Transcript: Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman after Stanford win

The No. 18 Irish moved to 9-3 on the season and await their bowl fate, to be announced on Dec. 4. Here's a lightly edited transcript of Freeman's postgame press conference. Questions may be paraphrased for brevity and clarity.

OPENING STATEMENT

“It was amazing to be able to celebrate that victory with that group of guys. We put a huge emphasis on finding a way to get that Legends Trophy back. And I reminded this group how important this rivalry is to both institutions, everybody that’s associated with Notre Dame, and how much we wanted to make sure that Legends Trophy got returned to South Bend. So, our guys went out and earned it.

“I wasn’t upset about the effort that we played with to start the game. You’ve got to take care of the ball. And they did a couple of things on offense that we had not seen and made some big plays, but our guys were able to regroup, come out of the locker room with the intensity that we needed and finish this game off.

“Really proud of this group. Special, special group. And really proud the way we finished off this regular season. With that, I’ll open it up for questions.”

Q: You were up 12 at halftime. What was the message at the break?

Marcus Freeman: “What we said to the offense was, ‘Just take care of the ball. Hand the ball to the officials, is what we say.’ That means ‘Don’t turn the ball over.’ We had to make some changes. And we needed to execute. Special teams have got to be special. We can’t turn the ball over on special teams. ‘Don’t beat Notre Dame.’ That’s something we say often. If we do that, then we’ve got a chance to be really successful.”

Q: Audric Estimé was the workhorse, but right before halftime, did he want to be in to score the touchdown?

MF: “We had communication before that series that if it’s a two-minute situation, Gi’Bran [Payne] is our two-minute back. I said, ‘Good, let’s keep him in there.’ And I was a little frustrated when he put the ball on the ground. And I got on him a little bit and said, ‘Hey, the standard in the room is to hand the ball to the official.’ I know the review called it a touchdown, but they have a high standard to make sure we have great ball security and I kind of reminded them of the standard that we have. And Audric — what a tough, physical special football player he is. Obviously, he’ll have a decision to make here after the season on what he’s going to do. But I’ll tell you what, he’s a special talent. He’s given Notre Dame everything he’s had for the past three seasons.”

Q: How much has this team improved since the Tennessee State game on Sept. 2?

MF: “… There have been a couple of games since the Tennessee State game that we wish we could run it back and do over, but we can’t. But we’ve grown from those mistakes, and I’m proud of that. We’re chasing our full potential. We haven’t totally gotten there and we’re getting close. Now, we’ve got a couple of weeks to get ready for a bowl game.”

Q: There were a couple of defensive breakdowns in the first half that led to a couple of big plays. What happened on those plays and how did you get that tightened up?

MF: “I can’t remember every single play, but one of them, they had a unique formation where they put the running back in the B gap and leaked him out of a deep pass. They did a great job. I told coach [Troy] Taylor before the game, they did a great job of what they’ve done this year at Stanford offensively, what they did at Sac [Sacramento] State. They’ve done a really good job in terms of their offensive scheme. So, very challenging.”

Q: Is Javontae Jean-Baptiste a player you can use as a model of someone you can bring in as a grad transfer and just get better and better?

MF: “Yeah, yeah. He came here for an opportunity and he took full advantage of it. He’s truly been a guy who’s been an example of someone who’s improved throughout the season and is playing his highest level of football now, so it’s a testament to his hard work and his relationship with his coach and what [D-line] coach [Al] Washington has done with him. And I’m glad he’s reaping the fruits of his labor.”

Q: What sense did you have from the motivation Audric Estimé took for not being on the Doak Walker semifinalists list? How do you channel that motivation the right way this week?

MF: “We’re all competitors, and we all find different ways to motivate us. And I’m sure that motivated him. What I tell him is that, ‘I want it to motivate you to work, motivate you to do the proper work that it’s going to take to get the outcome we all want.’ We all want more. We all went greater, and not everybody’s willing to work. I know he is motivated to prepare and motivated to work to get the outcome we want on Saturday.”

Q: Can you comment on the way the offensive line stepped up with two guys out today?

MF: “Yeah, Ashton Craig and Billy Schrauth, they played awesome for us last week in their first starts. They’re just getting better and better and better. It’s a great testament to that you never know when your number is going to be called, but you’ve got to be ready. Their number was called last week, and they performed at a high level. We see them continue to build on the performance they had last week, and [O-line] coach [Joe] Rudolph has done a great job with the offensive line, because it’s such a cohesive unit. When you have two guys leave the starting lineup, it’s a challenge, but they put the work in and they performed really well.”

Q: Were you aware on that sideline that Audric was only 24 yards away from the Notre Dame single-game rushing record. And if you were, did you give any thought of putting him back in?

MF: “No, I wasn’t aware of that. If he had said, ‘Coach can you leave me in — I’m 24 yards away?’ Then it’d be a decision I would have to make. There’s two things: I want to do what’s best for Notre Dame, but I want to do what’s best for Audric, too. But I didn’t know that. I knew he was close to the single-season TD record [and he set that]. He rushed for what? 238? That’s a lot of yards. That’s the fourth most? Good player.”