Braden Lenzy had no idea.
Moments after the Notre Dame senior wide receiver finished Tuesday’s practice, he was asked a multitude of questions by the media. His involvement in the Irish’s passing attack, how the team can run the ball a bit better and so on. He had an answer for everything.
But he seemed a bit puzzled by the final question that came his way.
Hows does Notre Dame feel about being a home underdog to a Group of 5 opponent?
“I didn’t know we were an underdog,” Lenzy said.
He added, “We just focus on ourselves. We’re aware Cincinnati is very good team. There is a reason they’re ranked high. But at this point we’re just focused on ourselves. We know that it’s going to be a tough game, but we want to control what we can control and keep our heads looking forward.”
No. 9 Notre Dame (4-0) has not lost a home game in 26 tries. And yet, No. 7 Cincinnati (3-0) is favored to beat the Irish by two points (OddsShark) at Notre Dame Stadium. The Bearcats have not beaten a ranked Power 5 opponent since 2009 — which was current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly’s final season with the Bearcats.
Kelly and his players still aren’t taking this version of the Bearcats lightly, though. Do they feel they should be favored given their unblemished record and longstanding history of success at home? Probably. But do they know Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell has his program as formidable as it’s been since Kelly left over a decade ago? Probably.
Kelly definitely does.
He said Monday that Cincinnati is clearly the best team Notre Dame will have faced to this point in the season. That memo has made its way down to the Irish players.
“When you break them down on film, there’s not one guy you’re like, ‘Eh, he’s not that good.’ They’re all really good players,” graduate senior offensive lineman Cain Madden said. “We’ll all have to be on top of our stuff and our assignments to block these dudes.”
This will be the eighth time Notre Dame has been a home underdog during Kelly’s 12-year tenure, according to OddsShark.com. The Irish have a 5-2 record in such situations. Here’s a look at how they’ve fared.