Notre Dame is preparing for the its biggest test of the season thus far. The undefeated Fighting Irish are now ranked No. 2 in the country by the Associated Press and are traveling out to west to take on the BYU Cougars who are 5-0 and ranked 8th in the country. This is the first of three major tests in the Notre Dame regular season. Today after practice, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash, middle linebacker Drayk Bowen, right tackle Guerby Lambert, cornerback DJ McKinney and tight end Cooper Flanagan break down their big 58-7 win over Stanford and their prep for BYU which will test both sides of the ball physically and schematically. 

You can watch the entire press conference here: 

Here are some of the main quotes from today's post-practice press conference: 

"Yeah, it starts, they got really good players," Ash said about the Cougars offense. "They got good players and they've got good coaches. They've been executing the system for a while and they just play really hard. They play hard. They don't beat themselves. They're disciplined. They don't really do anything fancy, but they do it exceptionally well and they're hard to beat. You got to go beat them. They're not going to beat themselves. That's really what stands out on film."

"Yeah, just making sure that we're doing the right things in practice to make sure that we're starting fast," Bowen shared. "Keep echoing it throughout. It's still been a theme throughout the season, making sure we're starting games fast. Whether it's a key to victory on offense or defense. Just making sure that the first drive, we're going out there, we're setting the tone and making sure that we're doing the things that we're supposed to do on that first drive, first quarter, and then ultimately throughout the game to make sure that we're not giving up big plays and doing things that we need to do."

"Yeah, a little bit," Lambert explained when asked if BYU's physical reputation gets the juices flowing for the offensive line during the week of practice. "But, I mean, I feel like every week we come into the game with the same expectation to be physical as we can be, no matter who's lined up across from us."

"Yeah, they're going to be a well-coached team," McKinney raved about the Cougars program. "I've played them almost every season I've been in college, so, you know, it's always fun playing those guys. But this is going to be the first time I actually go to Provo, so that's going to be a new experience, and I'm just looking forward to it."

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