Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1482392
28 OCT. 29, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On protecting home field: "This place is special. Notre Dame Stadium and the history and tradition of this place is something we all respect. We haven't had the greatest of showings in our home games. You can name a list of reasons why. I don't know. "But we needed to make sure our players understood the importance of performing well at home. This is an advantage for us. It has to be an advantage for us. That's why I made that comment about it was great to get a good win in Notre Dame Stadium." On winning the field position battle: "Field position is one of our keys to victory. Win the battle of field position, and obviously special teams helps tremendously with that. The ability to block two punts is huge, and the third punt we didn't block, but it forced a bad kick. "That's the winning format. If you want a chance to win, you've got to win the battle of field position. And today, we were able to do that." On the Mitchell Evans tight end sneak: "That was some- thing we wanted to use in short yardage. Coach [Tommy] Rees' creativity, right, short yardage. I challenged our offense. We've got to be more successful on short yardage attempts. "That was part of the creativity, and it worked on third- and-1, and then it worked on that situation." On the hard hit Drew Pyne took to the upper body: "He went to the doctors and he tried to stay in the game. The doctors pulled him out to make sure they evaluated him. Then after that series, a couple plays, they said he was ready to go. He wanted to keep going, but the doctor said, you're out. "So they did the evaluation and they gave him the thumbs up to go back in the game." JUNIOR TIGHT END MICHAEL MAYER … On his one-handed catch: "I don't think I saw the ball to be honest. I kind of stuck out my hand and hoped for the best. That's a route me and Drew [Pyne] practiced a lot, we've repped a lot in practice. "Those type of throws, it's just one of those things where it's kind of just like, all right, it's me against the linebacker. Drew knows there's a pretty good chance, if he kind of throws that thing up, I'm going to catch it. He believed in me and he threw it up there, and I found a way to catch it. "It was a cool play. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm pumped to watch it." On protecting home field: "It was a point of emphasis all season long that we can't lose at home. Obviously that's not the way it's been, but take this momentum and kind of take it for the next home game, because we're going to need it. "Nobody likes losing at home. Nobody. Nobody in that locker room likes to lose at home. Nobody in that locker room likes to lose at all. We're trying our best. We're pouring our hearts out on that field. We never want to let these fans down, let this community down, and lose at home." On supporting Pyne through struggles: "I know Drew pretty well. I know when he's down. I know when he's up. I know when he's in the middle. I know when he needs a slap on the butt to say, 'Let's go, we're still in this thing. Let's drive down the field. Let's go score.' "I think it's important because he does get down sometimes, and I think he does need some people to lift him up sometimes. That's why I'm there. The other captains on the team are there for him." SENIOR DEFENSIVE END ISAIAH FOSKEY … On the team's mindset during the game: "I felt we were way more motivated. What Coach Freeman started off this whole week is urgency right now. That's what motivated us to start off the game fast. "When you make big plays, it's easy to be motivated. You want to make that next big play on offense and on defense." On his personal game: "I feel like everything was just put together this game. I was getting to the quarterback, and spe- cial teams, I was getting a lot of punt blocks, two punt blocks. "I just feel like everything just came together for me, and it was something I was looking forward to." On Notre Dame's short-term future: "We're a really good football team. We need to be more consistent on offense and defense. You see on defense we let a couple big runs, but that's something we need to be intentional with the little things. "That's what we're going to head into Syracuse with." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Head coach Marcus Freeman emphasized to his team the need to play well at home, noting: "This is an advantage for us. It has to be an advantage for us." PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER