Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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6 NOV. 6, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI B rian Kelly proved the past 10 months he can deal with failure while revamping a collapsed infra- structure. Handling success is dif- ferent — but the same mental frame- work was maintained. Unranked after the first three games following last year 's 4-8 fi- asco, Notre Dame saw College Foot- ball Playoff fever return to the cam- pus following the 49-14 drubbing of No. 11 USC Oct. 21 that vaulted the Fighting Irish into the top 10. "We've never talked about rank- ings," Kelly said the day after the dis- mantling of the Trojans. "All we've talked about is being aware of the situation. For so many months, there was plenty of negative criticism out there about us and where we were — but you've got to go out and earn the respect. "Now that you've got it, you've got to stay with what has gotten us here. So just being aware of your circumstances is fine. We don't take it much further than that. You can't bury your head from where you are, but it's still about our process and how we go to work and prepare each and every day." Fifth-year senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey doesn't deny looking at big-picture items — but within context. "[Kelly] brings it up, touches on it and makes sure everybody's head is in the right place," McGlinchey said. "That's what a head coach's job is to do with his football team and he's done a really good job of that." This was a squad starving to make amends and is gaining glee from reaping the sacrifices made. "This is not just an accumulation of a few weeks," senior center Sam Mustipher said. "This is January when we stepped foot back on cam- pus and got to work. We knew what was in store for this team, and we definitely worked for this." Talent with genuine hunger and toil can be a lethal combination. "It's been since last year, coming off a bitter year and that bitter taste in our mouth," sophomore drop end Daelin Hayes echoed. "This whole offseason we've really prepared with a chip on our shoulder. "I think it's starting to come to fruition for our team … the fire kept burning during spring ball. We just kept carrying that on." Kelly is hardly a stranger to promi- nence. Along with Ohio State's Ur- ban Meyer, he is one of two coaches in the Football Bowl Subdivision who have steered two different schools to 12-0 regular seasons: 2009 at Cincin- nati and 2012 at Notre Dame. Shortly after the trouncing of the Trojans, the calm message the Irish head coach imparted to his troops was to "act like they've been there before." Many were part of the 10-1 start just two seasons ago, but the current sophomores and freshmen were not. "That doesn't mean that can't be the way you handle yourself on a day-to- day basis," Kelly said. "You go into the end zone and even if it's your first time, you can act the right way. … Be- cause that's the only way we're going to continue to succeed here. "If you get all giddy and you're not emotionally stable to stay consistent, we're not going to be able to get this journey completed the way we want to. That was really the crux of the analogy." Kelly noted that this year 's Irish have younger players than the 2012 unit that was dominated by strong, veteran personalities on defense such as linebacker Manti Te'o, linemen Kapron Lewis-Moore and Louis Nix, and safety Zeke Motta, plus linemen Zack Martin and Chris Watt, tight end Tyler Eifert and running back Theo Riddick, among others, on of- fense. Among the 22 starters on of- fense and defense that season, only four were sophomores or freshmen. "This group has a younger feel to it … but there are some dominant per- sonalities on both [sides of the ball]," Kelly said. "This team, I think, had to UNDER THE DOME BUSINESS AS USUAL Brian Kelly and Notre Dame handle success with same approach Even after the 6-1 start and a top-10 ranking, Kelly said how the Irish finish the season is "still about our process and how we go to work and prepare each and every day." PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA