Here is what some Notre Dame players said they are thankful for this Thanksgiving:

Defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore: "I'm thankful for everyone of my teammates and my family and my friends and coaches and this awesome season."

Safety Zeke Motta: "Life. To be here at Notre Dame. To have the friends that I do. To have the family that I do. To have the coaches that I do. Everybody who is in my life, I'm thankful for them. To be able to go somewhere and eat a nice hot meal. I'm thankful for a lot of things. To be able to play out at USC to determine whether or not we are going to the national championship. There's a lot of things that you can say that I've been thankful for. It has certainly been a blessing."

Cornerback Bennett Jackson: "I'm just thankful to be part of a great organization, a great team, great guys, great coaches. When I committed I wanted to be able to help bring this team back to where they should be. I'm sure all the guys around me thought that too. I'm just happy that we have the chance to go out and compete with such a great group of guys, and bring us back to the national recognition that we should have. Now I hope it stays around for a long time, and I'm sure it will. That is what I'm most thankful for."

Nose tackle Louis Nix III: "I'm just thankful for being at the school. Coming out of recruitment, a lot of people thought it was a dumb idea. A Florida guy coming all the way up to the Midwest, in the middle of nowhere, going to a school called Notre Dame. Where I'm from a lot of people don't know about it that much. I was a big Miami fan growing up, that's where I thought I would be at. I think I picked the right place. I've been having a great time, met a lot of great people, and I think I will be successful when I graduate. I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for my parents and my family."