Notre Dame Football: Kelly’s Squad Staying Even Keeled

The Irish are 4-6 with embarrassing losses to Navy, Duke and NC State, it would be so easy for this team to throw in the towel and just go through the motions. To their credit they have not. Even if they aren’t yielding the results they would like, this team is fighting week in and week out.

I’m not too shocked about Bonner, but Love is a different story. Love is only a freshman and in the past two games has played exceptional ball. He has a ton of upside and has already shown a little of what he can do. You’d think Kelly would want to see even more of him against more conventional offenses, but he apparently thinks otherwise.

After being part of the Fulton County Five, Stepherson has rebounded to have one heckuva freshman season. Stepherson has been one of the best freshmen in this year’s class. Through 10 games the Jacksonville native has caught 21 balls for 410 yards and four touchdowns. He’s taken snaps away from CJ Sanders and has solidified himself as one of DeShone Kizer’s top targets. Stepherson, along with Equanimeous St. Brown is going to be a star over the next few seasons.

Other News and Notes

• Kelly noted that Virginia Tech’s defense keeps the pressure on the offense.
• No serious injuries to reports, just some minor bumps and bruises.
• Daniel Cage is still recovering from a concussion. He saw a concussion specialist last week and is now being monitored day-to-day.
• Notre Dame opened up as a one point favorite against Virginia Tech.
• When Notre Dame fired Brian VanGorder the defense was ranked 103rd, since then the Irish defense has climbed all the way up to 39th. Last season with the likes of Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame only finished 45th.