November 21, 1998

Notre Dame Head Coach Bob Davie Quotes

On the game:
“This was a heck of a win. LSU is the most talented team from top to bottom that we’ve played this year. They’ve got great skill position players. Our players hung in there and came through.”

“You can see that that was a pretty remarkable football game. I told our players coming into the game that we knew this was a big game. We had a chance to be 9-1 and go undefeated at home, but the biggest aspect was just to see how much improved we made since Dec. 28, in Shreveport. I told the team how proud this coaching staff is of the team.

On the team:
“Obviously, we haven’t properly solved all the problems on the field, but in terms of heart, spirit, soul and commitment, it is remarkable since where we were on Dec. 28. There is a lot of love on this team.”

On Howard’s interception return:
“Like we say in practice all the time, I told Bobbie Howard that you never know when you are going make a big play. If someone had told me that his short little legs would carry that ball all the way, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

On the first half:
“We had trouble stopping LSU in the first half. We moved the ball in the first half but didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. We told the team not to panic after we got down. I was really proud of how we came back after the opening touchdown.”

On the second half:
“”In the second half, we missed two extra points but the interception by Bobbie Howard was huge. Jarious Jackson and Raki Nelson stepped up.”

On the end of the game:
“At the end of the football game, we got the ball back but I was disappointed that we didn’t execute to take the safety better and end the game. We made it closer than it needed to be. We wanted Jarious to go to the endline and use as much time as possible and end the game. We didn’t execute and weren’t able to do that. It wasn’t so much of the play as it was the execution of the play.”

On Jackson’s injury:
“I feel so bad for Jarious right now. The character and togetherness on this team is amazing. It is unfortunate what happened to Jarious. We need to lift up Eric Chappell and Arnaz Battle up on our shoulders and carry them in the game. The whole team, the offensive, the defense, the kicking game, everyone has to step up. I’m not sure who will play, probably both of them.”

On the kicking game:
“The kicking game is disappointing because of the time and effort we put into it.”

Gerry DiNardo Quotes

” Herb (Tyler) hurt his hamstring. That is why he was not in there in the end. Craig (Nall) did a good job, in a poor circumstance. That was not the circumstance we would want to put him in, but he did a good job.”

(when referring to blocked kicks) ” It comes down to protection, I don’t think it was protection, we had good protection, operation time, which is the time it takes to get the kick off, or it was a low kick. It was one of those three.”

“I told the team that I would rather come back tomorrow and coach a team that this works hard, but just does not have what it takes to win. I would rather not coach a team that does not want to work hard. I thought they played hard today.”

(when referring to Bobby Howard’s interception) “The interception was a problem. We had had success in that situation with that play before. They had a good defensive set.”

“Third down conversions we’re very timely for them and not so timely for us. Jackson made several good plays to get those conversions.”

“The last loss is always the toughest.”

“We have thrown like that all year. Herb (Tyler) has thrown the ball well all year. Our receivers have done a good job as well. Our passing (today) was not all that unusual.”

“There are mistakes whether you win or lose. I have to go to the film and see what mistakes we made and which ones we repeated. Then we just have to go and adjust the mistakes in practice.”

(when referring to the outcome of the game) “It’s a downer. It tears your guts out. It’s football and it is life. We just have to prepare for Arkansas.”

(when referring to Notre Dame’s last touchdown) “It had to do with clock management. The plan was to stop them and block a field goal.”

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Bobbie Howard: Linebacker
On his pass interception: ” I was just in the right place at the right time. I have to thank Tony Driver for his block on Herb Tyler. Without that block I probably would have not made it to the endzone.”

Kory Minor: Linebacker
On the defense: “We have played well all year, but at times we have not played as well as we are capable of. This defense has a lot of heart and courage. We have guys that really love to play the game, and we stick together to make a big play when we need it.”

Autry Denson: Tailback
On LSU’s defense: “It was a dog fight out there today, and that is what we expected out of LSU. Every week some one steps up for us, and today Jarious was the man. He stepped up and played a great game today. Raki Nelson also came up big for us. These guys got us out of a lot of jams today. Next week against USC will be another dog fight.”

Mike Rosenthal: Offensive Tackle
On his last game in Notre Dame Stadium: “This is the greatest way to go out I could ever think of. To come back from two touchdowns down and lay it all on the line to leave this place a victor. This was just a great win.”

Malcolm Johnson: Splitend
On the Irish Receivers: ” Today we proved that when we are called upon we are going to make the plays. We all played with a lot of heart today.

Jarious Jackson: Quarterback
On the Game: ” Today we were basically trying to do whatever needed to be done to win the game. LSU was a great team today, and luckily in the end we came out with the win. I just try to spark the rest of the team to do what I know they are capable of doing.”

LSU Player Quotes

Abram Booty: Split End
On His Second Half Production
“I don’t think they did anything different. We threw deeper routes, we wanted to get behind them and we connected.”

On Final Play of the Game
“Craig threw a great pass. It was supposed to be a post route. It went off the tip of my fingers, I just wasn’t able to bring it in.”

Mark Roman: Free Safety
On His Interception and Touchdown
“We had practiced the coverage. I broke on the ball and it was there and I was able to make the play.”

On Losing Close Games All Season
“It’s just a situation where we’re not getting any of the breaks. We’re playing hard and the plays aren’t happening for us when we need them to.”

Kevin Faulk: Tailback

On His Mind Set After the Fumble/Before His Kick Return For A Touchdown
“I was thinking the same things as I always do. I’m not the type of person to get down on myself. I want the ball and I know when I get I can make the play.”

On the Loss
“As a team we played hard, but not hard enough to win.”

Herb Tyler: Quarterback

On the Game
“We never doubted ourselves. We played hard throughout the whole game, we just need to execute better.”

On Being On the Sidelines For the Final Minutes
“It feels terrible right now. To have the lead in the fourth quarter and to be down three with the ball and time left, it just dissapointing not to be out there.”