UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 15, 2022

Drew Pyne

Press Conference

Notre Dame 14, Stanford 16

Q. Drew, first half offensively what was sort of the misfire there, the lack of execution as coach talked about?

DREW PYNE: I think it's just exactly what he said, lack of execution. I think that -- I put a lot of that on myself. I've got to go out there and do my job and execute, deliver the ball, get us in the right protection. I've got to see the defense. And I've just got to go out there and execute. And, you know, when we talk about losses, Coach Freeman -- when we talk about wins, we talk about team game. When we talk about losses, we talk about how to get better individually. I've just got to go out there and execute.

Q. I think the last two weeks you've looked like a comfortable quarterback out there. Did you ever feel that way tonight or was Stanford doing some stuff that kind of made you think for a second before you let it rip?

DREW PYNE: No. I always feel comfortable out there with all of my brothers. And kind of going back to the first question, I've just got to go out there and execute.

Q. Tobias Merriweather, what can he do for the offense moving forward? Can you take us through the touchdown play, what you say.

DREW PYNE: Tobias is a speed demon. He has really good routes, big target, has great hands. And he's been working his tail off to go make a play like that. Saw earlier, I missed him on a route earlier in the end zone that we could have scored on as well. He's a great target for us. And we're going to keep building on his role.

Q. Drew, what was Stanford doing defensively that made it difficult to get the ball to Michael Mayer?

DREW PYNE: You know, I don't think it was anything special. I think -- kind of going back to the first thing I said, I think I've just got to go out there and execute and deliver the football. We get in good looks, we get in spots where Mike is one on one. And we've just got to execute and convert and deliver the ball.

Q. Do you get any feedback at certain times that maybe you're too reliant on him, that maybe you're looking for him and someone else was coming open?

DREW PYNE: I think Mike is a great target. He's a great player. And defenses have a way to try to combat that. And I think when they do, like you said, I've got to go and find other guys. And I think there were times that tonight where I could have done that. And I'm just going to learn from it, come back and execute every day at practice this week and just come back with head down and work.

Q. Lastly, taking the sack on the last drive, what did you see on that play? How did you end up getting sacked?

DREW PYNE: I was trying to get out of the pocket and create something. And a guy dragged me down, got back up and had to run a play quickly. But can't take a sack in a two-minute operation so --

Q. Can you take us through that last 4th down play call, what you saw? I know you'll have a better chance to look at film later in the week.

DREW PYNE: We had a 3 by 1 and JT broke in. And I tried to just put it on him. And guy made a good play on the ball and deflected it. The clock was running down, fourth down. It's tough position to be in, a tough call to have to call. And I've just got to go and deliver the ball and find a way to make it work.

Q. In your mind, what was the biggest difference between the offense in the first half and the offense in the second half?

DREW PYNE: Just execution. First half, we didn't execute as well as we wanted to. And I didn't execute as well as I wanted to. Just got to -- you know, head down and keep going and keep fighting. And, you know, that's what we did in the second half. We've got to start fast next week.

Q. Drew, can you just take us through the roller coaster of emotions from, you know, post North Carolina and BYU versus tonight?

DREW PYNE: Something that I've always tried to have inside myself is emotional stability and stay neutral. Something that my late mentor Trevor Moawad always taught me was to be neutral and never get too high, never get too low.

I think Cal -- you know, after I scored that one touchdown I went crazy, but I think staying neutral is something that can really help. And I really haven't -- I haven't rode a high of after a win or anything like that. I get back right to work. And, you know, for me, I'm always staying neutral. I'm never too high, never too low. And that's the way I'll continue to be.

Q. Is this the biggest test of that in any way?

DREW PYNE: You know, I think so. Losing and being in that locker room with all my best friends knowing that I could have done better and I could have executed to help us win is something that really hits you hard.

But I think coming into this week, there's going to be no one that will work harder than us. There's going to be no one that will watch more film than us. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to learn from this and get better and our team will as well. And, you know, that's just the brand of our culture. That's what's been taught to us is always just keep fighting, keep going. And that's what we're going to do.