From The Locker Room: Miami
Notre Dame captains Mike McGlinchey Drue Tranquill spoke after the 41-8 loss to Miami.
Drue Tranquill
On atmosphere:
“Credit to their fans. That was the loudest game I’ve ever played in. I think they really added an element to help them. We have to focus on Navy now.”
On crowd noise:
“It probably affected us more offensively. Defensively, we have to communicate with our hands, so when the crowd is super into it, it’s hard to catch a rhythm. They did an incredible job of providing a home-field advantage.
On Miami offense:
“They ran the wildcat a little bit. They hadn’t really shown that this year, so that was a little bit of a surprise.
On goals:
“I don’t think we readjust any goals. Our mission from the start has been to restore the pride and tradition of Notre Dame football. That’s what we’re going to continue to do. This one hurts. It hurts as a competitor when a team smacks you like Miami did tonight.
“There is a lot of pride in the locker room. I expect us to come back this week and punish Navy.”
On last two defensive performances:
“They are two different stories. Wake Forest was tempo, RPO and obviously, we want to execute. We didn’t execute well in either game. We have to execute better. We haven’t played the defense we want to play the last two games.”
Mike McGlinchey
On Miami’s defense:
“They covered the perimeter really well. They limited our options. They played really hard and really fast. You have to give a lot of credit to those guys and their game plan. They’re a great group and proved that tonight. They played better than we did.”
On not seeing this type of game coming:
“It was a little unexpected given the season we’ve had so far, and it makes it hurt just a little bit more. It is what it is. The game happened the way it happened. We have to go back to work and make sure we beat Navy next week.”
On bouncing back:
“The team will be fine. There is high character in our locker room. We have tremendous coaches in place.”
On crowd noise:
“It affected the snap count. It didn’t both us too much. It gave a little bit of life into the stadium. Other than using a silent count, the crowd noise wasn’t too bad for us.”
On not being able to establish the run:
“I don’t think it changes much at all. You have to stick to it. Things were there that we didn’t capitalize on. We are who we are, and we’re going to stick to what we do no matter the circumstance.
“We have to execute a lot better throughout the game. We didn’t put together 60 minutes of football. We didn’t do enough today at all.”
On quarterback Brandon Wimbush:
“I don’t think anyone is worried about Brandon. He’s going to be fine. Everyone had a rough night. It’s just growing pains. It’s part of the game of football. We’ve had a great season so far, and we’re not going to let one game slip from what we’re trying to accomplish.”
On future goals:
“We’re trying to win out the rest of our games. That’s all there is to it. We know we’re a very good football team and better than what we played tonight. We have pride and lot of good people. We have a lot of good seniors that helped turn this program around.
“It’s our last game in that glorious stadium of ours next week, and we’re going to do our best to send our seniors, including myself, out on the right note.”
On Miami’s defensive speed:
“They were able to control the game a little bit. They got around on the perimeter a lot better than a lot of teams we have played. They contained our offense. You have to give all the credit in the world to them.
“We have to play better than we did tonight. Miami came out ready to make plays, and they made them. They played a hard game. They kicked our ass.”