One Foot Down Mailbag: Is This Brian Kelly’s Biggest Game at Notre Dame?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish impressed in week one against Temple. Let’s see what questions you have after the convincing victory. Keep the questions coming on Twitter and Facebook!

Since I know this guy is a Michigan fan, I’ll give him a Harbaugh-like answer and say the next game is always the biggest game...

Seriously though, I think there is an argument this is Kelly’s biggest game as head coach at Notre Dame especially after last season. Since the 2012 season, it’s hard to find a marquee victory. Maybe Michigan State in 2013? Perhaps LSU in the 2014 Music City Bowl? There is no clear-cut answer and if there was, they’re few and far between.

But a win over a brand name SEC team like Georgia, which has SEC title aspirations by the way, would be monumental for this Irish program. If the Irish pull off a victory on Saturday, I think it will say a lot about how this season will wind up. It will show they can play with and beat the likes of USC and Stanford. Brian Kelly needs this win, but more importantly the Irish football program needs this win. They’re long overdue.

Good question. I believe it was during Brian Kelly’s opening press conference this fall he joked that he’d like to see all five tight ends on the field at once. It would be interesting to see, but sadly I don’t think we will.

I had to YouTube Supermarket Sweep because it’s been awhile since I saw that show and when I did see that show I had to be like 7-8. In the show, it looks like it was teams of two, so instead of giving you one player I’ll do you one better and give you two.

So for the Irish, I’ll go with Brandon Wimbush because he’s speedy and thinks quick under pressure. I need somebody like that going up and down the aisles looking for each item. For player number two, I’ll take Drue Tranquill. He’s arguably one of the smartest guys on Notre Dame’s team. He’d do well in the questions segment of the show.

I’ll keep it simple for the Dawgs and go with Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. They’re one of the best 1-2 punches in college football this season, so I’m not going to break them up.

Obviously, I’m not going against the Irish combo here. I can’t do that, especially not this week.

We had a similar question last week. It’s fair to stand for the majority of the game, especially if everyone else around you is standing. Now if you’re the only person in your section standing, then it’s definitely foul. That goes the other way as well. If the whole section is standing, don’t be screaming at people to sit down. This is a football game after all. Get up and cheer for your team.

I’ll take the under on that. But that’s not saying Chubb won’t have a good game. He could be under and still go 22 carries for 122 yards.

I’ll give you my explanation why I chose the under. First, Chubb is splitting carries with Sony Michel. Michel could get the hot hand and they roll with him for a while. Secondly, Georgia will be starting true freshman Jake Fromm at quarterback. I’d expect Notre Dame to load the box, and dare Fromm to beat them. Plus, Notre Dame looked really good against the run last Saturday. According to Bryan Driskell of Blue and Gold Illustrated, after Temple ran for 51 yards on their first touchdown drive, the Irish held them to just 18 yards on 15 carries.

Today in his press conference Kelly said Wimbush took some unwarranted hits against Temple. By that I think he wants A) better pass protection and the B) Wimbush avoid the hits himself. He also went on to say he’d like to see Wimbush slide a little more, so there is your answer to that. That’s a lot easier said than done. Some guys are such competitors that they refuse to go down and give up yardage. It’s only been one game with Wimbush, maybe he’s one of those guys. Maybe he’ll wise up and started sliding.

I think he can still be that fresh back, but still play in the first half. Notre Dame has three running backs, there shouldn’t be a worry about guys staying fresh, especially with how much Josh Adams should touch the ball.

Well that's it for this week’s mailbag. Keep them coming. Tweet at me (RENorell_III) or at the OFD account (@OneFootDown). Or you can send them in on our Facebook page! Stay tuned to OFD for all our coverage of this week’s showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs.