Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 8, 2018 29 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On if Stanford was the most complete game his team has played this season: "I like the fact that we finished the game. We started fast, but we finished. "As a football coach, when you're looking at your team, you want to see a resolve, a mental toughness that you're really trying to build with your group. We saw that today. So, yes, affirmatively." On moving forward: "We've got a long season ahead of us. If we're going to walk out of here thinking that we just are the best team, we're going to get beat, and it's going to diminish this victory. "I told our team, I'm proud of what you accomplished tonight, but we have to embrace how hard this is going to be. We're climbing Mount Everest with this schedule. Take one step at a time and get ready for a tough oppo- nent in Virginia Tech." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On Notre Dame's preparation heading into the week: "We knew and we talked about it all week, Stanford is such a good team. We knew it was going to be a battle. And in terms of preparation, we worked so hard throughout the week. "I'm so proud of the guys, and we just knew it was going go to four quarters like it does every year. It's something we prepared for in our process throughout the week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday." On the final Irish touchdown to seal the win: "The juices were flowing for sure. And I think every guy on our team knew that it was a great point to keep going, keep attacking, keep scoring points and really shut this game out and don't let up. "We didn't want to let up at all tonight. And that's something we talked about through the entire week." On the team's identity: "We just want to be an elite offense. I know that one thing we were talking about through the first couple of games was having such a great first half and then kind of letting go the second half. So week in, week out, in our preparation we just want to keep scoring points as an offense, don't let up. "There's going to be ups and downs, we know that, but we want to be able to focus on that one play. That's all we talk about. Don't think about the play that just happened or the next play. Just focus on that play, and the rest will take care of itself." NOTRE DAME SENIOR RUNNING BACK DEXTER WILLIAMS … On what allowed him to have the performance he did: "Getting closer with my teammates, being around them, being that leader and making sure I'm holding myself accountable and holding my teammates account- able as well. "It was a really long process, and I had to trust it in or- der to get back out there on the field with my brothers." On the feeling of scoring on his first carry: "It was an amazing feeling being in the end zone and hearing the crowd roar. Being able to celebrate with my teammates is a feeling that I haven't had in a long time. To celebrate with my coaches and my teammates was the best feel- ing ever." NOTRE DAME SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER MILES BOYKIN … On the ceiling of the Irish offense: "If we play like this the rest of the season, I think we can get a lot better. "We played well tonight, but we can get a lot better. It's almost scary to think about what we can do." NOTRE DAME SENIOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE JERRY TILLERY … On how much more the defense can improve: "It was not a perfect game by any means, but we did enough and got the win." On if the Irish made a statement with the win: "The statement is that we beat Stanford. If we want to get to where we want to be, we've got to do a lot more this season. That's all this said." NOTRE DAME SENIOR LINEBACKER TE'VON CONEY … On bottling up Stanford running back Bryce Love: "Our coaches put a game plan together. They knew what would stop him. We were out there all week working hard, and we went out there and executed, did our job and made plays." On his fourth-quarter interception: "All week, we worked on breaking on the ball. We did some ball drills. I got the opportunity tonight to go get one, and I made it happen." — Corey Bodden and David McKinney FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Senior linebacker Te'von Coney recorded his first career interception in the 38-17 win over Stanford. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA