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Notre Dame Football

Game Thread | No. 4 Notre Dame at Northwestern

November 3, 2018
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No. 4 Notre Dame (8-0) vs. Northwestern (5-3)


Ryan Field |7:15 p.m. ET | ESPN

Game Week Articles | Roster| Depth Chart Schedule | Staff Predictions 


Irish Face Tough Road Test On Saturday Night

Notre Dame enters Saturday's road game at Northwestern in the College Football Playoff but can they stay there? 

The Wildcats have won four in a row but 12 of 13 in the Big Ten, including a 31-17 win over Wisconsin last weekend. 

Notre Dame's secondary will be on high alert as Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson could be forced to air it out as the Wildcats have struggled on the ground this fall. True freshman Isaiah Bowser will get the bulk of the carries, but he's averaging just 3.8 yards per carry this year. 

Northwestern is pesky on defense and it will come down to Notre Dame not turning the ball over to give the Wildcats extra momentum. 


Five Players To Watch

Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson
Coming off a game where he threw three interceptions, Thorson is going up against the best pass rush he's seen since Michigan. He was sacked six times in that game. He's also coming off two consecutive games where his passer rating was below 100.

Northwestern DE Joe Gaziano
A 275-pound run-stuffer that is tough to move at the point of attack, Notre Dame may choose to run away from him as much as possible. He's not someone that they will want to single block with a tight end.

Notre Dame WR Miles Boykin
Boykin is now up to 6 touchdowns on the season, all of those coming in the last four weeks. He and cornerback Montre Hartage (13 passes defensed) should be an intriguing matchup.

Notre Dame LG Aaron Banks
After a strong first start against Navy, Banks will be tested more this week against a good Northwestern front seven. Their linebackers are very aggressive against the run and Banks did a great job of getting to the second level last week.

Notre Dame LB Jordan Genmark Heath
Whether Drue Tranquill is available or not, expect to see Genmark Heath with the volume of plays Northwestern runs each game. He should get plenty of chances to show if he is ready to step up and earn a more significant role going forward.


Quotes of the Week

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly ono health of linebacker Drue Tranquill:
“Drue practiced today (Thursday). We got him in some 7-on-7 and some team stuff. He was moving OK. We will have to see how he feels tomorrow, but he was padded out and got in there.” 

Notre Dame DE Julian Okwara on not knowing the playoffs rankings came out:
“I didn’t even know that. I was watching Spongebob."

Notre Dame captain Sam Mustipher on LB Jordan Genmark Heath:
“He’s perfectly fine banging heads. You can tell when guys don’t want to hit. We went against each other today and yesterday. He’s a competitive guy and likes to get after it. When you have competitive energy behind you, hitting is an afterthought, and it’s more about getting after the guy in front of you, and he does that.” 


Brian Kelly On College GameDay


Countdown to Kickoff

10 - 2018 marks the 10th season that Notre Dame has begun a campaign 8-0 in the last 68 years. Irish teams that opened 8-0 in that span have won three national titles (1966, 1973 and 1988).

9 - Nine different Notre Dame receivers combined to catch a total of 27 passes for 330 yards and two touchdowns in the 44-22 Irish win over Navy last Saturday in San Diego.

8 - Of Te’von Coney’s team-high 14 tackles against the vaunted Navy rushing attack last week, eight of his stops were solo tackles.

7 - Justin Yoon sits just seven field goals shy of breaking the Notre Dame career field goals record held by Kyle Brindza. Yoon has connected on 51 career field goals entering Saturday’s game at Northwestern in Evanston.

6 - Notre Dame, Alabama and Clemson are the only undefeated teams remaining in the FBS that have each recorded at least six wins over teams from Power Five conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12).

5 -  Ian Book completed his first five passes against Navy to run his total passes completed streak to 15 straight dating back to the end of the Pittsburgh game on Oct. 13, the second-longest streak by an Irish quarterback.

4 -  Notre Dame is one of four remaining undefeated teams in the FBS after the first nine weeks of the 2018 season.

3 - Notre Dame is the only team in FBS football with three rushing touchdowns in excess of 90 yards since 2015.

2 - Notre Dame and Alabama are the only remaining undefeated teams that have exclusively played FBS competition through nine weeks of the 2018 season.

1 - Saturday’s game will be the first meeting at Ryan Field between Notre Dame and Northwestern since Sept. 25, 1976, in what was ultimately a 48-0 win for the Irish.


Yoon Watch

Justin Yoon (51) sits just seven career field goals shy of breaking the program record of 57 set by his predecessor Kyle Brindza in 2014. Yoon, who has also connected on 176 of 180 career extra-point attempts, became the first placekicker and just the second player in program history to score more than 300 points in his career.


For Your Nerves 

http://instagr.am/p/Bpp72dxHtNF

Game Thread | No. 4 Notre Dame at Northwestern

153,747 Views | 671 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Rwolf101
ndsean44
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Didn't he start like 6 for 8?

Christ, that's 1 for 6 since then. Bad bad bad.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Big series for the Irish.
NYNDBLUE
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LSU forces Bama to punt on first drive. First time the Tide haven't scored on first drive of game.
irishwake
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Welcome to November.
irishgrad99
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mattfreeman said:

Ian Book: 7-for-14, 107 yards.

People complained out the completion percentage being too high last week and wanted more deep shots. More deep shots tonight.


He's not getting time and the running game is hard to find.
sulli1697
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So, all you Bookies, buckle up! Welcome to being down at halftime. The sour fitzs doing Exactly what they game planned.

Pitiful for all from ND
tayirish14
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Well defense...time to step up and kill momentum
returntoorder
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How bout a screen draw wheel route?
TheIrishLegion
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Notre Dame struggles with tough nosed teams who aren't afraid of them. Not great at dominating against resistance. Tend to fall back into poor execution.

People complained about LSU jumping ND- if they win someone else is probably going jump them too.
tvanp63
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We are getting nothing on first downs and O line is not doing anything. Playing down to the opponent once again!
Frankbuz
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We miss Drue
NYNDBLUE
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Holding on Coney!!!
mike51875
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NW winning the line of scrimmage on both sides. Pathetic.
sulli1697
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Gashing the ND defense on the groind
mattfreeman
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Staff
Northwestern averaging 3.5 yards per rush. Feels like more.
NYNDBLUE
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NYNDBLUE said:

Holding on Coney!!!
Heath not Coney (was held)
irishgrad99
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NYNDBLUE said:

Holding on Coney!!!


They aren't going to call much on NW.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Clark Lea's zone blitz gets shredded for 11 yards on 3rd down.
ndsean44
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irishgrad99 said:

NYNDBLUE said:

Holding on Coney!!!


They aren't going to call anything on NW.
Fixed.
jzappela
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Nobody can play down to their competition like this team. Ohio State comes close...
TornisODaly
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They are pushing ND around. Good times.
sulli1697
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ND sucks, please stop with the Where are we going to be ranked talk, stop it.

Pitiful prepRation Nd effort
ndsean44
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This is a ******* nightmare.

Not quite Miami level, but damn, we should be clowning these dudes.

typical ******* November.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Drue Tranquill sniffs out the screen on 3rd down. Irish force 4th down.
theoriginalndmom
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There's Tranquill
ndsean44
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We haven't made a stop on 3rd or 4th down since the 2nd drive Ridiculous.
andrew32
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How about we try some optimism to turn things around? Just a thought.

Tons of game left.
ndsean44
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On que. Got the stop.
usma95
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I would go for it all day here. Non conference game. Nothing to lose. Everything to gain.
returntoorder
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Are refs big tonight?
TheIrishLegion
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Clemson wins by points and great execution not just optimism.

I'm optimistic that ND wins this game. I'm not optimistic they go undefeated like this.
mike51875
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Sorry, but this is not a playoff team.
mattfreeman
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Staff
Jordan Genmark Heath and Te'von Coney with 6 tackles tonight.
Frankbuz
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ACC on the field Big Ten in the box
irish4life
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andrew32 said:

How about we try some optimism to turn things around? Just a thought.

Tons of game left.
Nah, that's not ND Nation, in particular this board.
 
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