Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Under the Dome Prior to the game at Air Force, Notre Dame was 82nd in scoring offense (25.4 points per game) and Rees was 63rd in passing efficiency (Golson finished 62nd last year). When asked at his weekly press conference what has prevented the offense from soaring, Kelly held his tongue for the most part. "I'm not going to answer the question," Kelly Rep Work Senior quarterback Tommy Rees' neck strain against USC Oct. 19 did not preclude him from practicing the week of the Air Force game, but the Notre Dame coaching staff did cut back on his reps. Senior Andrew Hendrix, who has a fifth year of eligibility remaining in 2015, took more snaps with the first unit in practice, while freshman Malik Zaire worked more extensively with the second unit. "We've got to prepare Andrew [better], he's got to get some more reps, clearly," head coach Brian Kelly said. Although the staff was encouraged throughout the season by Hendrix's progress in practice, he has not reacted as well to the bright lights. "Looking good in practice and playing in the games are two different things," Kelly said. "… I think Andrew and I and Coach [Chuck] Martin expected him to play better. He did not. "… It's incumbent upon him as a competitor — and he's a competitor and he wants to succeed. Now he's going to have to take what he does in practice into games." Zaire remains an emergency option only, with the preference to preserve a fifth year of eligibility by not playing him this season. — Lou Somogyi Notre Dame Football tickets 25 years in business Best selection & Prices 1-800-925-2500 www.NotreDametickets.com replied. "Look around college football, the teams that are scoring a gazillion points. It's not innovative gurus on offense. It's pretty clear why they're scoring a gazillion points, if you guys can figure that out." Translation: I've been extremely fortunate to have Rees as the lifeboat of Notre Dame football the past four years, so for me to say publicly he doesn't have the skill sets or dual-threat abilities of a Jameis Winston (Florida State), a Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), a Marcus Mariota (Oregon), a Braxton Miller (Ohio State), a Tajh Boyd (Clemson), a Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville), not to mention Bryce Petty (Baylor), or others, would be in very poor taste. I'm grateful what he's been able to do for us whenever we've needed him. No. 1 Alabama's recent dynasty has centered on defensive dominance, with quarterbacks Greg McElroy and A.J. McCarron serving in not a dominant capacity but an auxiliary one. They operate the offense with powerful lines and elite running