Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman met with the media following No. 12 Notre Dame's 51-14 waxing of 24th-ranked Navy, Saturday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Here's everything the third-year Irish coach had to say. Answers are largely verbatim. Questions may have been edited for brevity and clarity.
OPENING STATEMENT
“We challenged the group. We had to play complementary football today. That was a point of emphasis. This team was No. 2 in the country in turnover margin, and I just told the guys we’re plus-six in the turnover margin. That’s huge. That’s complementary football. Proud of all three phases. A lot of good. When I meet with you again, I’m going to tell you about the improvements that we need to make. It’s the reality of people that aren’t satisfied. We wany more. We want the best, but we’re going to enjoy today. I’m proud of the way they prepared, the way they played. For the most part after halftime, how we came out with a sense of urgency to continue to execute in all three phases and improve. And so, it’s a big win for this program. We’re going to enjoy it as we go into a bye week and get ready for the next one. I’ll open it up for questions.”
Q: What was the plan going into the week with regard to red-zone defense?
“We stopped them before the half. But then in the second half, I think there was one that they did end up scoring. We had a good plan. Coach [Al] Golden did a great job. The defense did a great job of — they [the Midshipmen] do some really difficult things in the red zone, but our offense was able to score in the red zone. And we stopped them, which was crucial one of those times in the red zone. So, it's a point of emphasis. You’ve got to have a great plan, but it's also a mindset when you get down that we’ve got to score touchdowns on offense and we’ve got to force them to try a field goal attempt on defense.”
Q: We talked to you this week about this team and its keys to getting off to a faster start. So, what were the keys to it happening today in this game?
“I tell you this every week: Those are outcomes. Those are observations. Like, a fast start starts with a fast first play and a fast second play. And everybody evaluates you — I told the team — based off flows, the flow of the season, the flow of a game. We can't look at this thing based on flows. We’ve got to look at it as one game, one life, one play. And that's what I continue to preach to those guys. So, the result of how we started fast was that we executed on that play early in the game. And then as you look back at it, you say, ‘OK, that was a fast start.’ But more importantly, it’s just a mindset, like win this play. It’s the only thing that matters.”
Q: What can you say about Leonard Moore stepping in and making plays?
“You know, with the snap of a finger, you can be thrust into the spotlight. But I said this, I think in the press conference last time I was up here and I said it to the team: ‘You earn the trust from your teammates and your coaches first before you're ever thrust into the spotlight.’ Leonard Moore earned the trust through fall camp, through the season. And Benjamin Morrison goes down, and he [Mppre] is thrust into the spotlight. Now everybody recognizes it, but he earned that through his preparation, the way he came in here as a true freshman and he approached fall camp, approached each week that way. And so, that's what we’ve got to continue to tell our guys, like, earn the trust of your teammates and your coaches first. And when you're thrust into the spotlight, you'll be ready to go.”
Q: It was reported on the TV broadcast that you remind your team about the Northern Illinois loss every day. Why is that important to you?
“I don’t do it every day, but the most important thing is we can't lose the pain. That's what I want to make sure our guys understand, is that you can't lose the pain. I don't want to lose the pain from that game, because at times we are motivated by fear. At times we are motivated by ‘we don't want this to repeat itself.’ And so, there's times I’ve got to remind them of that pain, so that we can make sure we don't forget it. We’ve got to use that. I said we're going to be grateful for it if we utilize it, if we learn from the lessons that it's taught us. But when you have success, sometimes you forget about that pain of what NIU left in all of our hearts and our guts. And so, there's moments that I want to reflect on that, and I don't want them to lose it. And that’s when I want to use it for motivation.”
Q: What do you think is the biggest lesson learned from that?
“It’s the preparation. I go back and I look at that week of preparation, and I believe the physical part was efficient. But there's a mental preparation of mindset that you have to have going into every week. And that's, to me, what I've learned as the head coach, our program has learned. And we’ve got to take in from that game that there's a mental approach. You better understand that if you don't prepare the right way, you can lose anybody. And I don't want to ever forget that.”
Q: There were several explosive plays today. What did you do today to get your playmakers loose to make the big plays?
“Tying to create one-on-one matchups. I think what you're seeing is a reflection of coach [Mike] Denbrock and our quarterbacks and Riley [Leonard] — the growth of their relationship, the ability to have multiple calls coming into a play and check into the one that we believe is going to have success. There's a trust between the quarterback and the wideouts that's continuing to grow. And Riley’s throwing the ball with confidence. Those are some of the big-play passes. Listen, Jeremiyah Love, the kid’s going to create a big play. He's got a chance to create a big play every time he has the ball in his hands. And that's what, to me, you saw today, some really good connections and executions between the wideouts and quarterback, but also Jeremyiah Love being Jeremiyah Love.”
Q: Billy Schrauth came back today, but at left guard. Can you take us through your discussions with O-Line coach Joe Rudolph in terms of bringing him back in that spot and what does it mean to have him back?
“It's great to have him back. He's a heck of a player. We felt like this was what was best for this game, based off some of the previous evidence that we had. And we said, ‘Listen, that's what we think is best for this offense and this unit, is to put Billy at left guard and keep Rocco [Spindler] in at right. Sam [Pendleton] has done a great job in his preparation. He's a selfless individual. He's ready to go when his number is going to be called, but at the end of the day, each week your role is determined by the coaches to help us achieve the outcome that we want. Every week your role can change, but this is the role we needed for these offensive linemen today.”
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