Sept. 7, 2014

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An Interview with: Coach Kelly

Brian Kelly: As you can imagine, we’re pleased with the victory. Obviously, shutting out any opponent in college football is an enormous task with offenses today. A great performance by our defense. Great performance by our coaches. The preparation was outstanding. And then we were opportunistic offensively. I thought we had a plan that we capitalized on and really made the best of a very aggressive defense that Michigan has and were able to get some one on one matchups, and really had some guys step up for us today. I was really pleased to see some individuals play extremely well. But this is a team effort. Special teams were solid. The defense was outstanding. Offensively, putting 31 points on the board, and again, second consecutive week without turnovers and as you know, in games like this, where the competition is really good, you take care of the football, you got a great chance to be successful. So, again, really proud of the way 19 first year players went out in a very electric atmosphere and handled themselves in a manner that allowed them to beat Michigan in the manner that they did. So with that, I’ll open it up to questions.

Q. Shumate and Redfield both seemed to have pretty good games. When did you start to see the communication in their success turn in practice this week?
Brian Kelly: They first of all, they knew that it was their time to step up and lead back there. They were put in that position by virtue of an injury, and the circumstances, and they were not going to let their teammates down. It’s a very close group of guys. That, in itself, motivates this group to do things that is really outside their comfort zone. They’re not great communicators as it is. They’re very quiet kids, but they did a nice job on Saturday.

Q. For Everett, to do what he did without much of a running attack going, how impressive was that for him?
Brian Kelly: It was good. The way they decided to play the game, there was six, seven guys, it was just how they decided that they wanted to take those opportunities away from us, and we were gladly to oblige them and throw the football. So, if somebody is going to play the game so one sided defensively, we’re going to throw the football. And we probably missed a number of opportunities that we would like to have back, but we think 31 points against Michigan is still not bad.

Q. The cliche is, every opponent you want to beat them, but I know it’s got to be pretty special to beat Michigan in what could be the last one. What’s the feeling after getting this win against such a big rival?
Brian Kelly: Well, yeah, it feels great to beat Michigan. It feels great that we’re the first team in the history of Notre Dame football to shut out a Michigan team. So, our kids can take that with them. It’s something that they’re very proud of. So, we clearly feel great about that. But, we temper it by knowing that we got a long season ahead of us and it counts as one, it doesn’t count as two. If it counted as two, we would probably be a little bit happier, but it counts as one. But there’s no question, I would be lying if to tell you that it doesn’t feel great to shut out Michigan 31 0.

Q. The feel that Everett has for the game now, as compared to two years ago. How do you characterize just his understanding of situations and when to take shots?
Brian Kelly: Yeah, he’s just really has a better sense and feel for the offense that we’re running. Clearly, has more of a spread attack to it. I think it all started when he really got an opportunity to learn how to protect himself and protections really, for me, is the catapult for quarterbacks in their development. I think once that clicked for him, now when you know you’re protected, and you know your protections, your eyes now, you can get into progressions, and see routes, and see their development. And I think that’s really when he felt comfortable there and protecting himself, that’s when he’s really started to grow and develop as a quarterback.

Q. The accuracy, is that just the reps he’s had over time, or is there something else that goes into him putting the ball in the right spots most of the time?
Brian Kelly: I think that in our recruitment, one of the things for me, has always been a very accurate passer. So, it was something that in the recruiting process for me is always at the top of the list. Certainly, there are a number of other things relative to the position, but accuracy has to be part of it. It’s not just about a strong arm. So, that was there. And I think he’s developed that, obviously, in his time here. Then, I really think that the offense, and him really understanding the offense, helps in that accuracy, as well.

Q. Two quick questions. You guys seemed to really dominate the interior of the defensive line today. Can you talk about how important that was to really keep Michigan off balance?
Brian Kelly: Yeah, I think it was the key to success today. Our ability to really hold their running game in check allowed us now we had a little bit of a problem early on getting into third down. They made a couple of plays, and we were in a bad defense one time. But, once we were able to really get a hold of the run game and getting it to third down, we felt like we were going to be in pretty good shape, because we were able to do a lot of things to confuse what they were seeing. They weren’t getting the same looks. I think that had a lot to do with our success. So, stopping the running game and having a good control over the running game really set up a lot of things for us tonight.

Q. Second question, you guys are in two weeks now 10 10 in the red zone with eight touchdowns. Can you talk about just how important that is to your team getting off to a pretty good start the first two games.
Brian Kelly: Yeah, I think we talked about this a lot. We have to be better. We have to score down there. It’s something that, for me as somebody involved in the offensive play calling, we spent a lot of time on it. We have missed some opportunities that we would like back, but it’s very important stat for us that when we cross the 40 yard line, we have got to be in a position that allows us to win games, and that’s scoring touchdowns down there.

Q. We have talked about the development of Everett. Amir Carlisle, just his hands, several grabs using just his hands and in his routes and everything, can you speak to his improvement in that area?
Brian Kelly: I was impressed with him tonight. We have been that’s one area, the slot receiver position has been an area that has been a bit of a concern for me. We finally got a guy that can matchup inside out. And that inside out position puts him on safeties, linebackers, and we can do a lot of really good things there. I thought he made some outstanding catches in traffic. Held on to the football, toe tapped one on the sideline, showed a really good skill set at that position in particular. So, I thought he was big today. I thought this was a statement game for him.

Q. Talk about how last year your field position was horrific. Michigan actually had more total yards, but it seemed the field position you were constantly pinning them back?
Brian Kelly: Yeah, we had great starting field position. I think our special teams had something to do with it. Again, I don’t know what the exact numbers were. But, I think when we crunch the numbers, we’re going to like our starting field position. And I think our defense was able to pin them back a couple of times, and then our punt returns were solid again tonight.

Q. This feels like a long time ago, but when this was still a one possession game, your offense burned through three timeouts pretty quickly. What were the miscues that prompted those?
Brian Kelly: We just were a little slow tempo wise. I think the moment was a little big for us. I will use those timeouts if I don’t think I’ve got the right start to the game, because they really don’t mean much to me in the first half. I think I can manage the offense in the first half. Now, they’re very important in the second half. But, I’m more interested in getting it right early on and getting off to a good start. So, if I got to use a timeout and communicate with Everett, on some things, I was okay using them up. Because we weren’t moving in the right tempo, we were we just needed to polish up some things early on, and we cleared them up. And then, I think after we used that third timeout, we got our tempo right. We were able to pick things up a lot better and start to move the football.

Q. I know you talked a lot about how great Everett’s played. Do you feel like through two games that –
Brian Kelly: Did I say he played great tonight? I don’t think I did, yet.

Q. I know this is super early in the season, but do you feel like he’s entered his name into the Heisman candidacy, or at least talks?
Brian Kelly: Yeah, let’s put him up for it. Sure. Throw him in there. I saw one list. Somebody had him he wasn’t even in the Top 10 quarterbacks in the country. So, you know, I think that it still is really early. He’s got a lot of, a lot more development to take place, he’s getting better. And we’re two weeks into this thing. So whatever list you got, throw him on.

Q. What do you think says more about the type of team you’ll be this season, the way you’re defense dominated or the way Golson looked, as polished as he did?
Brian Kelly: I think it’s probably a bit cliche to say that we’re driven by the quarterback position, because everybody says that the quarterback drives it. But, this team is probably its success is really in its youth. There’s young guys out there that are playing for this football team, and we have embraced that. So, to answer your question, it’s probably a little bit of both and that they just it’s a group of kids that has bonded really well together on both sides of the ball. So, it’s not really just one side. It’s not just the defense. It’s not just the offense. When we won 12 games, it was definitely a defensive group that kind of led that. This, they feed off of each other one both sides of the ball.

Q. At one point in the second quarter, it was just 7 0 and you decide to go for a fourth and three. Did you feel you needed to seize the moment the way the game was going, or was it confidence on both sides of the ball at that point?
Brian Kelly: I just liked the matchups we had on the outside. We can’t run the ball. There’s just so many guys in there. They had seven guys standing down the line of scrimmage. So, I liked our one on one matchups. Everett throws the ball well on the outside. We work that when you have a good play call on fourth down, I’m all for using it. So, we used it.

Q. You mentioned they were kind of loading the box a little bit. You continued to try to run into it. How important was that in sort of keeping a balance, and then ultimately, that was what opened things up for Everett?
Brian Kelly: Yeah, well we ran it over 30 times into some really difficult looks. You have to you got to keep pounding it in there. We’re on the goal line and there’s nine guys on the line of scrimmage, and we found a way to get it into the end zone. So, we’ll continue to run it, even in a loaded box, because I think our backs are gifted enough that they can make some people miss in there. But, we were able to hit some quick slants off some play action. We were able to hit a Z climb a couple of times off of some play action. So, we’ll continue to run it even if the numbers are not there. So, it’s very important that we continue to run it.

Q. And the defensive game plan tonight, is that, did you see something like this coming during the week?
Brian Kelly: Oh, yeah, I mean, we obviously have a good idea of what we want to do, and we felt like, get this quarterback into third down and give him a lot of different looks. We needed to get him to third down situations. If we couldn’t stop the run, it was going to be difficult to get him to the third down situation. So this really was predicated on our ability to stop the run.

An Interview with: Brady Hoke
BRADY HOKE: Obviously, Notre Dame played a very good football game and we didn’t. And you got to give them a lot of credit. A lot of credit to what they did on third downs, either defending us or their third down opportunities that they converted on. We have got to go back to work, and we will as a team. You don’t want to have four turnovers in a game. That doesn’t help you. The red zone, we didn’t help ourself in there. From the penalty side, we put ourselves behind the sticks a little bit, offensively. And again, you got to give them a lot of the credit, too. But, we will bounce back, because this is a very resilient, hard working group of young men who know what it takes to win.

Q. After Gardner started fairly quickly, I think 6 6 and then did they bring more pressure, did your offensive line struggle? What sort of fell apart after that?
BRADY HOKE: Well, I think a little bit. It’s never one guy, it’s never one piece of the offensive line, or the quarterback, or the routes, or whatever. When those things happen, it happens as a team. He started 6 6. I think we got to give them we crossed the 50, and they were going to bring more pressure. And that’s what they did.

Q. Can you talk about Ray Taylor, any status up date?
BRADY HOKE: I’m not going to talk about any of those injuries. Number one, I don’t know enough about them.

Q. Jabrill, he dressed, but could he have played?
BRADY HOKE: If he could have played, we would have played him. We evaluated all those guys before the game.

Q. But then you dressed him, just to
BRADY HOKE: No, he went out because we were evaluating him before the game.

Q. You said you’re pretty confident this team will bounce back. How do they bounce back from such a humbling loss here?
BRADY HOKE: Yeah, it is. But, I think they have all been humbled some time in their life. I think that is part of the resiliency this group has.

Q. Your guys were pretty adamant about how bad they wanted this because it was going to possibly be the last meeting. Were you surprised at how lopsided this ended up being?
BRADY HOKE: This game? Yeah.

Q. You talked about Devin. Did you ever consider pulling him at any point?
BRADY HOKE: No. No, he’s our quarter back. Unless he somehow doesn’t come to work every day, doesn’t come to learn, all those things, he’s our quarterback. And we wanted to put points on the board.

Q. Did it feel like he slipped into some of those habits maybe he had last year with holding onto the ball?
BRADY HOKE: Well I think, obviously I don’t think he slipped into all those habits. I think he’s a better quarterback. I know he is. He’s a better quarterback than he demonstrated today.

Q. You talked about this team will bounce back. But, does it need something different? Does it need some changes from you as the head coach, something, either personnel wise or anything like that? I know in the immediate aftermath it’s hard to know, but what about that?
BRADY HOKE: Well, I think that is hard to know. I think when you evaluate it, and we’ll evaluate it on the bus on the way home, how guys played, who didn’t play well, who played well. Because there were some guys who played pretty well. Jake Ryan, I thought he played a pretty good football game. You could feel him out there. Jack Miller did some good things. When you watch that, you know, the bad part was we good shots behind the sticks too many times and got out of rhythm offensively, because we were running the ball halfway decent. That was encouraging to see. But then, obviously, I think halftime it was, it turned into a game we needed to throw it a little more.

Q. Everett Golson is a guy who didn’t make it out of the first half the last time you faced him. He was considerably better tonight. What are the biggest differences you’ve seen in him, going against him?
BRADY HOKE: Well, I think they also use him well. I think Brian does a good job. There’s a lot of three step game in it, a lot of slants. I think that he’s matured. I think I said that this week coming in, he’s a much better quarterback than he was two years ago. Just watching the Rice game, I would say the same thing after watching our game.

Q. You shuffled the secondary a lot?
BRADY HOKE: Some of that was because of injuries.

Q. But even you took out Blake at one point. What did you see there that you didn’t particularly like?
BRADY HOKE: Well, we have played a lot of guys back there in the past. Stribling, we wanted to get him some live reps in there. Sometimes you take a guy out, and he gets a chance to watch from the sidelines a little bit, and maybe picks up a few things. We didn’t play well in man coverage. You get called for two interference calls, and we got to play smarter, early, and then the guys are a little bit get a little bit worried about playing press.

Q. This is I believe 0 4 against the big three rivals on the road the last 4 years. What is this team missing to get over the hump?
BRADY HOKE: Winning.

Q. What do you need to do?
BRADY HOKE: You win the game. You play, you don’t turn over the ball. You don’t give up big plays.

Q. Is this a mental thing at this point or what do you guys do?
BRADY HOKE: You will talk about it enough into it being a mental thing. I don’t think it’s a mental thing.

Q. What do you think it is?
BRADY HOKE: Just what I said. Can’t give up big play, can’t turn the ball over.

Q. When the game is that far out of reach, Gardner often puts his body in positions where he takes hits. He took hits in the fourth quarter. Why were you playing him at that point?
BRADY HOKE: Because he’s our quarterback. He’s a quarterback. We’re going to play some other really big games on the road this year, and for him to keep improving, he needs to play quarterback.

Q. Is it a huge risk, he took a hit in the last play?
BRADY HOKE: Yeah, anything’s a risk. To me, the risk was starting him, maybe. I mean, I don’t know. We’re trying to develop a team.

Q. You might have touched on this a little bit already, but what specifically was your message to the team after the game?
BRADY HOKE: After the game? Number one, give Notre Dame credit for how they played. It was a total butt kicking all the way around that we all took. Going back to work tomorrow as a team like they will. We have got to get a lot better. I think we learned some things, that we got to get better at.

Q. It looked like your quarterback was under pressure a lot, and their quarterback wasn’t under pressure a lot. Is there a disparity in the trenches or was that scheme?
BRADY HOKE: I don’t know. I don’t know about that. He had to run enough. He did a good job of evading a lot of rush. And so, I think there was pressure there, and then it sometimes is hard to get pressure on three step game.

Q. You mentioned you feel like this team will bounce back. Adversity wise with a young team, do you worry though that mentally if they get off track?
BRADY HOKE: I really don’t. Not with this team.

Q. Why not?
BRADY HOKE: Because of what we have seen everyday from them. From their work ethic, for how they care about each other, all those things.

Q. Devin took a good shot at the end. Is he okay? Gardner?
BRADY HOKE: Like I said, I’ll talk about those injuries when I know more.

An Interview with: Jaylon Smith and Everett Golson

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: It feels amazing, just the preparation, it’s an amazing feeling. And we got 24 hours to really enjoy the victory and then the next game’s Purdue.

Q. What does it mean to you to take out Michigan in the final game?
Jaylon Smith: It means everything. A great rivalry coming to an end. At least in our era. And, especially, I have a brother that plays for Ohio State and they hate Michigan, so it really goes to show upon a family, the fact that we can get the victory.

Q. And how important was it that you won the last game?
Jaylon Smith: It felt amazing. They haven’t had a goose egg since 1984. So that alone we’re setting our own standards here, and it’s an amazing feeling.

Q. How do you feel about playing out against Purdue?
Jaylon Smith: Just to go back on Monday and correct our mental errors, and just to get better in all aspect. It’s not about who we play, it’s about our execution and how we’re doing.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: Yeah, it was just getting our cleats in the ground. First series, you’re really not that loose. And it’s just really all about calming down and after the game settles in, after that first drive, we were pretty good to go.

Q. How much did you want to beat these guys and make this last game last for a real long time?
Jaylon Smith: Even the fact that it was a home game, we don’t want to lose. Especially at home. With a great crowd, 80,000 plus, just an amazing feeling out there tonight.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: Well, Coach Kelly says it all the time. It’s not about rising to the opposition, we had to sink to the level of our preparation. So, it was done during the week. Our preparation was incredible. Rushing for the ball and really just keeping that tempo up.

Q. How does this feel right now?
Jaylon Smith: It feels great to be 2 0. We didn’t have the chance last year to be 2 0, right away. So, it’s just a great feeling. We’re going to enjoy it.

Q. So much was made of the end of the rivalry for now, to make this kind of statement, what does that mean for you guys to give this to your fans?
Jaylon Smith: Just the fact that we’re together. There’s not individuals on this team. We’re young, but we can do it. There were a lot of errors that we can still clean up and get better at. And that’s what we hope to do.

Q. How special was that win?
Jaylon Smith: That atmosphere was great. It was surreal. Last year we were in the big house playing Michigan. So, to actually be home, seeing all your family there, it was amazing.

Q. You don’t remember hearing the chicken dance, but you heard the na, na, na, na.
Jaylon Smith: I definitely heard that.

Q. What was that like to hear that?
Jaylon Smith: Well, after you guys interviewed me about the chicken dance, I actually asked some of the players that actually heard it, and they told me about it. So, hearing the na, na, na, tonight, it was just a great revenge.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: Yeah, was just we come into each game with a huge inventory. Some things may even be confusing to others, and it’s just all about execution. There’s so much stuff that we have in our game plan, but if we can’t execute it, then we’re definitely defeated in that area.

Q. There’s a lot of young players on this team. How difficult is it for them to pick everything up?
Jaylon Smith: It’s attention to detail. It’s not just the coaches that want it. Ultimately it comes down to us. We’re all eager to learn and improve our football IQ’s. And just doing stuff outside of football together, whether it’s team bonding, or studying together. It all boils down to the whole fact of being a team.

Q. A young defense and a new defensive coordinator. Does that mean that your defense is maybe ahead of schedule?
Jaylon Smith: I would say it really just ceases all the doubts about we’re young, can we execute. Things that we have to improve on, just the communication and really executing our jobs. There were a lot of mental errors out there that the crowd may not see, but we’re going to get better.

Q. You played with amazing energy all four quarters. What was motivating you throughout the game, the fact that you were going nonstop and not getting sped up?
Jaylon Smith: It’s just something that we live by. You get what you earn. We had to earn it. We’re not giving in. We were up 21 or 28, at halftime, and it was all about the next play. Eradicating everything. Zero, zero.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: I’m not surprised. Especially with the scheme and how everyone bought into it that they want. It’s a great feeling, just the fact that we can come together and really share this victory with our crowd.

Q. Defensive line seemed to get some pretty good pressure on the quarterback. How much easier does that make your job?
Jaylon Smith: Very easy. Way easier. The fact that the opposition, they don’t know who is coming at them. There’s plays where both the middle linebackers are going. And then there’s plays where we’re faking like we’re going and then we’re dropping. It’s just the scheme and we all we all buy into it. And we have things, like I said, we have things that we need to correct, and we will.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: Yes. And it was preached to them the whole week. You guys need to communicate. We actually had a few theories in practice where we did all hand signals, no talk. And I think it really helped just the fact that they’re young players and they’re maturing. You can see it.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: Attention to detail. Physical play. It was very crucial defense to the game of football. And we really executed on that side.

Q. (No microphone.)
Jaylon Smith: The third down was it was key. Getting to third down to where we can spread them out and do what we want, play on our terms. That is essentially what our objective is each and every series. So, it’s something that we were very fortunate to do tonight.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: I felt pretty good. I think what you take from the day is the defense did a great, great, great job. I thought they were great on the field. But, any time you can lead that group back out there on the scoreboard with such a talented offense that Michigan has, you’re doing something pretty good.

Q. How bad did you guys want to beat them?
Everett Golson: I think we wanted it bad. I think that we wanted to just be successful every time we step on the field. I like to think that it added a little bit extra motivation being the last time we play them. But like I said, I’m just my hat’s off to the defense. They did a great job today.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: I don’t think so at all. There’s certain situations where I got to be smarter, like on third and one, where I need to be smarter. I’m definitely happy for the win, but there’s a lot of stuff that I got to do better.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: There’s a lot of things that just mental mistakes that I got to be better on. I just got to do a better job.

Q. Talk about your offense efficiency.
Everett Golson: They’re all just doing a great job. Just coming up with big plays. Just not turning the ball over. You think that’s where we need to be smart, understanding that we got a great kicker who can bail us out.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: He’s doing a great job, man. It’s kind of funny when you go back and just think he’s special.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: I think it’s a different dynamic this year. We want to play aggressive. I think last year, last two years, we relied a lot on defense. But we’re definitely going to be more aggressive this year.

Q. You’re off to a great start. When they start singing na, na, na, na, what was that like for you guys?
Everett Golson: That was big. (Laughter.) I was disappointed they didn’t do the D Boyz thing. I don’t know if they heard about that. Y’all didn’t hear about it? So Matthias had them doing the D Boyz, but they didn’t do it. But they definitely gave great effort all night. That kind of energized the team.

Q. Two years ago when you played obviously it was not your best game versus them. Was there a little bit of redemption tonight playing well?
Everett Golson: I talked about that earlier. I think that really I just wanted to come out and do what our emphasis is, run our game plan. I think the defense did a great job.

Q. How trick was the place and is that one of the moments where you go, hey, I’m really happy this all worked out to come back the way we did?
Everett Golson: Yeah, definitely. I credit my family and all that. It all starts with God. Just to allow me to be here to keep my head on straight the whole time. It all starts with God.

Q. How electric was it out there?
Everett Golson: It was pretty electric. Pretty electric. It was fun to play. A fun atmosphere to play in.

Q. I know a lot of people are already throwing around the word Heisman with your name. What does that mean to kind of maybe have you thrown in there?
Everett Golson: Avoid the noise. Avoid the noise. People are going to talk, that type of thing, whether it’s good or bad, but you got to keep your head on what really matters is my guys around me, that’s where it starts. I don’t know if I really necessarily hear it.

Q. Purdue on the schedule. Another great test. What do you guys do to keep this thing rolling?
Everett Golson: Got to take care of business. Got to prepare, we got to execute, things like that. But I think that one of the things about being Notre Dame is everybody is going to get up for playing you. So you have to, you can’t just throw your jersey on and you got to come with it every time you step on the field.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: Oh, I think that I mean I think that that was just me understanding a lot more what we want, what Michigan is doing, things like that. So just taking advantage of the things that we can take advantage of.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: The edge, to be honest. (No microphone.)

Q. Were you surprised that it was 31 0, that you shut these guys out?
Everett Golson: No, I think that we have the potential for you look at the scoreboard at the end, it was kind of a sense, I guess it was surprising, but like I said, just credit the defense. They did a great job tonight.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: Definitely I seen him grow, for sure. I think that we have all grown that just comes from preparation, whether it’s as spending late nights in the film room, just getting on the same page, things like that. I think that they have all come along pretty well.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: All season. All season. Just trying to get the work in, really. You talk about those guys, I mean, it’s good. They had a lot of work in the off season. They worked hard to understand each other, understand where both guys are in routes and things like that.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: I think it definitely was. I think at the end of the game it was.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: Amir has definitely come a long way. This is his first year playing wide receiver. So he’s definitely come a long way. He has to learn a lot of new things. But he’s done a great job.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: It helps a lot, for sure. I had someone in my face a couple of times, but just knowing where he’s at, knowing how he’s going to run his routes it really helps.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: I saw that they were looking for it. So I like to see that.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: They have really done a great job. I think that his, especially by him with his speed, and then on top of that, he can run routes, get in and out of his break, so I think he does a great job. It’s really kind of, it’s kind of scary how that if I was that corner it would be scary for me, just knowing how versatile he is.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: Yeah. That’s what I’m saying. Yeah. So, I mean, he’s done a great job. Just getting in and out of his break, I think on that one he was just patient with it and he kind of worked him over a little bit. And then he got in and out of his break. So he’s done a great job with that.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: It was really just trying to take advantage of what the defense gives. It just so happens that we came out on top.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: You could just spread it around. It’s difficult.

Q. (No microphone.)
Everett Golson: It does in the sense that we’re 2 0 now. So, I’m definitely happy about it. I’m going to celebrate, but I’m not going to say that it wasn’t really a big thing. But I’m definitely happy about the win, but you still got to move on. I think that you never want to get complacent. It’s nice to win, but you move on.

An Interview with Wide Receiver, Amir Carlisle
On the team chemistry…
“We have been together, we have been a family and we have been working together. We have been together for an entire year. We are unified, and I think that shows on the field.”

On utilizing younger players…
“We trust each other, and that is what it comes down to. Regardless of anything, if we can go out there a team, we can push through. I think that is showing and really contributing to this team.”

On his improvement…
“I feel good about things. Last year was a learning experience, and I put that in the past, but it definitely has made me who I am today. I just give God all of the glory, and for me, I am just trying to get better on a daily basis. Next week is a new week, so I have to put this in the past and work on getting better as a team and getting better individually.”

An Interview with Linebacker, Joe Schmidt

On the defensive performance…
“I think as a defensive player, you have to see this coming. You want to believe that this is something that you can accomplish every time that you go out on the field. There were still a lot of things that we could have done better today, but this is a great feeling right now.”

On the one-sidedness of the game…
“I just got the statistic from Michael Bertsch (Notre Dame Director of Football Media Relations), and 1984 was the last time these guys were shut out. That kind of speaks for itself in how great this feels for me, this defense and this team. We are really happy right now. We are on a high note right now.”

On the last play of the game…
“I was running down the sideline screaming my head off. Then I was completely discombobulated in the end zone, punching the air. I was not sure if Elijah thought we were losing because he was moving so fast. I met him the end zone, and then he got mauled. Then I just took off my helmet and took it all in. It was an incredible way to finish the game.”

An Interview with Cornerback, Cody Riggs

On stopping third down conversions…
“We brought pressure sometimes. We pressured receivers and made sure they were uncomfortable outside. We collapsed the pocket, and I think our defensive line did a great job. Whoever was rushing did a good job on the contain and made [Devin] Gardner make tough decisions.”

On defending Michigan wide receiver Devin Funchess…
“I gave up two balls over on the left side in the third quarter, but I was just trying to be physical with him the entire night and make him make touch catches.”

On looking comfortable at the cornerback position…
“I always felt corner was my natural position. I think that I am more natural outside. The slot and the nickel are my two natural positions. I enjoy playing corner and I love being out there competing, so I think that’s why I look so comfortable at corner.”

An Interview with Defensive Tackle, Sheldon Day

On shutting down Michigan…
“[Brian] VanGorder was speaking all week about domination. We definitely came out on top and performed our best, and we got a good result.”

On the key to playing so well…
“We played as one. We know that the brother next to you is going to do his job and you’re going to do your job.”

On the frame going in to third down…
“We tried to get after Gardner. We tried to keep him contained as much possible, but we definitely weren’t letting him loose.”

AnInterview with Safety, Max Redfield

On the win…
“Honestly, I couldn’t be happier. I know the defense couldn’t be happier. We really came out here and did our job. We obviously have some mistakes we need to pan out and get better from, but as a whole, we played great and we couldn’t be happier.”

On potential success of a great offense/defense balance…
“We don’t feel like there’s a limit on this team. We don’t want to look too far. We have Purdue next week. hey always give us the best competition. We need to keep getting better. We still make mistakes on offense and defense and we will learn from that.”

On communication and preparation…
“We definitely prepare every day. This week wasn’t extremely different, but communication was definitely harped on. We let up touchdowns last week from it, so coaches were definitely on us about communication, and I felt like we made it a main emphasis in practice and off the field and on the field. Obviously, we benefited from it in this game.”

An Interview with Wide Receiver, Will Fuller

On beating Michigan…
“I mean it feels great. It was a big game for me, so it feels great to have a special night of my own. We just need to keep preparing like we have been. We did a good job of preparing this week.”

On the lead and getting nine to 10 passes a game…
“It’s always good having more than a two-score lead at the half. I felt the ball coming to me. It felt great. It was real physical. But I’m feeling great. It’s always good to get a win, especially since we shut them out. Everett [Golson] did a great job of protecting the ball.”

An Interview with: Michigan’s Linebacker Joe Bolden

On the outcome of the game…
“There’s always adversity, and facing adversity is part of football–it’s part of life. And we are going to respond, and we are going to respond as a team, and we are going to respond as a brotherhood.”

On what the team is going to learn…
“Everything. You can go from the big details to the small details. From the first snap to the last snap.”

On Notre Dame’s performance…
“They came out and played football, and you have to tip your hat to them. They came out with a game plan and executed.”

On the disappointing end of the rivalry…
“It’s a loss. Every loss hurts. You never want to lose. Like I said, it’s adversity. We have a game next week that we need to focus on now, and we are going to learn from what our mistakes were and we are going to move on.”

An Interview with: Michigan’s Linebacker Jake Ryan

On the reaction in the locker room…
“It’s a loss. A loss is a loss. We have to bounce back and keep our heads up and move on–move on for Miami of Ohio.”

On Coach Hoke’s speech to the team after the game…
“You know, we have to execute better. We have to get off on third downs more. You know, no turnovers. We have to create more turnovers as a defense.”

On getting things going as a team…
“I feel that at some points we made plays, sometimes we didn’t. It has to be a basis of `Every single time we have to make a play.’ Keep going as a defense, keep going as an offense and stick together.”

An Interview with: Michigan’s Quarterback Devin Gardner

On the loss…
“We lost a lot of momentum. Football is a game of momentum and we lost a lot of it. Not converting on third downs and not getting them off the field on third downs. Those are things we are going to look at. We did many good things in stretches. I know we did not score or anything, but we did a lot of good things. We are going to dive into this film tomorrow and put this behind us. It’s a long season, and this is only the second game.”

On having a one loss attitude…
“It’s Notre Dame. It’s the last game in the rivalry, and we wanted to come out on top and obviously that didn’t happen. But it is just one game–it is not even a league game. Our goal is to win this Big 10 championship. We are still on course to do that, and that’s what we are working toward.”

On trouble piecing together plays…
“They were really balanced back there. They bought pressure when we did not expect it, and when we did expect it they did not bring it. They had a good game plan. They executed, hats off to them.”

An Interview with: Michigan’s Center Jack Miller

On starters playing through the end…
“I don’t control who’s in the game at any time. We cannot do anything else but on every series try to score. Whether it is the first quarter or the fourth quarter, we were not going to give up. We were going to try to put points on the board, which we didn’t, but we were going to try.”

On the offensive line’s performance…
“I thought there were some bright spots. We did some things well at times, but we were not consistent enough. We would have a good play and then we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot and put ourselves behind the eight ball. So, probably just not consistent enough.”

On the final score…
“It’s embarrassing. Definitely not the way we wanted to end the series and perform tonight but it is over. We are fresh off it, it hurts, but all we can do is move forward the next week and try to be better. It’s a long season and by no stretch of the imagination are we down and out.”