Newsstand: Three can’t miss Notre Dame football quotes after loss to Stanford
It’s Monday. Notre Dame is two days removed from a shocking loss to Stanford. But the Fighting Irish aren’t out of the weeds yet. They’re going to have to answer for their substandard performance the rest of the week.
Head coach Marcus Freeman attempted to get that process started in his postgame press conference. These are three Freeman quotes Irish have have to internalize before the start of another game week.
On if the Irish overlooked the Cardinal:
“No, no, no. That’s not why we lost. It wasn’t a lack of overlooking anybody. It was a lack of preparation, a lack of execution. That’s not overlooking an opponent. I thought they practiced their tails off.
And if you overlook an opponent, I don’t think you’re preparing the way you need to prepare. But we’ve got to look and see what exactly did or we didn’t do in practice that led to the lack of execution in the game.”
On if the Irish have something working against them in South Bend, where they are 1-2 this season with two losses as a double-digit favorite:
“No, no, no. And for me to sit up here and say yes, that would be making an excuse for why we’re losing, why we’re not playing well. It’s not an excuse. We’re not blaming Notre Dame Stadium. You better look at yourself. If I come up here and blame Notre Dame Stadium, how foolish is that as the leader of this program. Right? I’m not blaming Notre Dame Stadium for our lack of winning.”
On if the officiating was a reason for the Irish’s loss:
“Really? Once again, I’m not going to blame anything other than myself and us on the result today. I can get as frustrated as I want in terms of the calls, where they’re from. It’s us. Take a deep look at ourselves and say, ‘Why aren’t we doing the job we’re supposed to?’ because what I don’t want to do is have a football program that plays the blame game. That’s not the way we’ll be as football players. That’s not the way we’re going to be as men. That’s not the way we’re going to be as a football program. We’re going to take ownership of our mistakes. And that’s what I believe in.”
Notre Dame tweets of the weekend
National champion head coach Ed Orgeron was in South Bend for the game.
Not a bad first career catch for freshman wide receiver Tobias Merriweather.
The future is bright for the Irish with class of 2023 safety commit Peyton Bowen.
Quote of the weekend
“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. 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.”
— Quarterback Drew Pyne on Merriweather
Headlines of the weekend
Notre Dame suffers a stunning 16-14 upset to Stanford (Todd Burlage, Blue & Gold)
Game balls: Notre Dame football standouts vs. Stanford (Todd Burlage, Blue & Gold)
Report card: Grading Notre Dame football in loss to Stanford (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
Five thoughts: Notre Dame stumbles in home loss to Stanford (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
How it happened: A detailed look at Stanford beating Notre Dame football (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
Another Notre Dame home dud reveals Marcus Freeman is still stuck on the same questions (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
By the numbers: Stanford downs Notre Dame to send Irish back to .500 (Steve Downey, Blue & Gold)
What Stanford coach David Shaw said about beating Notre Dame football (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
How a chance to take a late lead slipped away from Audric Estimé, Notre Dame (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 16-14 loss vs. Stanford (Mike Singer, Blue & Gold)
Breaking down PFF grades for Notre Dame football in loss to Stanford (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
Notre Dame vs. Stanford snap counts, participation chart (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
