Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1307521
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 14, 2020 31 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On the importance of moving on to next weekend's contest against Boston College: "We've got so much more work to do. Look, [Boston College] is going to be a chal- lenge for us. I've got to get this football team back up emo- tionally ready to play. We've got a target on our backs now. "There are so many more things on my plate relative to what I have to do than really concerning myself with playoffs and who's in and who's not in. There are other people that will do that. Because the real challenge now is to keep this football team excelling. "We got a lot of things we got to work on that we saw today. And that will be my focus moving forward is to get this football team ready for BC." On how his team played on both sides of the ball against Clemson: "We ran the ball for over 200 yards. I don't know when the last time that team has given up 200 yards rushing. We threw the ball effectively. We threw it for 300. When you rush for 200 and you throw for 300, you're doing some pretty good things offensively. "Yeah, we'd like to play a little bit better defensively in certain situations. When you look at it, college football puts so much pressure on defenses that I think it's the ability to really be who you are. "As I've said, we're not going to shy away from the fact that we have to stop the run and run the football if we're going to win these kinds of games. And that's what we did today." On how Clemson's freshman quarterback D.J. Uiag- alelei played: "D.J. is a special player. Trevor Lawrence is a special player, too. Boy, I'd like to have [Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney's] problems with those two guys. He's outstanding. "His ability to throw the football today was pretty special. I think if we played them again, we would have to do some things a little bit differently because he is so explosive as a quarterback." NOTRE DAME SENIOR ROVER JEREMIAH OWUSU-KORAMOAH … On the ball he stole from Clemson running back Tra- vis Etienne and ran in for a touchdown: "At first I was going for the big hit. Then I saw the ball pop out. It was a play I had seen from him many times on film. "Shaun Crawford also alerted me as well. We were talk- ing to each other, and we knew the play was coming. I just wanted to go ahead and went for the big hit, but the ball popped out so I grabbed it." NOTRE DAME FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On how he feels about the big win against Clemson: "It's a night I'll never forget. No matter how old I am, I know I'll remember this game forever. It was just a special moment, and just the fans involved in it, and just watch- ing the defense just do what they did. "And just sitting on the sideline knowing that they were going to stop them, it was just unbelievable. I just started screaming and ran out there and threw my helmet. It's just a night I'm never going to forget. When the fans stormed the field, it's actually pretty cool. It was really fun." NOTRE DAME SENIOR SLOT RECEIVER AVERY DAVIS … On how he persevered through all of his position changes at Notre Dame: "Resilience. Growing up, I went through some things and my mother always told us never to quit. That was just on my mind. I knew I had unfinished business here at the school. I knew I was going to graduate. "Every day I just come to work and that's been my mind- set. And I think it's just prepa- ration, finding that opportu- nity, and I capitalized on it." NOTRE DAME SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK KYREN WILLIAMS … On why it's an important part of his game to be a good pass blocker: "As a running back we have a motto. It's called B.A.M. — by any means. As a running back, you've got to be able to do everything in the game. That's all aspects. You've got to catch the ball, run the ball and block. "I just feel like that's a part of the game that I enjoy a lot. Like I said before, I don't ever shy away from contact. Whenever I see the blitz rusher, I'm going to take him on." — Andrew Mentock FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Fighting Irish fans stormed the field after Notre Dame secured the 47-40 victory over Clemson in double overtime, creating a "pretty cool" moment for fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book and his teammates. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS