Quick-hitters: Marcus Freeman on Stanford offense, Notre Dame pass rush, Drew Pyne

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman met with reporters via Zoom Thursday for his final media availability before the Irish play Stanford on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC). Here are some highlights and topics he addressed.

PROMOTION: Join for only $10 to unlock premium access until the start of the 2023 football season

On Stanford’s offense

“The record and scores do not reflect the team you see. They’re a talented team. You look at the Oregon State game, they’re up in the fourth quarter and lose by a touchdown at the very end of the game. They’re running the ball extremely hard. They have big, long receivers. The quarterback [Tanner McKee] has made good decisions.”

“They’re going to be an offense that’s extremely hard to defend. They’re running the RPO really, really well right now. The defense will have their work cut out for them.”

On Stanford’s defense

“They’re a physical football team. They have had some things not go their way. But they play physical, play downhill and will do some different things that present some issues for our offense. They’re a talented team, well-coached. I’ve always respected the job coach [David] Shaw has done with his team, and this team is no different.”

On the slow mesh offense Stanford runs

“It’s two different dilemmas it presents. When you’re in zone coverage, the minute you trigger as a linebacker to stop the run, you’re opening up space behind you where they can pull it and throw it. They’re creating space and trying to put your linebackers in a run or pass conflict.

“Then you can answer and say, ‘Go play man.’ Well, now you’re playing man-to-man coverage with no underneath help because the linebackers have to respect that run game. You have to do some different things up front to have your ‘backers play a little more patiently and play man-to-man coverage at times against some big, tall wideouts. It’s a good scheme they have done a good job of being able to execute.”

RELATED: Three things to know about Notre Dame Week 7 opponent Stanford

On Notre Dame’s pass rush

“We have to get a four-man pass rush. If you have to blitz guys to get pressure on the quarterback, you’re going to put your defense at a disadvantage. Are we improving? Yes. Are we at the level and standard we need to be at? No. We have to continue to improve. I know [defensive line coach Al] Washington has worked tirelessly to put those guys in position to where we can create some pass rush

“Are we going to go straight? Are we going to run some different things and do some stunts? Who’s our best pass rusher? Just continuous evaluation of putting guys in positions where they can have success.”

On Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne’s attitude

“It’s very infectious. Drew Pyne has never lacked confidence. Now that you’re adding execution with it, that confidence can be infectious to the whole team. It’s even more infectious when things go bad. When things aren’t going your way, the confident quarterback everyone believes in is now the one saying it’s going to be OK. When you do have success, he’s the one saying continue to pile it on. It’s good to see him have some of the execution and production to go along with the confidence Drew Pyne has always had.”

On grad transfer defensive tackle Chris Smith

“We saw a lot of positive traits, a lot of positive things he did when he was at Harvard to make us say this was a guy who could help us. With [nose tackle] Aidan Keanaaina going down [in the spring], we needed a big guy inside to help us.

“You still had questions. The competition from Harvard to Notre Dame is a little bit different. Could he do it at this level? He showed from Day 1 of getting here he can play football at the level we need at Notre Dame. He’s doing a really good job with more opportunities he’s gaining because he has been practicing at a high level. Now you’re seeing him perform in games at a high level.”

RELATED: More Notre Dame football:

Notre Dame linebacker Bo Bauer out for season due to injury

What the season-ending Bo Bauer injury means for Notre Dame football

On how preparation changes when an injury hits

“It’s a constant message to everybody on your team. I say this all the time, you can’t wait until your opportunity comes to get ready. You wait for that opportunity to come, you’ll get passed by. You never know when a situation like Bo Bauer’s happens in practice, he hurts his knee and he’s out. The next guy has to be ready to go.

“That’s why you have to develop the starters, the backups, those guys who have a chance to go into the game have to practice, have to be developed and play at a high level. You never know when those opportunities are going to happen, but you always have to be ready for them.”

On the status of CB TaRiq Bracy (hamstring) and DT Howard Cross III for the Stanford game

Bracy: “TaRiq still will be questionable for the game. He practiced yesterday. I think he will go. I hope he will be able to go. But how long and how much is still to be determined.”

Cross: “He was limited in practice Tuesday but practiced all yesterday. Expect to see him in there. Had a good practice yesterday. As long as there’s no regression, we expect to see him today and Saturday.”