Notre Dame DL Rylie Mills: 'We're right there. We can do it.'

Notre Dame had Ohio State right where they wanted them entering the final moments of the third quarter on Saturday night. 

The Irish had limited the explosive Buckeye offense, but then Ohio State flexed its muscles as they had two backbreaking drives for touchdowns. 

Ohio State essentially ended the third quarter with a 10-play, 70-yard drive to take a 14-10 lead and then put the game away by going 95 yards in 14 plays. 

Finishing is the message this week and Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills has heard it loud and clear. 

"The first half went pretty well,” said Mills. “At the end of the day, there is only one score and one team can win. The biggest message for all of us is finishing and executing." 

How does Notre Dame work on finishing? It starts on the practice field. 

"In practice, when we get to later periods, are guys getting tired or are guys having the same intensity when we came out,” stated Mills. “For me specifically, I'm watching the moves I was working on Saturday. I have to work my pad level lower. I have to work my moves better." 

Mills was credited with three tackles in the loss and knows the Irish are close to getting over the hump the program has been stuck on over the last few years. 

"It's always frustrating,” Mills said. “It pisses me off. The biggest takeaway is I feel we're right there. If we take care of business and do what we need to do day in and out this season, I have no doubt we'll play that team again." 

The 6-foot-5, 292-pounder wasn’t the only one who felt Notre Dame is close. Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington saw plenty of positives in Columbus and now it falls on him to push his unit to the next level. 

"The biggest positive was for the first half of football, we were stopping them,” explained Mills. “We were dominating the guy in front of us and working hard. We were working moves and getting to the quarterback. We know we can do it.

“That's the biggest message from Coach Wash. We're right there. We can do it. We can be those guys. If we keep preparing and being intense in practice working on finishing - by the end of the season, we'll play those guys again. I know we'll be way more prepared and ready to go." 

Notre Dame will open the home slate on Saturday as Marshall comes to South Bend. It will be a chance to get frustrations of the Ohio State game out and get Marcus Freeman his first win as a head coach. 

"They've got good players and talent,” Mills said of Marshall. “They have good coaches, so you can't come off that game and let the preparation waver off. We have to come out here every day and beat them in practice every day. Shoutout to our scout team for showing up and making us work hard." 

The friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium is also something Mill is looking forward to as there wasn’t a whole lot of love for the Irish last weekend in The Shoe. 

"It's great and I'm super pumped for it,” said Mills. “It's always fun when you're at home and you have the crowd on your side. Last week, they weren't cheering when we were moving down the field. It's nice to have that." 

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