2021 ND Football – Page 45 – Syndication Server

Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer named to Biletnikoff watch list

How good a year would a tight end need to actually win this one?

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Sophomore tight end Michael Mayer has been selected to the watch list for the 2021 Biletnikoff Award, which annually recognizes the top pass-catcher in the FBS, regardless of position (wide receiver, tight end, slot or inside receiver, wingback and running back).

Related: Michael Mayer Player Profile

Mayer comes off a stellar true freshman campaign, recognized as one of the nation’s top tight ends in just his first collegiate season. In 2020, he tied for the lead among Irish offensive players with 42 receptions, totaling 450 yards and adding two touchdowns.

His 42 receptions in 2020 were the most in a single season by a Notre Dame true freshman tight end in Irish history, and rank tied for seventh among all Notre Dame tight ends for single-season receptions. He was named to the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week at Pitt and to the FWAA Freshman All-American Watch List, and was selected by the conference to the All-ACC Third Team.

Notre Dame’s future football schedules and opponents

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Notre Dame’s offensive line cashes in again on NIL

Best pizza in South Bend – go!

Producing talent like that of Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson, and Zack Martin help make Notre Dame the real “O-Line U” but it’s the fandom that embraces line play like few in the country (we’re politely looking at you Wisconsin and Iowa) that helps stake the claim.

Want more proof of its existence with Notre Dame?

Notre Dame’s offensive line doesn’t have just one but now two sponsorships as a unit. At the start of the month, we shared with you how the Irish offensive line found what felt like a soulmate of a sponsor. Well, the unit has struck again in the food department:

Jet's Pizza 🤝 the Offensive Line https://t.co/Za6ZjBxPY0

— Jet's Pizza (@JetsPizza) July 16, 2021

Tough to top free pizza when you’re in college, no matter who is making it.

Notre Dame 2021 Football Schedule: Difficulty Rankings

How do you rank the games in terms of difficulty in 2021?

We’re under seven weeks until the ball goes in the air and college football returns nationally.

Can Notre Dame return to the College Football Playoff for the third time in four seasons?

To do so they’ll have to navigate a schedule that may not be categorized as brutal, but presents plenty of challenges.

What are Notre Dame’s perceived easiest games and which ones will be the toughest challenges? You’re about to find as we rank the games from easiest to most difficult.

2021 Notre Dame football tickets information

Who out there has a Notre Dame football weekend planned for this fall?

Are you among the thousands upon thousands who can’t wait to get back into Notre Dame Stadium to watch football this fall?

Notre Dame has released information as to how you can get single game tickets to see the Irish in their seven home contests this fall.

2021 Notre Dame single game ticket information:

Notre Dame football single-game tickets and parking for most 2021 Irish home games go on sale exclusively online (UND.com/BuyTickets) at 6 p.m. ET, Aug. 19.
The following day, beginning at 9 a.m. ET, Aug. 20, tickets and parking can be purchased by phone (833-ND-IRISH), as well as online.
For information about mini plans and group tickets, fans can call 833-ND-IRISH.
The Irish will play seven home games in 2021, starting with the Sept. 11 home-opener versus Toledo, which kicks at 2:30 p.m. ET. Notre Dame will also host Purdue (Sept. 18/2:30 p.m.), Cincinnati (Oct. 2/2:30 p.m.), Southern Cal (Oct. 23/7:30 p.m.), North Carolina (Oct. 30/7:30 p.m.), Navy (Nov. 6/3:30 p.m.) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 20/2:30 p.m.).

Notre Dame wide receiver transfers to Ivy League

Not a bad landing spot for the former Fighting Irish wide receiver.

Former Notre Dame wide receiver Jay Brunelle spent less than a month in the transfer portal before finding his new home in the Ivy League.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Brunelle is headed back near his home of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He has decided to transfer to Yale, announcing the decision on Twitter this Tuesday.

Brunelle was set to enter his sophomore season at Notre Dame after not getting on the field at all in 2020. His career with the Fighting Irish got off to an unfortunate start when he had surgery on his shoulder shortly after enrolling.

Brunelle was graded a three-star recruit by both 247Sports and Rivals when he came out of St. John’s in Massachusetts.

I’m honored to be continuing my academic and athletic career at Yale University. While I look ahead with great excitement, I’m also blessed to bring with me a piece of the ☘️ in my heart.#ELITE 🐶 pic.twitter.com/t7z2FylJxB

— Jay Brunelle (@jabrunie) July 6, 2021

Brunelle is the latest of a slew of Notre Dame players over the past year to use the transfer portal to continue their careers elsewhere.

One veteran college football writer pegs Notre Dame 12-0

Do you have the Irish going 12-0 this year?

When it comes to the world today it seems the only magazines that sell anymore are geared towards celebrity gossip or previewing college football.

Phil Steele is one of the most-known college football writers around as his annual magazine gives more detail to each and every team nationally than any other college football magazine out there.

In this year’s preview magazine Steele is incredibly optimistic for the Fighting Irish as he predicts they’ll go 12-0.

Steele ranks the Irish seventh in his pre-season ratings and notes their massive losses on the roster, but also states their roster is no less talented than any other team they’ll play in the regular season as he ranks their schedule the 23rd most difficult.

If Steele is right about Notre Dame’s roster being that good, that quickly, then he could very well be right about 12-0 and another trip to the College Football Playoff as the schedule is plenty strong but also plenty manageable.

Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton jumps into NIL pool

How would you be taking advantage of the NIL rules if you were currently a college athlete?

It didn’t take long for Notre Dame star safety Kyle Hamilton to begin taking advantage of his name and image likeness as he debuted his own logo and appeared on Cameo as NLI rules officially changed for NCAA athletes on Thursday.

Hamilton charges $49 for a shoutout to you or your family and friends. He was one of several collegiate athletes nationwide to sign up for the company.

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A post shared by kyle hamilton (@kyledhamilton)

Hamilton is the first current Notre Dame player we’ve seen take advantage of the new rules while former Irish, now Florida State offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons is using GoFundMe to help get a special person to the season opening contest against his old squad.

Kyle Hamilton Photo Gallery

Lines released for nine 2021 Notre Dame games

How many games should Notre Dame be the underdog in this year?

Can’t get enough Fighting Irish football and find yourself counting down the days until the 2021 season kicks off at Florida State on September 5?

You’ll be happy to know that point spreads for some of the 2021 games are coming out as South Point Las Vegas has released the spreads for nine of Notre Dame’s 12 regular-season games this year.

The Irish are only the underdog in one of the nine listed contests but have some incredibly thin lines in games being played at Notre Dame Stadium, where they haven’t lost since the second game of the 2017 season.

Here is what South Point Las Vegas has for the 2021 Fighting Irish in mid-May. My takeaways can be found at the bottom.

Sporting News early bowl projections call for new bowl game for Notre Dame

Would you be alright with this being Notre Dame’s postseason berth?

The Peach Bowl has been played since 1968 but never has Notre Dame appeared in it. If The Sporting News college bowl projections wind up being true, that streak will come to an end.

Their projections have the Irish taking on Texas A&M on December 30 in the Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl, the first of the New Year’s Six bowl games for the 2021 college football bowl season.

It would also be Notre Dame’s first time playing Texas A&M since 2001 if the projection were to play out.

The Irish are in a place right now where the fan base is looking for the next step, not a step back. It’d obviously be disappointing in a way to not get to the College Football Playoff, even with the massive overhaul on the depth chart, but getting to a very winnable New Year’s Six game would be a pretty impressive “down” year.

Notre Dame key in most respected out-of-conference schedules

Which opponent’s schedules do you always respect?

Want to have a great non-conference schedule this football season?

Try scheduling Notre Dame.

Related: Notre Dame’s 2021 football schedule

It’s hardly a surprise but Barry Tramel of the Oklahoman graded every Power Five football program’s out-of-conference schedule for 2021 and Notre Dame opponents loaded up the first quarter of the list.

Notre Dame is scheduled to play nine of the 64 Power Five conference schools this year and Tramel ranked all nine of those teams among the 15 toughest non-conference schedules.

Beyond that, four of the five most difficult non-conference schedules had Notre Dame on them while seven of the top-10 while nobody ranked lower than 15 of 64.

Here is how Notre Dame’s 2021 opponents rank for their non-conference opponents according to Tramel:

1 – Stanford
2 – Georgia Tech
4 – Virginia
5 – Florida State
8 – Virginia Tech
9 – USC
10 – Purdue
12 – Wisconsin
15 – North Carolina