What to know from UNC football's weekly press conference

North Carolina football coach Larry Fedora and quarterback Mitch Trubisky spoke with the media Monday morning inside the Kenan Football Center for the team's weekly press conference. 

Here's what you missed.

It's a trap

UNC opened its season with two games away from home, losing to No. 16 Georgia in Atlanta before beating Illinois at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The Tar Heels will face James Madison on Saturday in their home opener, as UNC looks to build upon its seven-game winning streak in Chapel Hill. 

But the Dukes aren't to be dismissed. James Madison enters the game ranked No. 8 in the Football-Championship Subdivision (FCS) and won its first two games by a combined score of 136-28. 

“You could pick out four or five FCS schools and match them up with Division-I schools, and you know that FCS team is gonna win,” he said. “There’s some really good ones out there.”

Trubisky was clear that the Tar Heels would not overlook the Dukes, regardless of the division they compete in.

“Anybody can win any given weekend,” he said “You can’t take any game or any team for granted — you’ve just gotta go out and play.”

Fedora also emphasized the perils of not focusing on the game at hand.

“We take everybody seriously," Fedora said. "The next game is the most important game. If you don’t do it and you don’t win, it becomes a really important game.”

T.J. time?

After returning a kickoff for a touchdown and rushing for another against Georgia, tailback T.J. Logan had another productive game at Illinois. The senior broke off a 58-yard kickoff return, earned 88 yards from scrimmage and added a receiving touchdown. 

Trubisky isn't surprised by the play of Logan, who entered the season as the Tar Heels’ backup to preseason All-ACC tailback Elijah Hood. 

“We know what T.J. Logan can do,” Trubisky said. “He’s explosive — we’re trying to get him the ball as many ways as we can. He can score anytime he touches the ball.”

Fedora has also noticed the improvement in Logan’s play.

“The difference I see is he’s finishing runs off now," he said. "Nobody is hitting him and stopping him. That’s one of Hood’s strengths, and T.J. has seen that and it’s made him a better runner.”

As to who will get the majority of touches going forward in the competitive backfield, Fedora said he would ride the hot hand.

“It’s still about production -— if you’re producing, you get the ball,” he said. “If you’re not, the next guy gets a chance.”

On the right track 

After a tough outing in the loss to Georgia, Trubisky’s production improved against Illinois, as he completed nearly 80 percent of his passes and threw for two touchdowns. 

Fedora was encouraged by his quarterback’s progress in his second career start. 

“He had a lot fewer mistakes — mental mistakes,” he said. “He was much more relaxed and much more doing what he does in practice.”

But Trubisky isn't ready to rest on his laurels after two games.

“The mistakes that I’m making, they’re all correctable — which is a good thing — so I just need to continue to learn and grow from them,” he said. “But it’s frustrating, because I know I can do better.

“I’m going to practice and play this week like I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, because I haven’t played to the standard that I want to play at yet.“

sports@dailytarheel.com