Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1037156
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 15, 2018 29 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On if he is seeing a killer instinct in his team: "I don't know that we walk around talking about killer instinct as much as we want to complement each other well. Our offense wants to complement our defense and our special teams. "We've struggled with that in my time here; comple- menting each side of the ball. We're beginning to do that much better where our offense is complementing our defense. We saw that today. "Julian Love's score — we were wobbling offensively, and we needed that momentum. That gave us a big shot in the arm to come back out in the second half and play good offense." On if the team's confidence was validated with the win: "It was validated in the work they did and the preparation. You can be confident all you want, but if you don't put the work in … They did. They worked hard all week to get to this point, then at the end of day you still have to execute. "They were a little uneven in the first half. In the second half they got back to doing what they do and executed very well." On Book missing open receiv- ers: "He hit some big, big throws too. You look at some of throws he hit to extend drives, that was pretty good. He was a little flat with his throws. He missed some of the big ones down the field. "When the ball comes out flat, level one, not level two, he gets a little excited. He made some of the big throws that kept the chains moving on third down. I've got no problem with the way Ian Book played." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On if he was surprised on the amount of points the offense scored: "Every week we expect to run up the scoreboard. You never know what the score could have been. "We're happy with the win, and we'll learn from it." On the team's confidence after back-to-back weeks of strong second halves: "It gives us a lot of confidence. We have a special group. We take it day by day. "Let's celebrate this one and move on to Pitt starting [Sunday]." NOTRE DAME SENIOR RUNNING BACK DEXTER WILLIAMS … On his second-half performance: "My team needed a spark. They needed the juice man to come alive, so I had to be there for my brothers. "I know they needed me to be that spark, so I had to come out and run the ball harder in the second half." On if he brought the "juice": "Yes. It was the spark to get us going. After that big run, we were rolling, and you couldn't stop us. That's' what my team needed. "They need me, and I need them. We feed off the en- ergy, and it goes around and big things happen." NOTRE DAME SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER MILES BOYKIN … On team's adjustments after halftime: "Just focus and do our job. Coach Kelly said do your job, and we will win this game. We did our job and won the game." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR DEFEN- SIVE KHALID KAREEM … On overcoming losses along the defensive line: "Before we even left, the whole defensive unit told Daelin [Hayes] we've got your back, and we're going to step up for you. "When Julian [Okwara] got hurt, we told him we've got your back. That gave us a little more fire to go out there and make plays." On how he felt the younger line- men played: "It's the next -man-in mentality. We've been preaching that for so long. In practice, we try to do our job to the best of our abil- ity, and in the game we try to come out and do the same thing." NOTRE DAME SENIOR LINEBACKER DRUE TRANQUILL … On slowing down Virginia Tech wide receiver Da- mon Hazelton in the second half: "It was more of an execution thing. Just sticking to our leverage, finishing on the ball, playing inside our coverage and pressing our guys a little more. "We played a little bit soft in the first half and allowed those quick access throws. We got in his face a little more in the second half." On if defensive stop before Dexter Williams' touch- down was where momentum swung in their favor: "It's huge. You've got to give your offense an opportunity on the road in a loaded environment. "To come up with three three-and-outs, you see the difference in how loud it was the first series compared to coming out of the second half. Our offense was able to communicate more and get it going." — Corey Bodden and David McKinney FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Junior defensive end Khalid Kareem notched five stops with 2.5 tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble against the Hokies. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA