Just as he does every Monday during the season, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly met with the media ahead of the huge matchup with Clemson. Obviously, this matchup was at the forefront of everyone’s mind, and Kelly took a very interesting view on this game.
“This game is not the end all for us. For us, we could win this game, but if you lose to BC, this game doesn’t mean anything. We’re still pursuing a conference championship,” Kelly explained when asked about the significance of the this weekend’s matchup.
This perspective is a great look into the oddity that Kelly and the Irish face this year as a member of the ACC. “We’ve got many more games, we’re playing for a conference championship, it’s not like when we were an independent and you need to kind of get these games to validate your place in the College Football Playoffs.”
Kelly is looking ahead and knows the fact that they could very well play the Tigers a second time this season, in the ACC Championship game.
“If you empty the tank this weekend, and you don’t have anything left for BC, they’re going to beat you. Flat out. There has to be a measure of emotional mastery here where you understand the opponent, you’re excited about it, but you’ve got to play your best.”
This weekend’s challenge will, obviously, be tough for the Irish, but there is so much more in play than just beating Clemson this week. There is a possibility the Irish lose this game and still play the Tigers again. The anticipation is growing and we can’t wait for Saturday night to get here.
A few other notes from Kelly’s meeting today:
-Jafar Armstrong has moved from running back to wide receiver due to Kelly being happy with his top three backs. “We think Jafar can be much more of an impact player at the WR position.”
-On the talent gap the last time these two teams faced off in the CFP semifinals: “I just felt like we had a lot of young players that were going to continue to grow in our program and we played an outstanding football team. People fail to recognize the next week they absolutely blitzed Alabama and nobody talked about the talent gap there, nobody talked about the coaching gap there. They just talked about the talent gap between the Notre Dame and Clemson game.”
-On Clemson as a whole team: “Everything they do they do well, all phases of the game, offense, defense, special teams… We have a great deal of respect for them, we’re excited about the opportunity.”
-Holding back plays or schemes, Kelly doesn’t think so: “Anybody that says that they’re holding plays or schemes for later in the year, I just don’t buy that. I’ve been doing it for over 30 years. There might be a play, a trick play, that you might hold out that you might have in your arsenal because you’re up by 28 points that you don’t use and you save it for the next week.”
-Facing Clemson running back Travis Etienne: “I think he’s the best running back in the country. I’ll go on record saying that. Elite speed, tough inside-out runner, incredible out of the backfield. He’s the complete package.”