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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 16, 2006

Lloyd Carr

COACH CARR: If you coach in enough of these games or play in enough of them, you're going to win some and you're going to lose some. I've done both. Certainly today was our day.
I take my hat off to our coaches, our players. I thought we had great preparation. I thought we had great intensity. Of course, the game changed with some turnovers early. When we got a lead, it took Notre Dame out of what they like to do, and that's to be balanced and run the football. That made it somewhat easier for us. I thought it was a great effort for our team against an outstanding football team in a very difficult place to win.
Our challenge now is to understand that you got to get ready to play every week. We've had to deal with all the negative things that surround the football team and a program when things aren't going your way. So now we'll see. We've handled that pretty well during the off-season and during the pre-season, the first three games. Now we're going to have to deal with some other issues.
I'm extremely happy for this team, that they could come in here and have some success today.
Questions.

Q. Did you see something on tape that gave you the idea that you could exploit Notre Dame's secondary with the deep ball?
COACH CARR: Well, I think, you know, we've got some guys that can run. Mario Manningham, I think the sky's the limit for him. He is a guy that, because a year ago he made some plays, but he is a much bigger, stronger, faster guy. He has really bought into a work ethic that it takes to become an outstanding player.
I thought Adrian Arrington had a big catch there. But our receivers, you know, we didn't have Braylon Edwards a year ago. You know, we had to find some guys. Breaston got some experience. Mario Manningham is a guy that we feel is going to be awfully difficult for anybody to single cover.

Q. How did Chad react to the first pick? What did he show you today?
COACH CARR: Well, I love Chad Henne because I can remember bringing him down here two years ago. Here's a kid that's been on our campus four, five weeks, and starts his second game at Michigan in Notre Dame stadium. You know, a year ago he came back as a sophomore, having an unbelievable freshman year. I mean, anybody that's fair understands that. This kid has everything it takes. But a year ago when we did not have much success, he had to take an incredible amount of unfair criticism. Can't do this, can't do that. Just baloney.
If you value courage, when Chad Henne threw the first pass there for an interception in this game, I mean, what he did after that speaks to what he is. So anybody that doubts him as a quarterback, they don't know anything about quarterback play. He was outstanding.

Q. Can you talk about the lift it is to get two defensive touchdowns, the way the defense played?
COACH CARR: We went in with the idea if we were going to have a chance to win, we had to pressure Brady Quinn. We felt we could do that because we have an excellent front. I mean, we've got some depth and we've got some guys that are very athletic. It's the best front we've had probably since I've been at Michigan.
Secondly, we felt we had to do a great job on Walker because in all the games I've seen, you know, when it really gets down to it, they hand him the ball or they throw him the ball. And we couldn't give up any big plays, which is something we've been vulnerable to in the first two games. We got some young guys on the secondary.
We were able to do all those things. It was a great team effort. I think this game was a team effort. But it certainly was I think punctuated by our defense. When you can't run the football, you have a chance to be one-dimensional.

Q. Could you talk about your front four, how they were able to out-physical a veteran Notre Dame offensive line.
COACH CARR: I don't know that they out-physicaled. You have to remember this: when you get behind like they did, then you can't play your game. We were fortunate to have some plays and get the lead, some turnovers. But I do think that Woodley and Branch, Terrence Taylor, a young guy in there, and Rondell Biggs is having an excellent year. Tim Jamison came in there today and gave us some quality reps. He's been injured, but he's getting close to a hundred percent. He had a big play out there. And Will Johnson is a tough, hard-nosed competitor inside. I hope I'm not missing anybody.
All those guys, they're able to rotate some. But Woodley, in my judgment, I have not seen the film of this game, but in his first two games, he's the real deal. He's a captain. He's a leader. Done a great job.

Q. You said they're the best front you had. Did you know that before today?
COACH CARR: Yeah.

Q. When did you start to realize that? When did they show you that?
COACH CARR: Well, I thought in the spring you could just see really what we needed to do, we needed to lose some weight. Alan Branch needed to get down some. He's a big guy, but he's a much better athlete with less weight. So when we got into training camp, these guys, the work they put into it. When we go against each other on offense and defense, I mean, it's much more competitive I think than it's ever been.

Q. Is that the type of play that you expect out of Burgess?
COACH CARR: Prescott had quite a day. I mean, you intercept a ball, run back for the touchdown, then make another big one. The second interception I thought was a critical play for us. We got a field goal.
But Prescott, you know, he came to Michigan, he was a strong safety. Really it took him two years to figure out linebacker play. We played him as a freshman on special teams. Then the last year, I was disappointed with the way he played. He didn't have a particularly great spring.
This fall he's played the best football he's played. I think he understood what he had to do to play. He's been excellent. We certainly hope he continues to perform like he did today.

Q. How important was it to you to get that elusive win in South Bend?
COACH CARR: Me? Well, as I said when I started, if you're in enough of these games, you're going to win some and you're going to lose some. The ones that you lose, they hurt. I mean, this Michigan-Notre Dame is a special part of college football. The thing that I love about it, and I think this is the 20th or 21st game I've been in, the two programs, you know, you don't like each other when you're competing against each other because, you know, you want to win, but I think there's a great respect there, and I think there always has been. There's always some issues going that people sometimes make more than they are.
Notre Dame is a great institution, with a great tradition. And Michigan is the same. So as a coach, when you can win against a rival like that, believe me, it's special, because it's hard. I mean, the credit, it sure as hell doesn't go to me. Those guys out on the field, they played the game.

Q. Can you talk about going into the (indiscernible) season undefeated?
COACH CARR: The Big-10, we've got 11 teams - figure that out (laughter). The non-conference schedule, there's always been this debate. I get more guys asking me if I want to play Notre Dame, if I think we should extend it, all that. In our conference, and I love the game, I love the game, and the players I think all love the game, but in the Big-10 conference, we had two schools that we don't play every year. What happens when they have a tie is the tiebreaker goes to the non-conference schedule. So if you lose this game today, it becomes a real negative even as far as getting to the Rose Bowl.
What was your question (laughter)? I ramble on once in a while.

Q. Going into the season undefeated.
COACH CARR: Well, you've written about it enough. I've read a thousand articles about it, so...
I mean, obviously we have some momentum. Momentum can disappear in a hurry when you lose concentration on what you need to do.

Q. Even though Notre Dame got the first touchdown back pretty quickly, did that first one set the defensive tone for the afternoon?
COACH CARR: Well, I mean you talk about Michigan, Notre Dame, starting out with the first two touchdowns scored -- well, the second one, they had to score from the 4. Well, I think it certainly gave our defense, and I'm sure it gave their defense, a lot of confidence because Notre Dame made a great call. What Chad Henne thought we were getting on that first down was a blitz with what we call dog coverage where nobody has any help. He threw the football. Notre Dame had made it look like a blitz, but disguised it as cover one we call with a man free, and Ndukwe stepped in front and made a great play.
I think they certainly gave both offenses something to think about for the rest of the day, yeah.
Thank you.

End of FastScripts...

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