Oct. 18--As far as Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly is concerned, DeShone Kizer's confidence compass isn't in need of calibration.
So when the Irish's redshirt freshman quarterback found receiver Will Fuller on the sideline in the fourth quarter -- "I'll meet you in the end zone," Kelly said his quarterback said -- before finding him on the field for a 45-yard gain that set up a field goal, Kelly wasn't surprised.
"That's north of confidence, south of cocky," Kelly said of Kizer after the Irish's 41-31 victory Saturday against USC.
And even with success.
The two had connected on the Irish's first drive, which ended with Fuller in the end zone after a 75-yard scoring pass from Kizer that tied the score at 7. When Kizer approached him, Fuller said, he wasn't surprised by the words.
"He says it a lot," said Fuller, who matched his career high for a single catch on Kizer's longest TD throw. "That just shows how much confidence he has in his receivers."
He's not the only one.
Fuller filled his final stat line with three catches for 131 yards, his fifth such 100-yard showing this season, leaving Kelly puzzled in his quest to think of Fuller's equal on defense.
"In my estimation, there's nobody in the country who can cover him one-on-one," Kelly said.
"I don't know," the usually reserved Fuller said. "I'm not going to think about that."
He paused and cracked a grin.
"I'll say, 'No,'" he continued. "Why not?"
Fuller was playing for the crowd with those words, which he followed with "in all seriousness." Then again, he always plays for the crowd.
While his words are guarded off the field, he's been known to show some emotion on it.
Speaking of words and emotion, cornerback KeiVarae Russell displayed plenty of both after his fourth-quarter interception led to a 32-yard field goal and shut the door on the final score with 5 minutes, 39 seconds left.
"Is he still talking?" linebacker Joe Schmidt asked as he stood his on tip-toes across the room. "He honestly might talk for the next 24 hours."
Which would be well within Notre Dame's 24-hour rule after each game.
"When I saw him go up for the ball I lost my mind," Schmidt continued. "He wants to talk for the next 24 hours, he can."
Russell had struggled, especially in the first half, when the Trojans often targeted him and threw for 310 of their 440 yards. Russell also deflected what turned out to be a Max Redfield interception later in the fourth.
Russell said he had a few words with himself before the final quarter.
" 'Turn it on now, it's the fourth quarter," Russell said he told himself. "I told my team I always make plays against USC."
The Irish won't be making any more plays until Oct. 31 in Philadelphia against Temple. They are off this week and most players will be going home.
And they'll do it with a 6-1 record and the taste of victory fresh in their minds.
Extra points: Offensive lineman Alex Bars left the game in the second quarter with a left foot injury. He returned to the sideline on crutches. Kelly said he didn't know the severity of Bars' injury. Quenton Nelson replaced Bars, who had replaced Nelson (also an ankle injury) the previous two games. ... Former USC player Amir Carlisle scored his first career touchdown as a member of the Irish when he recovered a blocked punt 5 yards from the end zone. ... Kizer punted twice for an average of 40.5 per attempt. ... Torii Hunter Jr. completed the first pass of his career, a 35-yarder to Alize Jones in the fourth quarter.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
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