Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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72 PRESEASON 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GAME The unveiling of the Campus Crossroads project during the Sept. 2 contest against Temple will naturally draw much pomp and circumstance, especially with the new video board and premium seating to augment the general anticipation that comes with any opening day. Former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis used to refer these type of days as "a dog and pony show." Vital to the Fighting Irish team and coaching staff is remaining mindful that a game still needs to be played. Maybe the last time so many ancil- lary events occurred prior to a Notre Dame home game was the 2011 USC game. For the first time in 21 years, Notre Dame was hosting a night game. Piped-in music was Introduced for the first time in Notre Dame Stadium to help manufacture crowd noise, although there were a few hitches with it. Thousands of complimentary towels also were passed out to twirl around. Likewise, beautiful new gold helmets with real gold leaf coating were issued to match the color of the Golden Dome. Finally, never in history had the Fighting Irish hosted so many big- time prospects for a game to take in all the festivities. Among them were numerous five-star recruits such as defensive lineman Arik Armstead, offensive lineman John Theus, safety Shaq Thompson, running back Keith Mar- shall and quarterback Gunner Kiel. Only Kiel would wind up with the Irish, although he would transfer fol- lowing his freshman year. Unfortunately, there was also a game to be played, and before Notre Dame knew it the Trojans built a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter and went on to a two-touchdown victory, making Lane Kiffin the first first-year coach at USC to win at Notre Dame Stadium since 1931. "Our whole thing this week was not about the hype," Kiffin said afterwards. "It was about prepar- ing really well, finishing games off and not letting the other stuff get involved. "You get the sense that this was their Super Bowl here, and all of the official [recruiting] visitors and mov- ing it to a night game. … So it's even more pleasing to come in here with all of that stuff going on around — and our players played really well." Kelly already hinted in training camp that with the new gigantic video scoreboard on the south end of the stadium, the players can't let it become a distraction and must con- centrate even harder on the task at hand. Notre Dame also almost lost to a heavy underdog Georgia Tech team in 1997 when the stadium expansion was dedicated. The Yellow Jackets led 13-10 in the fourth quarter when they missed two field goals, allowing the Irish to eke out a 17-13 victory. It's still about preparation, focus and execution on the field, not what's going on all around it. GAME PREVIEW: TEMPLE Top STorylineS The last time Notre Dame and Temple met in South Bend, the Irish jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 28-6 win on Aug. 31, 2013. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA