Here's the postgame transcript for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, quarterback Riley Leonard and safety Xavier Watts.
COACH FREEMAN: I think I said this after the game, but I'm so proud of this program, the team, for the work they put in to obtaining the result that we got tonight.
I've been reminding them the last ten days as we prepared, this will be a 60-plus-minute fight. Georgia's been down in nine games this year, and they find a way to come back and win. And so, they had that mentality.
Our coaches called the game aggressive. Our players executed, put everything on the line for this university and this football team. And I'm really proud of them. Proud of the way they handled the events of the last 24 hours.
And I want to make sure I, again, send our condolences on behalf of our university and our football program to everyone that was affected by the tragedy.
And they had to be able to still get ready for this game with the natural emotions that come into each individual that happened after the tragedy.
And so, I'm proud of the way they prepared. They stayed steady, and they went out, and they did a great job.
And so, with that, we'll open up for questions.
Q. Marcus, you just alluded to the last 24 hours. I'm just curious, in your experience, how extraordinary was the experience? And the swing of emotions from maybe the mood of your team yesterday, how you'll address that, to getting ready to play this big game today.
COACH FREEMAN: Yeah. Yesterday morning, we woke up, and we had heard there was some type of incident. I don't think we all knew the details, but we were getting ready to play a game. And by the time we had a break and we had lunch, we found out that the game was postponed.
And then we found out more details. And I think once you found out more details about the tragedy, the emotions took over each individual differently. But they handled it spectacularly, and they prepared.
We spent some time together. And I think that's what you do in tough moments. You want to spend time with family, and that's what we are. But they found a way to get prepared for this opportunity and refocus.
And again, it's unprecedented. Life -- you know, I told them this morning, there's things in life that are unpredictable. And the ability to handle those unpredictable things determine the success. And they handled this incident, this change, but they handle everything that's thrown at them in an unbelievable way.
Q. Marcus, can you kind of -- you and James Franklin are making history here. Can you kind of just put in perspective what it means for you to be one of two Black coaches in this playoffs.
COACH FREEMAN: Yeah. Again, you're very grateful. It's a reminder that you are a representation for many others and many of our players that look the same way I do. Your color shouldn't matter. The evidence of your work should.
But it takes everybody. And that's what I continue to remind myself. When people will try to point the finger at you, it's a great reminder of you're not in this position without everybody, without all these guys. And that's what I told them in the locker room. I couldn't get off that stage fast enough because everybody couldn't be up there. It's about the team. It's about everybody that puts everything they have into making sure that we can achieve that success.
And so, it's a great honor. It's a privilege. But again, as the head coach of this place, I understand we're not in this position unless everybody in this program gets their job done.
Q. All four teams that played in the first round ended up advancing to the Semifinals. I know you can only speak for yourself, but do you believe that having played on December 20th gave you a competitive advantage over a team that had not played since December 7th?
COACH FREEMAN: No. I don't. I think whatever circumstances you're given, you make the most of them. And if we would have had a first-round bye, I would have been the first one to say, Hey, this is great for us. We didn't. It's great for us.
We are always a glass-half-full group. And whatever circumstances are thrown at us, we're going to take advantage of it and prepare and maximize the opportunity ahead of us. And so, that's what they did.
The first game had nothing to do with this game. It was the preparation that they put in to this week and this game and the performance that they put on.
But I don't believe in my heart the first game had anything to do with this one. It was about the preparation they did after the first game.
(cont.)
COACH FREEMAN: I think I said this after the game, but I'm so proud of this program, the team, for the work they put in to obtaining the result that we got tonight.
I've been reminding them the last ten days as we prepared, this will be a 60-plus-minute fight. Georgia's been down in nine games this year, and they find a way to come back and win. And so, they had that mentality.
Our coaches called the game aggressive. Our players executed, put everything on the line for this university and this football team. And I'm really proud of them. Proud of the way they handled the events of the last 24 hours.
And I want to make sure I, again, send our condolences on behalf of our university and our football program to everyone that was affected by the tragedy.
And they had to be able to still get ready for this game with the natural emotions that come into each individual that happened after the tragedy.
And so, I'm proud of the way they prepared. They stayed steady, and they went out, and they did a great job.
And so, with that, we'll open up for questions.
Q. Marcus, you just alluded to the last 24 hours. I'm just curious, in your experience, how extraordinary was the experience? And the swing of emotions from maybe the mood of your team yesterday, how you'll address that, to getting ready to play this big game today.
COACH FREEMAN: Yeah. Yesterday morning, we woke up, and we had heard there was some type of incident. I don't think we all knew the details, but we were getting ready to play a game. And by the time we had a break and we had lunch, we found out that the game was postponed.
And then we found out more details. And I think once you found out more details about the tragedy, the emotions took over each individual differently. But they handled it spectacularly, and they prepared.
We spent some time together. And I think that's what you do in tough moments. You want to spend time with family, and that's what we are. But they found a way to get prepared for this opportunity and refocus.
And again, it's unprecedented. Life -- you know, I told them this morning, there's things in life that are unpredictable. And the ability to handle those unpredictable things determine the success. And they handled this incident, this change, but they handle everything that's thrown at them in an unbelievable way.
Q. Marcus, can you kind of -- you and James Franklin are making history here. Can you kind of just put in perspective what it means for you to be one of two Black coaches in this playoffs.
COACH FREEMAN: Yeah. Again, you're very grateful. It's a reminder that you are a representation for many others and many of our players that look the same way I do. Your color shouldn't matter. The evidence of your work should.
But it takes everybody. And that's what I continue to remind myself. When people will try to point the finger at you, it's a great reminder of you're not in this position without everybody, without all these guys. And that's what I told them in the locker room. I couldn't get off that stage fast enough because everybody couldn't be up there. It's about the team. It's about everybody that puts everything they have into making sure that we can achieve that success.
And so, it's a great honor. It's a privilege. But again, as the head coach of this place, I understand we're not in this position unless everybody in this program gets their job done.
Q. All four teams that played in the first round ended up advancing to the Semifinals. I know you can only speak for yourself, but do you believe that having played on December 20th gave you a competitive advantage over a team that had not played since December 7th?
COACH FREEMAN: No. I don't. I think whatever circumstances you're given, you make the most of them. And if we would have had a first-round bye, I would have been the first one to say, Hey, this is great for us. We didn't. It's great for us.
We are always a glass-half-full group. And whatever circumstances are thrown at us, we're going to take advantage of it and prepare and maximize the opportunity ahead of us. And so, that's what they did.
The first game had nothing to do with this game. It was the preparation that they put in to this week and this game and the performance that they put on.
But I don't believe in my heart the first game had anything to do with this one. It was about the preparation they did after the first game.
(cont.)
