Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 DECEMBER 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On navigating on how hard to push for style points at the end of the game: "We were at a point where we felt like we had the game in hand. And so, you have to make decisions at the end of the game that you believe are best for your team. And what's best for our team in that moment is you get a chance to get some backups in that's gonna help them improve. You might need those guys this season. "When I know we have a game won, it's more important for me to make de- cisions that are best for our team, which is gonna be getting some younger guys or maybe some backups in because they'll get valuable reps in that game. The same thing happened in Pitt, same thing happened versus Syracuse. "We're gonna put those guys in be- cause they've earned it, but it's gonna help our team. It's gonna help our team improve when the backups and the third strings can get some real game reps." NOTRE DAME SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK LEONARD MOORE … On the challenge of not watch- ing the scores of other games: "It's hard to do. You got to think about this opportunity you got, but you're thinking about what the fu- ture looks like. But you got to fo- cus on every play and tell yourself to lock in. "None of that matters unless you take care of what's right here in front of you." On his pitch for why Notre Dame belongs in the College Football Playoff team: "We're a changed team, a changed defense. We lost two games early, but we're on a 10-game win streak. There's not too much else to say." NOTRE DAME JUNIOR RUNNING BACK JEREMIYAH LOVE … On if this game was a chance to make a closing argument on his case for the Heisman Trophy: "I mean not really. I wasn't really fo- cused on it. I came into this game focused on making sure that we end the season how we wanted to. We really didn't come into it trying to do anything individually. I want the best thing for my team. "We ended up getting the best thing for our team, which was a win. Finished off the season how we wanted to fin- ish it off. That's really all I was worried about coming into this game." STANFORD INTERIM HEAD COACH FRANK REICH … On how Notre Dame stacks up against other Stanford opponents this season: "They're a good football team. I think we've faced, someone told me, four top-10 teams. It's hard to rank them. They've all been good in their own way. "Certainly, Miami was tough. Play- ing them down there, their defensive front is outrageous. This is a good team. They're very well coached. A lot of re- spect for Coach Freeman. BYU was — we played some good teams, we played some good teams this year." On seeing quarterback Charlie Mirer, son of former Notre Dame quarterback Rick Mirer, play well in the fourth quarter: "It was great. Ob- viously, with his dad being a star player at Notre Dame and then Charlie being a senior. He's just great. He's a ball of energy. He's just a class act, and he's a really good and talented player. "I was just so happy for him. I obvi- ously spend more time with the quar- terbacks, so you get to know those guys a little bit more. He's a joy to coach. I was just happy to see him in the game and make the plays that he did and to cap it off with a touchdown pass. That was a great experience, and I'm really happy for him." On why he thinks good things are ahead for Stanford: "We got the [Stanford] Axe back. That's one thing. But that's not the only thing. The cul- ture that the players set, the way we did things, the chemistry, the brotherhood in the locker room, the way we practiced. "We didn't get as many wins as we wanted, but we made progress there, too. And we got the most important win of all, and that was against Cal to get the Axe back. There's a lot more wins coming to this program. Trust me on that. I promise you there's a lot more wins coming to this program." STANFORD TIGHT END SAM ROUSH … On what the Notre Dame- Stanford rivalry means to him and the Stanford com- munity: "It means a lot. Notre Dame's a legendary program. They're awesome. We saw tonight they're a really good team, a championship-con- tending team, and they got the better of us. "It's awesome to kind of have that Legend's Trophy and be a part of that rivalry. You don't win them all, but my freshman year, we beat them at their place, and that was an awesome experience. It's a big rivalry, and it means a lot." — Tyler James FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Junior running back Jeremiyah Love needs just 66 yards to break Notre Dame's single-season school record of 1,437 rushing yards set by Vagas Ferguson in 1979. PHOTO BY CHUCK ARAGON