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Notre Dame is a football team that has gradually improved each week, rebounding from a 24-13 loss on Oct. 2 to Cincinnati. The Fighting Irish hit a new high last Saturday night, shutting out Georgia Tech 55-0 to 10-1 in the 2021 season. The Head Coach Brian kelly noticed the improvement and broke down what happened in Notre Dame’s recent push after the win.
“It’s a team that is improving and continues to do things the right way,†Kelly said via IrishIllustrated. “Offensively, the quarterback is effective and efficient. You saw we’re keeping our shots, we’re in our twenties, high completion percentage pushes the ball up the field. We have one of the best tight ends, if not the best tight end in the country, efficient running play and a defense that hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three games.
“When you’re really looking for teams with that kind of endurance, game control resume – and that’s really what you’re looking for. We control the games. Even at the Virginia game people say the quarterback didn’t play, but if you watch this game we were in control of this game from start to finish. So that’s what I like about this team.
Ahead of the Bearcats’ loss, Notre Dame struggled to eliminate Florida State, Toledo and Purdue for good this season. The offense was ineffective and the quarterback Jack Coan had difficulty establishing any consistency.
In six games since, however, Notre Dame has won five by at least two possessions. Kelly doesn’t think there was a specific moment when her team flipped the switch, although that has to do with a renewed focus on the fundamentals of the game.
“They were really cowardly and wanted – there was a lot of talk about building their own energy this week, playing for the love of the game itself and not carrying too much baggage, either. playoffs or Senior Day. Is that why you play? Kelly said. “One of the stories that was quite interesting is that players always had to back down when they were young, when they were young playing, that they were playing because they liked to play. That’s why they played this game. today. So we kind of used that because the topic this week was that they love to play. They went out there, played fast and free, and it showed.
Notre Dame needs to get past Stanford and watch the conference championships unfold before turning her full attention to the college football playoffs. While the loss to Cincinnati may have hurt the Irish ‘chances, Kelly will always be impressed with the growth of her team, whether or not they make the playoffs.
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“Well, you’re a teacher, you’re an educator,†Kelly said. “You’re always looking to see growth and improvement, but you never really know what that bow looks like. So sometimes it is measured in much smaller increments. It was a bit larger in these increments. So I think we would all like to see the growth. It’s just to the point that it’s a very good football team.
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