What Stanford coach Frank Reich said about how Notre Dame stacks up vs. other Cardinal opponents, including Miami

Stanford interim head coach Frank Reich only spent a handful of minutes speaking to the media following the Cardinal’s 49-20 loss to Notre Dame. Here’s everything he said, including what he thought of facing the No. 9 Fighting Irish (10-2) compared to other teams Stanford played this season, including Miami.

Opening statement

“I just want to begin by saying it’s been a great year here at Stanford. I want to begin by thanking President Levin and John Donohue, our new athletic director, and of course, my good friend Andrew Luck for the opportunity to be here and be the coach at Stanford this year. It’s been an incredible experience and a heck of a year.

“I feel like we made a lot of progress in a lot of ways. A special group of young men. And there are good things ahead for Stanford football. I know that. I can see it. I can see the formation of it. And I know under Coach Luck, Andrew Luck and Coach Pritchard, there’s going to be amazing things ahead for this team. So I’ll open it up from there.”

On staying on as a special advisor at Stanford

“No, I appreciate that question. We kind of said we’re just going to figure it out as we go. I mean, I knew I was going to be a part somehow, some way. I mean, I’m too close with Andrew and now too close with this program. So I’ll obviously be back home with my family. We’ll decide with Andrew and with Coach Pritchard what role that would be. And I look forward to whatever that is. But it’s not going to be crazy involved. It’ll just be more of a resource, if you will. I’m only a phone call away. And hopefully I’ll be able to get out here a few times a year. We’ll see how that all plays out.”

On why he thinks it’s good times ahead for Stanford

“I mean, we got the axe back. You know, I mean, that’s one thing. But that’s not the only thing. The culture that the players set, the way we did things, the chemistry, the brotherhood in the locker room, the way we practiced. We didn’t get as many wins as we want, but we made progress there, too. And we got the most important win of all, and that was against Cal to get the axe back. So there’s a lot more wins coming to this program. Trust me on that. I promise you there’s a lot more wins coming to this program. There’s a lot of good players here. And Coach Luck and Coach Pritchard are going to do an amazing job. And they’re two great leaders. And I can’t wait to watch.”

On Charlie Mirer scoring a touchdown for Stanford vs. Notre Dame

“Yeah, it was great. I mean, obviously with his dad being a star player at Notre Dame and then Charlie being a senior, and he’s just great. He’s a ball of energy and a lot. I mean, he’s just a class act, and he’s a really good and talented player. And I was just so happy for him, you know. I mean, I obviously spend more time with the quarterbacks, so you get to know those guys a little bit more. And he’s a joy to coach. And I was just happy to see him in the game and make the plays that he did and cap it off with a touchdown pass. That was a great experience. I’m really happy for him.”

On the game Marcus Brown had vs. Notre Dame

“Yeah, not a surprise. I mean, you know, Marcus is a good player, man. I was happy that he showed that tonight. He had several great routes and catches and then good with the ball in his hand after. A couple key first downs to keep drives going. He’s just a nifty little player in the slot, hard to cover. So happy that he got a chance to shine in that role tonight.”

On where Notre Dame ranks among all Stanford opponents this year

“Yeah, I mean, they’re a good football team. I think we’ve faced, someone told me, four top ten teams. It’s hard to rank them. They’ve all been good in their own way. Certainly Miami was tough, playing them down there. Their defensive front is outrageous, you know what I mean? So this is a good team. They’re very well-coached. I have a lot of respect for Coach Freeman. Yeah, we played, BYU was tough. We played some good teams. We played some good teams this year.

“Certainly, though, for keeping the love in the ACC, right? I mean, that’s what it’s all about. I mean, we’re keeping the love in the ACC. I’m proud of our conference. When you look at it, in fact, we were sitting there talking to that today, at our pregame meal, a bunch of our coaches were sitting there talking about it, talking about just how strong of a conference the ACC is. And we were looking at games that the ACC, top to bottom, some of the games that the ACC has played against some of the other major conferences and how we’ve stacked up. And I think as a conference, we’re really proud how we stacked up from the top teams to the middle teams to the lower teams. And when you look at the matchups across the ACC, I think it’s had an outstanding year.”