Tranquill Keeping The Focus
Notre Dame captain Drue Tranquill has done a lot in his five seasons at Notre Dame, but winning at USC is not one of them to this point.
The senior linebacker is looking to add a victory at The Coliseum on Saturday as No. 3 Notre Dame is looking to complete an undefeated season.
“It’s chippy,” Tranquill said of the rivalry. “Both teams bring it. Guys will be chirping and talking. We’re going to try to keep our talking to a minimum and focus on our business, but there’s a lot of emotions that go into it.
“When you have two programs with a lot of tradition, it intensifies the game a little bit.”
The opportunity to get to 12-0 wasn’t easy as you would expect. Tranquill and the Irish learned from last year and didn’t get caught up in the hype of the playoff talk in early November.
“Whenever you look at something, we like to equate it with climbing Everest,” explained Tranquill. “At Notre Dame, you have to go 12-0 to put yourself in a position to go the playoffs. If you look at it like we have to 12-0, it’s a daunting task. If you look at it like, we have to be 1-0 at the end of every week, and it doesn’t look as daunting.”
The ability to stay on a day-to-day and week-to-week focus has paid off for the Irish, and it has let them put themselves in this position.
“You’re going to hurt yourself in the present moment of whatever you’re doing,” Tranquill stated of looking ahead. “We have to win today and this week.”
The Trojans are clearly in a downward spiral, but it doesn’t change the fact they will put more than enough talent on the field to beat Notre Dame on Saturday night.
“I’m sure they want to play a spoiler, and they want to get some revenge after the game at our house last year,” stated Tranquill. “There’s a lot at stake for them. They are playing for a bowl game, Shillelagh Trophy, bragging rights and spoiling our season.”
As for the defense, Tranquill will look to make sure his guys do their job and not try to do too much on Saturday.
“It’s just guys doing their job,” said Tranquill. “Different defensive schemes and play calls on a week to week basis are going to funnel the football to certain guys. When it’s the guy's turn, he steps up and makes plays. I think it talks about guys stepping in and doing their roles and playing one piece within an 11 piece defense. When do you that, you have a pretty special thing going.”