It’s clear Marcus Freeman’s message about not overlooking Rice is getting through to Notre Dame’s leadership.
The Irish haven’t won a home opener in two seasons and every player is well aware of it.
“It's always important,” Notre Dame left guard Anthonie Knapp stated. “I think every game we play is important. We don't try to make it bigger than it has to be. Every game week, every week, no matter who we're playing, it's our job to come out here and bust our butts and protect that home field.”
Inside the locker room, Knapp doesn’t believe many players are talking about the losses to Marshall or Northern Illinois, but that doesn’t mean they have forgotten the pain of those experiences.
“We don't talk about that much,” said Knapp. “We understand the importance of it and I think the culture now, we can be the best we can be. We can just go out there and try to get better every single day. We're focused on just bettering our best every single day.
“By the time that Saturday comes, we're able to perform and go 100% out there. We're going to approach every practice the same, whether it's the best in the country or whoever it may be. That's what's special about this team, and it’s something we've definitely learned from in the past.”
Knapp has seen what it takes to reach the final game of the season and he believes the Irish are showing signs that they can once again play into January.
“We're competitive,” explained Knapp. “There's a lot of guys who put their ego away and just want to be the best they can be on the field and they're willing to do anything they can to do that.
“That's so important in competition, like the way you go out there, no matter how you're feeling, able to be tough and give people the best you can be and keep trying to battle to be the best you. That's the most important thing.
“I see a lot of that out of this whole team, and it's awesome. It's a good brotherhood. We're in here butting heads, working hard, trying to get better.”
On Sunday, the Georgia native made his long-anticipated debut at left guard, and it went even better than expected.
After starting at left tackle the last two seasons, no one would have batted an eye if Knapp needed some time to find comfort on the inside.
He didn't.
“I felt comfortable,” Knapp said. “I love playing football.”
How could you tell Knapp was comfortable?
He was violent the entire game.
“I'm always pretty competitive,” Knapp explained. “I feel like I've always kind of had that. I also feel like there's just a certain way you play the game. Especially at offensive guard — heck, any position on the offensive line — if you're able to consistently be violent, it feels like it frees a lot of other people up, whether it's our backs or our quarterback.”
Knapp wasn’t just taking care of his man. When he didn’t have a specific assignment, the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder went looking for more work.
“It's a brotherhood,” said Knapp. “You see someone bull rushing your guys and you don't want someone bull rushing your guys. I got no one on me, so I might as well go hit someone and try to hurt him a little bit.
“That's just kind of been the whole mindset behind it. It’s something we're always taught to do. Go help. Go find someone who needs help and just go be physical, be strong and see what you can do.”
And yes, Knapp’s goal is to put someone in the ground. Not only does that help the offense, but it can also send a message to the opponent.
“It gets them thinking,” Knapp stated. “You can either hurt their ego or it affects their technique. They might be thinking a little bit hesitant and that puts us in the best position to take advantage of them. The more you're able to do that, I can go get a good shot on an edge rusher that might slow down the rush for next time it's third down for my tackles, whatever it may be. I try to put us in the best position to score and take advantage of the opponents in front of us.”
As for Freeman’s comparison of Knapp to Joe Alt in the way he attacks practice and games, the junior offensive lineman wasn’t quite ready to put himself in that category.
“I don't know if it's true,” said Knapp. “You hear stories about the guy. He’s a legend around here. He’s probably one of the best to ever do it and it's a great compliment. I really respect that and it's awesome to hear.”
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