Kelly On USC
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly does not try to downplay the significance of playing USC: ``We see it as our rival. Obviously, a lot of teams see us as their rival. This for us is our rivalry game.''
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Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly does not try to downplay the significance of playing USC: ``We see it as our rival. Obviously, a lot of teams see us as their rival. This for us is our rivalry game.''
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"This for one us is our rivalry game."
Huh? What does that "quote" mean? Can't Wolf proof-read his posts? Unbelievable.
Quite frankly, this is a rivalry game for both schools. ND has opened as an 8 1/2 point favorite, which probably is the result of SC being pretty inconsistent this season.
Still, I think it could be a helluva game with it going down to the wire.
LJ, you, again, are right on.
It is a proven fact Wolf cannot proof-read.
It's a big game. ND is bringing in a lot of recruits for this one. Often, teams will bring in recruits with to a big game with the idea that they can give the kids a feel for what it will be like playing for them. However, it can backfire if the other team wins. So, there's more on the line than just winning the game.
I think any recruit that shows up for an ND game will look at the game's result as one indication of what awaits him at the school. If USC blows away ND, I think a recruit might have second thoughts about signing up with ND. If ND wins big, it might gain some points with the recruit. If it's close, it's pretty much a wash, no matter who wins.
What people sometimes forget is that it's not only the game that the recruit is looking at. Half the decision comes down to the campus atmosphere as well. ND has one of the best looking campuses in the country, especially in the fall. The home crowd is a lot friendlier and classier than you see in a lot of stadiums, and there is just something about ND on a football Saturday that impresses recruits.
I remember Manti Te'o making his official visit when ND played Syracuse a couple of years back. Syracuse, possibly the worst team on ND's schedule, behind a so-so quarterback beat ND on a cold wet November day in South Bend. It was a humiliating loss for the Irish. Manti even left the stadium at halftime to watch the rest of the game from the athletic facility. A few thousand miles from home, in cold miserable weather, a Mormon watching a Catholic school lose to a crap opponent, all while Weis' coaching career was in jeopardy. And yet, come signing day, he picks ND. It's more than just the game that gets recruits. Manti's a prime example of that.