Q. As far as this upcoming matchup with Georgia Te ch, they struggled a little bit last week throwing the ball. They’ve become dominant over the years in running the ball. How are you preparing your team for them right now?
COACH LARRY FEDORA: For me it’s the same as any Paul Johnson-coached team. They’re going to be very disciplined. They’re going to run the ball extremely well. When you least expect it, they’re going to beat you with the pass. That’s what this offense does. It was uncharacteristic for them to turn the ball over like they did last week. I’m sure that’s something that they’re addressing. We hope we can create some turnovers defensively because we need those extra possessions on offense. They’re going to restrict you to probably about nine, maybe ten possessions on offense. So we need every extra possession we can get.
Q. Talking to Paul Johnson, I asked him about your defense. He brought up an interesting point about tempo. Obviously Georgia Tech controls the ball, keeps their defense off the field. He says, I’m sure our defense hasn’t played as many plays as you have. Is that a factor in maybe causing some of the defensive problems, that your offense plays fast and doesn’t control the clock, you have to play a lot of plays on defense?
COACH FEDORA: Well, when you look at the two, I’m sure that our defense is on the field more than their defense is on the field. Part of that is the styles of offense that you run. I don’t think that Paul and them are
necessarily trying to slow the game down. It’s just what they do. They’re still trying to score on every play. I mean, they probably have two or three play-scoring drives just like everybody else. They’re probably more methodical. They’re going to pick up four or five yards a carry. They’re going to move the chains, which is going to run the clock, which will keep their defense off the field. When you look at the two, our defense is definitely on the field more than theirs. Part of the problem is you have to get off the field when you’re on defense. When you’re out there, you still
control whether those chains keep moving or not, and you’ve got to get off the field.
Q. That’s exactly what he said, that they’re still trying to score, but it just works out that way. As far as getting off the field, I guess Georgia Tech, it seems like the game they really struggle offensively is when other teams can force turnovers, get them off the field that way. Not so many three-and-outs.
COACH FEDORA: You’re right. I’ve looked at them for years. Normally we average about 14 to 15 possessions in a game on offense. Against Georgia Tech, except for the 2012 year where we had that huge shootout, we’re probably going to get nine possessions. I think we had 10 last year, one of them was with 24 seconds on the clock left in the second half. Nine real possessions. You can’t screw up. You’ve got to be very, very efficient offensively. You have to move the
chains and you have to put the ball in the end zone when you get the opportunity.