CFP FIRST ROUND: NOTRE DAME VS INDIANA

December 20, 2024

Jordan Faison

Notre Dame Stadium

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Postgame Press Conference

Notre Dame 27, Indiana 17

Q. Jordan, Mike Denbrock has been talking about wanting to get you involved for a long time. What happened during the prep for this game? Was it your body that's finally feeling well, your mind, or everything is just kind of syncing up for you?

JORDAN FAISON: Yeah, I think it was just the same old thing, week in, week out. We've had plays prepped, and then this week I had a lot of opportunities to make plays, and God blessed that I did, and I just took it and ran with it.

Q. I've got to ask you whose idea it was to make the fashion statement with the no shirts among the wide receivers?

JORDAN FAISON: We were talking about it. We weren't really going to go through with it because one of our practices during the week it was a little too cold. The hands were a little too cold. Then someone in the locker room was like, don't go out with shirts on. Like yo, it's a little too cold out there right now. But no, if one person does it, we've all got to do it, so we went out there.

Q. You had the drop early, but how do you come back from that because it didn't seem to faze you the rest of the game?

JORDAN FAISON: Yeah, you can't let things like that affect you. The ball is going to keep coming to you. You've got to be able to make plays, and then it catapults you into making more plays during the game.

Q. This is the second straight postseason game that you've really played well. What is it about these moments and these stages that allows you to thrive under this pressure?

JORDAN FAISON: Yeah, the whole team loves playing on the biggest stages, so when everyone is watching, people are performing. When the opportunity comes my way again, just got to make the plays that I was able to do tonight.

Q. You've obviously been a part of a National Championship winning team at Notre Dame. A few games to go to get there, but do you feel some of those same locker room vibes? Is it comparable to the togetherness that that group had and maybe that you have with this group, as well?

JORDAN FAISON: Yeah, 100 percent. It's funny, Coach asked me to talk to the team, Coach Landau, after one of our lifts, kind of give the spiel of what it was like going to the National Championship for lacrosse, and I was just telling the guys, we were literally in the same role. We lost to Georgetown, a team we were supposed to beat, we lost to NIU, a team we were supposed to beat, and then had to win out from there to make the playoffs, and kind of that same journey. It was like, yo, this is a real chance, and if you don't think we have a chance, it's time to lock in, it's time to go.

Q. Obviously that catch from Riley, he joked about it, but how good of a route, a throw, a catch was that, of all the catches you've had at Notre Dame?

JORDAN FAISON: Yeah, we worked on it all week, multiple weeks. I ran the route as we practiced, I look back and I see Riley kind of moving and jumping, throwing the ball, and it's still a freaking dime, so I'm like, I've got to make this play for him. I was able to catch the ball, wasn't able to score, of course. More worried about getting the ball and then scoring.