Game Thread | South Florida at No. 7 Notre Dame

South Florida (1-0) at No. 7 Notre Dame (1-0)

Notre Dame Stadium |2:30 p.m. ET | USA Network 

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Bully Ball

Notre Dame started ugly last week against Duke, but the Irish finished extremely strong over the last three quarters in the 27-13 win. It’s not a shock Brian Kelly wants his team to start fast this week, so we’ll see if they do, but it might not matter.

South Florida was picked to finish last in the AAC and Notre Dame holds huge advantages at every position. We do expect both programs to be missing some starters on Saturday, but that’s an advantage Notre Dame could thrive in as depth isn’t an issue for the Fighting Irish. 

If all goes as planned, Notre Dame should be able to get a look at some of its young talent for more than a few drives. That means all eyes could be on Jordan Johnson, Xavier Watts, Jordan Botelho, Clarence Lewis and more. However, Notre Dame thought they would do that in 2018 against Ball State and got all they wanted that day from the Cardinals. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame WR Braden Lenzy
Lenzy missed week one with a hamstring injury and his speed was greatly missed. Notre Dame had only one explosive passing play against Duke and it was to running back Kyren Williams.

USF LB Antonio Grier
A downhill player who is fast and physical. USF's Mike linebacker could start for a lot of Power 5 programs.

Notre Dame S DJ Brown
With Kyle Hamilton's status uncertain, Brown will be thrust into the spotlight with more playing time. He's been a playmaker in practices and we'll see if that carries over to Saturdays now that he'll be on the field more often.

USF RB Johnny Ford
He has the speed to break one. A jitterbug player in the open field. It only takes a small crease for him to make an impact.

Notre Dame DE Isaiah Foskey
After showing dominant traits in only 14 snaps against Duke, he may have earned more chances to wreak havoc against USF. He hit the quarterback three times last week.

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame WR Joe Wilkins Jr.:
“It’s humbling, it’s hard. But my life has been hard. My whole life has been hard. It’s nothing new to me. I’m used to being the underdog. I’m used to having to grind through it. I’m used to having to work twice as hard just to get the same thing as the next man. No problems.”

Notre Dame DE Isaiah Foskey:
"I'm going straight for the ball. If I get this sack, I get the sack, but I am trying to go for the ball and get a turnover and get us off the field."

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly:
"You're going to see that as our base and then work off of that from week to week. It's not just exclusively one scheme. It's that coupled with some pin and pull, misdirection and some counter. I don't know that's much different from any offensive structure that you'll see throughout NFL and college football." 

USF offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.:
"A lot of special memories up in South Bend. The Notre Dame community is an amazing place. Lots of great moments growing up there. The first couple of years, having some awesome memories going to big bowl games and Brady Quinn being a Heisman finalist. Definitely, some special and fond memories. I've seen some tough times towards the end, but overall, I have a lot of love for South Bend and a lot of love for Notre Dame. It'll be really cool to go back home."

For Your Nerves