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STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 28, 2015Kevin HoganStanford, California Stanford-38, Notre Dame - 36 Q. First of all tell me how emotional was tonight's victory? KEVIN HOGAN: It was very emotional. I just tried to take it all in and enjoy it. I knew it was going to be that way, I knew that a whole lot of emotions here at Stanford. Just go out there and have fun and enjoy my time with the boys out there and fortunate to fight until the end and Conrad nailed the kick and it was just an unbelievable finish. Q. Your final game as a senior here at Stanford Stadium. Pretty nice way to go out. KEVIN HOGAN: It's the best. I couldn't have pictured it going any better. Just having the opportunity to go down and finish the game with the ball in our hands, it was one of those games where it seemed like whoever had the ball last was going to win. And they left enough time on the clock and Conrad's got a leg, so which we knew we had to get it around the 30, 32 yard line. And he nailed it. Q. The big play of course was the pass to Cajuste. Tell me about that one. KEVIN HOGAN: Yeah, so they were playing backs free, only rushing three or four and had Devon in the slot and, I mean, we, I threw it before he even broke, I knew where he was going to be. He broke perfectly, and was able to catch it and turn up for a few more yards to get us in position. It was just good execution. Q. Against Notre Dame, too, your dad went to Notre Dame, a lot of ties to your family to Notre Dame. How extra special does that make tonight's win? KEVIN HOGAN: It meant the world. Growing up as a fan of Notre Dame, going to all their games growing up and to be able to have my last home game here against them, my childhood team was a dream come true and fortunate enough to play a good game and our team came out on top. Q. Coach Shaw said he gave you a game ball and both you got emotional. Can you describe the scene? KEVIN HOGAN: Oh, it's just, it's hard to describe. Just those guys had my back, they have been so supportive of me and helping me go through the hard times and I couldn't see myself being anywhere else in college, I came to the right place, I played for the right coach, Coach Shaw's amazing, and it's just a great finish to along career. Q. Think your dad is looking down on you tonight? KEVIN HOGAN: I have no doubt. I could feel T I knew that -- I have no doubt in my mind that we were going to win that game. Q. You said you had no doubt in your mind, but 25 seconds left, what is going through your mind at that time with having to go 40 yards? KEVIN HOGAN: We knew we had timeouts, so we could kind of chip away and we saw that they were in a two zone, so saw the seams open and pretty fortunate that we got that facemask penalty to kind of move up a little bit and then Devon ran a great route and I just hit him in stride and we got into field goal range. But it was just seeing the lanes and we knew that we could kind of chip away those last 30 seconds and very fortunate to get into field goal range. Q. At this point of your career with all these quality starts in tough situations (No microphone.) KEVIN HOGAN: Yeah, we felt confident on offense all night. Honestly, it didn't think that -- we really felt like we were kind of shooting ourselves in the foot on some of those drives. So we were very confident. We knew -- we weren't sure if there was enough time, but we knew that we could move the ball down the field and it definitely helped having those timeouts, but everyone, before they even scored we were walking up-and-down the sidelines saying we get to go win the game ourselves, we're not going to put it in their hands. So it's just a dream finish for us. Q. They tried to limit Christian's impact on the game. Did you see that and know it was going to be in your hands to beat them? KEVIN HOGAN: They have a great front seven. Hat's off to them. A lot of talented guys and they did a good job of kind of making the holes narrow and Christian was able to still pop out for a few of them and I still think he almost rushed for a hundred, but I mean we just felt comfortable in the passing game, we felt good with protection, they had a lot of funky blitzes, but we felt great all week picking them up and just getting the ball to their tight ends and receivers in space was what we were trying to do. Q. The Oregon game was almost uncannily similar except in that one you guys made the mistakes and didn't win. Did you feel that that kind of failure down the stretch might have helped you execute down the stretch here? KEVIN HOGAN: What kind of failure? Q. Coach Shaw was saying that when it didn't go well against Oregon down the stretch, you guys made some mistakes, turned the ball over, he said there was almost like a, we have been here before mentality. KEVIN HOGAN: Yeah, we feel confident out there that we're going to put points on board, at any point. We really don't think there are many defenses that can stop us. And they give us the chance to go out and move the ball down the field, kind of similar to how we did in the two minute drill before the half. We really feel like we can move it. So we were very confident and coach was kind of letting us play. Q. Did you ever think about the road that you took to get here? KEVIN HOGAN: No, there's plenty of time to think about that later. There's so much going on in the next week and whatever, whatever the chips may fall after that, you can't really pause and think back yet, because that -- I love the guys and all our focus is on the next one, as it should be, and it's really great to, we're definitely going to celebrate this one though, it's a huge win. Q. What's it like preparing for a team that you've seen twice before? KEVIN HOGAN: It's definitely better than playing the same team in six days, which we did before. So, it's definitely going to be a challenge. We got film on each other, so, we're just going to get out there and work on our bread and butter plays and trust our technique, trust our execution and we'll go from there. But we're definitely feeling great right now. Q. Obviously, they feel like they're better than the last time you played them. But how do you feel you guys have improved the most? KEVIN HOGAN: I feel like we have improved everywhere. That was really our first break out of kind of getting things clicking on offense and we feel like we definitely improved tremendously and we're going to carry that confidence into next week and it definitely helps knowing that we have beaten a team before, but it's not going to cause us to relax at all. We know how good they are and that they're playing really good football right now. So we're going to try to keep the chip on our shoulder and keep going. Q. So you're known for keeping it cool on the field, but how special was it to have to watch the final play with it out of your hands, sweat through the time out, freeze the kicker, what's that experience like when the ball is not in your hands? KEVIN HOGAN: With Conrad out there, oh, I had no doubt he was going to make it. That's what he's done. He did it all summer. We put him in all kind of crazy pressure situations from all over the field and if he can do it with us huddled around him, screaming, crazy things at him, then he can go out and win the game against Notre Dame. And he has ice in his veins, so I wasn't worried, I was just happy that we got close enough, because you never know. Q. There was never a doubt? KEVIN HOGAN: No. Q. What were your emotions going out for your final game in Stanford Stadium and what are you going to tell your grand kids years from now about this game? KEVIN HOGAN: Yeah, I mean, I spoke to the team before and just kind of told them let's go out and have fun, we played in plenty of big games, what better way than to play a Top-5 Notre Dame team at home on Senior Day, so let's go out, cherish it, enjoy the time, have fun, and don't be afraid to slip up, it's going to happen, they're a good team, but we just tried to soak it all in and have fun. Q. The decision to come back, how much did it have to do with what happened with your father and how much does a game like this sort of make it all worth it? KEVIN HOGAN: Nothing, it was all about what was best for me and my future and I didn't comeback to play Notre Dame, I have no allegiance to them at all. I came back because I thought it was the best decision for me and for our team and for my family and I made the best decision possible. Q. (No microphone.) KEVIN HOGAN: When you put it that way, it's pretty wild. But it was just kind of the pinnacle of how far we have come and how many plays we have put on on the field out there. It's pretty awesome, but it was just perfect execution and I mean he ran it perfectly, I put it right there so he could catch it in stride and there's no better way to finish your career than a completion to set up a win. Q. (No microphone.) KEVIN HOGAN: He proved time and again he can make those kicks. We wanted to make sure we got it close enough. We know he has all the leg in the world. But he nailed it. I had no doubt that he was going to put it right there. Q. (No microphone.) KEVIN HOGAN: There was six seconds left when he kicked it, so we weren't sure if there was going to be any time. So we were sitting on the sidelines and then the ref blew the game dead, so we just ran on the field. I don't know. I'm at a loss for words. Q. (No microphone.) KEVIN HOGAN: It's awesome. The fans were great tonight. Notre Dame travels well, but for our fans to be able to come out on the field and celebrate with us at the end of the game was awesome. Perfect way to finish the season. Q. What was you like the selection committee to know about Stanford? I know you're not going to lobby, but you kind of have to to have them pick your team, why should this team be considered for a playoff spot? KEVIN HOGAN: Because we are 8-1 in the toughest conference in America and put together a heck of a resume. We know we kind of took it out of our hands a couple weeks back, but I think that no one in the country wants to play us right now. Q. (No microphone.) KEVIN HOGAN: Our goal is to get to the PAC-12 championship and to have a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. So after losing to Oregon, it was tough but our goal was still ahead of us and we realized that goal last week against Cal. Essentially this game didn't mean anything to our, our goal or our main goal at the start of the season, but to come out and beat a really good Notre Dame game is just a cherry on top. Q. How gratifying is it for you to play as well as you did in your final game. You won 34 games and that was one of your best performances? KEVIN HOGAN: It's awesome to just kind of put it all together. It's a huge game for me, it meant a lot. Got a lot of emotions and just kind of to finish my career with a great game and kind of put so much in a position to win and with all the guys around us, we have an amazing senior class and leadership and the coaches trusted us this week and just to go out and with a win, it's amazing. I don't even know what to say. Q. What would you say was your most memorable moment at Stanford? KEVIN HOGAN: There's so many. This is definitely up there. Definitely top three moments. But just being able to go down and win the game on our own and have it in our hands, wasn't much time left, but I was warming up on the sidelines and turned around right before that drive and saw Conrad just warming up, kicking into the net and I was like, okay, I just got to get this guy in range and he's going to nail it. So it was a pretty awesome finish for both of us. Q. Talk about that final walk for you. KEVIN HOGAN: Oh, usually I walk over with headphones and pretty focused. And today I didn't take them, just wanted to kind of take it all in and enjoy it, hear the fans, give high-fives, and kind of give thanks to everything that this community and in school has done for me, I'm forever grateful. I just tried to have fun today and enjoy it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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