Channeling his inner Forrest Gump, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the 2019 season will be the proverbial box of chocolates in that he’s not yet certain of what he will get.
It’s not that he doesn’t believe the Fighting Irish can continue excelling as a College Football Playoff-caliber program after producing a 22-4 mark the past two seasons and finishing No. 11 (2017) and No. 5 (2018) in the final Associated Press poll. Those have been the best consecutive campaigns by Notre Dame since 1992-93. More pertinent is how they go about doing it this season.
“Each year you kind of have a gut feeling,” said Kelly during his preview of the Monday night opener at Louisville. “I don't have a gut feeling, per se, as much as I know certain players and how they'll perform.”
Two years ago in the preseason there was a ravenous internal hunger to eliminate the bitter taste of a 4-8 embarrassment from 2016. Last year there was a determination to prove that the success achieved in 2017 can not only be sustained but expanded upon. So in 2019…
“I think what I'm waiting for is what mindset the group brings,” Kelly said. “A few years ago we had a mindset that they really wanted to dominate their opponent. I think the mindset of this group kind of comes together after a first game. I'm not sure what that is right now.
“Are they going to go in and kind of hang in there? Are they going to go in there and exert their will? Do they have to come out and feel it out? That kind of unfolds when the group plays.”
Numerous individuals who have excelled in the past — quarterback Ian Book, drop end Julian Okwara, safety Alohi Gilman, among many others — are expected to continue to prosper.
“Then I think by and large our system, our process will take care of itself,” Kelly said. “But you really don't know about your football team in terms of their mindset until you play the game.”
Among 129 Football Bowl Subdivision teams last year, Louisville finished 127th under former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder (now at Bowling Green) in scoring defense with a 44.1 average — and surrendered 54.8 points per contest during the nine-game losing streak to end the season. The only FBS program to enter 2019 with a longer losing streak is Rutgers with 11.
There is virtually no place to go but up for the Cardinals with new head coach Scott Satterfield, who comes from Appalachian State. However, they will be facing not only a veteran Fighting Irish offense to open a new campaign, but the fact that in the last five years (2014-18) under Kelly that unit has played well in openers while averaging 41.2 points per game.
Granted, two of them were home blowouts of Rice (48-17) in 2014 and Temple (49-16) in 2017, but Notre Dame also operated well on offense against Texas in both 2015 (38-3 win) and 2016 (50-47 double-overtime defeat).
Last year against a Michigan team that was advertised to have one of the most powerful and experienced defenses in the country, Notre Dame’s rebuilding offense saw its first two series result in 75- and 96-yard touchdown drives. A little later in the half another 75-yard march upped the advantage to 21-3.
The Irish went to a more conservative mode in the second half because of their defense playing so well in the eventual 24-17 victory, but once again the offense began the year with plenty of fireworks in the opener.
Starting strong on the road versus a team with a new coaching regime and during a “Black Out” in the stands would be an ideal way to diminish the enthusiasm of the home crowd and demoralize a team that went into a horrid tailspin last season.
It's all part of a mindset Kelly and his staff will be seeking.
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