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Not watching the clock

Time of possession hasn't been a major concern for Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.

Last season, his Cincinnati team was last in time of possession but went undefeated in the regular season.

In three games this season, Notre Dame has held the ball for nearly 10 less minutes than its opponents.

And even though No. 16 Stanford is rolling on offense, averaging 51.7 points and 475.3 yards per game, Kelly said he will not call the offense differently to keep the ball away from the Cardinal.

"I've always run into problems as a play-caller if I'm trying to get to the chains and not the end zone," Kelly said. "It's just me. Maybe somebody else will be better at it. I'm going to be cognizant of the fact that we are playing a great offense.

"I think we've done a really good job of trying to score points and not put our defense, except for maybe one occasion, on a short field. … I think more than anything else, long fields, score points, more so than manage the clock, time of possession, keep them off the field."

The Journal Gazette's Assistant Sports Editor Tony Krausz covers The University of Notre Dame. Krausz, a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a native of St. Louis, has been assistant sports editor since October 2005. Prior to joining the JG, he worked at two papers in Mississippi covering high school and college athletics.

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