STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 16, 2024

Gaethan Bernadel

Postgame Media Conference

Stanford 38, Louisville 35

Q. Gaethan, just for you guys as a team, you guys have obviously been through a lot this season, and for you personally just how much does this win mean to the team?

GAETHAN BERNADEL: It means everything, man. Just the work that we put in, and we never doubted ourselves. We still come in every single day and put the work in.

Just to come out of this game with a win is big for our program. It's big for my teammates. It's big for me. To go out on Senior Night and final home game here at Stanford to get a win versus a ranked opponent in the ACC it's not something that should be taken lightly. It's not something that's easy to do.

So it means a lot for this team and this program moving forward, man. We're just excited. I was down there still celebrating. I still have my tape on, so... (laughing).

Q. So the game had all kinds of ebbs and flows. You were up 10-0. Looked like you was going to do something big, and then they came back and got a double-digit lead. What was the mood of you guys when they were up like two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and wasn't looking too good and then you make that dramatic comeback and win at the last second?

GAETHAN BERNADEL: Honestly, man, just keep playing football. Keep playing ball, and keep playing ball and see what happens. You know what I mean?

Even at halftime there was no doubt. We still wanted to fight. No matter what the score is, we could have been up ten, down ten. It would have been the same message. Deliver. Keep playing ball. Do your 1-11 and see what happens. You saw what happened tonight.

Q. I think a lot of the guys were out on the defense. In particular Tristan Sinclair, Collin Wright, two leaders. Did it feel like you have to sort of step up into that leadership role tonight just because all the sort of younger guys were in the game?

GAETHAN BERNADEL: Honestly, man, I feel like I did. I'm usually vocal. I'm usually a vocal leader on and off the field, but I felt like I had to do that some more.

A lot of guys tell me when they hear my voice, they calm down, they feel okay. Once one of my teammates told me that, I knew I had to -- especially this game with Collin Wright and Tristan Sinclair being out, I knew I had to step into that role and kind of be that guy for them on the field.

I never blink. In a close game like that, I can't really blink. My teammates look to me to deliver, and that's just the way I like it. So we're going to continue to fight, continue to get better, man.

Q. Just walk us through that interception that you got today.

GAETHAN BERNADEL: Yeah, I think they ran the first couple of plays. I seen the O-linemen cut the first two or three plays. I think my job on that I had, like, an interior pressure. Shout out Zach Rowell, man. He got his hands up. We work that drill every single day in practice and in circuit.

He got his hands up, and all I was thinking when the ball is in the air, our coaches talk about it all the time, tuck before two. Make sure you secure the ball, and get two feet on the ground.

I didn't know who was around me. I just knew I had to get the ball at the highest point, and it felt really good to come down with that interception for my team.

Q. Gaethan, what sort of legacy do you want to leave here at Stanford?

GAETHAN BERNADEL: The type of legacy I want to leave here, man, obviously we haven't had the season that we wanted to. Just being able to be part of the growth, being able to be part of the team that started it off because we're going to be really good. Trust me. You see it here.

You see we're a couple of plays away from being a really good football team. Just being part of the growth that got it going. Man, I love every single one of my teammates. I love every single one of my coaches. That's what I want to leave here.

Q. Talk about ACC play. So you guys got that big win in Syracuse. Then it was a lull. Then now you get this big win here at home. So you got a win on the road and at home. How do you feel about the way the ACC went this year?

GAETHAN BERNADEL: Yeah, ACC definitely is a hard conference to play in. Obviously they have good players. We have good players all around the conference. Every single week a team gives us different challenges that we have to knock out by Saturday.

That just is how we like it. Especially going on the road earlier in the year, we didn't give any excuses that we have to fly five, six hours. At the end of the day we have to go out there and play ball.

We understand in the ACC -- I always say in my opinion the ACC is one of the top conferences right now. We know every week we're going to see some guys. We're going to see some teams with some good players. We embrace it. We embrace it. We watch the tape. We come back, get better, win or loss, and on to the next, man.