Dec. 29, 2005

The University of Notre Dame football team enjoyed a third full day in Scottsdale, Ariz., preparing for the showdown with Ohio State in the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Monday, Jan. 2, 2006. The day was filled with team meetings, a press conference and another solid practice at Scottsdale Community College.

Friday will be the official media day for the 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The Irish will get their first look at Sun Devil Stadium when the whole team turns out for the media day festivities, starting at 9:30 a.m. (www.und.com will have a full recap of the day’s events, including a comprehensive photo gallery).

Notre Dame will practice at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, 3:15 p.m. again on Saturday and do a closed walk-through at Sun Devil Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, at 11:00 a.m. Kickoff for the 35th Annual Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will be at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Monday, Jan. 2.

Thursday’s press conference at the media headquarters featured senior linebackers Brandon Hoyte and Corey Mays, junior defensive end Victor Abiamiri, junior safety Tom Zbikowski and defensive coordinator Rick Minter. Selected quotes from the Irish players and coach follow. In addition, head coach Charlie Weis’ post-practice interview session is transcribed as well –

Senior LB Brandon Hoyte –

On Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith…

“I think at the beginning of the year he was the type of quarterback that relied more on his legs. As the season went on, he became a more complete quarterback. I think that is the danger he brings, he can beat you equally as well with his legs or his arm.”

On the effectiveness of Notre Dame defensive tackles Trevor Laws and Derek Landri…

“Derek and Trevor, the one thing they do, is that they are not just linemen who take up space. They get off blocks and make plays. (Landri) is fast. Speed is everything in this game and as soon as the ball is snapped, he is in the backfield.”

On the fact that Ohio State players have never lost a bowl game, while the Irish players have never won one…

“It is a motivation in my point of view. That is good for (Ohio State), they have been doing a great job winning bowl games. That is an area we want to improve in and, as a senior, that is something that we want to leave behind.”

On the team’s focus and business-like approach to the Fiesta Bowl…

“The focus is unbelievable. The schedule that we have right now is for a business trip. Going into this week, it doesn’t feel that different from any other game week. We might have an extra few days and are out of school, but besides from that it feels like a regular game week.”

Junior S Tom Zbikowski…

On his favorite boxers of all-time…

“Jake LaMotta, watching Raging Bull and getting to eat dinner with him. `Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler is one of my favorites. I was like 10 or 11 when I ate with LaMotta. He was in town for a fight and I knew the guy promoting the fight and got hooked up through that. I got lucky.”

On what makes the Ohio State offense so effective…

“From what we have watched (on film), they have dominated first down so they are working with second and short and third and short. When you are in that position as an offense you can do whatever you want. You can take a shot down field, make something big happen or just grind it out and keep moving the chains. It has a lot to do with Big Ten football – keep moving the chains and keep pounding away. But then when you throw that aspect in when they are going empty sets against Michigan and throwing short routes, then having Smith scramble or run the option. It is a tough offense to stop because they are dominant on first down.”

On Coach Weis reminding the team about its seven-game losing streak in bowl games…

“I don’t think it has been that bad. Maybe earlier, but now we are focused on the task at hand. That is always going to have to be said or brought up, but as I have said before, we had nothing to do with those other losses, except for last year, so we can’t worry about what other people couldn’t accomplish.”

Senior LB Corey Mays –

On the hype for the Fiesta Bowl…

“This is a season of emotional highs and lows, but really for every Notre Dame season it is going to be a lot of hype. People are going to hate you or love you and they are going to try to find a way to create some tension in some way.”

On the respect factor between the two competing teams…

“With not speaking with (the Ohio State players), I would hope they respect us, because we return the favor and respect them. Once January 2nd comes, however, there will not be much respect on the field. That is how it is supposed to be.”

Senior DE Victor Abiamiri –

On defending the number of different playmakers from Ohio State’s offense…

“It is tough. You can’t really shut down one person on the team. Our coaches are good coaches and given this much time to prepare for the game gives us a chance to deal with the different threats they have. Varying the coverages, changing the blitz packages, the time we have to prepare for this game is different from those in the past.”

On if the Notre Dame defense has a chip on its shoulder…

“I think so. We have something to prove. The whole year, our defense has taken a back seat to our offense. Given a national stage, I think we will be able to show how great a defense we are.”

Defensive Coordinator Rick Minter –

On the opportunity to end Ohio State’s bowl win streak…

“We had a chance to alter history on October 15th. It slipped between our fingertips. I am all about altering history, particularly when we are on that end of it. We came here to do a job. That is to go out and play the very best we can on defense, hold this team down to whatever it takes for us to be successful as a team. That is what our preparation is all about. That is what we came here to do. Uphold our end of the bargain on defense with our team to give our team an opportunity to be successful. If we alter history while doing that, then I guess we will have a history lesson come Monday.”

On if he establishes a total number of points that the defense needs to limit Ohio State to for a victory…

“Never. Our job is to give up one less overall. We always have our standard. On defense, we are believers of `Why should anyone score anytime?’ Something always goes wrong when they score, that is what we think, just as (the offense) thinks something went right when they score. There is not a magic number. This is a team game and that is how we have been all year. Coach Weis calls his game that way, we call our game that way and we operate our special teams that way. It seems to have worked so far.”

Head Coach Charlie Weis –

On what he is working on with the team this week…

“There are a number of things. We put in a core of every set (before Christmas). Core second down, core third down, core red zone and core goal line. Now, each facet we are going in there to put in the rest of it. You are tweaking it and adding to it a little bit. It is just enough to make them have to think. If you come back and give them all the same information all over again, then they will say `We have seen this before, we have seen that before.’ Maybe you throw a blitz at them that they have not seen before. You can’t run every play against every possible look you will go against, so you make sure that you don’t get stagnant. You have to challenge them. That is the way we coach and so far, so good with that.”

On what specifically the team worked on during Thursday’s practice…

“Today was first and second down review and implement third down. First and second down review went better than third down because a review is a repeat of yesterday while third down is a whole new facet we are putting in. Now tomorrow, we will go over that stuff to clean it up and we will introduce red area and goal line. You are always cleaning up one area and introducing another area. By the time the game comes around, you have nothing left to clean up. First and second down looked great and third down looked so-so.”

On what special preparations for Ohio State’s defense might dictate…

“You have to look at Ohio State’s defense. Is (Bobby) Carpenter playing or isn’t he playing? What are the different variations you have to be prepared for based on whether he is or isn’t in there? So some of the plays he is in there and some he is not. That is just one example of what you have to get through on the practice field so when it comes to game time, nothing is a surprise.”

On the report of contact between him and Nick Saban about bowl preparation…

“I don’t know who did that investigative report but that is one of the guys I talked to. After the Stanford game I stayed to go down to Southern California on a recruiting trip and the Dolphins were literally waiting for us to leave the hotel that day because they were coming down to play the Raiders. Earlier in the week I had called to see if I could spend some time with him. We met early that morning before his staff meeting. He was one of the people I went to say `How did you do it?’ I have a lot of respect for Coach Saban and he gave me about a half hour and said here is how I did it when I first started and this is how it evolved. It was definitely a great resource for me.”

On the development of junior safety Chinedum Ndukwe…

“It is always interesting to watch a player that has evolved from an offensive player to a defensive player and how the mentalities change. I would say his whole play on defense has improved as the year has gone on. When you first change over, it is not the easiest transition. All of the sudden you become a full time player. He has gained more confidence. What usually happens is that you start making plays because you are not thinking about it as much out there.”

On the offensive line’s part in the offense’s success…

“There is no doubt that it has been the biggest difference. You give a lot of credit to Coach (John) Latina, but those offensive linemen, there have been about six of them playing all year long. Most teams play two-deep, for the most part we have played six guys the entire season. Those guys have slugged it out. When you talk about changing a temperament, it all starts at the line of scrimmage. Nothing else really matters if you don’t win the line of scrimmage. They have done a nice job in the run game and done a nice job of protecting the quarterback.”

On whether he has `settled in’ to the bowl week schedule…

“I am not really a social butterfly. When you get involved in these bowls there are a lot of things that you do at night that are part of the package. I think it puts a lot of strain on the coaches. The players have most of the mental preparation in. The coaches, last night both staffs were at a coach’s dinner. Now all of the sudden it is 10:30 (p.m.) and you have parts to write and they are over at 6:30 (a.m.) to watch the practice tape. I had already watched the practice tape before they watched the practice tape. It is a long day. This isn’t a vacation. This is a work week.”

On the Notre Dame’s recent history in bowl games…

“I am 0-0 in bowl games. As far as I am concerned, I have never been involved with Notre Dame in a bowl game. I could care less what they did before I got here. I am only worried about now. I could care less about what happened before, I am just worried about January 2nd. I think Ohio State playing in a bowl game last year and Notre Dame playing in a bowl game is irrelevant. The only thing that is relevant is what happens on Monday.”

On whether he has reminded his team of their history in bowl games…

“That is the way that I am. I am not really hounding them, to be honest. What I am doing, I have been telling them how this season, everyone wants to go back to certain points that happened during the year. Turning points for both Ohio State and Notre Dame. They talk about the USC game, the Stanford game, they talk about different games. But realistically, you are really remembered by how the season ends. If you go and win the Fiesta Bowl against an opponent like Ohio State, everyone is going to say what a great year you had. You got that monkey off your back as far as that decade of not winning a bowl game. I am being very practical when I say that. I am stating a matter of fact. But if you go and lose to Ohio State, even by one point, everyone will say, `Well, it was pretty good, 9-3 this year.’ Well, pretty good isn’t good enough. Hopefully they are shooting for the same thing I am – finishing with a flurry.”

On his plans for New Years Eve for him and the team…

“Oh, it is my favorite. I have to go to a black tie dinner. (Laughter) You can just tell this is something I am really looking forward to. Our whole coaching staff is going to it. But the best part of it, there is one really good thing about it, John Latina has not been in a tux since he got married. So I am really looking forward to it and we are going to make sure that we take a lot of pictures of that because he has been whining about it.

“We have a night planned for (the team). We have a place we are taking them all to that has a multi-function thing going on. They are looking forward to it.”

On any final feelings about the outcome of the Heisman Trophy voting…

“Here is what I think. I coached in the NFL for 15 years. After Reggie Bush, you can take any of those three quarterbacks and pull them out of a hat and any of them could have finished second to Reggie. I am prejudiced toward Brady (Quinn). I would pick him over any of the others because that is the one I know. Realistically, if you look at all three of those young men they all have fine careers ahead of them. Second, third and fourth is irrelevant. You only care who wins. The right guy won.”