Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547079
28 OCT. 17, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On if his players are eager to test themselves against No. 8 BYU: "They're competitors. They're ultimate competi- tors, and they want to play the best. Next week they'll get the opportunity to play a top-10 team, and they'll be ready. But my job is to remind them to enjoy the fruits of your labor. If you don't enjoy this and you're just looking to the next one, it's miserable, miserable. "I'll tell you how hard it is Monday through Friday. I mean, it's hard. If you don't find a way to enjoy a victory on a Sat- urday, man, it's not going to be a good part of fun playing the game or coaching the game. So, I remind myself, as I tell them, to enjoy the victory. I remind myself. Then we'll wake up to- morrow, eyes towards the next opponent." On how Notre Dame improved against Stanford: "I've got to go back and watch it, but any time you win the turnover margin 3-0, it tells you that you're an improving team. We continue to take care of the football offensively. It's so im- portant. The execution on both sides of the ball, we open up the game with a sack, strip fumble, and the offense goes and scores on that first drive. "But there's also areas we've got to work on, too. As I say that, I think about the penalties today that we can't have. We can't have pre-snap, we can't have post-snap, we can't have roughing the passer. Those are a lot of areas we have to im- prove on. I believe we executed at a high level today, but there's a lot this group has to do to continue to improve." SENIOR DEFENSIVE END BOUBACAR TRAORE … On staying locked in on every rep against Stanford when he knows BYU is coming: "Just always knowing that the game isn't over until it's zeroes all over the clock. That's kind of what I was doing with that." On how practice helped fuel his dominant season: "I just attack every practice like it's a game. So, whenever it's in a game, it kind of feels regular, because I've done what I've been doing in practice in the game. Just treating every rep like it's a game rep is what I think is more important." JUNIOR QUARTERBACK CJ CARR … On his career-high 41 rushing yards: "It's good to be able to have that part. … Kurt [Rawlings], our [assistant quar- terbacks coach], was kind of making fun of the way I was run- ning out there, so we'll continue to elevate in that area, too. But yeah, I think it's a good part." On the next steps for Notre Dame's offense: "The sky's the limit for this offense, but the consistency in which we are explosive and doing our job is gonna continue to refine over the next couple weeks and next few days. "Our game planning and our process, and the way we do things has to stay consistent — not just the offense, but as a team — to make sure that we're ready for these opponents we got up next. We're looking forward to it." SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK JAYDEN SANDERS … On making his first start at Notre Dame after trans- ferring to a place he knew he would have to compete: "I come from a high school where we have something when you walk in, it says, 'Iron sharpens iron.' So just me in this great DB room that I keep speaking about and keep coming up. "They challenge me every day, as well as the receivers on the other side of the ball. Both rooms are very good, and we chal- lenge each other to be the best every day." FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK JONAZ WALTON … On what he learned from Aneyas Williams and Nolan James Jr.: "I learned a lot. I learned how to really practice at this level. Those are two really impressive running backs that I continuously want to learn from. "The way they read, the way they work throughout, the way they train. So, I'm just continuously looking up to those guys, to just kind of be like them." FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Senior defensive end Boubacar Traore is the first Irish player since at least 1998 to notch a strip sack and an interception in the same game. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER