Category: 2023 ND Football

Where Notre Dame finished in final ESPN FPI Ratings for 2023-24

Are things on the rise for Notre Dame?

The 2023-24 college football season draws to an official end on Monday night when Michigan takes on Washington in the national championship game.

It’s a Michigan team that was been viewed as one of the best in the nation all year against a Washington team that seems to do a mighty-fine Rodney Dangerfield impression and “get no respect” despite running the table to a 14-0 mark so date.

Who wins tonight is very much up for debate.  We’re split here at Fighting Irish Wire while many other outlets have the same, unsure views.

ESPN FPI is a power rating system that updates each week following games.  They use a formula to rank every team in the nation and as hard as it is to believe, actual wins and losses don’t factor in majorly to this.

Instead, its used almost as a guide of which team would be favored against any other team.

After the season concluded for every team besides Michigan and Washington, ESPN FPI updated their numbers.  Notre Dame fans might be pleasantly surprised to see where the power ratings system ranked the Irish (hint: it’s significantly higher than they’ll be in any final AP or Coaches Poll).

Below is the final top 25 from ESPN FPI:

Welcomed Pressure Awaits Freeman & Notre Dame in 2024

Year three tends to tell the story for coaches at Notre Dame. How will Freeman’s third year go?

Time flies doesn’t it folks? It feels like just yesterday we were discussing Marcus Freeman getting the head job at Notre Dame and now we are already discussing what year three will look like. A lot has happened. A lot has changed. There have been a lot of ups and downs in play as Freeman has tried to find his footing under the bright lights of Notre Dame Stadium.

For multiple reasons, justified ones, there will be a ramped-up level of pressure on the Irish to perform very well in 2024. It just feels like the time has come to start delivering. The fans and media are ready for it and it feels like the program is at a turning point. Let’s discuss this incoming pressure and why Marcus Freeman welcomes it.

Notre Dame Football: Ketterer Touchdown a Win for Non-CFP Bowl Games

From Walk-On to a Walk-Off Touchdown!

For the hundreds of thousands still tuned into Notre Dame’s 40-8 victory over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl it was just the cap on a blowout contest that had been determined long before.  But to Chase Ketterer it was a play, and even more so a celebration, that won’t soon be forgotten.

Ketterer, a Notre Dame walk on running back from nearby New Prairie, Indiana, started his Fighting Irish career in 2021 and saw the field sparingly early on.  After starring as an option quarterback in high school, Ketterer handled scout team quarterback duties during Navy week in recent years.

This season he was able to get touches in blowout wins over both Tennessee State and Central Michigan before scoring his only collegiate touchdown to cap the season.

Ketterer spoke to Austin Hough of South Bend Tribune about what wound up being his final play of football.

“I was saying to my parents that 40 years down the line, I might not remember the touchdown, but I’m going to remember everything that happened right after it,” Ketterer said. “The brotherhood is just awesome, and having those guys there for me and being so happy in that moment was awesome.”

Ketterer is set to graduate from Notre Dame with a finance degree this spring with goals of one day working in an NFL front office.

To me it’s a special moment for Ketterer, his teammates and his family, all of which spoke to for his piece.

It’s also one that doesn’t happen if these “meaningless” bowl games were eliminated like some wish.

Notre Dame Football: 2023-24 Transfer Portal Tracker

Everyday there is news – stay up to date here!

Things appeared bad for Notre Dame football when seemingly as soon as the regular season ended with a blowout victory at Stanford, the Irish began losing players to the transfer portal.

The good news is, about a week later Notre Dame began getting commitments to fill some of those voids.

A ton happened in terms of the roster between the regular season finale and the dominating bowl win over Oregon State.

So who did Notre Dame lose and who can Irish fans get excited about to be wearing blue and gold next season?

Here is the entire list of transfer portal activity for Notre Dame this 2023-24 off-season.

Watch: One Shining Moment but for Bowl Season

The ball is tipped…or kicked

If you’re any kind of college sports fan you’re familiar with the song “One Shining Moment” that is played each year as college basketball’s national championship game concludes.  It’s cheesy but enjoyable as it recaps all the highs and lows of the NCAA Tournament in roughly three minutes.

What if college football had a similar type thing for bowl season?

Well ask and you shall receive.

Thanks to college football fan Nathan Grella we now have exactly that.

Grella put together highlights from the last few weeks of bowl games and set it to “One Shining Moment”.  Sure, the lyrics don’t fit quite right when the song is about basketball and we’re watching football bowl games but Nathan hit it out of the park regardless.

Check out the video below:

Awesome job.

Give Nathan a follow on social media if you’d like @NathanGrella.

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Notre Dame Football: 6 Former Irish Earn Pro Bowl Selections

Notre Dame has put plenty of talent into the NFL but these six players shined the brightest in 2023.

The 2023 NFL regular season comes to an end this weekend, and, as is tradition, the annual Pro Bowl selections were announced the Wednesday night before the final set of games.

Although the Pro Bowl game no longer actually exists players are still named and will participate in a new weeklong skills competition and flag football contest against one another.

As you would probably expect, Notre Dame is well represented with Pro Bowl selections. Six former Notre Dame student athletes were selected for the Pro Bowl, five of which played football at Notre Dame and one who starred in soccer.

Here are the six former Golden Domers headed to the Pro Bowl this season:

Notre Dame Football 2024 Outlook: Quarterbacks (1.0)

How does Notre Dame look at quarterback entering 2024?

Notre Dame finished the 2023 football season with three-straight wins to go 10-3, wrapping with a dominating 40-8 win over Oregon State in the Sun Bowl.

A dominating defense remains largely intact as the page now turns to 2024 but what about the offense?

We will go position-by-position this January breaking down what is lost and who returns for the Fighting Irish in 2024 – and what it all means for the season to come.

Today we look at the quarterbacks as the Irish have to replace one of the most experienced signal callers in the history of college football.  Let’s take an initial look at how the quarterback situation shapes up entering 2024 – obviously this is all possible to change at a moment’s notice given the modern day transfer portal workings.

Former Notre Dame wide receiver heads west – to ACC

Head west young man…

Former Notre Dame wide receiver Tobias Merriweather has announced his next plans and they include playing football at an ACC program.

Well, a soon-to-be ACC program.

Merriweather, a member of Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class, entered the transfer portal just days after the Irish concluded this regular season at Stanford.  On Thrusday evening he announced that he plans to attend California to continue his college football career.

Merriweather came to Notre Dame with exceptional speed and size but didn’t put things together with consistency for two seasons.  He finishes his Fighting Irish career with 15 receptions for 325 yards and three touchdowns.

All the best at Cal.

Notre Dame Fans Want To Believe: Is It Justified This Time?

There is certainly hype – is it more real this time around?

2023 ended strongly for the Notre Dame football program.

A blowout bowl game win, a great offensive coordinator hire and successful runs in the portal and the early signing period have brightened Irish moods. The program really does feel like they are trending up.

The issue is Notre Dame fans feel like they’ve been here before. Living on hope and future promises never kept. Many are asking why they should consider this time will end any differently. The answer to me is simple. The program is being built differently than at any other time in the last 30 years.

Let’s examine the different ways this is the case in more detail.

Michigan-Alabama: Social media reacts to Tommy Rees’ fourth-and-goal call

Tough one for Tommy…

Few, if any College Football Playoff games all time came with the hype that No. 1 Michigan against No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl did this season.  And as it turned out, the game lived up to the hype, going into overtime before being decided.

Michigan scored on its possession of overtime, and then Alabama moved the ball inside the Wolverines 5-yard line before stalling. The Crimson Tide faced a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line when quarterback Jalen Milroe ran a keeper. He was met and stopped in the backfield to secure the Michigan win.

A look at the replay shows a low snap and an offensive line from Alabama that was manhandled on the play (and for much of the game).  However, that didn’t stop college football fans on social media from being ticked at former Notre Dame quarterback and play-caller Tommy Rees, who is now Alabama’s offensive coordinator. Check out some of the best/worst social media had to offer below: