Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/181992
"I just learned that little kinks or little mistakes here and there break big plays. You've got to stay with your fundamentals. "There are going to be occasional big plays." On new targeting rule that leads to an ejection for head-to-head hits: "I think it's a great rule. Limiting the head-to-head contact and keeping guys aware of it is going to limit it a little bit. But there are going to be times where it happens. "It's not like an individual purposely meant to do it, but when you're in a crowd and guys are running back and forth right in front of you there are going to be those head-to-head contacts that happen occasionally." Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops … On his first win at Notre Dame Stadium: "My players played, and we got a bunch of coaches all coaching, so we all take pride in it together. "I have to admit we were here in '99, and that's still a little bit of a sore spot that we were up 16 and lost. We were pretty determined not to let that happen again. Fortunately, it ended up the right way for us." On quarterback Blake Bell's performance: "He was really sharp. He put the ball where it needed to be, finding the right guys, going through his reads. "And give credit to the line to give them the opportunity to find those guys. I thought he played great." Junior linebacker Ben Councell will sit out the first half of the Arizona State game after getting ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit. Photo by Bill Panzica