Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83107
From The Locker Room Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly … On his general feelings after the victory: “The game went as profiled for us in terms of what we expected. We faced a very, very difficult opponent in Michigan State — they are physical on both sides of the ball. “Our challenge was going to be to find some big-chunk plays. We were able to get a couple. We missed a few that we’re going to regret when we watch the film. … And I think, finally, not turning the football over, which was our Achilles’ heel last year. We’ve taken much better care of the football and have been smart in managing offensively what we do so we can win football games.” On the defense’s night: “When you play really good defense, offensively you don’t have to rush a [rookie] quarterback. And we can be patient with him, and that patience is going to pay off. You saw what he’s capable of. He’s a very exciting player. We got pressure when we needed to. We got them behind the chains. We got them throwing the football, and I think that was the key defensively.” On senior linebacker Manti Te’o playing after losing two loved ones earlier in the week: “There’s nobody like him. He’s so strong for everybody that when he was at a time [in his life], everybody wanted to help him out. I’ve never seen that dynamic amongst a team and a group of players. It’s a pretty close locker room.” Notre Dame fifth-year senior John Goodman … On the atmosphere in the locker room after the win: “It was great. I was definitely playing for Manti this week. To go through something like that is just terrible. I can’t imagine that. I feel for him, and it was great that we came together as a team when it happened and got behind him.” Notre Dame senior running back Cierre Wood … On what the Irish can improve upon: “We made a lot of mistakes that go unseen, but that is when the practice comes in handy. We have to go over that on Monday — look at the things we did wrong and correct them and get ready for Michigan.” Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio … On the game overall: “A tough day at the office I guess you could say. Without watching the film you don’t really have a great idea about the breakdowns, but we didn’t run the football, we didn’t protect the quarterback very well and we had some drops. We need to have more explosive plays on offense. We didn’t get in the red zone and missed a field goal. “I thought defensively we played OK. We gave up a quick score in the first quarter, and we gave up a big run in the second quarter that eventually led to a touchdown. “Notre Dame did a great job with their quarterback. Zero turnovers, he avoided pressure and did a nice job throwing the ball to the wide side of the field.” On his team’s lack of pass protection: “I thought we had too many sacks. We tried to change the tempo of the game with the two-minute offense, and I think we did that a little bit. But when you pass 45-50 times you’re going to have some problems. It’s disappointing when you get sacked with no pressure, and it’s something we need to look at.” Michigan State tight end Dion Sims … On offensive struggles against the Irish: “Usually our drives are tremendous; we do a great job of moving the ball. Today we didn’t execute well. There was maybe that play or two that we needed to get us going, and it wasn’t there today. We just had to be focused. [Andrew] Maxwell was under a lot of pressure; that probably had an effect on it.” Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell … On the rushing game being stuffed by the Irish defense: “I put that on myself. Me being a leader on offense, I need to make bigger plays and get guys going. I didn’t provide that today. Other guys didn’t provide it. Notre Dame is a great team. Those guys did a good job of taking big plays away.”