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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 95 f WINdianapolis T wo years removed from a BCS national c h a m p i o n s h i p game appearance and last sea- son's nine-victory campaign, Notre Dame is start- ing fresh a bit in 2014. F i f t h - y e a r coach Brian Kel- ly has a pair of new coordinators, Mike Denbrock on offense and Brian VanGorder on defense, and needs to replace five of the front seven starters on defense as well as his quarterback. There seem to be enough pieces, though, for the Irish to still hover in the top 25 all season. But any big dreams of playoffs or a double-digit win season likely will hinge on how quickly Everett Gol- son returns to form after missing all of last season because of aca- demics. In Golson, Kelly can get back to his offensive roots — and, in a change, the head coach will be call- ing plays, not Denbrock — with a mobile quarterback who is pass- first but dangerous as a playmaker. Golson, a sophomore, led the Irish to that BCS title game and has total-package potential. In 2012, he led the team with six rushing touchdowns, and he also emerged later in the season as an affective passer. "It's everything," said Pete Sampson of IrishIllustrated.com, the Rivals.com site that covers No- tre Dame, about Golston's success related to the team's. "They don't have a bail-out player like Tyler Eifert or Michael Floyd offensive- ly right now. They've got a lot of nice weapons at running back and receiver and even tight end. But I don't think there's a go-to guy. I think for the offense to really work, Golson is going to have to be the go- to guy. "He's going to have to bail them out of third-and-six, nothing's open, (and) he runs for seven (yards), as opposed to running a fade route and somebody goes up and makes a great catch. That's what they need more than anything. He's going to have to show a lot of progress to be that kind of player." The defense will need to make significant strides, too. With signif- (9-4 overall) Date Opponent . . . . . . . . . Results 8/31 TEMPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 28-6 9/7 at Michigan . . . . . . . . L, 30-41 9/14 at Purdue . . . . . . . . . . W, 31-24 9/21 MICHIGAN STATE. . . . W, 17-13 9/28 OKLAHOMA . . . . . . . . L, 21-35 10/5 ARIZONA STATE* . . . . W, 37-34 10/19 USC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 14-10 10/26 at Air Force. . . . . . . . . W, 45-10 11/2 NAVY . . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 38-34 11/9 at Pittsburgh . . . . . . . L, 21-28 11/23 BYU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W, 23-13 11/30 Stanford . . . . . . . . . . . L, 20-27 12/28 RUTGERS^ . . . . . . . . . W, 29-16 * AT&T Stadium, Dallas, TX ^ New Era Pinstripe Bowl Who's in Charge? COACH BRIAN KELLY Record at Notre Dame: 37-14 (four seasons) Record vs. Purdue: 4-0 Notre Dame The last time Everett Golson played a snap, it was in the BCS national championship game. Notre Dame's hoping the return of its QB from a year-long academic suspension can rev up an offense now run by Brian Kelly. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2014 OPPONENT PREVIEW • SEPT. 13 • LUCAS OIL STADIUM STADIUM, INDIANAPOLIS • TIME: 7:30 PM • TV: NBC Date Opponent 8/30 RICE 9/6 MICHIGAN 9/13 PURDUE* 9/27 SYRACUSE^ 10/4 STANFORD 10/11 NORTH CAROLINA 10/18 at Florida State 11/1 at Navy 11/8 at Arizona State 11/15 NORTHWESTERN 11/22 LOUISVILLE 11/29 at USC * Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN ^ MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ 2013 RESULTS 2014 SCHEDULE EARLY LINE: NOTRE DAME -19 Purdue is 5-0 all-time in the Circle City, most recently defeating No. 8 Notre Dame 23-21 in the Hoosier Dome on Sept. 8, 1984. DePauw 2-0 Indiana 1-0 Notre Dame 1-0 Wabash 1-0