Brian Kelly & Notre Dame: ‘Every Game Is A Playoff For Us’
At his weekly Tuesday press conference, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly knew what a major topic would center on with his No. 9-ranked Fighting Irish facing the No. 14-ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack this Saturday.
The Irish are coming off a sensational 49-14 win versus its archrival and then-No. 11 USC. That resounding victory now has the nation abuzz about Notre Dame as a viable, bona fide College Football Playoff team.
How will it now deal with success and not have a letdown?
Without even getting asked the question, Kelly began the conference on that subject voluntarily.
“They know how they got to where they are,” Kelly said of his team. “They certainly want to continue to be in this position. From that perspective, our football team knows what they need to do to continue to be successful.
“Now it’s my job and our staff’s job to continue to see that that preparation and that mindset continue to evolve and develop on a day-to-day basis.”
Only one other time in Notre Dame’s 89-game series with USC has it trounced the Trojans by a greater margin (51-0 by the 1966 national champs). Going from a 45-27 defeat last year to a 49-14 win this season — a 53-point turnaround — is a validation to the players of the toil and sacrifices they’ve made over the past 10 or so months, and this is not the time to smell the roses.
“You have to understand how you’ve prepared so well, you don’t want to change anything,” Kelly said. “That’s how we’ve gone to work, yesterday refocusing our football team.
“We have to refocus quickly because we’re playing a very good football team in North Carolina State.”
Later, Kelly reiterated that complacency is not an issue because, despite last year’s 4-8 finish, the standard at Notre Dame remains unchanged. From the time the team began its offseason workouts last January, the singular on-field goal was to make the College Football Playoff and then finish it with the national title.
Thus, it’s not like suddenly being 6-1 and ranked No. 9 is the destination or creates satisfaction that the objective has been met. There is still much more work ahead, so the preparation cannot falter.
“You guys are just catching up to us,” Kelly said of the media that suddenly is discussing Notre Dame in terms of national title conversation. “Whatever is being said and has been said has been what our mission has been from day one.”
Whereas USC has been eliminated from College Football Playoff discussion by the Irish, it still can win the Pac-12 title and play in the Rose Bowl, which is always a cherished goal there. Conversely, Notre Dame has no league title to play for, so its aspirations must be even loftier.
“We don’t have anything else to play for,” Kelly said of the College Football Playoff picture. “We’ve been in the playoffs since we lost to Georgia. Every game is a playoff for us. Everybody is talking about getting to the playoffs, getting to the playoffs. … Our guys don’t know it any other way.
“We’re an independent football team and our mission is to graduate all of our players and play for a national championship. That’s all we have. It’s not really any different than it was yesterday or the day before or last week.”
But it sure is a lot different from a year ago.
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