The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 6-1 and ranked No. 9 in the nation. Despite a loss to Clemson earlier this season, the Irish are still very much alive in the College Football Playoff hunt. Here's what you need to know about Notre Dame heading into Week 9.
Temple Is Next
Temple vs. Notre Dame wasn't supposed to be a marquee matchup, but then Temple started the season 7-0. It should be a great contest and there are several key matchups to watch. As a bonus, College Gameday will be at Temple for the game.
Brian Kelly Takes Unusual Injury Precaution
Notre Dame has been hit hard by injuries, more so than most teams. So it does make sense for Kelly to put running back C.J. Prosise in a non-contact jersey during practice. However, that's not something Kelly usually does, according to Fox Sports.
"We're trying to really do our defense as much justice as possible and helping them in tackling and not being able to tag off situations," Kelly told Fox Sports. "We have to get better at tackling and thudding the back. I didn't want him to get in there and get hurt during practice, so I broke all my rules and I put a red jersey on a back for the first time in 25 years. It's out there."
Bowl Projection
If ESPN is right, the Fighting Irish will be playing in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the season. However, the two experts disagree on the opponent. One has Notre Dame facing Florida and the other picked Iowa. That would mean the Irish just miss out on a CFP berth.
2017 QB Favors Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish are in the lead for 2017 4-star QB Avery Davis, reports 247sports.com. Davis already holds offers from Kansas, Oregon State, Texas Tech and Colorado. More are sure to come for the young QB, but Davis has Notre Dame as his top offer.
"A Notre Dame offer was pretty much a dream," Davis told 247Sports. "To have gotten it is pretty surreal. They are a very prestigious university and have a great football program. I've always liked the Irish."
Davis hasn't committed yet, but it sure sounds like he'll end up in South Bend.
Irish Offer 2017 DE
Notre Dame has extended an offer to one of the top defensive end prospects in the class of 2017. Joshua Kaindoh is rated as the No. 15 overall prospect and the top DE by 247Sports. According to his twitter, Notre Dame offered Kaindoh a few days ago. Kaindoh has his choice of colleges and already holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Florida and Florida State.
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