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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 2, 2019

Justin Fuente

South Bend, Indiana

Notre Dame - 21, Virginia Tech - 20

JUSTIN FUENTE: It's a tough one. I'm just proud of our guys. I mean, we had so many guys who were down, from Oscar, pulled his groin on Thursday before practice, to trying to get Hendon ready to play to guys in the secondary that were just continuing to battle and fight and scratch and claw. It's a rough locker room in there. It's a group of guys that played hard, prepared well for a very good football team on the road in a hostile environment. Almost pulled it off. It doesn't count for much, other than I'm awfully proud of our football team, I'll tell you that much.

Q. How would you evaluate just in the immediate aftermath Quincy in his first start?
JUSTIN FUENTE: I don't know. I would want to look at the film before I jumped out there and evaluated anybody. I'd say he handled the environment well, and I was overall offensively -- I mean, they were definitely not going to let us run the ball. I mean, they were stacked in there. I'm a little disappointed, I'm going to have to look at it, that we didn't make more plays in the passing game. We didn't really create a lot of separation out there, either. That's what I felt like on the field.

But we tried to hang in there and give us a chance. We tried to get it down to the last five minutes and find a way to win it.

Q. With Hendon, when did you decide that he wasn't going to go, at what point?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Yeah, that was -- you know, that was a tough one. The bottom line was I couldn't pull the trigger on putting him in. I just couldn't. I'd go back and forth when he practiced all week. He didn't take all the reps that he usually takes, but he did practice all week. He looked better and better every day, and I couldn't come to grips with putting a kid out there that's played in two and a half games without a full complement of preparation time. You know, if he'd been playing for two and a half years, I probably would have felt differently. I just in the end felt like it was in his best interest for his growth and against an opponent like that, I just -- as it got closer and closer to game time, I just felt like what was best for him and everybody else.

Q. Is that hard for the team thinking maybe it's going to go one way and then it goes the other?
JUSTIN FUENTE: I don't know, like I think our team supports those guys and loves those guys. You know, I don't know that it -- I'm certainly not going to stand here and use that as an excuse, I can tell you that much. But I just -- I mean, I wasn't going to come out early in the week and tell everybody who was going to play, but I also wasn't trying to mislead everybody. That's what I believed was going to happen, and as it got closer to it, I just didn't (indiscernible).

Q. The defense was getting off the field a lot all day. How confident were you when they had 87 yards to go on that last drive in your defense after everything --
JUSTIN FUENTE: Well, I felt good about us all day. We were -- the problem was I'd keep looking up and it keeps ending up with different people in the game. Guys were dropping like flies. That's not the problem, but that causes you some consternation a little bit when the game is on the line. But we were one play away in all phases of the game; you know what I mean? So it wasn't just the last drive. We had a chance to end the game with the ball in our hands on offense and couldn't do that. That's the way to play sports, keep putting yourself out there long enough and in competitive environments, we're junkies for that, and sometimes it doesn't go your way, you fall short, and it hurts.

Q. After what they've shown against UNC and then what they've shown tonight just in terms of what you were talking about earlier, how do you feel about where you guys are and the games you have coming up?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Oh, I feel great about our character, work ethic, togetherness. I feel awesome about our chemistry. We've got four games in a row here we're going to have to patch it together health-wise to give ourselves a chance. Some guys that haven't played much will probably have to step up. But if we can get guys back, we feel good, and if we don't, we've got to find a way to get the other ones ready to go.

Q. The 50-yard catch by Tré down at the 14-yard line, the pass into the end zone, they complete the 3rd down run. Are you disappointed you come away with just a field goal there? Do you look back at that and go --
JUSTIN FUENTE: Yeah, I mean, the bottom line is yes is the answer to that question. We've been really good down there all year, I think, I feel like. You know, they played two high safeties on 3rd down, and I felt like we'd have a better chance to run the ball, and they played basically no high safeties on the first two downs and we couldn't complete a pass. We certainly wanted a point there. You hate kicking that field goal to go up six, but if if it was 3rd and 2, you might think differently. The other thought is you think you may get the ball back with some time if the team does score and you can kick a field goal to win the game as opposed to scoring a touchdown. But I think it ended up being something like 4th and 5 if I'm not mistaken, so we kicked it.

Q. Pretty good plan, obviously, to keep Book under wraps for most of that game, but he's a heady kid, I guess you had to know he could do something late if he had to?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Yeah, he's a good player. I really believe -- I'm not sure of the date, but I felt like after the first couple games of their season last year, they made the move to him. I think that's been the catalyst to their success. They certainly have good players at other positions, but I think that changed their makeup a little bit. We did do a good job defending him. They make one big play right there, and those are the plays in our other close games that we've made.

Q. In all phases of the game, what would you say is the biggest adjustment that you guys have to make heading into Wake Forest next week?
JUSTIN FUENTE: I don't know about that. We play a completely different team. I mean, I don't know. I could do my best to answer that question, but it's a little broad. I'm not sure. I believe it starts with taking care of the football and creating turnovers and running the football. We weren't able to run the football as well as I'd like for us to.

Q. Divine didn't play in the Notre Dame game last year. He's wanted to play in big games, big moments. Came out a couple of times tonight. He had the interception the second half. What did you see from him and how happy are you to have him be a part of this after a couple years?
JUSTIN FUENTE: I mean, I can't say enough good things about Divine Deablo. You know, in the day and age of "I" and "me" and all that kind of stuff, Divine, he's a "we" guy. Changes positions, doesn't bat an eye. Goes over there and works hard and does a great job mentoring some of the younger players and always like seeing him have success. Just a pleasure to be around. A fine young man. So yeah, we cheer extra hard when he does well. We love having him around.

Q. You guys were getting out-gained about three to one in the first half, and then the play right before halftime, it looked almost like that UNC game last year except it tripped the 2-yard line. How big was that going into halftime in terms of a confidence booster?
JUSTIN FUENTE: Yeah, it was big. You know, we had the ball down there, about to go score and had a penalty, and took a big play back and then ended up fumbling. I think it was the series right before that if I'm not mistaken. Felt like it was if it wasn't. Revisionist history if it wasn't. And man, the defense takes the field and that was a little bit -- we were pretty high there because it looked like we were going to go score, and then we got the penalty on the pass to Damon and then we fumble the ball and the defense goes out and is giving up -- they're driving the ball a little bit there, and that was a huge spark. I mean, obviously it was a 14-point swing. But it was a big play, gave us a lot of energy into the second half, and then we get the ball start of the second half, go down a kick a field goal. It was pretty productive. We were trying to get the game down to the end. We knew coming in we wanted to try and shorten the game as best we could, get that thing down to the last couple minutes.

Q. The drive before with the fumble and the penalty, what were you asking for clarification for on the receiver? Did they have -- they're lined up at the same --
JUSTIN FUENTE: They were both off the ball, right? They said they were both on the ball. First they told me the tight end went out for the pass. Yeah, I was looking for some clarification. I haven't seen the play. I don't know. But they're both supposed to be off the ball. I don't know, I haven't seen it. Were they?

Q. I thought they were both on the line.
JUSTIN FUENTE: Then that's our (indiscernible).

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