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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 8, 2018

Brian Kelly

South Bend, Indiana

Ball State - 16, Notre Dame - 24

BRIAN KELLY: Well, we're happy to win the game. This is about winning games. That would be our second win. Winning for us is what the goal is each and every week. So we accomplished that.

Now, let's look at the things we have to do, which there's a number of things we have to do better. First of all, is we got to coach better. We got to prepare our football team better, and that starts with me. I got to prepare our team better.

I think Ball State did a great job of coming into this game and doing exactly what they needed to do: possess the football. I think they had 90 something plays, ball control. They ate up clock. They did the things necessary to be in a position to compete. They did a great job. Their preparation was great. Their coaching was better.

So as we look back on what we have to do better, we have to prepare our football team better. Our players have to bring a little bit more energy to the game. That's on them. They know that. So we go into a game like this with we're happy to win, but I've got to prepare our team better, we've got to coach them better, and our guys have to come with more energy into this kind of game.

Ball State did a great job with their game plan, what they needed to do to make this the kind of game that it was. We'll learn from it, move on, get ready for Vanderbilt.

Q. On the energy aspect, a couple of your players felt like Ball State had more of it. How do you coach that out of your guys during the week? I got the sense you felt like that wasn't going to be a question for you guys coming into today.
BRIAN KELLY: No, I didn't think it was either. I think the first couple of days that they were bouncing back from Michigan. I thought Thursday was a good day for them. But I obviously didn't do a good enough job of getting them up to play at the level that they need to play.

Each year is new. You get new experiences with different guys. You know which buttons that you have to push as you get a chance to know your kids a little bit better in these circumstances.

I know our team a little bit better after this game, and we'll make sure it doesn't happen again.

Q. How intentional or not was not running Brandon early in the game?
BRIAN KELLY: I don't think it was intentional at all. I think it was just part of, you know, play calling and part of what we're doing. I think sometimes we look too much into the whole, Did you run him? Did you not run him?

I think the game and the circumstances kind of dictate the play calling. Just has to flow with the game. I don't think he comes into the game saying, I'm going to run him more, I'm not going to run him more.

Q. How would you rate Brandon as a passer today?
BRIAN KELLY: As a thrower of the football, he was pretty good. Decision making needs to get better. We got to coach him through those, too, as well. He's experiencing some things that he didn't experience last year because we didn't throw the ball down the field into some coverages. In some instances these were some things that he didn't experience last year.

I think we'll make progress off of today with Brandon. I think there was one he hung up there that we'd like to have back. On the RPO that got deflected for a pick, I thought it was really good timing. The ball came out the way it's supposed to. Threw a couple of seams that were really deliberate, things he hadn't done before.

All in all you don't want your quarterback to throw three interceptions. But I look at it that we're anxious to go back to work because we're seeing some signs that we like.

Q. Were there any spots besides the one handoff where it seems like Ian Book, three plays he's touched the ball, he's handed it off for a touchdown, were there any spots where you were thinking about bringing him in and said, I got to stick with Brandon for this reason?
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, yeah, I don't know that I would tell you if I even thought it.

I think what we want Brandon Wimbush to do is continue to lead our offense. Brandon Wimbush wasn't the reason we were ineffective offensively. I could name all the things that I just mentioned. I don't think we coached very well this week. I don't believe I prepared them the way we should have now that I see the way they played. We didn't protect them at the highest level. There's a lot of things.

Now, I get it, right? It's going to go back to the quarterback, and he gets the scrutiny. But I don't think it got to the point where, Hey, let's pull Brandon Wimbush out of that game. It got to the point where, Hey, let's execute together. One of the old John McCain lines was, I'm in favor of it, let's execute them all, including me.

Q. Jalen Elliott, two interceptions in the game tonight. What was it like to see him have a huge game like that?
BRIAN KELLY: Awesome. That's what I like, positive stuff (laughter). You get a front row seat from now on. Priestley, you can stay back there with that sour-face look after we won. You come up here, young man. You are the new favorite.

Q. Sweet.
BRIAN KELLY: He gets follow-up questions, Mike, even after the time is up.

He had a great game. It was really good to see him. Obviously, one of the things was for him to grow relative to the ball in the air, tracking the ball, coming down with it, all those kinds of things. Yeah, he got the game ball, too.

Q. In turn, right after those interceptions, you executed the offense and scored some touchdowns after that.
BRIAN KELLY: That's a follow-up question. That's a heck of a follow-up question right there.

Q. Does it make the turnovers that much better when you can actually get the ball back and score a touchdown instead of punting?
BRIAN KELLY: Yes, absolutely.

Q. How important was it to get those points?
BRIAN KELLY: Well, we did need some help obviously. I thought there was maybe one drive where we didn't play to the level that I thought we could have from a physicality standpoint defensively.

Neal did a great job. He got outside, contained, kept some plays alive. We needed those interceptions, and we cashed them in for scores.

Q. Two games in, how would you describe Jafar Armstrong and Tony Jones development as primary ball carriers?
BRIAN KELLY: I think that's it. I mean, I think Jafar is developing each and every week. I think you saw his versatility again as a pass-rusher, as a guy that carries the football. He's learning a lot every week. There's new experiences for him each and every game that he plays in. I think this is just accumulating kind of reps for him, game reps, learning as he goes. Obviously he's got some really good skills.

Tony Jones, we just need him in there, consistency, play at that high level. I told him that. I think he can be an outstanding back. We just got to get that on a more consistent basis.

Q. The runningbacks have accounted for a majority of the touchdowns so far this season. Has that surpassed your expectations for the runningback group?
BRIAN KELLY: No, I don't think we had any set number or were looking for particular amount of touchdowns per se. We've been in a position obviously that we could finish off our drives running the football, though.

Q. Does this also go to the credit of the offensive line creating gaps and holes for the team?
BRIAN KELLY: It's everybody. It's everybody working together, no doubt.

Q. Brandon was asked what the feeling was like after this one. He said, Not a good one. Do you feel that's an accurate description of the locker room?
BRIAN KELLY: No. Listen, the first thing I tell them when we come in is, number one, you can never apologize for winning. Winning is hard. So understand that, that first and foremost you won a football game.

But you've got to critique it, right? Did we live up to the standards we set in the way that we played? No. I did a poor job preparing you. You have to bring the energy necessary to play this game. It's not chess. It's football. It requires an energy that may have been lacking, so let's look at why that wasn't there.

Other than that, there's plenty to clean up in a win in game two. I think we've learned a lot, we're going to learn a lot when we get a chance to examine the film a little bit more. I think they're being a little bit too hard on themselves if they talk in those terms.

Q. Possibly too hard on themselves in this regard? Brandon said he graded himself out to be a D, D plus. When your quarterback is willing to take that kind of responsibility after three interceptions, what does it say about his growth?
BRIAN KELLY: You know, I don't think he's ever shied from it. He's always been first in line to take accountability and responsibility. He's just that kind of kid.

I think what really needs to be said is that the ineffectiveness of our offense doesn't always revolve around Brandon Wimbush, nor does the success. I think we're all going to jump to the quarterback. It's everybody else.

He jumps on the sword. But we won the football game. He's got a lot to learn. He's got to grow, but he will. That's the great thing about it. When you work with kids like that, he'll be anxious and eager to come in to get better.

Q. Your defense has been pretty stout the last two games. They're making a seamless transition from last year. Can you talk about that a little bit further.
BRIAN KELLY: Well, I think we've done some really good things relative to the leadership. I think Clark has done a really good job. He's a very good teacher. The kids really enjoy playing for him. I think the assistant coaches have done a really good job of making sure that that message, that consistent message, gets across.

I spent a lot of time over there. I like what I see, how it's talked about on a day-to-day basis about putting together a championship defense. I think the tenets are in place. We got to continue to recruit, we got to continue to get better, we got to continue to work on some little things.

But, you know, we're playing better in the back end. We're contesting for the football at a high level, putting pressure on the quarterback. There's some things we got to get better at. We know what they are.

But, yeah, I like where we started. We got a long way to go. We're two weeks into this. A lot of football ahead of us.

Q. I think the perception coming in was that your defense was going to have its hands full with Riley Neal, which it did, the 97 plays, that you might be able to overpower their front. It kind of went in the opposite direction, beginning with your red zone defense in the first half. Speak to how important that was to the outcome of the game.
BRIAN KELLY: Yeah, I mean, I think we were stout in keeping them off the board certainly. Yeah, I mean, I think if you're critically looking at it...

Look, I haven't even watched the film yet. Clearly we were coming off some blocks offensively on the offensive line, we were missing some fits. I got to take a look at that before I can get into it in-depth. I clearly do know this: we did some things in the red zone we haven't done before. I like what we did.

Q. Defensively or offensively?
BRIAN KELLY: Defensively. We added some things that had been part of our install that we'd been working on that I think are effective and we're going to continue to get better at it.

Q. You only had one game film to look at in terms of their defense, but did they come at you from a lot of different places, unpredictable because of the changes they made in their defensive front?
BRIAN KELLY: We had very, very little. That's not an excuse. We should have been better at handling the movement up front. It's a 3-4 defense, but it's hard for me to really get into it in-depth until I watch it. There were just too many times where we had unblocked hats at the point of attack, and that's jut not us. That's not who we have been relative to our schemes.

Thank you.

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