Oct. 11, 2004

Derek Curry – senior – linebacker

On what causes Notre Dame problems when facing Navy …

I definitely think the scheme plays a big role is some of the stuff that they do. They also have really good athletes. They’re in the Navy, what can you say? They’re really physically fit and they work really hard and their determination is tremendous.

On the keys to preparing for Navy’s style of offense …

Discipline is the first key and the biggest key in this game and the whole outcome of this game is determined on how disciplined you are especially from a defensive standpoint. Everything they do, all the misdirection they do you have to stay disciplined and you have to stay focused on what you have to do. It’s really funny because as much as football is a team game this is the most individualized game that we are going to play in that every person may be doing a different thing but in order to execute the defense properly and to win, every body is going to have to do their own thing.

Dan Stevenson – senior – guard

On the importance of Notre Dame’s 40-year winning streak versus Navy …

It’s always good to keep streaks alive and things like that but I don’t think it’s something that we focus on. Our ultimate goal isn’t about keeping the 40-year streak alive. It’s about what we want to do this season. It’s one of those extra benefits you get when you try to achieve what you want to achieve. We’re not setting out to try and keep the 40-year streak alive. We’re setting out to beat Navy and to focus on our task at hand, which is to go to a great bowl game.

On Navy narrowing the gap between them and Notre Dame …

They’re definitely a tough team and they bring it. They don’t always get the respect they deserve. They’re a solid team. They’re undefeated right now and they play hard. You can’t listen to all of the hype that they don’t have the talent. They have the talent and they are a good team. The thing that they do is that they never quit playing. They’ll play you until the very end. You can’t really look at the past and you can’t really say they are the Naval Academy and they don’t have the talent because they do. They’re undefeated and they are a tough opponent. So we need to go out there and be prepared to play our best game.

Brandon Hoyte – senior – linebacker

On the play of Navy quarterback Aaron Polanco two years ago versus Notre Dame …

I think he was an individual who stepped up at the opportune time. I think you have to keep in mind that he’s a player that can make plays and the only way you go about defending that is to stop him and play all out.

On what makes Navy such a tough team to beat …

I would say what they stand for and I think that helps to propel their players and that’s hard, emotional play every single down regardless of the score. I think that’s something every team envies and every team strives for and their team definitely has that character.

Justin Tuck – senior – defensive end

On if Navy’s scheme will take away any of his aggressiveness …

I don’t think it takes away any of my aggressiveness. I just think you have to be sharper in what you do. It takes away more of the risk that you’ll take than against other teams. But in this game we know that we have to play our assignments. We know that if you miss an assignment on any given play they can bust you for a long run. So we just have to be focused and geared in to playing them.

On playing Navy …

I hate playing Navy, not because of the fact that they don’t throw the ball. It’s just the fact that their style of play is going to make it a defensive game. After this football game there is going to be a lot of people banged up and bruised and things like that. Whenever you play an option team and they cut (block) as much as they do you’re going to come out of that game worn out. That’s basically the reason why I hate playing them. Plus they are going to play out of their minds against us just because of the fact how many times we have beat them in a row.

Ryan Grant – senior – running back

On if head coach Tyrone Willingham challenged the seniors to show more leadership during the Stanford game …

More importantly he was just telling us to step it up. We were kind of dead out there and that was apparent. The energy wasn’t there. That was one of the big things that we talked about, to go out there and play fast and play hard. I think we were kind of lethargic out there and that’s not what we expect out of our team.

On how he felt during the Stanford game …

I felt like I was running pretty hard, just trying to run down hill and set something up for the rest of the offense. I’m just trying to help out with anything that I can do.

Kyle Budinscak – senior – defensive end

On if there is extra pressure to beat Navy because Notre Dame has beaten them 40 years in a row …

No not at all. The last two times that we’ve played these guys (Navy) we could have easily lost the games without key plays. Knowing how they play us, and knowing the amount of pride they have and that sort of thing, it (the streak) means very little for this year’s game. So we are looking at this as a real threat to us. They’re the kind of team who could easily be victorious if we don’t bring our `A’ game.

On the team not having a good feeling about the Stanford win …

I think more than anything we were kind of disgusted with ourselves in the way we came out and approached that game from the beginning. We had done all of the right things during the week but when the game started we were completely devoid of any emotion and there’s no excuse for that. I think we took a hard look at ourselves at halftime and decided to come out and play a lot different in the second half. When we had won the game we realized that there was no excuse for what had happened and we were lucky to come away with the win.

Mike Goolsby – senior – linebacker

On what’s in store for this week heading into the game with Navy …

A lot of preparation, Navy drives the coaches nuts because it’s such a completely different type of offense to prepare for. It’s fun. I’m looking forward to Kyle Eckel, their fullback. He’s a hell of a player so we’re going to have to get ready for him this week.

On the advantage that Navy has with 16 days off heading into Saturday’s game …

It’s a pretty big advantage. But I know a lot of times in my experiences sometimes the longer you have to prepare for a game it gives you that many more things that the coaches can throw at you to get ready for. It can work with you and it can work against you at the same time because you have so much more to digest mentally to get ready for a game. They’re going to come out ready and I’m sure they’ll be more than prepared so we have a big challenge ahead of us.