Category: 2022 ND Football

Meet Notre Dame’s Now Complete 2023 Recruiting Class

Meet Notre Dame’s 26 current commitments in what is a top-five class nationally.

After a whirlwind couple of years the 2023 recruiting class has officially been completed at Notre Dame.  What started out tremendously hit a few snags along the way.  It closed with one of the strangest signing day stories you’ll ever see when Peyton Bowen bailed on Notre Dame for Oregon, only to change his mind and bail on Oregon for Oklahoma just a day later.

In all, Notre Dame wound up with 24 signed commitments after the second signing period in February.  It didn’t finish in the top couple of spots nationally like we had hoped after it’s tremendous start but will continue to add to the overall talent for Notre Dame.

Here are the 24 newest members of the Notre Dame football team:

Watch: 2023 Notre Dame football schedule release video

Which game are you most excited for?

We’ve known for some time who Notre Dame will play in 2023 but had been waiting on a few specific dates as to when games would take place.  We now have those for Notre Dame football in 2023 as the season starts in what has become Week 0.  The Irish will play in front of the real Irish that week as they take on Navy in Dublin, Ireland.  The season will feature a pair of bye weeks as a result of playing in Week 0, and concludes in Week 13 at Stanford.

Here is how Notre Dame announced their schedule release for the 2023 season on January 18:

I love the difficulty setting at the start, would have liked to see the ball carrier do something besides run straight ahead throughout, but appreciate the effort in making it something more than just a graphic with opponents names and logos.

Start the countdown to August 26!

[listicle id=52373]

Notre Dame football: Initial Off-Season Sentiments

A guide of sorts to this off-season for Notre Dame fans

The Notre Dame season hasn’t even been over for three whole weeks and fans are already asking, what comes next? Where does the team go from here? How different will the Irish look when we next see them in the Blue and Gold game this Spring compared to how they did in the Gator Bowl win over South Carolina?

This little gap in action provides the perfect introspection point from which to take a look at areas of the team to track progression on. What areas are trending up, trending down, or maintaining? How much improvement can be expected from year one to year two in a new regime?

Let’s explore some of these short-term dynamics in depth.

Pro Football Focus ranks top 10 tight ends of 2022 season

It might not be a national award but it is certainly positive recognition.

The 2022 college football season has come and gone and the postseason ratings are flowing in.  No, not just for teams, but for players alike.

One of the great debates during the postseason awards this winter was at tight end.  Georgia had two of the nation’s best in Darnell Washington and Brock Bowers, while Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer set records for the position at the school known as being “Tight End U”.

The Mackey Award, which goes annually to the nation’s top tight end, was given to Bowers despite Mayer having more receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.

I don’t believe there is hardware that comes with it but Pro Football Focus listed their top 10 tight ends of the 2022 college football season over the weekend and for whatever it’s worth, the Notre Dame record holder can walk away with bragging rights in that regard.

Here are PFF’s top 10 tight ends for the 2022 season, along with their season grade.

ESPN reveals final 2022 college football power rankings

How many days until games start again?

The games are done until late August in major college football as the page now turns to the 2023 season.  Although we’re in the middle of “way too early” season where polls, depth charts, schedule predictions, and plenty of other thoughts get written about, it’s still worth taking a few final look backs at the 2022 season.

ESPN recently released their final top 25 power rankings for the season.  Georgia was obviously number one after dominating TCU in the title game and finishing 15-0.  Did TCU stay at number two, however?  And how high did Notre Dame finish after beating South Carolina in a thrilling Gator Bowl?

Here is ESPN’s full final 2022 college football power rankings.

Why Notre Dame football fans should feel lucky

Sometimes timing is everything

Now that the 2022 college football season is over, it’s a great time for reflection.

Notre Dame football was a mystery for most of the year. It had an ongoing struggle for consistency as it navigated the path toward the Irish’s new identity. It wasn’t easy, and there are varying opinions on how it went.

There will be plenty of time between now and 2023’s opener in Dublin to dissect the roster, debate areas of strength and weakness, etc. But today I wanted to focus on some more nuanced reasons Irish fans should feel as though they are in very competent hands moving forward with Marcus Freeman.

See where Marcus Freeman ranks alma mater Ohio State in final top 25 ballot

It would appear Marcus Freeman still has a bit of a soft-spot for @BuckeyesWire

Perhaps technically the final task for Marcus Freeman to complete in his first year at Notre Dame was to turn in his postseason ballot to the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Freeman was one of 63 coaches to fill out a final ballot, and he made some interesting choices. For instance, despite TCU beating Michigan in the national semifinal, he had the Horned Frogs outside his final top five.

He also had a pair of two-loss teams ranked in the top five, both above conference rivals they had lost to head-to-head. And shocking nobody, Freeman ranked Notre Dame higher than any of the other 62 coaches did.

Take a look at Marcus Freeman’s final top 25 ballot for the 2022 season below:

The quarterback Brian Kelly danced on is leaving LSU

You hate to see it.

When [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] left Notre Dame for LSU he was ripped by anyone with ears outside of Louisiana for his sudden change of accent.

A week or so after that, he put his dance skills on display as he helped put the finishing touches on the recruitment of five-star quarterback, [autotag]Walker Howard[/autotag].

Well, as it turns out, Kelly’s dance moves must not have been enough. Howard announced on Wednesday that he’s entering the transfer portal. The freshman saw action in two games this season at LSU, completing 2 of 4 passes for seven yards while rushing for 33. The announcement comes days after LSU starter Jayden Daniels announced he was returning for another year.

Walker was an LSU commitment before Kelly was named coach, but he went viral when he reaffirmed his commitment with a dancing head coach shortly after.

As of this posting, the Walker video has 4.2 million views on Twitter while the video of Kelly grinding on tight end Danny Lewis, Jr. has over 12.7 million views.

That’s 16.9 million views, but zero future downs from either player in an LSU uniforms. What a shame.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

[listicle id=55124]

Bulldog Beatdown: 3 Takeaways From CFP Title Game

Bulldog Beatdown

In an outcome that was predicted by most, Georgia stomped TCU Monday evening 65-7. In doing so, they collected their second title in a row and asserted dominance over not only the SEC, but the nation as well. This game was fascinating to watch, albeit not in the typical ways one would think.

Rather than fans sitting on the edge of their seats in a back-and-forth contest for all the marbles between two deserving and well-matched teams, they ended up pondering just how college football ended up in a place where the title game isn’t even competitive at all.

What do you make of what we saw? Here are 3 large-scale takeaways I was left pondering after this Bulldog beatdown.

 

Notre Dame’s Gator Bowl Win: Three big picture items

What does the thrilling Gator Bowl victory mean for Notre Dame long term?

Notre Dame Football is many things, but boring isn’t one of them. In truly 2022 Irish style, Notre Dame battled through bouts of very good play, very bad play and everything in between to lock up its ninth win of the year over South Carolina. This game had it all folks.

What do you make of this performance personally? Do you judge by how it closes this year. Or do you judge by and how it portends what is to come. I feel some sense of relief that this year is complete. It was always going to be one of adjustment and calibration, and I am pleased to be moving to the next phase of the Marcus Freeman experience.

Let’s take a look at three big picture items to think about as the Irish move into the offseason.