Game Thread | Florida State at No. 5 Notre Dame

Florida State (1-2) at No. 5 Notre Dame (2-0)

Notre Dame Stadium |7:30 p.m. ET | NBC

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Football is Back

Notre Dame will return to the field after two weekends at home following an outbreak of COVID-19 within the program. It’s uncharted water for Brian Kelly, who has been cautious all week, as he’s never experienced a two-week layoff in the middle of the year in 30 years of coaching. 

Starting fast has been an emphasis and the Fighting Irish would be best served if they can get off to a quick start, but be prepared for the first quarter to be sloppy. Notre Dame should be fine long-term on Saturday night as the roster is littered with veterans, but it might take a second for them to get back into game speed after not seeing it for essentially three weeks. 

The good news for Notre Dame is they aren’t facing Clemson, but one of the worst teams in the ACC. 21 points might be lofty to cover after the layoff, but if Notre Dame does cover, it likely won’t shock anyone. Expect sloppy, but expect a comfortable victory. 

Five Players To Watch

Notre Dame receiver Kevin Austin Jr.
The obvious choice for several reasons. Notre Dame fans want to see him get the ball even if he is on a pitch count. He might only receive a few targets. Expect him to at least show flashes of what he'll be doing the rest of the season.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis
Florida State's new quarterback is a dual-threat who helped ignite their running game last week and was surprisingly accurate down the field. He'll need to complete some of those against Notre Dame to keep this a tight game.

Notre Dame defensive tackles Jayson Ademilola and Howard Cross
Eyes will be on Ademilola and Cross as they get more opportunities to play with Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa out of the lineup. Both players have shown disruptive potential.

Florida State cornerback Asante Samuel Jr.
The best player on Florida State's defense. He's a playmaker and already has three interceptions on the season. It will be interesting to see how much Notre Dame throws the ball in his direction or if they choose to target other defensive backs.

Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton
He's played just over a half of football so far, but his presence was felt in that short amount of time. The defense can't go Voltron mode without a healthy Hamilton. 

Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame WR Braden Lenzy:
"I'm not really concerned about numbers. We're 2-0. That sounds like a real good number to me. We have people coming back. This little break has gotten everyone healthy.”

Notre Dame WR Javon McKinley:
“If you can block on the field, they'll look at you and give you a shot. I think over the years building that mindset as being a good blocker will get you chances to get the ball thrown to you.”

Notre Dame LB Drew White
"Our linebacker room is stacked. We have the most depth I've ever seen while being here. I don't think any other school in the country has as much depth at the linebacker position as we do here.”

Notre Dame K Jon Doerer:
”Most likely I’ll be coming back next year.”

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly on WR Kevin Austin Jr.:
"He's going to play and he's had a good week. No setbacks and he can certainly help us. We want to be careful. He's only going to be about 11 weeks post, so not that we're putting him in a vulnerable position, but he hasn't played full-speed football in a long, long time."

For Your Nerves