Love Pleased To See Irish Overcome Adversity

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his players said all week they weren’t overlooking USC despite the Trojans entering Saturday’s game with a 5-6 record. 

The Irish might not have overlooked USC, but they struggled in the first half of the 24-17 win as they found themselves down 10-0 in the second quarter. 

USC freshman quarterback JT Daniels started hot, and it led to the Trojans moving the ball with ease on the Irish defense. Cornerback Julian Love admitted it was a little frustrating, but the defense stuck to the process. 

“It’s tough because if you look at their games, they have a script for the first couple of series,” stated Love. “They are usually good because they practice them all week, so we had to sustain that for sure. After that, it was all on the fly playcalling, and that’s when we really get into gear.”

Notre Dame defensive coordinator was more than fine with giving up some quick hitters to the outside in hopes of not giving up the deep ball. Mission accomplished as the longest play the Irish gave up was a 35-yard reception to Michael Pittman. 

“We didn’t want to give up any deep balls, and I thought we did a good job of that today,” said Love. “We didn’t give up any explosive touchdowns, which they are accustomed to.” 

The Irish defense also forced two fumbles on the day and recovered both. Love almost came up with a third turnover as he broke on a Daniels pass towards the sideline, but the ball just barely went through his hands and hit the ground. 

“That was amazing,” Love said of the timely turnovers. “It is just relentless effort. Luck favors speed and knowledge. That just shows throughout the game. We could have got a few more. I could have got a pick. We’re happy.” 

Entering the game, Notre Dame had held four opponents under 250 total yards, and while USC finished with 443 yards, Love wasn’t overly discouraged by the effort from the defense.

“It’s just telling ourselves and reassuring ourselves that man-on-man and one-on-one, we were the better team,” Love explained. “We started playing to that tendency and get closer to the receivers. We locked in on the short routes they were trying to get a rhythm on.”

The close game wasn’t predicted by many, but Notre Dame handled adversity as they had in the previous 11 games. 

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Love stated. “It shows nothing will be handed to us. They were struggling this year, but they weren’t going to hand it to us. They had a bowl game on the line. 

“We had to adjust and take it from them. I think the anxiety and angst was there a little bit because they were firing on all cylinders for a bit, but we overcame it.” 

After the game, Notre Dame didn’t celebrate on the field like the 2012 team. The Irish were happy, but players weren’t losing their mind or going over the top with celebrations. 
Love felt the team was extremely pleased with the win but far from satisfied. 

“I think we do it’s amazing that we’re undefeated, but there’s more,” said Love. “There is more to come. Maybe it’s finals kicking in. We know there is a lot of work to be done.”