Game Thread | No. 4 Notre Dame at Georgia Tech

No. 4 Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0) at Georgia Tech (2-4 2-3)

Bobby Dodd Stadium | 3:30 p.m. ET | ABC

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Spooky Season

Notre Dame is in Atlanta for Halloween and the Irish will be looking to continue its momentum from last weekend’s 45-3 win over Pitt. Notre Dame has preached dominating its opponent over the last two weeks and Georgia Tech will be the test on Saturday afternoon as No. 1 Clemson heads to South Bend next weekend. 

Brian Kelly took a risk and moved the message from winning is hard to peeking ahead and it was well-received. The Yellow Jackets shouldn’t pose much of a problem for the Irish, but they do have two explosive true freshmen on offense that can make life difficult if Notre Dame is looking ahead. 

This game comes down to Notre Dame stopping running back Jahmyr Gibbs. If the Irish stop him, then Georgia Tech has no shot at outscoring the Irish. Ideally, Notre Dame jumps out to a quick lead and can get its starters out shortly after halftime, but anything can happen on Halloween. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer
He had his breakout game last week and should have some favorable matchups against Georgia Tech's linebackers. Notre Dame needs a go-to receiver in the red zone and Mayer might be exactly that.

Georgia Tech DE Jordan Domineck
He's been one of the best pass rushers in the ACC this season in terms of pressure and he leads their team in Havoc plays.

Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton
The best safety in college football is returning home to Atlanta. Expect him to have a monster performance. 

Georgia Tech RB Jahmyr Gibbs 
An explosive player who is dangerous as a receiver and returner in addition to running the ball. Look for Georgia Tech to isolate him against Notre Dame's linebackers.

Notre Dame OT Robert Hainsey
He had a tough time going against Rashad Weaver last week and the matchups don't get much easier the rest of the way. Notre Dame needs him to have a bounce-back game before Clemson.

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame QB Ian Book on freshmen receivers: 
“I like all three of those guys. They’re young guys that want to learn – that’s what you want to see. Guys that maybe weren’t playing at the beginning of the year, but now it’s next man in mentality, and they have it.”

“For example, today’s practice was one of the best Tuesdays we’ve had, and Jordan Johnson did an incredible job. He took pride in being up there and knowing the plays for this week. He had some unbelievable catches, and that’s what we need to see.”

Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton:
"I think he has confidence in us and gave off the message that we're a good team and trying to win games, but we're trying to win games by a lot. We're trying to dominate other teams, which I think and he thinks and everybody thinks we're capable of doing week in and week out. 

"His message to us kind of put something in our minds saying 12-7 wins over Louisville aren't acceptable. We need to be doing better than that and we are better than that. We showed that last week and hopefully, we continue this week and for the rest of the season." 

Notre Dame LB Bo Bauer:
“Coach Lea has done a great job of stepping back and realizing that he wants us to play with instinct," Bauer explained. "Instead of him always trying to get us into the perfect call every single snap, he wants to get us in a call he knows we can have success in and let us play football. He's really just changed in wanting us to have fun all the time and promoting us to play fast, physical and free. 

"It's a big difference just allowing us to go play instead of having to think about everything all the time. Coach Lea has done a great job of equipping us to do that." 

Notre Dame LB Isaiah Pryor:
“I take it very seriously and I try to do my hardest to make sure I get my job done and make sure everyone is doing what they're supposed to do. And being a leader any way I can, even if it is on special teams.”

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly:
“This is about a standard of play that we didn't think we were matching. If we wanted to be a championship team, we had to elevate with a sense of urgency and we did that last week and we're going to have to do that consistently. That means we're going to have to do that again this week. 

"It's really not about what that looks like from any other perspective other than our own and that is how we play the game.”

For Your Nerves