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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 13, 2017

Mike McGlinchey

South Bend, Indiana

Q. As down as you were after Saturday's game, as a captain, it's your job to pick the other guys up. Who picks you up when you're as down as you were?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: That's a pretty tough question. I think it's more just of an understanding that football is one of those games that's going to have ups, downs and it's going to take you sideways. It's a very demanding, emotionally, game. Saturday, definitely was a horrible one for me, especially. You know, I vent to my mom and my girlfriend, my best friends, my dad, but none of them really bring me back up. It's just more of an outlet to speak on what I was feeling and all that kind of stuff.

But it's more about yourself to bring yourself backup. Just knowing about, how hard of a game football really is and the only thing you can do is keep working to get better.

Like I said before, you can vent about it all you want but nothing is going to change unless you go back to work and that's all I've been focused on from Sunday to Monday on, and feeling a lot better than I did on Saturday night, that's for sure.

Q. What's the process you go through? Does it take until Tuesday where you can now focus on the task ahead instead of letting what happened before fester?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I think so. I think you get back out to practice yesterday, on Tuesday and you can kind of wash the stink off of you. I mean, you sit there all weekend and just watch that one play over and over and over again, and you kind of drive yourself insane.

But it's one play. It's one of those things that I've got to -- I guess I've got to work on the timing of my misses because it was a pretty brutal one. But no, you can't really get fully back into it until there's a game plan in front of you and there's a next opponent. Just go back to work on what you can control, and the team that we're going to face this week in Boston College.

Q. The role of the captain, how does it expand after a loss? What do you guys do together as a group to make sure this happens or this doesn't happen moving forward?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Well, I think that's where we screwed up last year in the fact that we tried to do too much. I think that -- I talked with Coach Hiestand about it all the time.

When you mess up a play or when you mess up a game as a team, you wind up on the losing side of things; it's normally just a couple small things here and there that you've got to alter, that you've got to change. Where we're going to be a lot different is we're not going to go into panic mode.

We're not going to go into anything that's too drastic because we know we are a good football team. We've got a lot of talented players and a lot of great leaders, and we're going to just be as consistent as we can, as possible, to get our jobs done and to eliminate the mistakes that were made.

And that's all you really can do moving forward. It's the coach's job to point them out, it's the players job to fix it and that's all you can really do. As a captain, I'm just going to help; I'm going fix myself first, and then wherever I can help, I'll help.

Q. So you don't have to talk maybe as much this year as you did last year?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: No.

Q. Mike, when you think of playing Boston College, what comes to mind?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Family. For me, at least. You know, I've got a guy that I've looked up to my entire life since I was a little kid that went there. And my football fandom started by watching Boston College and what Matt was able to do on Saturdays there, and that's when I really, truly fell in love with the game of football and started to dream a little bit.

Playing BC, it's a great program. I was very interested in going to school there when I was a high school kid. Luckily I chose to go here, in my personal opinion.

Yeah, it's just one of those things that it's cool because I have a lot of family ties there. Matt went there. My uncle, John Locker, played there in the early 80s, and yeah, just it's one of those things that it's a cool game for me.

It was cool back in 2015 when we went to play at Fenway and there's a lot of history between the two of our programs. We've got two Division I A Catholic institutions in America and the Holy War, I guess, you can call it.

Q. They are always good in the trenches defensively, and maybe leading into the answer, but what's the key to having success against BC's defense?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Being fundamentally sound. Being schematically sound. They are going to move a lot. They have a lot of great players up front. You know, just doing your job and not making anything bigger than it really is.

Like I said, not fixing too many problems or being too drastic on how you fix the problems that arose last week, and just look at this: It's a new game, it's a new week, it's a new opponent and they are going to do different things out there.

Just studying all week the tips that they are going to give you; the way that they play the game, and you know, how hard you play, and that's really all that you really can do to win success, especially up front in football every Saturday.

Q. How would you describe Landers' game?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Well, obviously he's a fantastic football player. I think he had 16 and a half or 17 sacks last year. Obviously doing something right. He's a really good football player. Quick off the edge, strong, shifty and he has a high motor, and that's normally a good combination for getting past offensive tackles like myself. We've got to do a good job this week in preparing for him and the rest of BC's defensive ends.

The good thing about the offensive line is that most of what happens out there is in my control. So Harold is going to have to react to what I do to him more so than I'm going to have react to what he does to me in terms of how to block him. That's what I like about playing my position is that I just can keep working and working and working until I feel comfortable with how I'm moving, how I'm setting and how I'm getting on blocks.

Q. Do they move him around or do you expect to be going head-to-head with him the bulk of the night?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I think they do move him around. They are primarily an over front, so they shift to the tight end with the three-technique and he normally is with the nose guard. So they will move back and forth.

Q. Does he have a signature move or is it varied?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Varied. But like I said, a lot of speed, tries to get you around the edge most of the time but he throws a lot of different combinations of things of how he does that for sure.

Q. Mike, I know you guys have practice this week and have to be focused on that and preparing, but at the same time, when you come off a loss, is there a hunger inside to get back on the field and show everyone what you guys are made of?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Absolutely. It's going to be a big week for us. Like you said, we do have to go out and practice and we're not going to win on Saturday, unless we win Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

It's definitely a great challenge. BC is a great defense and they are going to have a lot of things ready for us and we're Notre Dame and we expect everybody to throw their best shot at us. There's nothing really, other than that, that you can really prepare for.

We're going to play our hearts out. Everybody's kind of angry, kind of pissed off and ready to get back out and see another team again, but we've got to take it day-by-day first. (Applause by Coach Kelly in the back).

Q. What did you think of that?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: (Laughs) I saw somebody out of the corner of my eye. I did not know it was him. But thank God I answered that okay. (Laughter).

Q. You guys have struggled on the road, really since you've been here, 5-11 during your time in true road games. What makes the road difficult, and what do you have to do to be successful?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I think that college football in general to just get wins is pretty difficult. I guess the added things that come along with going on the road, I mean, you can't really make an excuse because everybody has to do it. You know, there's different wrinkles about traveling and different crowds and things, and it's just you're not in your element.

So adding the road is just a different wrinkle but it's hard to win at home, too, clearly. We've had our fair share of losses at home, as well.

You know, college football is just hard to win in general. There's a couple logistical things that come along with playing on the road that makes things more difficult than they needed to be. But every week is really, really hard to win a game, and we've just got to do our part to make sure that we win both home and away from here on forward.

Q. Did you have to say anything to younger guys who haven't been in a road situation before to get them prepared?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: Not necessarily. I think the coaches do a fine job with that. I don't really have to plug myself in anywhere that they have already plugged themselves into our lexicon and what they are saying to us.

Just when I'm asked about it, when I'm asked about the younger guys and what's to be expected, it's much of the same. Just have to make sure you take care of yourself, like I said, logistically, with how you're traveling: Get your stuff in, make sure you're taking care of yourself as a normal day-to-day person when you're getting on the road. There's just certain things that happen. You can't forget anything.

You can't prepare any differently, but it's just the logistical things that are taken on to the road that provide a little bit different of a wrinkle or a challenge.

Q. Just going up against -- I don't know how much in practice or fall camp you've went against Jay Hayes, but what's led had his rise and evolution along the defensive line?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I think Jay's done a great job, I mean, his whole career I think. He's a senior now. He's ready to go. Has kind of chipped away his entire time here and waiting for his opportunity, and it's starting to come.

He's done a great job since the spring and getting into the position he is now of studying football and training really, really hard and making sure his body is taken care of, and taking coaching real well and understanding what his role is as a defensive end on our football team. He's had a lot of success so far this season and I don't expect anything but more of that to continue.

Jay is a great person. He's a great teammate and he's going to continue to work his butt off to make sure his job is taken care of each and every week, and he's shown some signs of domination, as well. You know, he's put a lot of time into this game, and certainly evolved as a player since he first got here.

Q. How specifically can you guys create more balance in the offense?
MIKE McGLINCHEY: I think that you just have to kind of study. You know, study and figure out where -- I guess it's not really for us to study, but our coaches. They study the game plan and put the things in place that they feel is going to best attack defenses and this week we have Boston College.

Then it's our job as players to execute to the best of our ability and no matter what the play is called, everybody has got a specific job on that play and you've got to make sure that you're doing it.

And if you're not doing it, that's when a lack of balance comes or the lack of, however you want to call it comes, and it's just those things that certain defenses do a lot of different things to take things away from you, especially if they watch you on film and see strengths that your offense has portrayed over the weeks prior and it's our job to combat those things and execute to the best of our ability and make sure that our offense has the options to do whatever we can to put points on the board.

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