Game Thread | Northern Illinois (1-0) at No. 5 Notre Dame (1-0)

Northern Illinois (1-0) at No. 5 Notre Dame (1-0) 

Notre Dame Stadium | 3:30 PM ET | NBC | Line: Notre Dame -28.0 | Total: 44.5

Game Week Articles | Roster | Depth Chart | Schedule | Visit List  

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame WR Kris Mitchell
With Jordan Faison out for at least the next couple of weeks, it's a big opportunity for the FIU transfer to establish himself in the offense. There should be more opportunities to throw the ball down the field and take some shots, which means Mitchell is someone to look out for this week.

NIU RB Antario Brown
Brown is the best running back in the MAC and was dominant against conference competition last season averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He didn't have similar success against the two power conference teams they played, but that's because he didn't have the same kind of holes to run through. He has explosive ability and finished tied for the most runs of 40+ yards last season.

Notre Dame Vyper Jordan Botelho
Coming off his best game in a Notre Dame uniform, Botelho seems poised for a monster season after dropping some weight in the offseason. When NIU is in obvious passing situations, Botelho will be aligned in different spots in Notre Dame's sub-packages.

NIU Edge Roy Williams
With defensive end Rashein Thomas' status uncertain for this game, NIU will need Williams to step up and have a day against Notre Dame's offensive tackles. Williams had a sack in the opening week of the season and had a 23.1% win rate versus true pass sets last fall. He's not in the same league as Texas A&M's edge rushers, but should provide a good test for the offensive line in pass protection.

Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love
Love introduced the nation to the type of back he is against A&M and we should expect him and Jadarian Price to receive plenty of touches against NIU. They have some questions at linebacker and if Notre Dame gets Love matched up against them in space, it should be a big advantage for Notre Dame.

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman:
“We pushed them. We had really good Tuesday and Wednesday practice. Long, physical, tough - I think sometimes getting back here at 4 in the morning, lack of sleep at times can have a trickle effect, but we couldn’t let up. We pushed them hard. I told the coaches we can’t pull off the gas pedal. They probably were wondering if we were going to pull back because we had a big win and they knew right away that we doubled down. It was two really good days of practice, and now we have to fine-tune some things before we get to Saturday.” 

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock:
”I tried to get a feel during fall camp for where we were offensively leadership-wise. And if I felt like there were some alphas in our group that would pull the guys together and kind of have a group chat when necessary — and I felt like we weren't quite there yet, that maybe that was something that was a role that I needed to fill for the time being until we continued to cultivate more and more experience and leadership on the offensive side. 

“Also the youth of our front, the youth of, really, the quarterback — not the youth of the quarterback, but you understand what I mean. I mean the youngness of the system overall. I thought it was going to be easier for me to communicate to everybody immediately on the sideline, maybe, than to be upstairs.” 

Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden:”It means a lot to them. If you’re around those guys, like, Adon Shuler is a football guy. Jaiden Ausberry is a football guy. Kyngstonn’s a football guy. Do you know what I mean by football guy? They’re hanging around, they’re watching film, they’re asking questions during games, they’re pulling up the iPad when they’re in their dorm. That’s who they are. The challenge is different every week so that would be the biggest challenge for those young guys.”

Notre Dame edge Jordan Botelho:
“I feel like everyone works together to play complementary football,” Botelho stated. “If we all just do our jobs, everyone will be successful.” 

For Your Nerves 

Irish Sports Daily

Under Armour White Notre Dame Fighting Irish Infinite Elite Running Shoes