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.