In Toughest Test of Season, Notre Dame Can Pave Path Toward Playoff
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Three hundred and forty-eight days ago, true freshman third-string quarterback DeShone Kizer stood on the sideline in Tallahassee, Florida, as Notre Dame Fighting Irish football nearly toppled the then-No. 2 Florida State Seminoles inside a Doak Campbell Stadium crammed with more than 82,000 rabid fans.
A season later, Kizer is reflecting on that experience as he prepares to lead No. 6 Notre Dame into Memorial Stadium on Saturday night for a clash with the No. 12 Clemson Tigers.
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“I’ve never heard anything so loud in my life,” Kizer said of the environment at the Florida State game. “It feels like your insides are shaking on third down.”
The decibel levels will likely be similar, if not higher, Saturday, and the stakes have the chance to provide a similarly robust reverberation for Notre Dame.
So far, Notre Dame has sidestepped the seemingly unending nightmare of season-ending injuries to start 4-0 and climb to No. 6 in the country.
“There were some tears shed because of it,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said of the six significant injuries. “They want to accomplish the mission. That has been a focus of the group was that they really want this mission to be accomplished.”
The Irish overcame defensive ineptitude and quarterback Malik Zaire’s fractured ankle to best the Virginia Cavaliers in the waning moments on the road in Charlottesville. A week later, they swarmed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and slowed their prolific offense.
Now, a prime-time matchup with Clemson looms. The Tigers present Notre Dame’s toughest test of the season, certainly thus far and quite possibly within the entire scope of the regular season. Couple Clemson’s talented roster with the environment in Death Valley, and Notre Dame faces an assuredly difficult challenge.
This game and its buildup feel familiar. It was around this time last October when the Irish, ranked fifth at the time, were heading south to battle the Seminoles, the No. 2 team in the nation. Kelly said Tuesday that his team was well prepared for the environment in Tallahassee last season. The Irish were.
“Just didn’t make a play or two maybe at the end that we needed to,” Kelly said, of course stirring up furor around Notre Dame nation at the thought of offensive pass interference.
But even a swallowed whistle and a win against Florida State might not have drastically changed the outlook of Notre Dame’s season. Injuries ravaged the defense, which, in turn, helped allow Navy, Arizona State, Northwestern and USC shred the unit.
This year, a win against Clemson could pave Notre Dame’s path toward the playoffs. A home game against the USC Trojans in two weeks still awaits, and the Irish conclude the regular season at the Stanford Cardinal.
But first, the Irish must solve Clemson and provide answers to the questions about this year’s group. Can they?
After all, Kizer is making his first road start. Notre Dame is still searching for defensive consistency. Kelly is still learning about his team in some areas.
“I know this. It’s a close team,” Kelly said. “They’ll play hard for each other. There’s no quit in them. They’ll overcome adversity. I think they’ll go on the road, and they’ll battle for four quarters.”
Will that be enough?
Kizer, though he felt the tremors in Tallahassee last season, was far from the field.
“He knows it’s going to be loud, and the environment is going to be electric,” Kelly said. “But he can settle that environment down by playing really well.”
As small as his sample size is, Kizer has been tested. He found Will Fuller with 12 seconds remaining to beat Virginia on the road. He helped down Georgia Tech.
“There’s always some sort of a hype. We’re Notre Dame,” Kizer pointed out this week.
True, but the bulk of the 80,000-plus fans will be wearing orange, not blue, green and gold. Notre Dame has pumped in noise and practiced its nonverbal cadence throughout the week as if Memorial Stadium will be “the loudest environment that we’ve ever played in,” Kelly said, with little to no hyperbole.
“The best way of quieting a crowd down is making big plays,” Kizer said.
If the Irish make enough, they overcome arguably their biggest hurdle and move to 5-0 for just the sixth time since 1988.
“Everybody wants to get that opportunity to compete at the highest level,” Kelly said, “and this will be one of those opportunities.”
All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Mike Monaco is the lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.
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