From The Locker Rooms….
| Autry Denson |
NOTRE DAME LINEBACKER LYRON COBBINS
(On the week’spreparation) “We had a bad week weather-wise for practice.We made sure we focused on the week ahead of us, instead of whatwas going on around us.”
NOTRE DAME TAILBACK AUTRY DENSON
(On the puntreturn) “Rossum had just come off of defense, so he gave methe chance to run one back. I was confident from the first runthat if I got another chance, I could break one.”
(On the game) “This week we concentrated a lot on thePitt kicking game. Coach Holtz was worried about what we coulddo and he made sure that he emphasized this. Luckily, our hardwork this week paid off for us.”
NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACK RON POWLUS
(On the game) “Pitt playedtough each down, but with the punt returns, we kind of put outtheir fire. Those punt returns really sparked the team for therest of the day.”
(On the failure of thetwo-point conversion) “I did not have enough time on theline to change the play for the defense that they had set up forus. Coach Holtz told me that I should have taken a time out, butI explained to him that I did not think that I had enough time.I made a mistake, but Coach Holtz made me understand thedecision that I should have made.”
PITTSBURGH QUARTERBACK MATT LYTLE
(On the score)“We came out ready to play. When the score is 0-0, a lot ofteams have confidence. But when you’re down by two, three, fourtouchdowns, that confidence fades away. It’s very frustrating.We needed to sustain some drives. Our special teams broke down alittle. The punt returns were a big key.”
PITTSBURGH DEFENSIVE BACK JOHN JENKINS
(On the game) “We knew they would run the ball most of the time, butwe couldn’t stop them. They were well-balanced in the firstquarter. The punt returns took the wind out of our sails. Afterthat, they could do what they wanted. We knew we were playingNotre Dame and we had to bring the excitement back – it was goneafter the first punt return.”