Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1547006
30 OCT. 10, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN … On whether there was anything out of left field from North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick that they saw and weren't prepared for: "He doesn't need to. He coaches his guys well. The thing about Bill Belichick that I've heard and [from] the people I've talked to, he's not going to try to trick you. He's going to do what he does really, really well. You're going to see more of it. And he's going to attack some of the weaknesses that they've shown. "And you can tell they came off the bye week. They fixed some of the weaknesses, and they continue to do what they've done well. So, I've got a lot of respect for a coach like that." On what he felt was off on defense: "I don't think we played great in the pass game. We wanted to be able to stop the run. We knew they were going to be able to try to run the ball, but I didn't think we did great in the pass game for multiple different reasons, whether it can be lack of technique and man coverage. It can be some zone coverage stuff, just how we're matching this. … "I think [UNC offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino is] a good play caller. But our guys didn't play crisp in the pass game, and their guys made some plays. And so, we've got to go back and get that fixed." On his decision to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, up 21-7 with 7:41 remaining in the sec- ond quarter: "I told them I was convicted with about 2 or 3 [yards] to go. I thought because of the weather conditions, could we mishandle the snap [on a field goal]? Like, I felt we were — we had them. "Even if we don't convert, we have them pinned back here, and then we let them out." JUNIOR QUARTERBACK CJ CARR … On what happened on the fourth-down incompletion near the goal line: "It's easy with the clicker in your hand to kind of say, 'Oh, this was here.' But we had a man concept to the boundary. They went zone, fourth down, [I] tried to give [senior tight end] Cooper [Flanagan] a chance. I saw the safety's back was kind of turned, so knew he wasn't going to be able to make a play on the ball necessarily, and thought he kind of grabbed Cooper's arm a little bit there. "But, yeah, obviously, with the clicker in your hand, you can go back and say Nolan's open there and could progress with drop eight there, have a ton of time." On how throwing in rainy conditions: "It's hard when you first get out there, and your hands are dry, and the ball is wet. And so for that first drive, I think, in the third quarter, it was tough to throw the ball." SENIOR SAFETY LUKE TALICH … On preparing for North Carolina quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who is on his fourth college team: "We knew he was an experienced quarterback. He has a lot of reps under his belt. We felt like we were able to kind of eliminate what he was able to do. "And, obviously, he was able to get to his checks and get to his progressions and things like that. But, like I said, just read- ing his eyes when I was in the post and things like that." On how his positioning helped him with his intercep- tion: "We do a lot of prep during the week on reading the quarterback's eyes and things like that. So when you're post- safety, you can kind of get his cues and what he does. He kind of stared it down and led me right to the ball." NORTH CAROLINA COACH BILL BELICHICK … On what the game tells him about where his team is in the process of becoming what he wants them to be: "They're a good team, so it's not like anything was easy today. We had some chances that we missed, had a few opportunities to get off the field on fourth down. "We weren't able to convert. We did a couple times, but you know, we missed a couple, so that was the story there." On Notre Dame possessing the ball for about 22 min- utes in the second half: "Look, they had a long drive in the third quarter, and that ate up most of the third quarter after we had cut it to a one-point game. And so that was — their long drive was kind of a counter to our long drive at the end of the second quarter. "That's why those numbers are what they were." — Kyle Kelly FROM THE LOCKER ROOM Notre Dame's meeting with North Carolina marked the first time Marcus Freeman faced Bill Belichick in his coaching career. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP