punt once in the first half. So yes, this is something our guys can learn from moving forward. It's like the old saying in this sport that says, “The field is 100 yards long, but the only distance that really matters is the six inches in between your ears.” So much of what success is all about in this game is believing you can do it and that begins and ends with what's inside of those six inches.”
3.) You've said from day one that you can't find out what you really have in a team until they experience adversity together. On that final drive, with three fourth-and-long situations and scoring with two seconds left, what did you find out about your offense? – “I was proud because I felt like they were prepared and you could see that in the way they executed that final drive. There were panic situations, but my guys didn't panic. I felt like they were calm and dialed in. All of the reps they've had in camp and in practice against the defense in two-minute situations paid off in the game. What you saw in the game, we see every week in practice. I never doubted that we were going to score because I could see it our demeanor. The guys looked like they were ready to step up and take this game. Just look at the plays they were making. No matter what play is called it still comes down to players making plays. Look at the catches that Switz made on fourth down and the winning catch that Bug made with the guy draped all over him. We made the plays when we had to make them. When you put yourself behind on the scoreboard it can be tough to comeback in any game. So again, I was proud of the maximum effort they gave us down the stretch, and the concentration they showed on that final drive.”
4.) What's it like to see guys you scouted and recruited out of high school, like Ryan Switzer, Bug Howard and Mitch Trubisky, grow and develop into guys making the biggest plays in big games like this? – “It's rewarding in the fact that you've taken these guys from day one and watched them grow up in your system. You've seen their hard work behind the scenes when nobody else is watching. You've seen their hard work in practice to get better at their position, and get better at where they can best help the team. It's all neat to see. I mentioned this before, but a guy like Switz had such unbelievable film in high school that I used to mess with Blake Anderson about to checking in with his school to make sure he was real. It was that impressive. Mitch was one of the strongest competitors we had ever recruited. And Bug was doing the things we see him doing now, making big plays in the passing game. So yes, I love watching guys do everything we promised to them that they would have the opportunity to do if they joined our program. It's just a neat part of our job.”
5.) On the final play, after Elijah Hood didn't get into the end zone, what was going through your mind knowing that at that moment, the players were going to have to react and they weren't going to be able to look over at you to see what to do? – “It was perfect timing is what it was. About two weeks ago we showed them the end of the Navy/UConn game. UConn lost the game because with 17 seconds left on the clock they couldn't get ready in time to get the play off. That's not a position you want to find yourself in. We talked through that scenario in practice and in meetings. Our guys learned from it. They knew when and how to get lined up after Elijah got tackled. They knew the play-call, snapped it and executed the play.”
Bonus#1) What emotions or thoughts were going through your head when Bug caught the winning touchdown? – “I know it was a big moment for the players and we really had an electric crowd that was carrying us through the finish line down the stretch. My straight focus and emotions were thinking that we have to make the extra-point. Then we made it. Next thing you know, Caleb Peterson runs up and grabs me and hugs me. At first I got real mad because there were two seconds left on the clock and I knew we had to kick off to them for the final play. That's just the way I'm built. I cannot relax at all until after the game is over. So then we gave up a 45 yard return before we finally brought the guy down. So then Caleb found me again and said, “Coach, can I hug you now?” I said yes, now you can hug me.”
Bonus#2) What thoughts are you gathering in your head to say when you head to the middle of the field after the game to shake hands with the other Head Coach? – “I'm trying to think of little as possible to say because in this situation I just feel like he wants to hear as little as possible. There's the customary “Good game, good luck.” Usually you don't even get all of that out of your mouth before they're headed off in another direction. But again, if I'm on the other side of a game like this too, I don't want to hear it either. I want to get out of there as quickly as possible. Thanks to my guys on this team, I was the one walking away happy.”
