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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 23, 2013Bronco MendenhallBYU – 13 COACH MENDENHALL: First of all, NotreDame is a first‑class program and facility, same with Coach Kelly. It's a great place to play and a good football team, and it was a good football game. A few opportunities that we didn't make, and I few that NotreDame did make, NotreDame earned the win, and I thought there was some courageous efforts on our part. And early in the game, Rob Daniel, our field corner, was ill, all kinds of IVs being pumped into him, wasn't expected to play and then found a way to play about all but the first three or four series in the game, which made a huge difference in us being able to play the pass a little bit more effectively. Disappointed with the blocked field goal at the end. With that, hopeful to get the ball back one more time and bring it right down to the wire and give NotreDame credit for blocking the kick. So, with that, I'll take any questions anyone has if there are any. Q. I wondered if you could talk about their running game, your impressions of Cam McDaniel, Folston. COACH MENDENHALL: I would say their running backs are very physical, tough to tackle. We knew that going into the game. We also thought their offensive line was physical and tough, and that played out really the way we thought. And so I think that gave NotreDame the ability to control the game. But yet, when it came down to a manageable number of points to actually win the game, 23 we thought would keep us right in it, which it did. Q. You missed a lot of tackles today, uncharacteristically, especially Kyle Van Noy. What was going on there? COACH MENDENHALL: I think maybe not necessarily what Kyle wasn't doing but NotreDame was doing: Running really hard, running really physical and maybe the next calibre up of football team. So it's really what they do, they do well, and so I think more credit to NotreDame than maybe what a player or players didn't do. Q. Can you talk about your running game? COACH MENDENHALL: Yeah, I think from the bright side, I was really impressed with Paul Lasike, when he came in, I thought we were physical. I thought we ran downhill. I thought he broke tackles. I thought he gave us a physical presence that was matching what NotreDame was doing, and that was a real positive. I think excluding the first series, they did a nice job on Jamaal, especially on inside runs and I thought they did a nice job on Taysom on our designed runs. Taysom did a nice job on quarterback scramble, those weren't designed. And so probably the effectiveness of our run game was Lasike with Taysom scrambling. Q. Could you talk about JD coming back, a little sooner than you expected? COACH MENDENHALL: He's committed to our program. He always has been. He plays really hard. He's really tough and it was a nice surprise when I was told at the beginning of the week that he would be able to make it back for this game. He made a few clutch catches, kept a few drives alive and is just a really good player. I don't feel like he or the team saved anything. We just didn't execute quite cleanly enough to make a few more plays. Q. Your last three red zone chances, they held you to field goals, what were they doing to slow you down in that short end of the field? COACH MENDENHALL: Maybe not so much what they were doing. Just what happens at that part of the field is the run game that was working pretty effectively to get us down there, safeties are now closer and so the running game is much more difficult to get the kind of yardage we were getting, and I think that's really what happened. So more specific to where we were than what NotreDame was doing. Then I actually was signalling touchdown when I saw the slant and No. 13 for Notre Dame knocked it down. I thought Cody had the guy beat inside. That was a huge play. I thought we had a touchdown there. So they made those plays and we didn't. Q. You might have addressed this but the secondary play, particularly Mike Davis coming in? COACH MENDENHALL: Yeah, so I guess if I just were to‑‑ I tried to address it right before the pregame meeting. Rob Daniel became very, very ill, was getting IVs and different things. Received not only medical care but ecclesiastical care right before the game, and man, was just‑‑ didn't look like there was much chance that he might play. We put together a couple different combinations of secondary the first couple of drives and realized that that wasn't going to be effective. The third scenario we put together in the secondary that we played with the rest of the game, which I think there was maybe ten points total scored on that group, Michael Davis, as a converted wide receiver who is playing field corner came in, and Rob Daniel was able to‑‑ and wanted to be able to do everything he could. So those two gave us a lot better chance to play in the secondary. Q. Craig also made a couple plays on the secondary; what did you see out of him today? COACH MENDENHALL: Craig is tough, as well as Daniel Sorensen. Safeties weren't our issues. In fact, we were considering at one point putting Daniel Sorensen at corner if Rob wasn't going to be able to do it. So we were looking at a number of different scenarios. Again all that happened right before we got on the bus. And so we made the best adjustments we could through the first two or three series and finally found one that had some effect but Craig and Daniel was a consistent part of that. Q. Did the weather play a factor at all in the play calling? COACH MENDENHALL: No, I don't think it did. NotreDame called and ran plays that they had run that we saw and I think we did the same. So I don't think it was a factor. Q. Last year they kind of wore you down and leaned on you with their rushing attack. How do you think you fared in the trenches? COACH MENDENHALL: I think we gained momentum as the game went on and I think the point production the second half showed that. I think the momentum of the game kind of started to show that. So I felt different‑‑ still hurts and I'm still disappointed. And I was really hopeful and believed we had a great chance to win the game coming out here, and even now after playing. However, NotreDame earned the win and they deserve the credit for that. It was a physical game, but I didn't sense that there was fatigue or any part of it or there was momentum shifting on the ground. Q. Are you surprised NotreDame was able to rush a hundred yards over its average? COACH MENDENHALL: There was a number of plays that were big gainers, probably three. And so when you have big plays against you, it doesn't take long before averages start to change. After those big plays, then I thought we played pretty effectively in the blue zone because ultimately what wins or loses games is not rushing yards; it's points. And 23, you had a great chance to win the game if you're around 21,22, 23 points and that's where it was. Again, congratulations to Coach Kelly and NotreDame. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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