Notre Dame Players Are Ready For Talented Florida State Team, And The Crowd

Notre Dame is prepared to handle the talent Florida State will put on the field, and also for the crowd noise

It’s officially game week for Notre Dame, as the Irish prepare to kick off the 2021 season this coming Sunday night against Florida State in Tallahassee. With it being the Seminoles first home game since the passing of legendary head coach Bobby Bowden and Doak Campbell Stadium expected to be back at full capacity, the atmosphere will undoubtedly be difficult to describe in words.

As junior linebacker Jack Kiser put it simply, “I don’t know what more you can ask for; Florida State vs Notre Dame on a Sunday night in primetime, it’s going to be huge and everybody is very excited to get there.”

Yet, when asked about Sunday’s inevitably raucous game environment, the Notre Dame players were quick to dismiss any potential cause for concern.

“If you walk by practice we have the (FSU) chant going literally 24/7, so I think when we get down there everybody is going to be ready and that’s not going to be a distraction whatsoever," Kiser explained. "Everybody is going to be focused on the first snap and just getting the game started and I think that’s a testament to Coach [Brian] Kelly, he talked about the Miami game back in 2017, how we were caught off guard by the environment and I don’t think with the upperclassmen we’re going to let that happen this year.”

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All-American safety Kyle Hamilton reiterated Kiser’s confidence and recognition of Kelly's ability to prepare the Irish for this matchup.

“I think it will be a cool environment pre-game, and obviously FSU has a very good fan base and a lot of tradition and a lot of pageantry so it’ll be fun," Hamilton noted. "I honestly don’t think it’ll affect us too much. Coach Kelly has prepared us for it throughout the week so I think we’ll do pretty well.”

Hamilton also noted that he’s often too focused on his assignment and the task at hand to even notice the crowd around him, and All-American running back Kyren Williams would agree.

“Those things that we’re going into the week preaching about is those outside distractions that you can’t let them distract you, you’ve gotta be able to focus on the game and that’s really what I’ve been doing," Williams explained. "I already tuned out the crowd noise, I’m already visualizing that too … I know it’s going to be a really fun environment, a once in a lifetime experience, but I’m excited to just go down there and play ball.”

It’s a big game for both teams, with Florida State looking to start things off on the right foot in head coach Mike Norvell’s second year with the team after three straight losing seasons and Notre Dame trying to keep the momentum of the past four double-digit win seasons going in spite of key personnel losses.

Defensively, Notre Dame is ready for whatever Florida State presents them.

“Florida State is gonna throw the kitchen sink at us," stated Kiser. "They’re going to throw a lot of different looks and just try to catch us off guard and get some cheap points so we just got to be ready, know our rules and execute our fundamental, defensively sound football.

“They’re going to be spreading things out wide trying to get playmakers the ball, they’re going to give us a bunch of different looks that we got to be prepared for and they’re going to try and get the ball into space," continued the Irish linebacker. "We just have to be sound and know our leverages and make certain that we’re tackling because that’s a big thing if you’re not tackling on week one that’s what really can get you in trouble.”

Hamilton is also prepared for tough matchups throughout the night.

“They’re an athletic team, they’re very talented," said the Irish All-American. "I think they’re going to be really good up front this year. They also have a transfer QB, McKenzie Milton, who’s proved himself at UCF prior to going to FSU and the other quarterback, [Jordan] Travis, he’s athletic and he did well against us last year so they compliment each other really well with a plethora of talented and quick receivers so they’re fast on the outside and got big, strong athletic backs so they’re pretty well rounded."

Though Hamilton credited Florida State’s offense, he also exuded confidence in Notre Dame’s defensive abilities, specifically in the safety unit.

“I think Houston [Griffith] can be as good as he wants to be and I feel the same way about everyone else in the room," Hamilton said of his teammates at safety. "I said this awhile back but if DJ [Brown] or KJ [Wallace] or even Justin Walters were to get in there, I would feel just as comfortable with anybody else on the field and I’m sure they would feel the same way if I was off the field and somebody else came on. We have a really good amount of trust in the room and everybody feels confident in each other to go out there and perform."

“I would say defensively just play our game, trust the game plan and execute and I feel like we’ll be perfectly fine if we do that.”

On the offensive side of the ball for the Irish, wide receiver Kevin Austin expressed that same confidence in he and his teammates’ talents.

“They’re going to be competitive," Austin stated. "They’re going to be very talented but we’re going to stick to our traits and our own personal selves and control the game that way."

The Irish will be trying to make it three straight victories over Florida State in the past four seasons, and, as Hamilton put it, Sunday can’t come soon enough.

“I think we’re just excited to see what it looks like against a live opponent because we’ve been going against our offense for so long now, we’re kind of ready play somebody we actually want to tee off on. I think we’re all just so ready to let it loose and show what we got on Sunday.”

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