Nov. 8, 2005

Q. Did you bring your drivers license today Bill?

A. You see me don't you.

Q. Did you know that Tyler Tidwell has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do?

A. I did know that.

Q. If you ever have to go down a dark alley you may want to take him.

A. I would take him in an alley even if he didn't have a black belt. He has a pretty good motor.

Q. What do you think about Notre Dame's receivers against your secondary? It seems like it's a whole other level of offense that you're facing compared to what you've played against so far.

A. Oh, I don't think there's any question this team is head and shoulders better than any team we've played at every position. It will be exciting for our guys to try and line up and match up against them. It's not like anybody has really slowed them down much.

Q. So what do you tell your team going into a game like this? Like you said, they are smart enough to know the reality of the situation that this team is head and shoulders above them in terms of talent and size. What do you tell them?

A. That we just have to get ready and go play, that the game is played on the field. We probably wouldn't beat anybody if we went off height and weight and speed. Having said that it's multiplied X 10 this week. That's why they've won 41 times in a row probably. It's exciting for our guys to have a chance to go play and measure themselves against those kinds of guys.

Q. Without filling them with false confidence do you tell them some things they have to do to win the game?

A. I don't lie to these guys. They understand. We just have to go play and see what happens. That's all you can do is go play.

Q. Is this game different than the Maryland or Air Force game where there was some pressure because people thought you might win. Nobody expects you to win the game.

A. This game isn't different from that standpoint than any other game. If you're a competitor you are going to go and try to play.

Q. Rob Caldwell just said that you look at it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to play a team ranked that high in that type of setting.

A. It's a great opportunity for these guys. That's why a lot of these guys came to school here. They wanted to play Division I football and this was the opportunity they had and they need to make the most of it. They need to go have fun, enjoy the experience and play hard.

Q. Have you watched most of their offense on tape?

A. What do you think?

Q. What impresses you the most about the way they play call?

A. They have some great players. The biggest difference in their football team, in my mind, is their quarterback. He is so much better than he has been the last two years we've played them. They have so many big play guys. Those receivers have been some great catches. Even when they get in a hole it doesn't matter. Against Tennessee they had third and 24 and threw the streak route to their big receiver and it's a touchdown. It's a good way to get out of third and 24. Tennessee comes back and ties it at 21 and then they hit an underneath route to the other receiver and he takes it to the house. It looks like it might be a six or seven yard play and he turns it into a 70 yard touchdown. They have a good running back and the offensive line protects well. I don't know if they have a weakness.

Q. Does that change the way you play?

A. No. You just have to play. You can't be afraid, just go play. What's the worst thing that can happen to us?

Q. Lose, 68-0

A. We lose. Navy has done that 41 times before.

Q. What about their defense?

A. They play really, really hard. They have good motors. They run very well. The two inside linebackers are as good as anybody we've played against. They have a lot of speed in the secondary, Zbikowski is a great player at safety. It's like I said, don't feel sorry for Notre Dame. They have good players. They've always had good players.

Q. Have they lined up the same defensively the last couple of years against the option?

A. They have new coaches. We will see. It's a whole new coaching staff. I don't suspect they will play exactly the way the last staff did. We don't play the way the last staff did. Nobody really does. They will have their own take on it.

Q. Isn't the biggest thing that can stop an option when they can play three against four up front and beat you at the line of scrimmage? Teams like Notre Dame have the size and bulk to do that don't they?

A. If they don't have to commit enough guys to stop it, if they can take guys that are being doubled and still play the fullback or play the quarterback then yeah that makes it tough. The thing about the option is that we don't have to block them all.

Q. Some of their players have talked about their toughness, that they are tougher now under this staff.

A. They very well could be. They look good to me.

Q. Weis got the big contract. It's kind of odd to be a coach at a place for half a season and get that kind of contract. What do you think about that?

A. I think it's great.

Q. It's good for coaches, huh?

A. It's good for him and evidently Notre Dame wants to make a commitment to him and he wants to make a commitment to them. Clearly the guy is a great football coach. Whatever works for all those parties I'm happy for them. If they are happy, I'm happy.

Q. You have been to more bowl games and won more games in college than him maybe you should get 10 million.

A. I haven't been to quite as many Super Bowls as he has. Maybe as a fan.

Q. Do you think there is anything to bringing an NFL mentality to the college game? Do you think there is anything to that?

A. Not really. It's not like they are reinventing the wheel. They run the same plays that everybody else does, they just run them at a high efficiency.

Q. So what he's been able to do is to get them to execute better.

A. If I was going to say one thing that their coaching staff has done when I look at the Notre Dame team is that I think their quarterback play has improved 10 fold. They were always pretty good on defense and they always had those receivers. Now, they are playing better and making more plays because they are confident, they've had some success and the quarterback is delivering the ball.

Q. And that's Weiss' reputation that he develops quarterbacks.

A. I guarantee you that they've done a nice job of coaching this one and he's a good player.

Q. They have a good line as well.

A. Yeah, they are solid. If you look at their football team they were all probably High School All-Americans. They didn't just go down to Podunk High School and take somebody that nobody was recruiting and all of a sudden coach them up. They are all pretty good players. Those two receivers, both are 6-5 and can run. It's tough to teach guys to be 6-5 and have speed.

Q. Is this a week where you have to establish the fullback again?

A. We always have to get the guy going. We may throw it 80 times this week. We may come out in a shotgun with no backs and just air it out.

Q. In all seriousness, when you look at a team like Notre Dame and you know what they can do, do you try not to bang your head against the wall and do things you can't do?

A. We are going to do what we do.

Q. Whether it works or not.

A. It will work if we do it right. It will work if we do it right. If we don't it won't work. If they are better in one week in doing what we've been doing for 20 years they are going to beat us anyway so lets not reinvent something in one week and try to practice it and think "oh, we will catch them off guard." We have to do what we do.