Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305649
18 NOV. 7, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL B rian Kelly broke free from the coach-speak chains. In his postgame remarks after Notre Dame's 45-3 demolition of Pitt Oct. 24, he leaned right into the message he fed to his team all week: The Irish should look ahead on their schedule. Specifically to Nov. 7. It even caught a few players by surprise. " T h e y ' re a l w a y s p re a c h i n g , 'What's important now,'" sophomore safety Kyle Hamilton said. "But he had more of a 'what's important next' mindset and told us we need to step our game up and that we are in fact a top-four team in the country." Kelly went there not to overlook Pitt and the most recent opponent, Georgia Tech, but to hammer home the point that Clemson's visit to South Bend is fast approaching. And to make clear the first four games weren't good enough to give Notre Dame much of a chance at toppling the Tigers from No. 1. Kelly is not naive to think his play- ers are unconcerned with the game's magnitude. There's a schedule in a team meeting room they see every day. It's human nature to look ahead. Instead of trying to push back on unavoidable tendencies, Kelly turned them into a motivational tool. Up the play and there's a great chance to beat Clemson. Don't and there's not. Win that game, and Notre Dame's footing on the national champion- ship track it desires gets firmer. Lose it, and the Irish will be knocked back- ward like a sideswiped bumper car. "It was the right message to get guys to understand that game has been circled on the list for a while and is an extremely important game," fifth-year senior quarter- back Ian Book said. "The guys are extremely excited for it. That's why you come to Notre Dame — to play in huge games like that. "We have an opportunity to go out there and play our best. It's some- 'What's Important next' Brian Kelly allows Notre Dame to look ahead to Clemson as a way of evoking urgency and a higher level of play Fifth-year senior quarterback Ian Book said thinking about the Clemson game is hard to avoid and appreciated Kelly's embrace of it. PHOTO BY CHARLES LECLAIRE, USA TODAY SPORTS/COURTESY ACC