NC State's HB Duke Scott, WR Keenan Jackson, and CB Brian Nelson II met with the media to discuss the dominant 73-0 win over Richmond.

NOTE: Click the videos above to watch each press conference!

HB Duke Scott

Yeah, Duke, 128 yards tonight. I know after Virginia, you were not happy about that performance. What do you think maybe changed in the last couple of weeks that allowed you to have that kind of performance?

Well, it's a blessing to have a good game, so I want to thank God for that. The whole line, they blocked their behinds off. Big shout-out to those guys up front because no matter who was back there, they all went to work, and there's just — I don't think they get enough credit sometimes — but they did an uber job today. And the biggest thing that changed was we had a point to prove. We went to make sure we didn't put what we put on Virginia on the tape. So, with that mindset, that chip on our shoulder to do our job, to do better than Virginia, I feel like that really led us to a great week, or a great day.

Quick follow-up: what does it take to keep that same intensity for the rest of the season?

We have a goal: the ACC Championship. So our goal is to keep stacking days. This is not our peak. This is not our final point. So we just need to keep stacking days and maintain the same intensity we've had in practice coming through the bye week and into this game. So I think we will. It's my job as a leader to make sure that doesn't change. So I'm feeling very confident in us.

Yeah, Duke, what did you see that was different from CJ today, just as a passer, than what he showed at Virginia? It seemed like he was a little more accurate, more confident out there.

I feel like the flow of the game is always gonna be a big thing. CJ knew he didn't have to take anything, like he didn't have to force any plays or anything like that. And he played a lot more comfortably, a lot more confidently. And that's the CJ that we always get. Even in Virginia, he was the same guy. He just knew we had to make plays given how the score was going. But CJ, he played great, and he always plays great.

A lot of the running backs were able to break tackles tonight. Did you have a favorite play where you broke a tackle? Anybody that you felt real good when you slipped through them?

I enjoyed my runs. But honestly, Dylan McCoy's final touchdown — I know that's not really the question. But that was probably my favorite run of the night. He bent it all the way backside, and the run was supposed to go frontside. And that was a very impressive play from a young guy who was just now getting out of high school. So I was just really proud of him, and that's all I really got.

Hey, Duke, can you kind of just take me through that moment when you had the 65-yard touchdown? It's just you and the football running into the end zone. Everyone's behind you; you're gone. Take me through that moment. What's going through your head?

I just, I don't really have thoughts going through my head when I play. I just kinda just let God take control in a way. So I just hit the hole. I saw it; I hit it. I happened to break a tackle, and it was off to the races.

WR Keenan Jackson

Keenan, what's it like after a game like this, just in the locker room, just coming off of a loss you guys had two weeks ago?

I mean, it's great. I mean, good feeling. Good to get that taste out of my mouth from last week. But can't be satisfied for too long. As I said, we're going to celebrate this game tonight. Go and watch the film, and back to work. We got a big week coming up next week, and we underperformed last week, so it's week zero, so back to work.

Yeah, just in your initial reaction. What do you think you can learn and build on from this week?

 Just that you have to work for the thing that you want in life, all aspects of life. But, specifically in this game that we play football, you're not going to achieve the things that you want. You're not going to win games if you don't put the work in leading up to the game. So, we had two weeks to prepare for this game. We got after last week. We were physical in the bye week, and we practiced hard. So, we got to keep that same energy. We got to come in a week, come into work next week, ready to work, take advantage of every single day, and get ready for Vandy.

Yeah, it was different from your point of view from CJ in the way that his throwing seemed like pass through a lot more accurate, and he was able to move through the offensive field.

I don’t think much was different. I mean, that's my quarterback. I've been with him every single day since we first stepped on campus in January of my freshman year. So, we stepped on that field, and we both expect the best out of each other. If we're not playing our best, we're going to be talking to each other, and it's a lot. We have that relationship with a lot of guys on the team. So, he played great tonight. A lot of guys played their tail off tonight. So, yeah, I'm proud of the whole team.

Yeah. I was just wondering what it was like in the locker room during the long delay. You guys are up 28-0 already. What was going on in the locker room, and how did you keep your focus to come back out after that long delay?

Yeah, I mean, the coach's message is just to keep our minds in and stay focused, but we were juiced up. I ain't gonna lie. We put music on that we enjoy. We were just having fun. We were singing. We were just having a good time in the locker room. And then, obviously, we got with our units—offense, defense—talking about the things we need to talk about. It's just like halftime, and we just got our minds ready. We had a lot of football left to play. So, we got after it, and I think that's what we did when we came out of the half or came out of the break.

Yeah, Brian was just telling us that seeing the offense get its big plays really energizes the other side. What is it like seeing those guys getting turnovers and changing possession?

I mean, it's great. I mean, we work so hard: spring ball, camp, so many reps going against each other. So, you know how good, how good those dudes are lined up. I mean, Brian and I, we've got, we've had so many reps one-on-one every single day, day after day after day. So, it's great to see him go out there balling and, obviously, when you come off the field, right, you score on offense and defense is a quick stop; you get that same juice, and you don't have any time for momentum to die down. They bounce off each other. It's like ping-pong. You're saying we score, they stop, we go back and score again. So, I mean, that's, I mean, that's complementary football is what our coach talks about. I mean, that's, that's the game right there.

CB Brian Nelson II

Brian, how would you explain the difference between the locker room tonight and the one two weeks ago after the Virginia game?

Yeah, I mean the difference was, of course, week zero. Of course, we felt like we were underachieving. We felt like we let each other down.

But the difference in this game was that we felt like we all played together, playing with each other and just really just went out there and just played as a whole team. So it ultimately just felt good.

You can't really look at the score and see the total story. What did you feel like you learned defensively this week that you got into this?

I mean, we feel like we just learned how to pay attention to the little details. Like the little details are ultimately what was going to help us win and have a great outcome like today. But it's just all about trusting the process, continuing to stack days, and being a team.

How do you think this kind of performance helps refocus you guys moving forward, kind of flushing that week zero game and now can just attack the rest of the year with momentum from a game like this?

Yeah, we definitely need this win. We definitely need some momentum in the locker room, just to just, get our confidence back. Really, we know we are a great team.

We know we're really good; it's just a matter of believing that throughout the whole season and getting other people to realize we have something special in this program. And so it's just a matter of getting our confidence back and just being together.

How validating was it to see the turnover margin succeed this week?

It was, it was amazing to see. We're big on the turnover margin. And of course, that's what's going to help us win games, too.

Just win the turnover margin, win the explosive play margin. And so our defense is built on getting turnovers. And once we do that, we know we have an edge on our other team.

Does the defense ever get energized when you see the offensive line pushing people around and the running backs making people miss and break tackles? 

Oh, yeah, we're always energized. We see the offense doing their job, driving down the field, and vice versa. When they see us getting stops on defense, it makes us feel good on both sides of the ball. We know, once again, that we play complementary football; we're going to ultimately win the game and just be together. But just making sure both sides of the ball are doing their jobs, and we're just being all as one.