Irish American head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Brian Kelly has told the press that he isn’t worried about the Indiana University’s squad despite the fact that they seemed labored in their 31-24 win against Purdue this weekend.
Speaking on a phone press conference Kelly said, “If you look at [Saturday’s game], like I said, the pieces are starting to come together.”
He continued, “We’re still evolving. It takes time. Even if you’ve got guys that are veterans, we have some key positions that have some new players in it. They’re coming together. ... Again, we’re playing great competition. We’re getting tested. We’re making progress. I like to make progress through winning.”
The Fighting Irish are 2-1 after the win against the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette.
However, defense has struggled. Three games into this season and the Irish are giving up 23.5 points per game. That is close to double the average of 12.8. They are also surrendering 411 yards of offense a game.
Kelly believes some of the cause behind this is that the team is still looking for its identity.
He said, “We’re still finding out who’s the middle linebacker, who’s playing safety, who’s playing wide receiver.
“I mean, there’s a number of positions that we’re still trying to find ourselves at.”
He asserted, “When you’re playing tough competition, you’re being tested mentally and physically for four quarters, you’re definitely learning more about their personnel.
“They’re being challenged. I think you get a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses...Again, you know, going into now the fourth game, you know where you need to improve, the areas you need to continue to work on.”
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