Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly found what he was looking for in a 66-14 demolition of New Mexico on Saturday in South Bend.
“Our team kinda found themselves today,” Kelly said in his postgame press conference after the No. 7-ranked Irish routed the Lobos.
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“We had been looking to go into the second (game) week here and put the pieces together, and I think by and large they started to fall together for us today.”
Notre Dame (2-0) travels to play at Georgia (3-0) in an eagerly anticipated rematch of a 2017 classic won by the Bulldogs, 20-19. ESPN GameDay will be present, along with a national television audience for the 8 p.m. game on CBS.
It’s the first matchup of Top 10 teams between the hedges at Sanford Stadium in almost six years, when a No. 9-ranked Georgia beat a No. 6 LSU 44-41 on Sept. 28, 2013.
Kelly said in the days leading up to the New Mexico game that the No. 7-ranked Irish had the right pieces in place for a national championship run, provided some offensive playmakers could step up.
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That happened Saturday afternoon, his offense rolling for 591 yards with senior quarter Ian Book thrown for 360 yards and 5 TDs on 15-of-24 passing.
Book was also Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 46 yards and a TD on nine carries, while freshman Kyren Williams carried four times for 26 yards. Avery Davis had what Kelly referred to as an “electric” 59-yard touchdown play.
“You saw a number of different players on the offensive side of the ball have significant roles in what we did offensively, and that was kind of what we were expecting to happen today, and it came to fruition,” Kelly said.
“To get this game under our belts going into Georgia was really big for us, and to get Ian into a rhythm really helped today a lot.”
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly
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