Some quick notes leading up to Saturday’s big game against Stanford:
— Theo Riddick, who watched from the sidelines as Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III sliced through the Miami defense in the second half last Saturday, is good to go for this week’s game. His elbow injury caused him no trouble this week, according to coach Brian Kelly.
“He had a good week,” Kelly said. “He ran extremely well all week, and didn’t take any reps off.”
— Everett Golson dubbed the Irish’s three-headed monster at tailback “RB3.” But there’s a fourth tailback who’s fared well in some mop-up duty this year. Cam McDaniel had 55 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries against Miami. In his other late-game appearance, he had 59 yards on nine carries against Navy.
“We have four running backs, it’s hard to get them all touches,” Kelly said. “We’re struggling to get those three guys (the ball). Cam McDaniel is a heck of a running back. We have no hesitation of putting him in the game. We only have one football, that’s the problem.”
— The Irish will be wearing pink gloves and socks during the game, and the coaching staff will be wearing pink hats, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It’s a topic particularly near and dear to Kelly’s heart. His wife, Paqui, is a cancer survivor, having waged to bouts with breast cancer — one in 2003, and again in 2007. Their charity, the Kelly Cares Foundation, supports research and prevention.
“It’s center to our life story as a family,” Brian Kelly said. “It means something to everybody. It’s always a personal story. Somebody’s always been touched by cancer in their family or extended family. We all share the understanding of what that pink means.”