SOUTH BEND — As Notre Dame lacrosse prepares for a high-stakes NCAA quarterfinal clash with Johns Hopkins this weekend, head coach Kevin Corrigan is turning to a familiar playbook — one he picked up from a legendary figure in college football.

Corrigan, now in his 38th season leading the Fighting Irish, has long admired the preparation methods of the late Lou Holtz, the iconic Notre Dame football coach. And this week, he's leaning on Holtz's time-tested mindset to get his team ready for the challenge ahead.

"I came here when Lou Holtz was here, and I adopted some of his ways," Corrigan said after practice on Wednesday. "One of which is on Monday we suck, on Tuesday we're not much better, on Wednesday we're starting to get better, on Thursday we're pretty good, and on Friday they can't beat us. Rinse and repeat."

It's a simple philosophy, but one that has served Corrigan well. With 381 career coaching wins, two national championships, and 29 NCAA Tournament appearances under his belt, he knows the value of building momentum throughout a game week.

"There's truth to it, too," Corrigan added. "As you prepare and start going against another team's actions — things that are different from the week before — you struggle with them early and try to figure them out. Hopefully by the time you get to the end of the week, you're through that whole cycle."

The Irish, seeded second in the tournament, enter this matchup with plenty of confidence after a dominant 18-5 victory over Jacksonville on Mother's Day. That win helped Notre Dame avoid the first-round upset bug that claimed three seeded teams: No. 4 Richmond, No. 5 Virginia, and No. 7 Cornell.

Johns Hopkins, a traditional powerhouse with nine NCAA titles, knocked off Cornell 9-8 in overtime to reach the quarterfinals. But the Blue Jays have largely struggled to return to their former glory, with their last Final Four appearance coming in 2015.

Notre Dame, however, has had the upper hand in recent meetings. The Irish defeated Johns Hopkins 12-9 in the 2023 NCAA quarterfinals and opened the 2019 NCAA Tournament with a commanding 16-9 victory in South Bend. Those results, combined with Corrigan's Holtz-inspired preparation, give the Irish plenty of reason to believe they can advance once again.