Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly … On the offensive line: "Early on, Stanford had some success against us, and it wasn't one particular offensive lineman. It was the left guard and the right guard and the center, and it was a collective. "With two good teams playing, we cannot get down in the red zone and not put points on the board. We got off to a slow start, didn't put points on the board, and then we had to fight against it. "We played our butts off in the second half, but we didn't get off to a good start. That's going to be the dif- ference when you finish this whole analysis. We got off to a bad start. We battled our butts off, but against a good football team that's not good enough." On how far away Notre Dame is from being an elite team: "What did you guys [the press] think? Did you watch the second half? I remember last year we got knocked off the ball. I didn't think physically we were strong enough last year. I think physically we matched them tonight. They made some plays. We didn't make some plays. "I'm more interested in getting a football team that will complete for four quarters. The rest of that stuff is going to come. We'll get the other things. I want guys that love to compete and that will compete the way they did. We're fighting for the onside kick like it's the last thing that happens out there." Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Andrew Hen- drix … On his extended playing time: "Your job when you come in, whether it's sprinkled here or sprinkled there, you have to do well. In the second half, it was a little dif- ferent because I was able to, at times, get the consistency that I wanted, and at times I wasn't. "Moving forward, whatever [my role might be], that's the thing I need to work on most." On contending for the starting spot in a bowl game: "I have no idea. I'm just going to let Coach Kelly decide that when we get back to South Bend. My number got called tonight; I did the best I could and we're just go- ing to watch the film and see what I did well, see what I did bad. "At the end of the day, it's Coach Kelly's decision." Notre Dame fifth-year senior safety Harrison Smith … On trying to uplift a struggling offense: "I went over to the offense and tried to get them going a few times. It's a team game; we play off each other. "I never really got a good shot at Tommy [Rees]; he's always with Coach. I was trying to talk to the O-line, the receivers and the running backs." Notre Dame senior receiver Michael Floyd … On Hendrix's play: "He didn't have that much expe- rience. If you've got a young man like that when he's coming in, I just have to give him confidence that he can make the plays and he can make the check. "To have a quarterback who hasn't had the experience www.BLUEANDGOLD.com Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck continued to state is case for the Heisman Trophy, completing 20 of 30 passes for 233 yards with four touchdowns and just one interception against the Irish. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI DECEMBER 2011 27 jump in there and be proficient at what he's doing, that shows that he is mature and that he's doing a great job." Stanford head coach David Shaw … On Andrew Luck: "There's no player in America like Andrew Luck. There really isn't. Forget about the stats, forget about the comparisons of other guys or whatever, it doesn't matter. "What he does at the line of scrimmage, what he does with the ball, and the kid is completely unselfish. He doesn't care if you don't throw a pass; he doesn't care about his stats; he doesn't try to get bigger stats so he can win awards. The kid is the definition of what you would want at the quarterback position in all facets. "I don't have a [Heisman Trophy] vote. We'll see what happens. I just know that he's one of a kind. It's apples and oranges in my opinion between him and everybody else, and I've seen a lot of the other guys and there are a lot of really, really good football players. There's nobody like this guy." Stanford redshirt junior quarterback Andrew Luck … On his performance: "Good enough to get the game, and at the end of the day that's all that matters."