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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 13, 2018

Ian Book

South Bend, Indiana

Pittsburgh - 14, Notre Dame - 19

Q. You were 26 of 32 passing but seemed like you were scrambling a lot, at least in the first half. What was the Pittsburgh defense throwing at you that had you looking confused?
IAN BOOK: You know, Pittsburgh's got a good defense. We knew that, and we were preparing for that all week. You know, some of the times, I was a little antsy and I got to stay in there a little better. Something I got to work on. You know, they are a good defense and that's going to happen sometimes. You know, we bounced back in the second half in that a little bit, I believe and we take the win.

Q. You seemed to target Boykin a lot especially on the winning touchdown drive. What is it about him that makes you want to throw the ball to him, almost like a safety net type of player for you there?
IAN BOOK: You know, day-in, day-out, Miles works so hard and I think our chemistry is starting to come a long a little bit. When it's a critical down, he'll make the plays for us. He's one of the playmakers that I try to get the ball to.

Q. Did Pittsburgh bring anything different from a pressure perspective?
IAN BOOK: No, we were prepared for the blitzes that they were going to bring. Yeah, so nothing, really.

Q. Could you just walk us through the touchdown to Boykin, how you saw the play develop and how quickly you knew that's where you wanted to put it?
IAN BOOK: Yeah, miles made a great move and stuck it on the post and like I've said many times, he's really rangy, so just got to put him up there and give him a chance. That's something I was focusing on all week was giving our guys a chance, not over throwing. Can't doing anything with that. Throw it and miles will go get it.

Q. What was the primary look you were trying to find?
IAN BOOK: Trying to get someone to slip in the flat. So I've got to do a little better job and get the ball to him quicker.

Q. After throwing two interceptions, do you have to do something to focus and shake that off, or do you remain confident throughout?
IAN BOOK: Yeah, think about it, want to talk about it with Coach, get on the phone, but can't do anything about it now. Forget about it and move on. The offense, I need those guys; and if they make a mistake, I need them to forget about it and same goes with me. You think about it for a minute and got to move on.

Q. Then on the third down run, you slid, which was marked short of the first down. Were you upset with that decision or you felt comfortable keeping yourself protected?
IAN BOOK: No, it's a situational thing that I've got to get better with. I need to know that -- I can dive head first, make a move or something, it's a critical down for us.

Q. Did Pittsburgh do things in the secondary that maybe limited some opportunities for Miles? You had 11- and 9-catch games in the past. Were they doing anything to focus on him?
IAN BOOK: Yeah, they were crowding the boundary a bit, which we knew they would do to try to stop Miles in the boundary, but we were prepared for that.

Q. What were they doing with their defense that made it difficult to run against today for you guys?
IAN BOOK: They just have a good defense. They got 11 guys out there who we knew were going to come out and give us our best. Every time we play, it's a tough game and yeah, we just got to, you know, the run game, we just got to work on it a little bit. They were prepared and thought they were a good defense.

Q. What were you seeing, I don't know, if, again, they were options for you but you had a lot of carries and a lot more planned runs for you. What were you seeing?
IAN BOOK: Certain run plays, we have certain run keys and it's my job to read that guy, and you know, I've got to pull it and get as many vertical yards as I can.

Q. What was the mood like in the huddle midway through the fourth placing the deficit? How important was it for you to show the poise they were looking for?
IAN BOOK: We had to stay calm. A win's a win and these football games happen. You know, there's no point in freaking out when you have some time on the clock, and we've been there before, you know, so we didn't want to make it a bigger deal than it was. I'm proud of the guys for remaining calm being able to go down and win the game.

Q. After the game last week, you talked about being a little skittish, I think that was the word you used. Did you need to hit that deep ball to Boykin just to put that out of your head and behind you?
IAN BOOK: Yeah, obviously it was a huge play. Felt good coming out. Big confidence boost, but I think I was still a little bit skittish.

But then I think in the second half, I really, you know, remained calm, trust the guys. We have such a great O-Line, there's no reason to be skittish. I'm just excited that we got this win.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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