Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1179920
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 2, 2019 13 UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT "The bar is high here. We're ex- pected to be a great team and we will be. It's just a question of when. We are definitely going to have some hiccups early on, we're going to hit some bumps in the road. … By the time we get to January [the start of conference play], I think we're going to be a much better team. By the time we get to March, we will be a very good team." Notre Dame women's basket - ball head coach Muffet McGraw on her team after losing all five starters to the WNBA "You have the [North] Carolina, Duke thing. It's always been there. Before expansion, after expansion and Virginia's kind of joined that now. Those three have really kinda kicked it to one level. I was sitting with [Syracuse head coach] Jim Boeheim in the summer recruiting. We were talking about the league. He said, 'You know, we're playing for fourth.' And there's something to be said about that. He never minces his words, obviously." — Notre Dame men's basketball coach Mike Brey on the outlook for the season in the ACC "Overwhelmingly honored, bro. It came out of nowhere. … My personality is such that I like to just go to work, treat people well, be a good teammate, prepare to the best of my ability, looking at the information and then convey to the viewing audience the things that I think are important." — Former Fighting Irish basketball standout LaPhonso Ellis on being promoted to ESPN's College GameDay after 11 years with the network (The New York Post) "They have to be damn near perfect or right there every single year to be in a conversation for a national championship. We're talking about pressure. That's pressure. Not to say that the other big-school coaches aren't in the same thing, but they also have a conference championship as well and you can hold onto that. For Notre Dame, they don't have that. It's national champs or bust. "[Will it] be better for Notre Dame to join your conference if they ever go undefeated and don't make it into a final four? That will be a note to Notre Dame that says, 'Okay, we've done all we can and we still can't get to the top of the only thing we need to get to the top [of]. All we have is a national championship. We won every game, and we're not even in the running for it.' If that were to happen, I think Notre Dame would have to think long and hard and say, 'Okay, we've hit that tipping point to where we needed to join the conference.'" — Former Notre Dame defensive lineman and current ESPN Radio host Mike Golic Sr. on the one reason the Irish could one day join a conference "Since [Father] Hesburgh's time, Notre Dame has struggled with how to become a truly great university and have a first-rate football program. The two are not irreconcilable, but they're not entirely compatible." — Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Michael Oriard, who has authored several books about football, on the struggles of the Fighting Irish over the last few decades "I just don't see it. Again, because they don't have that conference championship game, I don't think they can make it in. I think it would take mass chaos, where we see a lot of two-loss conference champions across the Power Five, in order for them to be looked at again. I think they have to go undefeated like they did last year in order to get a shot and opportunity." — Former Notre Dame quarterback and FOX Sports football analyst Brady Quinn on whether a one-loss Irish team can make the College Football Playoff OF THE WEEK ➤"11/19/1966: The stage was set. No. 1 Notre Dame vs No. 2 Michigan State. We've played in 4 contests known as 'Game of the Century,' this was the most contested. This legendary tie with the Spartans was the penultimate game in our 8th title-winning season. #GoIrish ♣ #TBT" Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) Oct. 24 PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED PO Box 2331 Durham, NC 27702 www.BlueGoldOnline.com 1-800-421-7751 DELIVERY LIMITED TO CONTINENTAL U.S. PLEASE ADD SALES TAX FOR ITEMS SHIPPING TO: (NC 7.5%, IN 7%, MI 6%) Made to order & shipped direct from manufacturer, returns not related to damage may incur fee. GRILL MAT $49.95 + FREE S&H Available in 2 Styles: ND or Leprechaun (Item #6622-ND or #6622-LEP) (Item #6621) CUSTOM GRILL COVERS Hand-made in USA using the finest com- mercial grade breathable vinyl featuring double-stitching, buckle clasps and mois- ture vent. Logo printed with UV-resistant ink in official school colors. AVAILABLE IN 2 SIZES & 3 LOGOS: Small: 60" wide x 36" tall x 21" deep $51.95 + $15.00 S&H Large: 72" wide x 36" tall x 21" deep $54.95 + $15.00 S&H Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.