No. 4 Notre Dame (8-0) vs. Northwestern (5-3)
Ryan Field |7:15 p.m. ET | ESPN
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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
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