Q: Notre Dame obviously a prestigious program. What jumps off the film when you look at this year’s version of it?
CAMPBELL: “I think watching Coach Kelly’s teams, no matter where he’s been, I think they’ve always had a very common denominator, and that’s great fundamentals, great detail. And then you look at this year’s Notre Dame team and the size, you know, defensively, the size and discipline across the board, the ability to create turnovers with that defensive front and the ability to, you know, have length in the secondary to be able to close the passing windows is really impressive on the offensive side of it.
“Again, the size of the offensive lines, the wide receivers, the tight ends, certainly I think the great understanding of the offense at the quarterback position and the detail that he plays with and the ability to make things happen with not only his feet but his arm. It’s really impressive.
“So I think all those things combined and then you throw in special teams, it’s just a really well-coached football team that never beats itself.”
Q: Matt, this question is for you. What do you see when you look at a guy like Ian Book?
CAMPBELL: “Playing some really great quarterbacks over our time in the Big 12, I think great quarterbacks have a unique trait to own the offense. And one of the things I think Ian does such a great job of is you always see him put their offense in a really good position. And whether it’s the ability to use his feet to make something happen when a play breaks down, he seems to always know when where the football’s going and he’s decisive. And I think great quarterbacks own the offense and that’s what I see from him. It’s been really impressive to watch him play. And, again, you’re talking about a young man that’s just continued to grow in that role at the quarterback position but it’s been real fun to watch him.”
Q: Coach Kelly, when you look at Iowa State’s record, 7-5, is that a bit deceiving maybe to those outside of your walls when they look at this matchup?
KELLY: “Yeah. I think nationally they haven’t certainly gotten the credit that they deserve, but I think those that watch football and understand the game know this is a team that has a number of traits that you don’t put down on paper.
“As I mentioned, they play physical for four quarters. They play with confidence. They play with a belief that they’re going to find a way to win, and they play with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder. And maybe that’s because of the conference that they’re in, that they don’t feel like at times they get the kind of notoriety that that they deserve. But you can just see the way they play with the disdain of, ‘We don’t care what you think about us.’ And I think they’re back in that same position. That’s why it’s a very difficult team to play because they play so hard with that kind of demeanor.
“So their traits really trump talent in that sense and make for a very dangerous football team week in and week out.”
Q. Coach Campbell, what has impressed you about Zach Petersen’s play for your football team this season?
CAMPBELL: “Yeah, Zach was put in a tough situation with JaQuan Bailey going down early in the football season, an all-conference football player.
“But I think one of the things that’s been really neat about Zach’s growth is, he’s been such a great role model for the young kids in our program. Zach is a true freshman last year, played some critical roles on special teams, and I think that gave him great confidence to go into his sophomore year and just continue to develop and grow in our program. I think that confidence allowed him to be really confident when his number got called to step into now a No. 1 role on our defense and to be able to go and play with great confidence.
“And so, you know, he stepped in in a really phenomenal way. There’s times I’ve said Zach’s played as good as anybody on our defense throughout the year. And I think his consistency, his discipline, his toughness, those are the traits that we want in a young man that plays in our football program and Zach’s done a great job of displaying those traits week in and week out for us.”
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