Notre Dame players not taking it easy on Northern Illinois after big win

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- After moving up to #5 in the AP Top 25, the Irish have switched gears to Northern Illinois for their home opener.

The Irish have the season opener under their belt and now they’re focused on the home opener against an opponent that doesn’t have the same national hype as Texas A&M, but when I asked the players how they view this matchup, I could barely get my question out before they answered.

QUESTION: "This home opener against Northern Illinois doesn't have the same..."

"For us it does," Linebacker Jaylen Sneed said quickly.

"It's the same level of importance. It's a great game. We're going to come playing fast and hard," Sneed added.

Jaylen Sneed is one of the five linebackers for Notre Dame that had a huge impact on Saturday’s outcome, finishing with five total tackles and one for loss.

The other position that actually carried a question mark going into College Station was the offensive line but after not allowing any sacks, coaches continue to have the utmost confidence in them & they have it in one another.

"We got from them exactly what we expected to get from them, toughness, you know, a physical attitude about playing the game that a Notre Dame offensive line plays with," Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock said.

"Playing in front of 107,000 people. That's a true freshman. A lot of things are going through your head, but the same time you got a job to do," True Freshman Offensive Lineman Anthonie Knapp said.

"So by after that first play, it's just kind of like, you know, you're there, you get it, you get those whole people cheering, you know, we practice for it. It's just kind of like one play at a time. So, it's just kind of thing, just getting my job done, doing the right thing for the boys next to me," Knapp added.