Brian Kelly Stresses The Importance Of Winning Opener vs Clemson: "We’ve Circled The Game"

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"Unfortunately, we have not done well in those openers and haven’t had the outcomes that we wanted," Kelly said. "Clemson will be a great challenge, but I think, more than anything else, we have a football team that can go on the road. You have to have a defense that travels, and we finally have the roster in a position where I believe these are the kind of games that you want to play, and you need to win them."


"I’m not going to make any other statements other than the fact that we need to win the opener, because we're 0-3. Not that this will be a deciding factor in whether we make the playoffs or not; it's a long haul, but we need it. As a program, and for fan support, and for people to rally around this team, which I believe will be an outstanding team."


"We’ve circled the game. I’ve never done that before in openers. You know it’s all over our weight room, it’s all over our workouts. We’re wearing shirts. I mean, we’re doing the Kumbaya of 'we’re playing Clemson,' and we need to beat Clemson. So, is that too much pressure? No, I think we’ve got enough mature veteran guys on this team. We had a clear conversation about why we were doing it, and they’re all in on that."


"Clemson is a Top 5 team, and we have a legitimate roster that has been supported over time in the transfer portal. Like I said, I’ve been in enough of these games... If you’re going on the road, you'd better bring a defense. And I think this is the first year I believe defensively that we have the pieces in place to go into a very difficult place to play and come out victorious."

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