Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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done an unbelievable job of picking it up and playing great football." For Collinsworth, the physical pain is constant. He admits even sitting in a classroom can be difficult with his dis- comfort. "The pain's kind of been a chip on my shoulder," he said. "I use it to motivate me. I have only three more opportuni- ties at this school to win football games, and we've got to get it done. "I've built up a bit of a pain tolerance. It's a tough game, and all these guys are playing through the pain. It's something you've got to be able to do." Collinsworth could have sat out the remainder of the season and had a strong case to apply for a medical red- shirt and a possible sixth season of eligi- bility, but as a captain he felt obligated to prioritize 2014. "This is my team. These guys look up to me as a leader," he said. "They elected me captain. I have to be able to push through pain. That's just something you have to do when you're in a leadership role and you're part of a team. "I love these guys too much to sit on the sideline and watch things go wrong." Regardless, things have gone wrong even if they're not necessarily Collin- sworth's fault. His focus now shifts to helping the team bounce back and add a positive twist to an up-and-down 2014. "It's a new week," he said. "You've got to put this stuff behind you. If it keeps haunting you, you won't be able to win football games in the future. "It's brutal. It is. You've got to bite down and wake up tomorrow morning and get ready for the next football game. … We've got to have a great week pre- paring and make sure the young guys and old guys alike are all on the same page and that we can get out there and make a stop. We can't give up 40 points, I don't care what the offense does. We can't give up 40 points." KICKING WOES CONTINUE Senior kicker Kyle Brindza has made (54) and attempted (76) more field goals than anyone else in Notre Dame his- tory. Against Northwestern, that latter number grew by two while the former remained unchanged. Head coach Brian Kelly indicated those two misses may have had more to do with Brindza's head than his foot. "I didn't like the way the mental ap- proach of our kicker was," Kelly said. "Obviously, we were going to be in a close game. We were trying to get him his confidence back. "It was a rough day for the kicking game." Brindza's routine shifted Saturday with sophomore Malik Zaire holding his kicks for the first time after junior walk-on Hunter Smith had muffed three holds this season, including one a week ago at Arizona State. Both took snaps on the Irish sideline to stay in the habit if such were needed. Unlike a first-quarter point after at- tempt and second-quarter field goal at- tempt, Zaire successfully made the hold on Brindza's 42-yard overtime try. "I think it was behind him at that point," Kelly said. "He just missed it." NYLES MORGAN MATURES Making his second career start in place of injured senior linebacker Joe Schmidt (fractured and dislocated an-