Category: 2023 ND Football

Notre Dame Football: 2024 New Year Resolutions

A few resolutions for Notre Dame football in 2024

Notre Dame football is ushering in the new year riding a wave of momentum. They had a very successful early signing day, hired Mike Denbrock away from LSU, and blew out Oregon St. to close out the season. Notre Dame is trending up for 2024.

With the turn of the calendar top of mind and progress for the football program always there as well, let’s have some fun and go over 5 New Year Resolutions for Notre Dame Football to make for 2024. It feels like the program is close to “turning a corner”.

Are they?

What else needs to change before the Irish can be considered “elite”?

Notre Dame Sun Bowl Success – Sign of Things to Come?

A new beginning of sorts for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame?

All with Notre Dame interests had more lofty goals entering 2023 than to be playing in the Sun Bowl with three losses on the ledger in late December, but that’s how the season played out.

While this bowl bid was met with general frustration, it was still an opportunity. To get to 10 wins. To get younger players valuable experience and to create momentum heading into the offseason.

Notre Dame took full advantage of said opportunity with a 40-8 beat down of Oregon State. The Irish dominated on both sides of the ball. The Irish came ready to play and didn’t let their altered starting lineups slow them. This is a great sign of depth and hopefully for greener pastures in 2024.

Let’s examine some pieces from this game that can be parlayed into success next season as well.

Notre Dame Destroys Oregon State: Instant Takeaways

What a way to end 2023!

Notre Dame dominated Oregon State in every aspect of Friday’s Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.  Some might even say the Fighting Irish closed their 2023 season by playing grrrrrrrrrreat!

Sorry, I had to.

Notre Dame stopped Oregon State quickly on the game’s opening possession and immediately marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead.  That would be rinsed and repeated for most of the afternoon to the tune of a 33-8 Notre Dame victory.

The win puts Notre Dame at 10-3 to finish the 2023 campaign while Oregon State falls to 8-5 with the loss.

Here are our instant takeaways for the final time in 2023.

Sun Bowl: Oregon State without top receiver for second half

This won’t help Oregon State’s chances.

Oregon State’s offense struggled mightily to move the ball in the first half of Friday’s Sun Bowl against Notre Dame and that task will get even more difficult in the final 30 minutes.

The Beavers have officially ruled receiver Silas Bolden out for the second half due to injury.  Bolden had three receptions for 28 yards in the first half (Oregon State totaled just 103-yards in the first half).  He also led the Beavers with 51 receptions for 718 yards and five touchdowns this year.

Notre Dame is looking for their 10th win of the season, something they’ve accomplished five times since the 2017 season.

Notre Dame cornerback set to play after losing mother overnight

Go get em today, Mick.

If you follow Notre Dame football closely you’ve probably become familiar with the story of sophomore cornerback Jaylen Mickey and his mother who has been battling cancer since 2020.

Last night Nilka Mickey, known to some as Mama Mickey, succumbed to colon cancer.

News of such things is never easy to hear and only that much more difficult during the holidays.  It also makes Mickey’s pick-six against Pittsburgh where he immediately pointed to the sky upon entering the end zone feel that much more special.

Despite the news from overnight, Mickey is suited up and will play for the Irish today.

Go have a day, Mick.

Notre Dame-Oregon State: Sun Bowl Pregame Buzz

One more time in 2023!

The Sun Bowl, currently known as the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl to be accurate, is the second-longest running bowl game in college football, trailing just the Rose Bowl.

For just the second time in program history Notre Dame is set to play in the game as they take on Oregon State on Friday in El Paso, Texas.

A 10-win season is on the line for Notre Dame as the Irish look to set the tone for the off-season headed into what could be a very special 2024.

Notre Dame coming to town is a big deal in El Paso and plenty of Irish fans decided to make the holiday trip.  Below is some of the best pregame buzz ahead of the 2023 season finale – check it out!

Notre Dame-Oregon State: Sun Bowl Video Preview

Go Irish, Beat Beavers!

Notre Dame closes the 2023 season on Friday against Oregon State in a Sun Bowl contest that will certainly be unique.

Opt-outs are plentiful on both sidelines as plenty of NFL talent won’t be participating in the affair.  However, there is still a 10-win season for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame on the line as well as a stage to be set for a big 2024.

Will Notre Dame take care of business in the Sun Bowl?

Fighting Irish Wire staff writers Nick Shepkowski and Jeff Feyerer got together Thursday night to preview the game and discuss the state of the program, including the recent hiring of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and plenty more.

Check it out in full below (and do so after the game as well as it features plenty of non-Sun Bowl discussion).

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Notre Dame-Oregon State: Sun Bowl Staff Predictions

How do you predict a game with so many players opting out?

It seems like it was just a couple of weeks ago that Notre Dame was in Ireland kicking off the 2023 season.  It was a year full of promise but that also featured many frustrations.

Notre Dame started 4-0 before dropping an all-time heartbreaker to Ohio State.  They followed that up with a last second win at Duke before getting boat-raced at Louisville.  All in all the Irish would finish the regular season 9-3 with plenty of promise but also plenty of questions.

Now comes a dam fine Oregon State Beavers team that is going through a transition as a program.  Their days in the Pac 12 are done and their former quarterback turned head coach has left to lead Michigan State.

Both sides have more than a handful of key players from the regular season opting out.  Notre Dame can finish the year with 10 wins, something they’ve accomplished every year since 2017 besides last year.  Oregon State could finish 9-4 with a victory.

With so many key pieces on both sides this certainly isn’t the easiest game to handicap.  However, we will certainly try our best to tell you how it goes as the 2023 season sees a bow put on it.

Watch: Notre Dame football releases hype video for Sun Bowl

Get hyped one last time for 2023!

The 2023 football season comes to an end Friday for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish are in El Paso to take on Oregon State.  A win would mean 10 on the year for Notre Dame, something they’re looking to do again after accomplishing the feat each year from 2017-2021 but failing to in Marcus Freeman’s debut campaign a year ago.

Notre Dame will be without much of their 2023 production due to opt-outs for various reasons.  Despite that, the Irish still appear very much in tune with their head coach in planning on finishing the year with that 10th victory.

As the Notre Dame media team has done all year they released a hype video the day before the game.  Check it out below as it might just be their best work of the season:

2023 Sun Bowl: End Of A Beginning for Notre Dame

There is still a game to play to finish up 2023!

In an odd twist of football fate, Notre Dame’s last few weeks have had more excitement than the last couple of weeks that featured actual games. All of the transfers, all of the opt-outs, and of course, the Mike Denbrock news. It’s been a lot to take in and process. But one thing is for sure, Irish fans are excited about the future.

But the Sun Bowl isn’t in the future, it’s in the present. Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman really want to notch win number 10 heading into what seems to be an ultra-bright future with the roster turning over to the plus side and a staff that breeds confidence on not one, but both sides of the ball. In a way, this game is the end of the beginning of the Marcus Freeman era. And Irish fans feel like they are really going to like what comes next.

Let’s talk about three keys to an Irish victory.