Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 SEPT. 18, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Bearcats Will Be Big Trouble For Notre Dame By Tyler Horka Two of the four preseason ranked teams on Notre Dame's schedule lost during the Labor Day week- end. One of the two that won, Cincinnati, did so in convincing fashion. The Bearcats beat Miami (Ohio) 49-14. I picked Notre Dame to lose to Cincinnati before the season started, and I maintain that will be the home matchup Notre Dame struggles with the most. It comes Oct. 2, one week after Notre Dame trav- els to Chicago to play Wisconsin at Soldier Field. Wisconsin lost to Penn State Sept. 4, so the Badgers will be motivated to notch a win over a highly ranked team in Notre Dame. I believe the Irish will win a close game against Wisconsin. It'll take a lot to do so. Then they have to turn around and play what will likely be a top-10 team in Cincinnati the following week. The Bearcats, meanwhile, will be fresh going into South Bend coming off a bye week. The conditions seem ripe for Notre Dame to lose what will likely be a 26- game home winning streak assuming the Irish take care of Purdue this week. Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell will surely want to get the best of the coach he groomed for three seasons, new Notre Dame defensive coordina- tor Marcus Freeman. The Bearcats will surely want to beat Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, who was the head coach at Cincinnati from 2007-09. With so many motivational factors in play for Cincinnati, Notre Dame is going to have to be at its best to knock off the Bearcats in a huge game at Notre Dame Stadium. Badgers Are Bad News For The Irish By Todd D. Burlage With the road scare at Florida State survived and a 41-38 overtime win in the books, Notre Dame returned home for two games as a heavy favorite while it awaits the most difficult part of the schedule. From Sept. 25 through Oct. 30, the Irish play con- secutive games against Wisconsin at Soldier Field, home against Cincinnati, at Virginia Tech, home against USC and home against North Carolina. All five of these future opponents were ranked after week one and all five provide different and difficult challenges for Notre Dame, but none more so than Wisconsin. This is a balanced Badgers team that was picked in the preseason to win the Big Ten West Division. And even after its season-opening 16-10 loss to No. 19 Penn State, Wisconsin is still expected to be in the hunt for a conference title in a league many consider to be the deepest in the country top to bottom. Wisconsin boasts the best offensive line and the best group of linebackers the Irish will face this season. The game is in Chicago, not at Notre Dame Sta- dium, where the Irish entered its game against Toledo winners of 24 straight. And, oh yeah, Wisconsin will be coming off a bye with an extra week to prepare for Notre Dame. If the Irish can survive this tough five-game stretch, the schedule eases and another playoff berth is likely. But getting past a desperate Badgers team that can't afford another loss to keep its own playoff hopes alive clearly provides the greatest challenge Notre Dame will face the rest of this season. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHAT IS THE MOST CONCERNING GAME ON NOTRE DAME'S SCHEDULE? Joe Wilkins Jr. entered this season as part of a group of experienced but so far underachieving Irish senior wide receivers who head coach Brian Kelly implored this summer to have "transforma- tional years." And so far — right down to a number change from 18 to 5 for a fresh start — Wilkins insists that he is doing everything asked from all of his coaches to make that transformation happen. Wilkins was summoned by Irish offensive co- ordinator Tommy Rees last season for a heart- to-heart chat about the attitude and effort im- provements needed to move from an anonymous backup player to a front-line receiver. Through fall camp, the 6-1½, 195-pound Wilkins worked at the boundary position behind another senior receiver, Kevin Austin Jr., as part of a tal- ented but unproven one-two punch that will help determine the success of the Irish offense this season. Wilkins came to Notre Dame from North Fort Myers, Fla., in 2018 as a versatile athlete who could play either wide receiver or cornerback. Entering the 2021 season, Wilkins had ap- peared in 18 career games at Notre Dame and made seven catches for 63 yards with one touch- down. All of his statistical production came during 11 appearances last season. Blue & Gold Illustrated and other local media recently spoke with Wilkins about expectations, offensive identity and his early impressions of new starting quarterback Jack Coan. BGI: What did that heart-to-heart meeting with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees mean to you? Wilkins: "It was huge for me because I have kind of been the guy just to get by, in the backseat doing what I had to do just to be like a role player, to just be like relevant. But I always had people in front of me. For [Rees] to sit me down and talk to me, it showed me that he has confidence in me, Coach [Brian] Kelly has confidence in me, my wide receivers, my brothers. "Everybody has confidence in me, they know what I can do, they've seen me do it in practice so now it's just time for me to take it to the field now on game day." BGI: How would you describe the offensive identity to start this season? Wilkins: "Man, we're explosive, and we're ex- plosive everywhere, not just to the field [position], not just in the boundary [position], not just in the backfield. "We've got explosive players everywhere and it's going to be exciting." BGI: What went into your number change this season? Wilkins: "Nothing big, just a little switch up and I've had 18 these last three years. This year, I feel like I'm going to make a bigger impact, I feel like I'm going to play and it seems like the coaches think so as well, so I'm just trying to switch it up a little bit." BGI: What kind of year are you expecting per- sonally, and also from your position group? Wilkins: "I think I can have a really good year. Me and Kevin [Austin] in the boundary, I feel like me and him are going to switch and swap, we're both going to get in, we're both going to play and I feel like both of us are going to have a great year." BGI: What were your impressions while quar- terback Jack Coan made his transition to Notre Dame? Wilkins: "Jack's all about business. Jack came here to play football. He's not worried about any- thing. Football is on his mind 24-7. He's watch- ing film right after practice. He's doing the little things, he's getting in the ice tub. "He's doing everything that everybody expects him to do, and he's been consistent on the field, so he's been awesome for us." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER JOE WILKINS JR. WILKINS