Dino Babers Notebook | 11.12
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers kicked off Notre Dame week on Monday afternoon as he previewed Saturday’s game against the No. 3 Irish.
On Notre Dame:
“They’re solid. We’ve been looking for holes and weaknesses. They’re good with whichever quarterback plays. The defense is doing really well. The new coordinator Clark Lea used to work here. I knew him when he was at UCLA when he was one of our grad assistants. He’s doing a fabulous job with the defense (Mike) Elko handed down to him.
“I have some knowledge of it, but the players they are playing with on defense are really, really good. They are really long, and they have a really good scheme. I’m sure a lot of teams had a lot of difficulties scoring on them. The offense is so good. You ’re trying to match suit with them, and then you’re behind and the floodgates open and the game is over.
“You have to find a way to get it into the second half and make it a tight game. They’ve been playing really loose, and they’ve had comfortable leads, so their players could play loose.”
On playing at Yankee Stadium:
“I’ve done it one time. I can’t tell you it’s going to be exactly the same. I had a situation at UCLA where we played Florida State when Bobby Bowden was there, and we played a bowl game at Giants Stadium in San Francisco.
“It was a little unique because both teams were on the same side. There were special allotments for change and stuff. When the ball was right on the 50, you could actually hear us calling plays and them calling plays. It was really weird.
“I’m not quite sure how they are going to do it, but it will be fair, and both teams will play.”
Thoughts on playing in a baseball stadium:
“When I grew up, we played in the front lawns of junior high schools, parks and in the street with cars parked there. If you get two really good teams who are motivated, they can play anywhere. As long as it’s not concrete and it’s grass, I’m OK. I think the team will be alright.”
On preparing the team for Yankee Stadium:
“We’re going to act like good Marines. We’ll adjust and improvise.”
On Saturday being the biggest game for Syracuse since 2001:
“I don’t see this as one of the biggest games since 2001. I think about Virginia Tech being a conference game two years ago. Clemson being a conference game one year ago. Clemson game being a conference game this year. How valuable was the Pitt game?
“To me, this is like a freebie. We’re 4-0 the second part of our season. We have a non-conference opponent, and we’re playing them. It doesn’t affect our conference standings, but it does impact our overall record, so I look at it a little different than a conference game.”