Sept. 20, 2001
The Irish wrapped up practice Thursday excited about the chance to avenge four straight loses to Michigan State. Even more so, the Irish are excited to return to playing football. Irish coach Bob Davie remarked on the emotions surrounding the game.
“It seems we are starting the season,” Davie said. “It feels like the first game of the year. Certainly I’m never going to forget the Nebraska game. But that seems a long, long time ago. With all that has happened since the Nebraska game, it really feels like we have a fresh start right now. The football team feels that as well. I’m looking forward to this. The kids have worked extremely hard.”
The Irish have not played since September 8th and appear hungry to play more football. Davie does not take his team’s emotions for granted.
“One thing I’ve learned is not to take anything for granted,” Davie said. “But I’d like to take for granted that we are excited to play Michigan State. They will be excited too. They also have not played in two weeks. No question there will be a lot of emotion in the stadium. We’ve talked about sustaining energy. Nebraska came out so fast. We have to make sure we play 60 minutes. If we play 60 minutes and avoid self-afflicted mistakes, we’ll be OK.”
Davie said a few freshmen would see increased playing time on special teams.
“We’ve had some time to look at this. With some young blood, we can upgrade this football team.”
One loss always brings a sense of urgency to Note Dame football. With the possibility of falling to 0-2, Davie was asked if this weekend’s showdown could be labeled a “make or break” game.
“I don’t even want to think about going 0-2,” Davie said. “I’m pretty excited about the chance to win a football game. People in the past have thought our season was over after one or two losses, but we’ve come back and had pretty good years. It’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. With that said, this is a key football game. But I wouldn’t say this is make or break.”
The Irish took two days last week to talk about things besides X’s and O’s. Since Saturday, Davie said the team has re-energized. Davie was asked if the seniors, who have never beaten Michigan State, sparked the re-energized spirit.
“They can speak for themselves,” Davie said. “Michigan State has kicked our butt four years in a row. It’s time for us to jump up and win one.”