Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
What is your favorite at home game day tradition?
No. 7 Notre Dame opens the 2021 season Sunday night in Tallahassee as a date with the Florida State Seminoles awaits.
Here is what you need to know in order to watch the game Sunday:
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee
When: 7:30 p.m., Sunday
TV: ABC
Series History: Florida State leads 6-4 all-time, while Notre Dame has won the last two meetings, both of which were played at Notre Dame Stadium (2018, 2020).
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When you think of Bobby Bowden what is the first thing that comes to mind?
Few have ever done it as well or for as long particularly in one place as legendary Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden who died last at the age of 91 last month.
Bowden and current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly never crossed paths but that didn’t keep Kelly from finding Bowden as a source of influence.
Related: The winningest major college football coaches of all-time
Gallery – 1993 Game of the Century
I never had the privilege of meeting coach Bowden, but I can tell you that his influence on coaching was real,” said Kelly, “I think every coach would tell you that.”
Kelly is among the many that certainly admire the longevity Bowden had in Tallahassee.
“Being committed to that school and building a winning program, a program that won every single year, that’s so impressive to do it year in and year out.”
It may seem like Kelly has been at Notre Dame forever and by University standards he has as only Knute Rockne coached longer, but he’s got 23 years to go if he wants to match Bowden’s run of 34 seasons at Florida State.
It was another thing about Bowden that Kelly especially hopes to mirror, though.
“I think he goes down as one of those icons in coaching as having that fatherly mentor relationship with his players that many, many coaches would love to have with their players.”
Kelly and Notre Dame get their 2021 season started Sunday night at Florida State.
Related:
What would you consider a successful season for Notre Dame in 2021?
Compelling is an understatement when it comes to Notre Dame football entering the 2021 season. The Irish are coming off a year where they knocked off the top-ranked team in the country and earned their second College Football Playoff trip in three seasons, but where they were routed by Alabama to close the year.
Notre Dame has to replace a significant amount of talent across both the offense and defense, but exactly just how difficult is that going to be?
How will this year go and where will Notre Dame end up at the end of the year?
Here is how the Fighting Irish Wire team sees it going:
What do you make of Florida State in year-two under Norvell?
When No. 9 Notre Dame meets Florida State in Tallahassee Sunday it won’t be the first meeting between Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell and Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman.
While Norvell was at Memphis and Freeman at Cincinnati, the two met in consecutive weeks to end the 2019 regular season with Norvell getting the best in both matchups and Memphis getting a trip to the Cotton Bowl.
Norvell met the media this week ahead of Sunday’s game and discussed what he knows about Notre Dame’s new defensive coordinator.
Great trivia question one day down the road…
Quick: who is the only cornerback in Notre Dame history to be named to an all conference team as a member of the Fighting Irish?
Answer: Nick McCloud, who was an All-ACC Third-Team selection in his one season at Notre Dame in 2020.
Despite a blazing 40-yard dash at his pro day McCloud went undrafted this past spring before being signed as a free agent by the Buffalo Bills.
McCloud was cut by Buffalo on Tuesday but was claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals Wednesday, a move that will place him on the active roster. McCloud is one of 40 former Notre Dame players to make an NFL roster entering the 2021 season.
Be sure to check out our colleagues at Bengals Wire for all things Cincinnati Bengals football.
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Who will have the most touchdown receptions for Notre Dame in 2021? Interceptions?
What is the state of the Notre Dame football program as we sit just days away from the 2021 season getting underway?
Ben Belden was kind enough to invite me on the “Under the Dome” podcast this week and we discussed essentially everything related to Notre Dame football ahead as it’s finally football season and games are about to be played.
In the episode we have the ongoing conversation about where Notre Dame is among the elites before getting into how different things may operate both on offense and defense this year.
Ben then runs his “lukewarm to fiery hot takes” by me as we discuss things even more at length. I’ll share with you that my favorite question he posed is “who leads Notre Dame in touchdown receptions this year and how many will they have?”
He gets me to make a prediction that’s certain to come true.
You can watch the entire episode on YouTube below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b7Pt7xqJPk]
You can also listen on:
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play
And before you ask, the t-shirt I’m wearing is of Camp One Step, a fantastic organization that exists to help heal these invisible scars that no one can see by offering free in-person and virtual camp programs serving pediatric cancer patients, survivors, and their families.
Related:
Notre Dame releases depth chart ahead of Florida State opener
Does one of the two options concern you more for Notre Dame?
As we sit less than a week before the Sunday night opener for Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish still don’t know who the official starting quarterback for their opponent will be.
Florida State released their depth chart for the opener on Monday and on it lists both redshirt-sophomore Jordan Travis and grad-transfer McKenzie Milton as starters with “OR” written between their names.
Travis threw for 204 yards, a touchdown, and an interception at Notre Dame last year while rushing for another 96 yards and score.
McKenzie starred at UCF and helped guide the Knights to an unbeaten 2017 season before a leg injury sidelined him in 2018.
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell has previously stated he’ll name a starting quarterback when he’s comfortable doing so.
Apparently less than a week before kickoff he’s still not comfortable.
Related:
Notre Dame depth chart for Florida State game
Florida heat not a concern to Brian Kelly
Notre Dame freshman running shares his sadness over Hurricane Ida
How many (or few) things do you hate more than a high humidity?
It’s often been said that there is hot, and there is Florida hot, but Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly isn’t too concerned about the Irish heading the thick heat that will greet them in Tallahassee on Sunday night.
“Not the way it’s been here!” said Kelly, as South Bend temperatures have remained in the 90’s in recent weeks, “we could invite them up here and it would be fine.”
Kelly noted that in the last couple of weeks the heat index on Notre Dame’s campus has been so high that the team wasn’t even allowed to tackle on multiple occasions.
“I think we’re well-prepared, well-conditioned for the environment relative to the weather and we’re playing it at night so the sun won’t be on us, which will be another factor that will be helpful.”
The latest forecast (Monday, August 29 at 3:45 p.m. ET) calls for 90-degree temperatures during the day but a low of 64 at night. It’s not the weather that concerns Kelly seemingly as much as the fact it’s a true road game to start the season.
It’ll be managing going on the road…eliminating distractions, getting into the right zone that you need to be in to handle one play at a time focus and then refocus.”
Notre Dame is 9-2 in openers under Kelly. The Irish and Seminoles kickoff the 2021 season at 7:30 p.m. ET Sunday in a game that can seen nationally on ABC.
Related:
Notre Dame releases depth chart for Florida State game
Our thoughts are with all of those affected by Hurricane Ida.
It’s hard enough going to college and being away from home for the first time, but can you imagine doing that while one of the fiercest hurricanes in the last decade sweeps through your hometown?
That’s what Notre Dame freshman running back Logan Diggs is dealing with as his hometown of Marrero, Louisiana was in the direct path of Hurricane Ida, the category four hurricane that ripped through Louisiana on Sunday.
Diggs took to Twitter to share his concerns back home late Sunday night:
This shit sad man, hurt my heart fr..
— Logan Diggs (@logandiggs3) August 30, 2021
Veteran wide receiver Lawrence Keys, III is the only other current Notre Dame football player from Louisiana as he hails from New Orleans and also shared concerns Monday.
Praying for the state man 🥺🙏🏾
— LKIII 🔑 (@LawrenceKeys_) August 30, 2021
Notre Dame opens their 2021 football season this Sunday when they travel to Florida State.
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Which under the radar player are you most excited for in 2021?
Notre Dame gets their 2021 season underway Sunday night as they’ll be on the road to take on Florida State.
To kickoff game week Notre Dame released their official depth chart on Monday. Here is how the Irish will stack up for their opener:
