THE MODERATOR: “I’ll ask from the podium if there’s anything for either of you that has stood out about this week in Orlando, whether for you personally or staff or the players, anything that’s notable for you.”
CAMPBELL: “The weather. You know, in Iowa, we don’t get this weather usually in December. So I think for us it’s just been great for, obviously, our players, our families, our coaches’ families. You know, the kindness of the people here. Certainly the weather. Obviously, the ability to get out and see a lot of great things that we normally wouldn’t get the opportunity to do. It’s certainly been great for our university.”
KELLY: “Yeah. I would say the same thing. You know, bowl games sometimes get, you know, pushed into a group of bowl games. But this one, you know, you can single it out because Matt and I have gotten a chance to meet like for the first time yesterday.
“So there haven’t been a little of events where we’re pulled away from it in the bowl. It’s been really focused on the players and giving them an opportunity to enjoy it while we continue to work and develop in our football teams.
“So that blend I think is great that the Camping World Bowl has put that together where we can continue to be with our staff and our families, continue to build our football team and let the players enjoy the bowl. So I think the bowl has done a great job. It’s hit the right note in putting this bowl together and I have been to a lot of them, most of the New Year’s six bowls, and I think this one stands out in terms of the way it’s organized. Very well done.”
Q: Brian [Kelly], 24 hours away till kick. What’s the mindset of your team right now?
KELLY: “Well, I think they’ve started to get into their normal game kind of mode, mentality. You know, you have to switch from practice and being, as I just mentioned, you know, in Orlando and Disney and Universal Studios and all the sunshine. You have to flip that switch and get into a competitive mindset. So our guys have quieted down. They’re much more present in the moment as they get ready to play a great opponent in Iowa State. So you could see that as they’re walking around the hotel. There’s much more of a purposefulness in terms of how they’re handling themselves. They’ve got their AirPods or their iPhones or they’ve got a sense that we’re getting close to kickoff and you’ve got to get into the right mind set.”
Q: Notre Dame has played almost every single Power Five team. I think there’s only eight left that Notre Dame hasn’t played and Iowa State is one of them. Is that something exciting to you to play against another team that Notre Dame has never ever played against before for the first time?
KELLY – “I’d rather play Coe College. No disrespect to Coe. I’m going to get a ton of Coe grads that are going to beat me up on this one.
“My point being is Iowa State is not necessarily on the list of teams that you want to play for the first time. Look, as an independent, you’re going to go through the schedule and you’re going to play the teams across the country and in every conference. Next year, it’ll be even more of that as we continue to do that. But I think that’s the great thing of being an independent, you get an opportunity to play an Iowa State and get a chance to meet Matt and, you know, obviously, a great young coach that is doing incredible things.
“So this is kind of the attractiveness, if you will, of being an independent football team where you get a chance to play these kinds of games.”