Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546555
30 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On why he's proud of his players: "Short week, a lot of different excuses that could be made. Last game was obviously a physical, physical game. You know what, they just accepted every challenge that we threw at them. The way they practiced on a Tuesday, the way they practiced on Wednesday, the way they came out of the locker room, they approached this game with the right mentality. "So, really proud of them. Again, the score is the score. I'm just proud of the way they continued to focus on the opportu- nity at hand. It shows — it's a reflection of the maturity of our team. I think we have a mature team." On what told him Notre Dame would "answer the bell" physically against a Group of Five opponent: "You know what, I think Tuesday was a good day. Was it perfect? No. I don't know if we've ever had a perfect Tuesday. And then Wednesday, I really challenged the scout teams to give us a look as close to, if not better, than what we think we'd see on Saturday with the speed and the effort. "It almost went overboard. I told them after practice it's one thing to practice hard, it's another thing to practice smart. We can't have guys getting hurt because we're practicing sloppy because we're going so hard. But I love that. When you've got to pull them back, that's a great moment for a head coach. "And then the attention to detail yesterday, the attention to detail today, I just wanted to try to set the tone from the min- ute we woke up, the first punt meeting we had. I wanted to set the tone that I've got scars. And I want you guys to understand that I'm looking for anything. I'm looking for somebody not focusing, somebody that's not paying attention. I'm looking at everything. There's a lot I'm looking at because that's the sense of urgency I have and we have to have for this opportunity." On Styles Prescod filling in for Guerby Lambert at right tackle after starting at right guard in Week 1: "We had to plan this week because of all the unique things they do. Listen, we need Styles to be the first tackle in. If something happens to Guerby or something happens to [sophomore left tackle] Will [Black], we need Styles to be the first tackle in because all the different things we're going to see. And we had Cam Herron in as the first guy in at the guard position. "It was something me and [offensive line coach Joe Rudolph] talked about early in the week. Again, I don't want you guys to look too much into it and say it's based off of performance. No, we'll evaluate, and we'll make decisions on where Styles is, who's starting, and who's the first one to go for next week. But this decision was based on a lot of the uniqueness we were seeing on film from their defense." SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER JORDAN FAISON … On Notre Dame's mentality entering the matchup against Rice: "Coach Free, he's always juiced up. If he sees any ounce of complacency throughout the time we're coming here before the game, he's gonna address it. "And it kind of got us to be like, 'Okay, it's time to go. We gotta respect each and every opponent we play, come out here and do what we gotta do." JUNIOR QUARTERBACK CJ CARR … On whether it's more fun to throw downfield or take checkdowns: "I think the most fun football that we play is when we're moving the ball, whether it's throwing it deep, throwing it short, running the ball. When it feels easy like it did today and a couple of those drives against Wisconsin, that's the most fun football we play, in my opinion." On the performance of Notre Dame's offensive line: "A group of guys that we trust to be at their best week in and week out. The ultimate competitors. They're in there, it's a bloody game against Wisconsin. Guys are throwing their bod- ies around, and then they turn around and do the same thing out there today. "I feel like I didn't even play a football game the way they were protecting me up there. I don't think I got touched all day." JUNIOR LINEBACKER KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA … On writing "FREE NINE" on his eye black: "Yeah, I was dedicating this game to my boy, Brauntae Johnson. Un- fortunately, he came up injured last week, and for him and for [fifth-year defensive tackle Jason] Onye, we want to go out and set the tone." SENIOR DEFENSIVE END BOUBACAR TRAORE … On tight-roping down the sideline on his scoop-and- score: "I don't really do that much, but whenever the oppor- tunity comes, I try to make the most out of it." — Jack Soble FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Head coach Marcus Freeman praised his team's maturity, noting he was "proud of the way they continued to focus on the opportunity at hand." PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER