By Staff
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The college football season officially got under way at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday with the annual Media Day.
The Fighting Irish, ranked No. 3 in the USA Today/Coaches' poll, began fall practice today.
Notre Dame, which shares that No. 3 ranking with arch rival USC, will open its season Sept. 2 in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.
The Fighting Irish open the home portion of their season against long-time rival Penn State on Sept. 9. It will be the first time in 14 years that the Irish and Nittany Lions have squared off on the gridiron.
Big things are expected out of the Fighting Irish in 2006. Notre Dame finished 9-3 last season under first-year coach Charlie Weis. Weis and the Irish are hoping to build on that record behind the leadership of Heisman Trophy candidate Brady Quinn.
Quinn, who holds numerous Notre Dame passing records, returns for his final season at the helm of the Fighting Irish offense.
Quinn told the media on Sunday that he is ready to face the pressures of the coming season.
"I guess the best way to answer that is, just because I have a good group of people around me, my family, my friends, who have always kind of stayed grounded through everything," Quinn answered when asked how he was going to handle the hype. "I think coach Weis more than anyone else is the best at doing that. He never seems to let down on some of his little comments and he has a quick wit about things whether things are going good or bad for us. He seems to have a pretty good hold on keeping the whole team grounded, not just myself."
Weis said that the Irish will use their first 11 fall practices to play its offense against its defense. There will be no game plan put into place. The coaches will use this time to evaluate everyone on the team.
The second phase of the fall practice will be used to begin working on schemes that will be used during the season.
Finally, the Irish will begin working on preparation for its season opener against Georgia Tech.
Among the other highlights on the Notre Dame schedule this season will be the Sept. 16 game against Michigan, the Sept. 30 contest against Purdue and the Nov. 21 game against UCLA.
Notre Dame and Georgia Tech will be telecast on ABC beginning at 8 p.m.