There will be no secrets between Notre Dame and Michigan Saturday night. Entering the fourth matchup between these two coaching staffs, even a game featuring three new coordinators won’t likely bring any true surprises.
“I think we all know the kind of game that we’re going to play here with this opponent,” Kelly said on Tuesday. “Each team knows each other very well.”
So while Pat Fitzgerald takes the Cal bloggers and beat writers to task for not divulging the Bears’ secret plans for a second quarterback, the formula seems quite obvious for both teams.
For the Irish, it means finding a solution to quarterback Devin Gardner and his tight end turned wide receiver Devin Funchess, who connected for three touchdowns last week.
“We’re playing an offense with Gardner and Funchess, a 1‑2 combination that is very dynamic,” Kelly said. “Funchess being on the perimeter is the a matchup problem, and he will be a matchup problem for everybody he plays this year. We will have to find ways obviously to slow him down, and he’s going to be difficult, and Gardner has played great against us. “
Calling Gardner’s play in 2013 great might be an understatement, especially after the Michigan quarterback almost single-handedly dismantled the Irish defense, throwing for four touchdowns while leading the Wolverines in rushing in their 41-30 win.
With Brian VanGorder presenting a much different scheme than Bob Diaco, Kelly talked briefly about the need to slow down Gardner. A week after scheming to keep Rice quarterback Driphus Jackson in the pocket to lessen his threat running the football, VanGorder will need to dial something up tactically different than the Irish’s game plan in 2013, as Kelly acknowledged the multiple ways that the senior quarterback can hurt Notre Dame.
“I would think we would have a little bit more and a variety of schemes for Gardner because he can hurt you obviously running the football and throwing the football,” Kelly said. “We’re going to have to have a comprehensive plan for him.”
Whether that comprehensive plan includes players like KeiVarae Russell and Ishaq Williams still remains to be seen. Kelly had no update on the five suspended players on Tuesday morning, with the status quo still all we’re told.
That means the Irish are not only practicing without the five suspended players, but also meeting without them, a decision that could change depending on the timetable for any discipline according to Kelly. But mental reps this week -- especially with VanGorder likely heavily scheming to take advantage of a susceptible offensive line -- are at a premium, and if Russell or Williams is expected to play this weekend, understanding their responsibilities will be key.
So will shoring up any other communication issues. While the game Notre Dame played last week was remarkably clean for an opener, a few communication breakdowns in the secondary turned into big plays for Rice, with the Irish head coach tabbing poor communication for three explosive plays.
The remedy for that has been sought not just on the practice field, but in the meeting rooms as well.
“We have to be more demonstrative and take more control back there,” Kelly said. “We aren’t standing back there like we are during practice, and I think Coach VanGorder, if you were here at our meetings yesterday, made it clear during the meetings how he wants those guys to communicate.
“I was in the quarterback meeting room and I could hear our safeties communicating very well during film study.”
The storylines are plentiful this week, but Kelly did his best to make sure he wasn’t one of them, begging out of a question that asked if there was any upside that comes with the Michigan series ending.
With a huge weekend on tap both on the field and off the field in recruiting, perhaps the only thing controversial Kelly did was select his plaid sport coat, the spoils of victory from a summer golf tournament among old coaching friends.