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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 14, 2015

DeShone Kizer

South Bend, Indiana

Notre Dame - 28, Wake Forest - 7

Q. Talk about the view you had of Adams' record-breaking run.
DESHONE KIZER: Yeah, that was pretty awesome. Any time you're backed up that far and you're able to get out of a drive that easy is great for us. We know that with the punter, the great punter that they had over there, that we were going to have a couple situations in which we were going to be backed up and for Josh to break off the way he did, that was really huge for the momentum of the game.

Q. How do you feel about this win? Not a ton of plays, not a ton of yards, but otherwise fairly stress free?
DESHONE KIZER: You know, when you're out there and you're going from drive to drive, it kind of bothers you that you're not out there with the momentum that we typically have. But now being on the field and realizing that it's November and we just came out with a 21-point win, it's huge for us. We're moving forward. We have a win streak going. We have things rolling for the offense, and the defense came out and had an outstanding game. To hold a team like that to seven points, an ACC team, who was doing some really cool things, is huge for us, especially at this time of the year.

Q. 9-1 with two games to go. Is that a good place to be?
DESHONE KIZER: Great place to be. Great place to be. We're just trying to accomplish goals. The mission has been set. We all understand where we're at, and it's just another step of the way that ends up being a 21-point victory. As an offense and as a program, we're heading in the right direction, and we're willing to take the W's for what they are. We'll celebrate them and we'll prepare to go play a good Boston College team.

Q. We've seen you run the ball more the last couple weeks. Today a couple touchdowns, but you've started to take some hits. How do you feel after a game like that?
DESHONE KIZER: I'm good. I'm good, yeah. We do a good job with making sure that those plays are called because we got things rolling the other way, so it's not like we're out there with me just running power game and taking big hits. It's more counter stuff that's going back away from where the big hitters are. My body feels completely fine, and we'll move forward next week and hopefully continue to run the ball successfully at the quarterback position.

Q. Was it pretty obvious from the start that they were going to do everything they could to not get beat by Fuller?
DESHONE KIZER: Yes, yes. They play a lot of drop eight. They even dropped nine a couple times. As a team they did a really good job with game planning that, and they had an extra couple days with their 3rd down stuff. They've been a really good 3rd down team all year, and they came out and they executed again. We lost them a couple 3rd downs, and that's unacceptable on our part. I have to make sure that I'm in the right protection and not take the sacks that I took. But at the end of the day we won when we needed to win, and a victory at this time of the year once again is huge for the Irish.

Q. What were you able to do on those two long drives in the first quarter and then in the fourth quarter?
DESHONE KIZER: That had a lot to do with the run game. The offensive line once again comes out flawless in the first couple drives. We got things rolling, and with the challenge that we have from X to W on the backside is huge for us. Josh Adams came out and played really well once again, and a senior-based offensive line did a really good job in their last game at home.

Q. How important was it to send them off with a win?
DESHONE KIZER: Huge for us, huge for us. Those guys, they'd do anything for us. They're a really good set of leaders. I'm proud to be a member of the team and to have them leading me, and the best way that we could possibly repay them is with a victory in their last home game. It was awesome for those guys to leave on a good note.

Q. How exciting is it looking forward to next week?
DESHONE KIZER: It's fun. It's fun. This is what we dream of, to be in this position at this time of the year, and this is just another step in the road to try and accomplish a mission. We know that Boston College is a really good team who also is coming off a bye week and has a lot of time to prepare for us, and we're going to have to make sure that we're studying up and preparing the way that we always have and try to come out victorious.

Q. How would you grade yourself today?
DESHONE KIZER: There's some good, there's some bad, as always. Ran the ball pretty well. There's still some checks I really need to make sure that I'm making out there and making sure that I can avoid some sacks. There was a couple situations in which I've got to get rid of the ball. Other than that, we played really well as a team, I believe. Wake Forest is a really good defense. Their front eight is some of the best that we've played this year, and we came out with a victory, so we're going to take that for what it is and continue to move forward.

Q. How strange was it to see Dave Clawson on the opposing sideline?
DESHONE KIZER: Yeah, really weird, really weird, being a guy from the 419 area, to see a guy who's down doing some big things in the ACC is huge for us. He was kind of a community-type of guy when he was at BG, and obviously he was one of my first couple offers, so I spent a lot of time with him, and to see him doing what he's doing at a level school like Wake Forest is huge. It was nice.

Q. I don't know if you saw any scores from last night, but Central beat Clyde.
DESHONE KIZER: I sent Coach Dempsey a text. That's huge for us. Obviously that game still haunts me to this day. But to see us come out victorious against Clyde the last three years is huge, or two years, whatever it is.

Q. What was your conversation with Ronnie like after the game? You guys were talking before --
DESHONE KIZER: Oh, yeah, Ronnie is just a goofball. He blocked out on the play and said that I made the wrong check. He made sure that I understood that he got outset because the last game there was situation in which I made a check, he didn't understand it or he didn't -- I didn't communicate it to him well, and he didn't end up making the same out block, so he made sure that I understood and I recognized that he went out and made an extra block for me to save my backside, so that was really nice.

Q. How did you feel like the offense graded out today?
DESHONE KIZER: You know, it was a little off. We're a type of team where we strive and we try to go out and get some explosive plays, and there wasn't any of those explosive plays other than that run that we were backed up. Typically those happen a little more often, but at the end of the day, when we go out and we grade out, when we check out our film, we did a lot of good things. Like I said, they had a really good 3rd down plan for us, which comes with preparing with a bye week the week before a game, and to come out victorious at this time of the year is always good.

Q. Do you ever feel like you're pressing out there? Did you get any of that vibe today?
DESHONE KIZER: Not really. Not really. As I always say, when the ball is in our hands, we expect to score points, so there's always kind of a pressure on us, no matter what the situation is, no matter if we're down or if we're up. When the ball is in our hands, we expect to do something, so if we don't come out with it, then it's a losing drive. So when it comes to pressure, it's kind of the same mindset every time we get the ball.

Q. You said things are kind of off today, but what did you kind of learn about being off but also still overcoming it in the month of November when you guys are on a playoff run?
DESHONE KIZER: It just shows the style of team that we have. We live on adversity. We lose guys each week, and it's really unfortunate, but somehow we end up coming out on top. This is a week in which maybe our passing game wasn't where it should have been, and we didn't have the big, explosive plays to Will Fuller and things like that, but yet we still come out with some sort of a way to put up 28 points which is huge against a team of any level. So as an offense, we're going to go out and we're going to evaluate where we are. It's a learning process from game 1 to game 13, 14 and 15, so this is just another opportunity for us to evaluate where we are and continue to move forward.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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