Week 10 Preview
Welcome to Week 10 in College Football. It is also week two of travel for the Fighting Irish. After last Saturday’s win in San Diego, The Irish take a short road trip to the Northwestern Wildcats. At least it will only be a one hour difference in the time zone versus the three-hour time difference in San Diego. The obstacle still in front of the Irish is the road. After FSU next weekend, the Irish will not play at Notre Dame Stadium the rest of the season. The road must become a home for these road warriors.
The pressure will be turned up this weekend on the Fighting Irish as Northwestern has garnered two signatures to date this season. They beat Michigan State 29-19 in East Lansing, and they beat Wisconsin 31-17 last Saturday at home. The media has been pumping up Northwestern all week, this will give them increased confidence when they take on Notre Dame on Saturday night. One of the big questions for the Irish will be the availability of Drue Tranquill. Drue endured a sprained ankle injury versus Navy. Per Coach Kelly “It’s a day-to-day situation.”
The team must execute in all three phases of the game. The team just needs to take this road game and treat it as a home game. The cold in the Chicago area is the same type of cold back on campus. The ability to stay focused and play very disciplined football will go a long way for the Fighting Irish.
College Football Playoff Committee Results
Pressure has also been added to the Irish via the release of the College Football Playoff rankings. Many fans were surprised when the Fighting Irish were ranked at number four behind LSU who is 7-1. Alabama and LSU play each other this weekend as well. The important thing is that the Fighting Irish can only manage what they control. The Irish control their on fate over the next five weeks. It doesn’t make a difference where they debuted in the week one poll.
The only thing the Irish can control is their destiny. Keep winning and they will be right there in the discussion. Forget about November jinxes, the Irish just need to continue working hard, playing for each other, and playing as they cannot be stopped. They must let their play speak for itself. The rest will be in the decision-making process of the College Football Playoff committee. The road must become their home.
ND at Northwestern 11/3/18
Jimmy-“The game at Lion”s Field is no tremendous home field advantage. I love Pat Fitzgerald. The Wildcats have had two consecutive 10 win seasons. Location of this game is key for Notre Dame. It’s a three game gauntlet for Northwestern. Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Iowa. That’s lot of pressure for the Wildcats.” ND wins 31-24.
George-“This can be a cold game after being on the West Coast in SD. November matters to this program. The Irish need to start November off on the right foot. November sets up for the playoffs and every game needs to be played with a playoff mindset from this point forward.” ND wins 31-13
The game will be televised on ESPN at 7:15 PM EST