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#UNC quarterback Gio Lopez press conference
Nov 1, 2025
#UNC quarterback Gio Lopez press conference
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0:00
What obviously Dean was working for you
0:03
tonight, but a lot of stuff up front
0:04
gave you time to open up and there was
0:07
nothing up front with different guys. It
0:08
was an injury, a couple playing. So,
0:11
what was working for you guys up front?
0:12
I think we just played as a team
0:14
tonight. You know, coach, coach Kitchen
0:15
did a great job calling plays and put us
0:17
in a, you know, in good situations for
0:18
us to execute. But I think as a team, we
0:19
just executed offensively, defensively,
0:21
and I think guys had to show up showed
0:23
up and just did their part. And I think
0:24
we just did a great job overall as a
0:26
team.
0:26
Come on. Really, he was he was a demon
0:28
tonight, right? Dear had a great game.
0:30
I'm proud of him. Yeah.
0:31
Jeremiah.
0:33
Yeah. Um I actually do want to elaborate
0:34
a little bit on, you know, Demar's
0:35
performance. You guys entered the third
0:37
quarter. It was 106. He gets, you got
0:39
him on the screen. He gets the the
0:41
rushing touchdown later. How much of a
0:43
spark did he give you guys, you know,
0:44
particularly in that game to kind of
0:45
give you the lead?
0:47
I think he did a great job just giving
0:48
us a spark. You know, Deman's doing a
0:50
great job in every aspect. He's picking
0:51
up blocks. He's doing better in that
0:52
aspect as well. But I think uh that
0:54
screen really got us going and just got
0:55
us out of the funk we were having. You
0:57
know, the field goals back to back. And
0:58
I think Dean did a great job busting
0:59
runs after that too and I just see
1:01
overall he just you know was being demon
1:02
and did a great job.
1:03
How do you um and you know throughout
1:05
the year you know he's kind of shown his
1:06
splashes and then other games you know
1:08
is maybe doesn't get as many carries.
1:09
How do you guys kind of get him in
1:11
rhythm and how do you I guess when do
1:12
you notice when he is in rhythm and he
1:14
does get
1:15
I think coach Means does a great job
1:16
handling the backs. You know we have so
1:17
many great players in in the back field.
1:19
So I think for us it's just whatever
1:20
coach means feels the hot hand and he
1:22
does a great job with that. So, you
1:23
know, if Demon's feeling it, Demand's
1:24
feeling it. If it's Ben Hall, you know,
1:26
if it's if it's uh Bullet, you know, it
1:27
can be anybody. So, I think we did do a
1:28
great job. Jmax turning to show up as
1:30
well. So, I think just everybody coach
1:31
me does a great job with everybody.
1:32
What was the mood at that time when you
1:34
were losing but dominating the
1:36
statistics?
1:37
I Yeah, I think for us it was just, you
1:39
know, it kind of was like a another time
1:40
like just like the last two weeks where
1:42
you're just like guys, we're like we got
1:43
to just get in the end zone. We got to
1:44
get in the endzone. Like, we're playing
1:45
good football. We just not capitalized.
1:46
We're not finishing plays. We're not
1:48
finishing in the red zone. So I think
1:49
for us it was a good job to finally
1:50
start finishing in the red zone and you
1:52
know putting up more than just a field
1:53
goal. And I think this in the locker
1:54
room it just felt like it was ourselves
1:56
and you know I think we just did a good
1:57
job you know showing up in the second
1:58
half and playing good football.
1:59
Gio to to that point was was it about
2:02
trying to stay patient um with this
2:04
thing. You know you're trailing at the
2:06
half and obviously the first half didn't
2:07
go the way you wanted to but was there
2:10
like a level of patience that was
2:11
required to to know that you were going
2:13
to be able to maybe turn the game the
2:14
way you needed to? You know, it was a
2:15
level of patience, but I feel it was a
2:16
little irritation because everyone knows
2:17
we weren't doing our great job, you
2:19
know, in the red zone and, you know, we
2:20
got to the red zone uh I think twice and
2:23
then we had a fumble as well that went
2:24
for seven. So, you know, felt like we
2:25
were handing them stuff and we they
2:27
weren't stopping us necessarily, which
2:28
they're a great football team, but I
2:29
think it was more on us. So, I think it
2:30
was just for us to show up and, you
2:32
know, in the second half and start
2:33
getting in the end zone. It was a good
2:34
stuff for us.
2:35
So, just just to follow up on that, was
2:36
halftime were people mad? Like, was
2:39
there
2:40
were there some words said or I mean,
2:41
what was what was the mood like at
2:43
halftime?
2:43
You know, I want to say mad. I think it
2:44
was more like, you know, fiery in a
2:45
sense. There was no, you know,
2:46
argumentative conversations. More in the
2:48
sense of like just picking each other up
2:49
and like, hey, like let's fix this,
2:51
let's fix this going, let's get this
2:52
going. And second half, first play we
2:54
scored. And I think it was kind of like
2:55
from there we're like, all right, like
2:56
let's play our game. Let's play our
2:57
game. It just I think we just did a
2:58
great job in the second half.
2:59
Front row right here.
3:00
All right. Uh Thomas Christopher League
3:02
winners. Um Syracuse does a good job
3:03
disguising what they're going to do pre-
3:04
snap, postnap. Uh how was the
3:06
protections kind of sorted out between
3:07
you and the offensive line and what kind
3:09
of adjustments did you guys make in that
3:10
second half?
3:11
Yeah, I think they did a great job, you
3:12
know, disguising their pressures. I
3:13
think they're, you know, they're really
3:14
good up front and they're they're good
3:15
in the back end, too. So, I think for
3:16
us, just first half was a little bit of
3:18
a feel. They got us a couple times on
3:19
some looks and I think the second half
3:20
we picked it all up and we started
3:21
playing, started understanding the looks
3:22
we were getting and started
3:23
communicating better with the, you know,
3:24
with the O line and me seeing the things
3:26
as well and just getting us into the
3:27
right protection. I think we did a great
3:28
job with that.
3:29
All right, next.
3:30
Was there an area once the game once you
3:31
guys broke the game open, was there an
3:32
area of Syracuse defense you felt you
3:34
guys could exploit?
3:35
Uh, you know, don't want to say exploit.
3:37
I think they're a great team. So I think
3:38
for us just playing our our brand of
3:39
football, you know, I don't think we
3:41
don't we don't need to focus on
3:42
exploiting anybody when we just play our
3:43
football, you know, play our brand. We
3:44
were getting in the first half we were
3:45
averaging eight yards a play. So I think
3:46
for us we weren't more worried about
3:48
exploiting, just more executing our part
3:49
of our offense and we started doing that
3:50
even better in the second half.
3:51
And was running the ball something you
3:52
guys wanted to do a lot going into
3:54
today?
3:54
You know, I think it was just one of
3:55
those things that started catching on.
3:56
You know, Ju Guu ripped a run. You know,
3:58
I feel like Juju ripped a bunch of runs.
3:59
So I think, you know, he was just weird
4:00
just running the ball well. Bullet ran
4:02
the ball well. And I think it was just
4:03
one of those things we started leaning
4:04
on the hot hand and just playing you
4:06
know run game if we had to do that
4:07
whatever it took. Let's
4:08
go to AJ the last two weeks the way you
4:11
guys lost so close and then here tonight
4:14
you get fourth and one or fourth in
4:15
inches and there's a false start and
4:16
then there's a scoop in score. What is
4:19
how did you guys develop the resilience
4:20
to overcome this? And was a lot of that
4:22
born that week after Clemson when there
4:24
was so much chaos going on? Yeah, I
4:26
think uh I think just we we've been on
4:28
the back burner so many times where it's
4:30
like man again and again. We've lost
4:32
last two the last two weeks we lost game
4:33
by felt like a
4:35
inches. So I think for us it was just
4:36
one of those situations where we've been
4:38
down so many times and the last two the
4:40
last two games that we lost we were
4:41
losing the whole game as well until like
4:43
the you know the whole game. So I think
4:44
for us it was just like just keep
4:46
playing our brand. It's going to show
4:47
up. I think this week it kind of put
4:48
came all together in the second half.
4:49
Stay on that from a football standpoint.
4:51
Does it feel like the Clemson game was
4:52
just three months ago? You know, I
4:56
guess, you know, I can say that, you
4:57
know, we still there's a bad taste in
4:58
our mouth. We have a couple, we have
4:59
three bad taste in our mouth,
5:02
you know what I mean, but bad taste in
5:04
our mouth.
5:04
You guys have performed and competed. It
5:06
just seems like there's there's a
5:07
significant disconnect from that game.
5:09
Yeah, I think it was like kind of what I
5:11
touched on the cow after the cow game. I
5:13
think it was more in a situation where
5:14
we came together as a team during like
5:15
that second by week where we just really
5:17
came together and there was so many
5:18
people gunning after us and just so much
5:20
negative energy and we're like, man, we
5:21
just got to be a team at the end of the
5:22
day and that's what we're doing. I think
5:23
it's starting to show up now from the
5:24
field.
5:26
Right along those lines when you talk
5:28
about people gunning for you and stuff
5:29
and these games that have gone against
5:31
you like do you feel like this team at
5:34
this point in the year where teams are
5:35
going all sorts of different directions
5:37
that you are going in the right
5:39
direction whereas you know you weren't
5:41
sure what direction you might be going
5:42
in. You see what I'm saying? You feel
5:43
like you moved past.
5:45
Yeah, I think we've moved past that. I
5:46
thought after the Clemson game again
5:47
like we were talking about I was like
5:48
man where are we going? And then after
5:50
that, you know, we that by week kind of
5:51
everything is kind of going on the up.
5:52
And the last two weeks, it was like you
5:54
feel like you're going in the right way,
5:55
but we're still having, you know, bad
5:56
outcomes that we don't want. So, I think
5:58
this week was a good for us to finally
5:59
feel that win and just start to keep
6:01
stacking days and keep playing our brand
6:02
of football.
6:03
Jeremiah, do you have one?
6:04
Yeah, going off of that, Joe. You
6:05
mentioned it was good for you guys to
6:06
kind of go ahead and get that win. Uh,
6:08
how different does it feel like it's
6:10
kind of breaking that streak. How
6:11
different in the locker room
6:12
specifically does it feel in there right
6:13
now?
6:13
I think it feels amazing. I mean, you
6:15
probably heard some of us in the locker
6:16
room. I think it was uh just good for
6:17
overall as a team to get a win. And I
6:19
think it was just good morale overall.
6:20
You know, played two good football games
6:22
last two weeks and you go into the
6:23
locker room just feeling like so close,
6:25
so close. And this week and finally, you
6:26
know, busted it open, you know what I
6:28
mean? And got a win. And I just think it
6:30
was a good overall for us as a team.
6:32
And last two or you want to go to RL
6:35
that you knew the screen pass was there
6:37
maybe for a couple of yards, but did you
6:39
ever expect it to go for a touchdown
6:42
like that? and what how' the play
6:46
come out like that and what was your
6:48
reaction that you saw speeding down the
6:50
side?
6:51
Yeah, I think I think uh when we execute
6:52
the play to the best of our ability, I
6:54
think you feel like almost every play
6:55
can go for a touchdown, right? So, I
6:56
think for us it was just we talked about
6:58
in the locker room. We had a good play
6:59
set up for the first play and I think it
7:01
was just we executed it well and Dean
7:02
made a great play. Let's not downplay
7:04
that but I think this overall O line did
7:05
a great job blocking. Kobe Pesau picked
7:07
up a great block on the corner and I
7:09
think we just did a great job executing
7:10
the play. the last one.
7:11
You had a slow start offensively. That
7:13
field goal at the end of the first half,
7:14
you guys came out the second half, you
7:15
just took over the game. Did that field
7:17
goal really change the mood in the
7:18
locker room?
7:19
Oh, you know that field goal? Yeah, I
7:21
would say cuz it's like we got in the
7:22
red zone again and we didn't score a
7:23
touchdown, we had another field goal.
7:24
So, I think for us it's just like guys,
7:25
how many times are we going to get to
7:26
the red zone and just not put up a
7:27
touchdown. So, I think for us this
7:28
second half scoring on that first play
7:30
and, you know, getting the morale going
7:32
and the, you know, energy going, I think
7:33
it was good for us.
7:34
All right. Good stuff, Joe. prison.