Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/90407
GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH Spaziani was on the hot seat prior to the season, and the program might be demoralized after a 1-6 start, most no- tably a 34-31 setback to then winless Army, which piled up 516 yards rush- ing versus the Eagles. Wake Forest consistently maxi- mizes its potential under head coach Jim Grobe, but the Demon Deacons and Navy, a 50-10 loser to the Irish in the opener, were deemed possibly the two least threatening opponents on the 2012 slate. Through seven games, Wake Forest ranked 94th or lower na- tionally in the four major offensive cat- egories. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has taken much pride in preparing his teams for the closing stretch in Novem- ber and using it as a gauge of how the staff's message has resonated with the players the previous months. Two years ago under Kelly, the Irish limped into November with a 4-5 re- cord — but responded with their best football of the season, defeating No. 15 Utah (28-3), grounding Army's triple- option attack (27-3) and ending USC's eight-game winning streak against them with a 20-16 conquest in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Last year, Notre Dame again won three games in November before fall- ing to a top-five Stanford team, 28-14, on Thanksgiving weekend. Regardless of the result against Okla- Redshirt junior safety Jason Hendricks registered team highs in tackles (48) and interceptions (four) during the Panthers' 3-4 start. PHOTO COURTESY OF PITT ATHLETICS homa last week, this November pres- ents an opportunity for Notre Dame to hone itself overall against three pro- grams that provided much resistance last year before falling. In 2011, the Irish had to battle to the end before prevailing against Pitt (15-12), Boston College (16-14) and Wake Forest (24- 17). Taking the offense and special teams to a higher platform, while advanc- ing the development and growth on defense, will be vital components at Notre Dame this month while enhanc- ing its Bowl Championship Series