Nov. 19, 2005
Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse
Notre Dame Stadium * Notre Dame, Ind.
NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH Charlie Weis
On playing the seniors at the end of the game…
“I think I had an ethical responsibility to our seniors to make sure they got involved in the game and get them out there. And I did, every one of them.”
On his favorite play of the game…
“My favorite play of the game was Marty Mooney to (Michael) O’Hara, I’ll tell you that right now.”
On the sluggish start offensively…
“I went to the offense at the end of the first quarter, and just when they thought I was going to get on them and said ‘Relax, relax, just gain your composure’, so they scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and got the game back under control. I think it’s real important to not lose your composure when things aren’t going too well; and I think they did gain their composure, got a couple scores, and got the game back under control.”
NOTRE DAME PLAYER QUOTES
Senior Wide Receiver Matt Shelton
On the senior’s final lap and his last game at Notre Dame Stadium…
“It definitely feels good to end it on a decent day for me and for this team, especially. I enjoyed it, but I cramped up at the end. I didn’t know we were doing a circle. I thought we were just going there and back.”
On the team’s slow start…
“It seemed a little tight. We didn’t come out the way we thought we would. Everybody thought we let ourselves down, not coming out the way we can. Coach (Weis) gave us a little pep talk, got on us and we came back.”
On if Syracuse’s season record had something to do with Notre Dame’s slow start…
“On offense, no. That defense is good. I don’t care what anyone says or what the stats say. That team is good, they have solid DB’s. They are a solid group.”
Senior Offensive Lineman Dan Stevenson
On the team’s slow start…
“I don’t know what it was. Obviously there was a lot of emotion today with this being the last home game. It was the last time in this Stadium for a lot of people. Fortunately, we were able to pick it up and make things happen after coming out a bit sluggish.”
On the senior’s final lap in the Stadium…
“It was nothing that I had ever seen done in the past but I thought it was a good idea. Running an extra lap on the football field is not a lineman’s fantasy, but it was a great way to go out. We are all proud of each other. Syracuse came out and played a great game but fortunately we were able to send out seniors out the right way.”
Syracuse Head Coach Greg Robinson
On Notre Dame’s offense…
“I really feel like that their first touchdown pass was a good throw and a good catch. This was just a combination of two good players connecting to score a touchdown. The second touchdown was well designed on their part, and I give them a lot of credit for that. They ran a play that really took advantage of us on defense. I think we got it fixed after that and I think that our defense did a lot of things good after that. Our defense fought tooth and nail all day, but this is a very good offensive football team.”
On Notre Dame’s defense…
“I thought that they played really aggressive, more aggressive than I had seen them play on tape. I think that Rick Minter is an excellent coach, and I know that from past experiences with him. I knew that he was going to make us work for everything we would get today. We were playing into the wind most of the day, but they squeezed us and made us work for everything we got.”
On the Syracuse team…
“I thought our guys rebounded from all of the adversity and never went into a funk. I am proud of the way they kept clawing in there and never gave up.”
SYRACUSE PLAYER QUOTES
Ryan LaCasse, RE
Overall comments…
“They are a really well-coached offense and they started to pick up on what we were doing and they got some pretty big pass plays as the game went on. It was really tough to stop in them in the second half because our backs were up against the wall, but that’s no excuse. We were able to hold them early in the game, but the levee broke and they just starting scoring.”
On Syracuse’s play in the first half…
“We gave our team an opportunity in the first half, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work out in the second half. It’s a tough loss to swallow when you play a good first half and don’t capitalize on that.”
Perry Patterson, QB
Overall comments…
“We spent too much time on our side of the field in the first half and I think we were trying to play field position and couldn’t. We went away from the pass for a while because we were just too far back in our end zone to get better position. They are a well-coached team with solid players.”
On Notre Dame’s pass rush …
“That’s been the problem all year. It’s tough to get your reads downfield when you trying to look for a way to get out of the pass rush. It makes it hard to get into a rhythm when they are in the backfield that much.”
Damien Rhodes, RB
Overall comments…
“It’s frustrating to have the offense struggle like this and we have one more game to get it right. They believe in Charlie Weis and his system. They play with a lot of confidence.”