Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly: Texas will be a challenge for Irish

By: Brandon Pope

Posted: Sep 1, 2015 9:41 PM EDT | Updated: Sep 1, 2015 9:49 PM EDT

It's the season opener under the lights for Notre Dame as they face an unfamiliar opponent on Saturday.

The last time these guys played was nearly 20 years ago back in 1996. The Irish lost that game but are looking to make sure that's not the case in 2015.

One thing that Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly expects as a challenge for his team will be the Longhorn defense, which finished 25th in the country last season.

"They play hard defensively," said Kelly. "I think last year they really kept their team in a number of games."

This will be a Texas team with lots of inexperience, starting 6 freshmen.

But because of that, the Irish really don't know exactly what team they'll see on Saturday.

But Kelly says they they'll be ready for a spread offense and an up-tempo pace.

Notre Dame and Texas meet Saturday at 7:42 p.m.