Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: TEXAS fensive ends that can rotate in and out. Phil Steele's preseason magazine ranked the Horns' defensive line as the No. 9 unit nationally entering the 2015 season. Five-star linebacker Malik Jefferson aims to make one of the bigger impacts of all the newcomers from a 2015 recruit- ing class that was rated 12th nationally, right behind Notre Dame's 11th-ranked group. Jefferson was listed as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country, and it showed during the spring when he practiced as an early enrollee. The fresh- man cross-trained at all three linebacker positions, as well as weakside defen- sive end. He may not start against Notre Dame, but he will definitely get a lot of playing time. "He's the real deal," Richardson said. "He's gotten first-team reps, and he went from 217 pounds when he stepped on campus to 240. He's going to be ex- tremely good and, I believe, live up to his five-star ranking. "Now, he's young, and he's going to make a few mistakes. But he's definitely a kid to keep an eye on." Notre Dame was listed as a nine- to 10-point favorite as of mid-August, but Richardson believes that might be just a tad high. "I don't think Texas is going to be as bad as people think," Richardson said. "And I'm not totally convinced that Notre Dame is the juggernaut that some have said. When I talk to people within the building, they point to Notre Dame's slide last season. Notre Dame has never seen this Texas offense — so I don't know how they're game plan- ning for it. "Texas is also going to play some guys Notre Dame has never seen. I think the game might be closer than people an- ticipate. There are just a lot of unknowns with it being the first game of the sea- son, and the new offense for Texas. "Conventional wisdom says Notre Dame should win, but it could be closer than expected." ✦ 2015 TEXAS SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 5 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 Rice (LN) 8 p.m. Sept. 19 California (FOX) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 Oklahoma State TBA Oct. 3 at TCU TBA Oct. 10 Oklahoma TBA Oct. 24 Kansas State TBA Oct. 31 at Iowa State TBA Nov. 7 Kansas TBA Nov. 14 at West Virginia TBA Nov. 26 Texas Tech (FS1) 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Baylor TBA LN — Longhorn Network, FS1 — FOX Sports 1 2015 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Sept. 5 Texas (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12 at Virginia (ABC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19 Georgia Tech (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 26 Massachusetts (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at Clemson (TBA) TBA Oct. 10 Navy (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 17 Southern California (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Temple (TBA) TBA Nov. 7 at Pittsburgh (TBA) TBA Nov. 14 Wake Forest (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 21 vs. Boston College (NBC)# 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28 at Stanford (TBA) TBA # Shamrock Series at Fenway Park in Boston