UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2026

Nick James

Press Conference

Pitt 34, Georgia Tech 11

Q. Nick, how much did this defense need this kind of performance after last week?

NICK JAMES: I think it was big for us, just facing adversity, coming back and just playing how we know we can.

Q. (Question about success tonight.)

NICK JAMES: We had big focus on situational downs. When we went into the week, that was a big focus for us, yeah.

Q. The quarterback sneak, break down what happened on that play.

NICK JAMES: I don't know, I was at the bottom of the pile (smiling).

Q. When you guys do well in the run, seems like you were consistently in your gaps.

NICK JAMES: I think everybody just doing their 1-11. That's going to help us out at the end of the day.

Q. (No microphone.)

NICK JAMES: It was exciting just to go dunk. Seeing my teammates dunk is always fun.

Q. (Question about Lincoln Hoke.)

NICK JAMES: He's going to be a great player. I like Link.

Q. What's the significance of bowl eligibility for you guys?

NICK JAMES: It's just another 1-0. Just going 1-0 next week, bye week, then after that another 1-0.

Q. Seems like you linebackers were playing downhill. What does that feel like when you are hitting, you and the linebackers?

NICK JAMES: It's fun because they help us out a lot. They just take off the double-team, help us make plays. We help them make plays, yeah.

Q. (Question about Damon.)

NICK JAMES: He's a dog. He had like 180? That was crazy.

Appreciate it.