Notre Dame Postgame Press Conference: Jim Harbaugh
[Barron]
(Thanks to David Nasternak for providing audio from South Bend)
Jim, what do you think of the team’s performance and is there a level of disappointment with how it all went today?
“Yeah, we would’ve liked to come out victorious. Congratulations to Notre Dame,thought they played a very good ballgame.”
Jim, not many explosive plays offensively, what wasn’t happening there?
“Just a few, not enough. What was happening? Yeah, we didn’t make enough explosive plays. Probably didn’t run the ball as well as we would’ve liked. Credit to Notre Dame’s defense.”
Jim, Ambry (Thomas’) 99-yarder, can you talk about what you saw in terms of maybe some key blocks and also what Ambry did on that play?
“Yeah, it was a middle return. He was able to break some arm tackles and then show some real burst when he got into the open field. Was able to finish off that, gave us a great spark.”
Jim, was there any communication issues between Shea and the offensive line. It looked like maybe with the snap counts he was hurrying, were they off-balance, were they not on the same page?
“No, I thought they were. I didn’t see any communication issues between Shea and the offensive line.”
Jim, the way your team came out, Notre Dame hit some big plays, third down, on your team right out of the box. Did you feel like your team came out slow, trying to ease its way in or something? Even on offense, with some of the playcalling, did you feel that way at all?
“No, I didn’t feel like our team was trying to ease their way into the game.”
How about the defense on third down? They hit some huge plays, defended, were they picking on you guys? Blitzes, or what do you think?
“Third down conversions were about the same for both teams. Definitely some big penalties that kept drives alive and were converted into touchdowns.”
Jim, what’s missing from your program now? You guys are not winning big games.
“You know, onward. Just good old-fashioned resolve. There’s more we can do, there’s — this can be a very good football team. We have confidence in it.”
How would you evaluate Shea tonight?
“I thought he competed well. Thought he was doing the things that we were asking him to do and, for a first time out, with his new team, I thought he did a good job.”
Coach, what are your biggest takeaways from tonight, about your team?
“I don’t really have all the biggest takeaways. I thought our guys, thought they played fast. Thought they competed hard. Yeah, there was — there’s improvements to be made. Mistakes were made, but I thought they fought hard.”
You gave up 21 points in the first half, then cut that down to three in the second half, and I think only 60-aught yards for the offense for Notre Dame. What changed for your defense? What got better, what improved?
“Really, I thought we were stopping the run well. Brandon Wimbush made some big plays throughout the game, running the ball, getting out of the pocket. Credit to him. He played a heck of a ballgame. Thought we limited that in the second half.”
Can you talk about how Dylan (McCaffrey) played when he got in there?
“Yeah, I thought Dylan played well. He showed some real moxie in there and ran the offense, made some good throws. Coming in off the bench like that, I thought he acquitted himself really well.”
Why did you make that decision to go with him over Brandon (Peters)? Was that this week that you knew he’d be second-string?
“Yeah, that was this week. Brandon in practice, on a rollout, had tweaked his knee. And he hadn’t taken any reps since Tuesday, so wasn’t 1000 percent for today. So, elevated Dylan to second-string.”
Jim, Brandon Watson, big interception and pinning the ball down, I think it was in the first quarter, on a punt. Can you just talk about Brandon’s play and what he brought tonight?
“Yeah, I thought that was a spectacular play Brandon made, and like I said, there’s good play to be pointed out throughout the team, and a lot of good things to build on. But didn’t come out the way we wanted it, but, it’s not the end, it’s the beginning for us. That’s the way we’re approaching. I was really impressed by the play Brandon made, the way he played all night.”
Jim, still had a lot of pass protection issues that were sorta similar to what we saw last year. Is that what you guys saw in camp? Is that coming along, or is that not what you expected?
“Yeah, they got us on the one inside blitz that we didn’t pick up. They were — there was good pressure that their front was bringing the entire night, some we blocked, yeah. Could be better, yes. We’ll work to improve it.”
How much has, overall, offensively, still limited on what they can do? Shea (Patterson), new quarterback, new guys, new spots, still working through all that?
“Yeah, sure, sure. The guys really, really prepared well for this ballgame. Not the outcome we anticipated or wanted, but we just gotta dig deep. Make no excuses. Give credit to Notre Dame and move onto the next week.”
Where are you in terms of finding that identity on your offense? Is it gonna — are you close? Does it take a little while in your mind to getting the identity that you want for this offense?
“Where are we at? We’re at the beginning.”
Jim, with all the excitement of a new season, does this feel like a setback for you guys?
“It was a big opening game. Did not come out the way we wanted, but we gotta dig down.”
Does it feel like a setback though?
“It’s the beginning. It’s the beginning for us. We’re not treating it like the end.”
Jim, despite everything that kinda went sideways in this game at times, you had the ball with a chance to drive and tie the game late, where you wanted it. What does it say about your team that you were in that position despite all that went wrong?
“They fought hard. We did well. There’s things to build on.”
Thoughts about Will Hart, and any update on Brad Robbins at all?
“Brad’s gonna be out for a while. He did have a back surgery.”
And how Will performed, other than the dropped snap?
“Yeah, he had the — he pinned them in. Did a great punt, down to I think like the 4, 3, 4-yard line. Had some other good punts. Things to build on there, for Will.”
September 4th, 2018 at 10:47 PM ^
Outstanding work with the double post! That allowed you to get almost twice as many negs.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:41 PM ^
Or he was just trying to keep contain, on a running QB, being the anchor and all??
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:01 PM ^
Yeah, his biggest errors last night were when he failed to “give up” and ended up past the play. He and Chase were all over Wimbush all night. Not a lot of sacks, but that’s part of playing a running QB responsibly.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:15 PM ^
Often times him and Chase met behind Wimbush, who'd moved up in the pocket. There were a couple plays they met - physically met - in the backfield and I was worried they were going to hurt one another. Just one in a series of factors that contributed to Wimbush having the success he had.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:13 PM ^
Really? The young men on this team lack the will to win? You're no fan. Go take up one of the many extra seats at Spartan Stadium, they'll appreciate it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^
When have they won a big game d bag? What do you call laughing and smiling on the sideline when you're down 24-10? Fans like you enable the years of losing and underachieving we've had.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:26 PM ^
Can you explain how the fans are enabling the losing and underachieving. What would a good fan do to change things?
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:43 PM ^
Quit making excuses for losing is a start.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:19 PM ^
That ought to make a difference. Fan excuses are a notorious reason teams underperform year after year.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
If those 2 games are your case. I rest my case.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^
Yes, please give it a rest.
September 2nd, 2018 at 7:33 PM ^
The problem with this narrative is that they are big games until Michigan wins, then that team the beat weren’t that good anyway. Had we beat Notre Dame, it would have been they were overrated to begin with. Michigan not won a ton of big games, but they have won some big games.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^
What are fans with your attitude going to achieve? Caustic, fault-finding. You don't have to be filled with the 'Dark side' to have success in football. Heck, you don't even know what they were laughing and smiling about. Who are these guys, anyways? Give names, time in the game it happened and we'll review their play, see if you have a point.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:50 PM ^
1-6 against our 3 rivals is embarassing. Quit trying to feed me a shit sandwich and tell me its pb and j.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:13 AM ^
You sound like a 9 year OSU fan
September 3rd, 2018 at 7:56 AM ^
You sound like a lost puppy dog fan boy who accepts losing.
September 4th, 2018 at 10:48 PM ^
If I tell you it's bologna, will you eat it?
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:18 PM ^
Gary and Winovich were in the backfield literally every play. The problem was there was no rush up the middle so Winbush repeatedly stepped up into the pocket and made plays.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^
Unfortunately they were 10-15 yards into the backfield. ND played them like a fiddle the whole first half.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:47 PM ^
Yep, they knew our interior oline was young and inexperienced and they could exploit it.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:10 PM ^
How is it that we never find anything to "exploit"?? Other teams always finding our one or two weaknesses and take advantage of it. We never do. Love JJH, but coaching has to be the answer.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:51 PM ^
Agree
September 2nd, 2018 at 9:56 PM ^
It’s not like teams have to search hard to find our weakness to exploit. It’s been the O-line for 10 years.
September 2nd, 2018 at 11:00 PM ^
I don't think that's accurate. I'm not a football guru by any means, but he has put together gameplans that were successful. The only issue is that he has not had the personnel to get it done (see o'korn-osu). It seems the problems that have taken the longest to fix are the ones where it takes the players the longest time to develop; qb and ol. I think Runyan and JBB will now be benched in order to get the younger, more high upside players developed.
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:47 AM ^
The evidence suggests that Harbaugh is none too interested in developing QBs. On the contrary, it now seems that he's more interested in wholesale changes to the offense to accommodate the latest ready made QB.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:56 PM ^
I agree with much of what you post. I would also point out that the OL was being pushed back into the QB pocket and Shea didn't have a good field of vision or passing lanes. The only time he had these is when they went to a quick pass. Coaching competency was a high factor in this game. Our entire coaching staff was out coached by ND. I believe if we had the MSU coaching staff we would have won the game.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:56 PM ^
The same MSU coaching staff that struggled to get their team ready for Utah State?
September 2nd, 2018 at 8:52 PM ^
Really? How did that MSU coaching staff perform against Wimbush at home under the lights? 38 points they gave up? Yeah. Makes sense.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:15 AM ^
Wrong, they got rolled 38-18 by ND last year
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:07 PM ^
Jim, do you feel that you've maybe gotten a little too comfortable with your current lot in life?
"Not really. Just thought they played fast and competed well. Credit to the other team. Onward, we'll try to get better"
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:40 PM ^
Do you honestly think you're fooling anyone into believing you're a Michigan fan? Your entire posting history is nothing but praising/defending OSU and concern trolling UM. You're pathetic. Get a life.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^
Has Michigan ever won an away night game against a ranked opponent?
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:31 PM ^
If you count any game starting at 7 pm or later as "night," the last three were at Northwestern in 2005, the Navarre Buffalo Stampede game in the Metrodome in 2003, and at Illinois in 2000.
Before that it was Bo beating UCLA in 1989. The highest-ranked (at gametime) of those four teams was the #17 Minnesota team that we needed 31 4th quarter points to beat. Night road games against ranked teams are tough.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:14 PM ^
Thanks, I couldn’t think of any from recent memory. Even Lloyd didn’t beat a ranked non conference opponent in a road night game.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:36 PM ^
To be fair, I don't remember us playing any road night games against ranked non-conference opponents in the Carr era.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:20 PM ^
Harbaugh’s responses remind me of Lloyd Carr’s stick your chin out until you win mentality. The difference is Lloyd had a National Championship on his resume...and also beat good teams early in his career.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:15 PM ^
I remember the local media and fans calling for a change after two consecutive 4-loss seasons by Carr in his first two seasons (which followed two consecutive 4-loss seasons by Moeller). The thinking was that Carr was in over his head at Michigan in his first head coaching gig after being an assistant for all of his career, and that Michigan was becoming used to losing four games a season. That four year stretch was the first time since 1965-68 that Michigan didn't win or share a Big Ten crown in four consecutive years.
He did beat OSU in both of those seasons, and that offset some really bad losses in both those years (to 6-5-1 MSU in '95 and to 3-8 Purdue in '96), and teams that faded late in the season (losing 3 out of 5 at the end of '05 and 3 out of 4 at the of of '96). Even with victories against OSU, there were still rumblings that Michigan needed a proven head coach, not a first-timer.
Then 1997 happened (man what a sweet, sweet year that was), and the narrative obviously changed. Winning fixes most perception issues, and when Harbaugh wins those big games (hopefully against MSU, OSU and PSU, heck why not Wisconsin, too) all of the controversy will fade into the background...I really hope they figure out how to do it this year.
September 2nd, 2018 at 4:45 PM ^
"Winning fixes most perception issues, and when Harbaugh wins those big games (hopefully against MSU, OSU and PSU, heck why not Wisconsin, too) all of the controversy will fade into the background...I really hope they figure out how to do it this year."
Wow, what a fantasy fan boy. If JH beats MSU, OSU, and PSU this year, I'll eat my hat. No OL, no running game, and no execution. ND had similar if not lesser quality players on the field but they came prepared to play and play they did.
September 2nd, 2018 at 8:56 PM ^
ND beat the Spartans 38-18 and took a 28-7 lead into half time in East Lansing at night. If they have “lesser players” than MSU then what is MSU’s excuse for that game?
September 3rd, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Nowhere did I say that Michigan was going to do it - I said I really hope they can do it this year. Because that's what it's going to take at this point to take the pressure off Harbaugh.
But go ahead with the name-calling instead of comprehending what I actually wrote.
September 2nd, 2018 at 5:54 PM ^
The difference here is we're going on 14 years without a big ten title, not 4.
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
And Jim Harbaugh is to blame for ALL OF THOSE YEARS! FIRE HIM!!!!!!!
September 3rd, 2018 at 12:19 AM ^
Yeah the big difference is Lloyd still beat our rivals even in those 8-4 seasons. I’d have a lot more patience with JH if we could beat a decent Sparty team or OSU, but he’s been incapable.
September 2nd, 2018 at 2:54 PM ^
This presser was a complete waste of time. I could have answered those questions the same way if someone told me to answer them like Harbaugh would. The only thing we learned is that Brad Robbins is out for awhile due to back surgery.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:02 PM ^
At least Hart looked better punting. Too bad he can’t hold.
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^
If his name was Grady Boke do you think there would be as many excuses?
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
Well...
September 2nd, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^
Gary is either one second late or 5 yards past the play, he's been all hype since signing here
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