[ad_1]
Shortly after the clock reached zero on Saturday, the Yankee Stadium crowd began to sing: "Beat SC! Beat SC! "
Everyone knows what will follow for Notre Dame – and that a place in the playoffs is at stake.
"Our guys know who they play," said coach Brian Kelly.
First, here are three points to remember from a 36-3 victory that has been so dominant, said Dino Babers, the Syracuse coach, after which he was not sure of the final score.
1. Players will take the right approach.
USC is 5-6. Our Lady is 11-0. But do not expect the Irish to become arrogant. They have not beaten the Trojans on the road since 2012, and the losses of 2014 and 16 were not close. And it's a remarkably mature Irish team.
"They love to play together," said Kelly. "It's a brotherhood they built. Listen, most coaches will tell you that if you walk into the locker room and see a group of guys who meet and care about each other, you probably have a good thing to do. This does not guarantee that you will win 10 games. But this ensures that you will probably do very good things sometimes. "
The trip to Los Angeles will add a quarterback supplement to Ian Book, who comes from the Sacramento area but has family in Southern California.
"We are all excited to play in good weather," he said.
Receiver Chase Claypool plays on Xbox with receiver USC Amon-Ra St. Brown, younger brother of Equanimeous, who has collected passes to Notre Dame.
"It will not be a problem, but it will be very competitive," said Claypool. "A lot of guys come here to beat SC."
A little history lesson: In 1996, Notre Dame was 8-2, ranked 10th and was a huge favorite for the current season at USC. The Trojans were 5-6 and coach John Robinson was on the hot seat. "We will not be flat," Lou Holtz promised. "It's the game Southern Cal. Enough said. "
They were flat. And partly because of a missed extra point, the Irish lost 27 to 20 in overtime. This was Holtz's last match at Notre Dame.
Nothing is promised.
2. The book is difficult to read.
The quarterback of Notre Dame is so cold that when asked how his life had changed since he became the starter eight weeks ago, he replied, "Nothing more." "
Kelly said that Book was a bit rusty against Syracuse after missing the game against Florida State with a rib injury, which hurt some of those shots. Pound hit on 23 of 37 for 292 yards. His only obvious misstep came after stumbling on the lineman's back and throwing him into the end zone as he fell. He was chosen.
"On the football field, I did not see him get hustled," Kelly said. "He is really stable. Takes the information, treats it very well. "
Then Kelly told this story: Book lost weight during winter conditioning after her freshman season. As a penalty, his group was in danger of losing points. So he put a 10-pound plate in his shorts.
Matt Balis, director of Notre-Dame's football performance, blew it up and ran it.
Kelly could not believe it by telling Book: "I mean, an 8 year old is doing that."
"He'll hate that I told him," Kelly said. "But he was screwed up that day … it's the only time I saw him get hit."
3. The defensive backs were exceptional.
Only seven FBS teams had preceded Syracuse before Saturday. Orange passed 400 yards passing North Carolina and N.C. State and scored 250 points against Clemson. Our Lady held them at 115, of which 53 came on their last meaningless journey.
Security Alohi Gilman intercepted two passes, which earned him the ball.
"He was everywhere on the field," said Kelly. "His game was contagious because he was also outstanding in the special teams."
Babers said Notre Dame's defense had turned chess into controllers, simplifying combinations of routes that annoyed other teams.
"We called many combinations of passes where everyone was covered," said Babers.
USC is a good passing team. Young rookie JT Daniels had 337 passing yards, 20-for-34, in Saturday's 34-27 loss to the Trojans.
"We are very excited," said cornerback Julian Love, the absolute leader of Notre Dame in the passing division. "This is my favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving is coming and we are ready for one last battle in the regular season. "
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
Notre Dame smothers Syracuse 36-3 at Yankee Stadium and moves to less than a series win »
3 takeaways from Northwest 24-24's 24-24 win over Minnesota »
Illinois equals its worst defeat in 127 years of the program's existence with a 63-0 loss by Iowa
Source link
