CHAPEL HILL – Tuesday morning on football game weeks for North Carolina means several Tar Heels meet with the media to field a variety of questions.

On hand this week, as No. 14 UNC prepares to host Syracuse on Saturday, were Drake Maye, Kaimon Rucker, Corey Gaynor, and Cedric Gray.

The Tar Heels (4-0, 1-0 ACC) last played September 23 when they won at Pittsburgh, 41-24. The Orange (4-1, 0-1) are coming off a 31-14 home loss to Clemson.

Below are videos of all four interviews along with a few tidbits from what they discussed:

*UNC Coach Mack Brown asked his players to watch the Clemson-Syracuse game and take notes. Maye did so, but not with the volume on. He had the game on mute because he didn’t want the broadcasters’ comments to affect his thinking. Yes, he took some notes.

*Also, Maye discussed how the offense can get better; on his near-73 percent pass completion percentage; his take on the Orange’s defense; just how good the Tar Heels can be; UNC’s TD success in the red zone and more.

*Carolina is ranked No. 56 in the nation in rushing offense, but the Tar Heels have averaged only 2.4 yards in their 76 attempts over the last two games, wins over Minnesota and at Pittsburgh. Gaynor discussed some of that issue while also taking responsibility upon himself to get the offensive line to play better.

*Conversely, UNC has 14 touchdowns in 17 red zone trips, 11 of which are rushing scores. He gave a little insight into why. Plus, Gaynor discussed Syracuse, watching games this past weekend, and the interesting manner in which he did, and more.

*Brown said Monday his team can get better in all areas hinting he doesn’t believe they’ve come anywhere close to reaching their potential. Rucker was asked just how good the team can be:

He thinks they can be as good as they want, Rucker replied. And to that, what one thing would he fix on defense to aid that process?

He replied there isn’t one thing on defense that stands out. If he had to choose, Rucker said giving up big plays should be trimmed down. But he is very happy with where things are on that side of the ball and where they are heading.

*He also discussed the defense no longer panicking when things don’t go well, sudden-change improvements, Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader, and more.

*Gray said the bye week was excellent because the players approached it with tremendous importance and had the right sense of urgency to it. It speaks to the overall confidence of the team right now, in which Gray spoke a lot about confidence. It’s essential to success, and he sees it growing each week everywhere in the program.

*Also, Gray spoke about what he watched this past Saturday, if he rooted for Duke over Notre Dame, offered a grade (from 1-10) on how he’s gauge where the Tar Heels, that UNC is also trending in the right direction, Syracuse as a whole, Orange QB Garrett Shrader, and more.