Heading into game against Duke, Notre Dame’s goal is to win the ACC football championship
In the long history of Notre Dame football there has never been a season like 2020, and not just because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Irish is looking to win an ACC championship.
“Well, it’s never been a goal, so it’s an established goal now to win a championship and an ACC championship,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said this week.
Never been a goal.
Talk about causing some eye-rolling. The Irish have won ACC championships in men’s basketball and women’s hoops and compete in other conference sports as an ACC member. But Notre Dame football has been an entity unto itself, as has the school’s mega-buck NBC contract.
But with the coronavirus, what’s up is now down and everything has changed. Notre Dame needs ACC football and will have it in full this season, competing for the conference title for the first time — shake down the thunder — while sharing its NBC money.
When the Irish hosts Duke on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium, more football history will be made. Notre Dame will face 10 ACC opponents including Clemson, the preseason No. 1 pick nationally and in the league.
“Our mission is to win a national championship and graduate all of our players,” Kelly said. “We’re able to talk in terms of our mission being to win a championship and an ACC championship. And if you win that, you keep your mission alive for a national championship. So you’ve got both of them now in your eyes and in your vision.”
The book on Book
Irish quarterback Ian Book had four passing touchdowns last season in Notre Dame’s 38-7 win over Duke in Durham, but hurt the Blue Devils as much with his legs than his arm.
Book rushed 12 times for 139 yards, the most for a Notre Dame QB since 1996. By year’s end, he was the first Irish quarterback to pass for 2,500 yards, rush for 500 and have 30 TD passes in a season.
Book is back. A graduate student, he will be in his third year as the starter.
“He’s very good at keeping plays alive,” Duke safety Michael Carter II said Tuesday. “He’s difficult to tackle but we’ve got to put the pressure on him and be aggressive.”
Nick McCloud: A familiar name now at Notre Dame
Notre Dame will have a new face at cornerback, Nick McCloud, a name that’s familiar to N.C. State fans.
McCloud was a graduate transfer to Notre Dame in May, having played only two games for the Wolfpack last season because of an injured knee. McCloud, one of the Pack’s team captains in 2019, was hurt in the season opener against East Carolina, later returned to play in November against Clemson and then was held out the rest of the season.
With changes made in the N.C. State defensive staff after the season, McCloud decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal. He landed with the Irish, is listed as a starter at corner and will face Duke for the first time in college.
Duke football team testing for the coronavirus
Cutcliffe has said the Blue Devils plan to test for the virus daily this week leading up to the opener.
“We’ve stayed as healthy we could,” Cutcliffe said Monday. “Our guys have done a great job with that without necessarily being in a bubble. But hygiene, masking, distancing all of that has played a role in it. Testing has played a role.”
Kelly said Notre Dame has no players in quarantine or isolation and had 215 coronavirus tests Monday without any positive results. He said there would be more testing Wednesday and Friday.
“We have a full roster,” he said. “I feel really good about the discipline of our football team.”
Notre Dame ‘outstanding,’ David Cutcliffe says
Duke’s matchup against Notre Dame last season at Wallace Wade Stadium was a marquee game on the Blue Devils’ schedule when it was announced by the league.
And the game? Not so much. Duke was beaten soundly but more troubling than the score for Cutcliffe was his team’s response during the game — something he said that must change Saturday.
“I think we’ve got to be aggressive on both sides of the ball,” Cutcliffe said. “We can’t be afraid. We can’t play on our heels. I thought we got on our heels a little bit on both sides of the ball a year ago.
“They’re talented. They are outstanding. And as I said, well-coached. So, I think you have to match that with an aggressive nature to compete at the highest level.”
Duke played at that level against the Irish in 2016, rallying to win 38-35 at Notre Dame Stadium on AJ Reed’s late field goal.
Notre Dame’s list of ‘traditions’
Notre Dame has put together a football list it calls “The Tradition.” Heisman Trophy winners, national championship winners, College Football Hall of Famers ... the Irish have had their share and like to share that fact.
One caveat: in some of the categories it has been a while since there has been an addition. The last Heisman winner was Tim Brown in 1987, the last championship team in 1988 and the last college hall of fame inductee was Raghib “Rocket” Ismail, whose last season at Notre Dame was 1990.
The Irish have had 22 undefeated regular seasons and 102 consensus All-Americans. That’s impressive. Also impressive: Notre Dame has won 10, 12 and 11 games the past three seasons, going 11-2 in 2019.
Kelly’s overall record at Notre Dame: 92-37.
Duke at Notre Dame
When: 2:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, Indiana
Watch: NBC
