Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1293421
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 10, 2020 15 UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "This is kind of easy to tell from the first couple of games but, in particular against USF, they're going to rely on their strength: they're going to rely on the run game, and I think it's smart. They know what their identity is. They've got a quarterback who's accurate, he's a good decision maker, he can be part of the running game, too, and they've got some guys who are still trying to emerge as their go-to targets on the outside, so why not rely on your strengths? "You're pumping out NFL offensive linemen every year, NFL tight ends every year and it's getting to the point where more and more running backs are realizing I can go play behind, essentially, an NFL offensive line in college and play behind tight ends who are going to play in the NFL in college. Yeah, that's not a bad idea." — Former Notre Dame quarterback and current FOX Sports analyst Brady Quinn (The Athletic) "All football activities are on pause, as you can imagine as Notre Dame tries to get back to a fuller roster. They'd been handling this virus as well as just about anyone in the country, a 99 percent negativ- ity rate last week. Only 14 positive since they started testing in June." — ESPN college football writer Adam Rittenberg "Regardless of where we are, I just feel so lucky to be able to be covering football right now. If you asked me back in June if I thought we'd be covering football this fall, I thought there was no chance. The very fact that we're covering an incredible game at a storied venue, I feel really fortunate." — NBC Sports coordinating producer Rob Hyland on the television broadcast for Notre Dame's matchup against South Florida Sept. 19 "Unlike Major League Baseball, which proceeded without a strict bubble and found a way to over- come outbreak disruptions by changing its rules and scheduling lots of doubleheaders, college football teams have a limited number of potential dates and can't play twice in a week, let alone a day. Also, baseball players aren't living on college campuses that are battling broader outbreaks. "The schedule shuffling comes after mask-wearing players reported to heavily sanitized athletic facilities for training camps in early August, only to immediately be faced with training disruptions. Ten teams, including Notre Dame, paused practices at some point after reporting clusters of COVID-19 on their rosters. Players at Syracuse at one point over the summer refused to practice upon finding testing procedures inadequate." — Laine Higgins, sports reporter for The Wall Street Journal "I feel that, too. We can say it. Obviously the Notre Dame players and coaches aren't going to say it. They can look at every week and say, 'We should win this game, we should win this game, if we do what we're supposed to, we'll win this game.' And it is all pointing to that matchup with Clemson. "What's been neat about it is Notre Dame is getting some previews. We saw [Duke quarterback] Chase Brice and that read option, zone read, RPO attack in the first week. We saw Coach Scott, who came from Clemson [and is now at USF], who is up tempo and fast-paced. They're getting practice, even though the coaches won't say it, it's been good work for eventually when they do see Clemson. And I do believe they have the people to match up with them. I really do." — NBC analyst Tony Dungy on the importance of Clemson on Notre Dame's schedule and how the Fighting Irish match up with the Tigers 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. OF THE WEEK ➤ Most positively graded plays among power five TEs ■ Tommy Tremble, Notre Dame --- Large gap --- ■ Brevin Jordan, Miami ■ Noah Gray, Duke" — The official account of PFF College (@PFF_College) Sept. 23