Isaiah Moore UNC Postgame Press Conference
Of all the frustrating aspects of NC State's 48-21 loss to North Carolina at Kenan Stadium on Saturday is the defense's inability to stop the Tar Heels from running the ball.
Although UNC has one of the best rushing attacks in the ACC, if not the country, with two backs averaging better than 100 yards per game, the Wolfpack had done a solid job of defending the run coming into the game. But it had little success against the Tar Heels, as Javonte Willams ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns while Michael Carter Jr. added 106 yards and another score.
Here's what junior linebacker and co-captain Isaiah Moore had to say about the loss and the parents:
How surprised were you that UNC was able to have so much success on the ground?
"I’m surprised. Pretty surprised, I guess. It’s frustrating. They just outplayed us."
Did UNC just do a better job at the point of attack or was its success running the ball more of a schematic issue?
"They just outplayed us. There’s no excuses, no scheme. We’ve got to wrap them up. We’ve got to tackle them and get them to the ground. We didn’t do that."
How tough is it to admit that your team was outplayed by its rival and what does the team need to do to improve during the open week?
"We’re all about telling the truth. Everyone in that locker room knows that they outplayed us. We all know what we’ve got to do going forward. We’re going to come in (Sunday) and watch the film, and we’re going to move on from it. We’ve got to learn from this. We’ve got to play better going forward."
Were you surprised how physical the Tar Heels were up front?
"Not really. This is a physical sport. We’ve got to be ready to come out and play physical football anytime, any day of the week. We didn’t do that."
How good was UNC's running game?
"It was good. We helped them out a lot by not tackling. We had a lot of missed tackles. But no, they’re talented. They’re talented up front. They have talented backs. We knew they had the ability. We didn’t help ourselves by not tackling and getting them to the ground."
Did the defense feel pressure to hold the score down because of the change in quarterbacks?
"No. There’s no pressure. We have the utmost faith in our offense, that they’re going to move the ball and put us in a situation to win. This was absolutely a team loss. On both sides of the ball we didn’t play well, and we’ve just got to get better going forward."
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