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The Daily Tar Heel

Larry Fedora begs UNC football team to fine-tune small details

It’s a slight flinch that lasts for just a fraction of a second, yet punishes the North Carolina football team with five yards and another dreaded penalty. It’s lining up a mere inches away from your designated spot and ruining the entire play in the process. It’s the smallest, most technical tweaks that Fedora is begging his team to correct. But after another double digit loss Saturday — a 34-17 defeat to Virginia Tech — it’s evident UNC isn’t quite there yet.

Fedora said it himself to open his press conference.

“If we could get all of our mistakes corrected, if we could take care of the things within our team right now, we could be a decent football team,” he said. “But until we do that, it’s going to be tough.”

He said it in the middle of his press conference.

“We take turns shooting ourselves in the foot right now.”

And then he stressed it one more time at the end for good measure.

“Sometimes as an individual, you’re worried about all the big things and the big picture, and you forget about the smallest detail,” he said. “Every detail is very important, or we wouldn’t give you the detail.”

But at least through five games — two wins to open the season and now three consecutive double-digit losses — Fedora’s plan to correct the little things has been easier said than done.

After amassing 15 penalties for 130 yards in Death Valley against Clemson, the Tar Heels turned around Saturday and followed it with 10 penalties for 62 yards in Chapel Hill .

Against the Tigers, the offensive line gave up three sacks, and against the Hokies they nearly doubled it with five.

Also on Saturday, UNC fumbled four times.

Fedora said he’s harped on the same things every week, urging his players to pore over the intricate details that ultimately end up morphing into game-changing mistakes.

“It’s just the smallest things,” he said. “The way we go on the field, the way we come off the field. Every detail.”

But junior guard Landon Turner suggested that words can only do so much. At some point, UNC has to make it a priority to find the discipline to actually execute and flip that switch.

Perhaps that process starts with more trust.

“I think moving forward, we’ve got to find a way to have more confidence in each other,” Turner said. “Part of the little things is not trusting the guy next to you. That can kill us.”

Regardless, it’s creating self-inflicted adversity for the Tar Heels, whose battle is only uphill as they take on No. 5 Notre Dame Saturday. By then, the regular season will be halfway over, which leaves Turner hoping the progress comes sooner rather than later.

“Anybody can win on any given Saturday,” Tuner said. “I think we have the team to beat anyone in the country. We just have to find a way to pull it all together.”

sports@dailytarheel.com

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