Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/616353
UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT "It's two legendary programs; programs I am very familiar with. I have a great respect for the Fighting Irish. It's also a great bowl game. I personally have been there and I know Ohio State has a great tradition there. I'm very excited and we will do our best to play well." Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, a former Irish assistant, on the Fiesta Bowl matchup "We're going to wrestle, arm wrestle before the game, and whoever wins gets the Notre Dame job. No, I think that's just great talk for the fans, and Urban is a great coach. Who knows? I'm not going to be here forever. Maybe he'll get a chance one day to coach at Notre Dame if that's what he wants." — Irish head coach Brian Kelly, jokingly, after being asked about Meyer's connection to the Notre Dame job during past coaching searches "Few perimeter weapons have the kind of explosive ability that can change the game as quickly as [Will] Fuller can for the Irish, and he will have the full attention of a talented defensive backfield intent on slowing him down. The Buckeyes typically like to leave their cornerbacks in man coverage and trust them to win individual battles, which could make the chance to bottle up Fuller a showcase opportunity for Eli Apple or Gareon Conley." — ESPN columnist Austin Ward on his top matchup for the Fiesta Bowl "But the Irish can make a minor tweak in their schedule that could positively affect the cumulative wear and tear the players go through over the long run of the season, something of which ND head coach Brian Kelly assuredly is taking the pulse. And that's moving the annual Shamrock Series game out of prime time. That is, if ND insists on keeping the off-site home game as an annual staple in 2017 and beyond." — South Bend Tribune beat reporter Eric Hansen with a suggestion to decrease Notre Dame's annual total of prime-time games "We're pretty honest and up front with our evaluations on both sides of it. … You have to be fair on both sides. I don't think you can paint just one picture that everything's better if you stay. There are going to be certain situations like a Jaylon Smith or a Ronnie Stanley that it's better for them if they go to the NFL." — Kelly when asked whether he would try to entice projected first-round picks Smith and Stanley to return to Notre Dame for their final season of eligibility in 2016 TWEET OF THE WEEK @JaeeSmiff9ENT: "Let's put on a show brodie" Junior linebacker Jaylon Smith to Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott after the Buckeye tweeted: "See you New Years [sic] brother" once the Fiesta Bowl pairing was announced PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN