This year’s matchup may prove to be similarly hard for the Longhorns as Notre Dame comes into the season ranked tenth in the nation. Kelly said he has never suspended a player for a first drug offense and that in all Notre Dame’s athletic programs there is a precedent to not do so.
Advertisement
The two QB system won’t last. Both quarterbacks, DeShone Kizer and Malik Zaire will play in the opener. Here’s more on that. I’m not buying the whole “two quarterbacks means no quarterbacks” adage.
“It feels like I’m going to play another game, another season”, Morgan said after Wednesday’s practice. The Longhorns finished their season under.500 in just three years since 1997, with Strong’s first two campaigns accounting for two of them. But the type of dialogue and conversations from the game that will start late Sunday evening, win or lose, will say a lot about Coach Strong, where this program is, and where it looks to be headed in the near future. Notre Dame will lean on the backfield of Tarean Foster and Josh Foster if the offensive line comes together which it will. Or what if one of them has to miss time due to an injury? “What we’ve seen”, Kelly explained, “and what we can evaluate is a consistent performer”.
“It’s going to be a very, very tough matchup for us, similar to a year ago”, he said in a conference call with reporters. Afterward Notre Dame executive vice president Rev. Ned Joyce visited the Missouri locker room to congratulate the Tigers and express how this is the beauty of competition and life – how the fully vanquished one day can rise up and shine the next.
The Irish will face both teams at Alumni Stadium, with Illinois State at 7 p.m. Friday before Sunday’s encounter with Missouri, which kicks off at 5 p.m. “They’ve all – at this point they’re available to play, but as you know, some of these situations are out of my hands, but that’s why they’re on the depth chart”.
Notre Dame and Texas have met 11 times in history.
“His ability to perceive, he’s mentally tough”, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said.
While Kelly isn’t committing to the multi-quarterback system beyond Week 1, he also said it’s not necessarily his goal to come back from Texas with a full-time starter in mind.
And, by the way, how’s that linebacker position looking? White, a redshirt freshman, is a reserve in the secondary. “But Sebastian’s had a good camp, he’s been really rock solid”. James Onwualu said he’s in it and sometimes plays defensive end in that alignment. He doesn’t look that way, but he’s going to try to play that way.
Despite that lopsided score and Texas coach Charlie Strong coming off consecutive losing seasons to start his tenure with the Longhorns, there’s hope for Texas (5-7 last season) because this opener is in Austin.
Notre Dame and Texas are two powerhouses in the world of college football.
Advertisement
According to Kelly, since it was a first-time offense for the four players, it wouldn’t have been punitive to suspend them. And an upset against a top-10 team in Notre Dame would be a big step in the right direction. Quarterback Malik Zaire was almost ideal against Texas past year, solidifying himself as an early Heisman Trophy candidate by completing 19-of-22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns.
