Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 27, 2020

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2020 29 NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY … On his team's performance against Boston College: "Boston College always plays hard against Notre Dame. We knew we were going to be challenged. Again, I think what stands out to me is just Ian Book tonight. He was outstanding, and probably, to a large degree, the differ- ence in this game tonight. Offensively, we were very ef- ficient. Unfortunately, a couple of turnovers takes away from probably a stellar performance. "Back-to-back weeks, we're over 45 points, and that tells you that your quarterback play is elevated — great balance in terms of running and throwing it." On the toll it takes to play an 11-game regular season during the pandemic: "We've already played a Big Ten schedule. We've completed eight games, and that's clearly more than the Pac-12 will play, and it takes a lot. Our team was tired tonight, and you could see that they were espe- cially on defense because it requires a lot of mental energy. "Certainly the physical [nature] of playing a lot of games, and that takes its toll because we're testing. We tested four times this week, and obviously, the training room and we played a double-overtime game. Those kids, they probably didn't get to bed till four o'clock in the morning. "All those things matter when we talk about cumulative games across the board. So when you're picking your teams, look, if this was just for one game and you want to put up one team in one game, yeah, it's pretty easy to see who's really good for one week. But to stretch it out over, for us, we're gonna play 11 games, 12 games, and that's a whole different test that we're going to be facing than some other schools that are not going to play as many games as we are." On picking up his 100th career victory: "I was going to say it felt like 100 years, but 100 wins is not something that I spend time thinking about. I will when I'm not coaching anymore. It means I've had a lot of really good players, a lot of really good coaches and have been really fortunate to be here at Notre Dame that long. "It's difficult to win that many games at Notre Dame. I'm really, really fortunate to have the longevity here. You've got to win that many games. That's kind of where you've got to be if you want to still be here at Notre Dame coaching. "So I guess that's the perspective that I have at 100 right now." On what his team will do during the bye week: "We're going to test Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. So we'll have a full week of testing. Our guys will be here be- cause we're in exams. "We will practice. We'll have a normal schedule. Monday will be our normal weight training. We'll watch the film, evaluate the film. We'll practice Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday we'll go back in the weight room. And then we'll give them Friday, Saturday, Sunday off." NOTRE DAME FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR DEFENSIVE END ADE OGUNDEJI … On what Notre Dame needs to do dur- ing the bye week: "We still have a goal and that's an ACC championship and a national championship. If we want to strive to get there, we have to work on the little things. We have to work on the details. "We've got to go back into this bye week and really work on the things that we've got to work on. We've got to tell the young kids that, includ- ing myself, and everybody else on the team." NOTRE DAME FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR QUARTERBACK IAN BOOK … On how the freshmen will handle the bye week: "It's a great time to rest up and get our bodies back to where they need to be. The young guys have done a great job of un- derstanding that, too. I don't think there'll be a big falloff. "These guys are in it to win a national championship, just like a fifth-year senior would be. That's how it's got to be. Coach Kelly, again, he'll do a great job of setting the message going into this bye week and how we need to act and what we need to do. "I think it's good timing. We could use a break, and it's how you use the break and what you do and take from it [that will determine] how we're going to play against North Carolina the following week. So I think we'll be fine on that aspect. I just think the freshmen have their heads on straight, especially here on the offense." — Andrew Mentock FROM THE LOCKER ROOM After earning his 100th win at Notre Dame, head coach Brian Kelly said: "It means I've had a lot of really good players, a lot of really good coaches and have been really fortunate to be here at Notre Dame that long." PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS

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