Category: Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame Watch Party Moving Nights

Notre Dame has been having watch parties for old games all spring and summer. They will continue on a new night starting this week.

If you’ve been really craving sports during this pandemic that has left us largely without live team sports to take in, you may have tuned in and watched a few of the classic Notre Dame games that have been re-aired on the Notre Dame Athletics YouTube page.

Those have been occurring the last few months on Saturday night’s and they’re not going away anytime soon, but they are switching nights starting this week.

This Thursday at 7 p.m. ET you can tune in to see the 2011 Notre Dame win over Michigan State.  That will be the first game shown on a Thursday with a few more scheduled.

June 18 will feature the 1997 game against Georgia Tech in which Notre Dame Stadium was dedicated following renovations. Immediately following that game will be the 2011 hockey win over Boston College in which the Compton Family Ice Arena was dedicated.

The series concludes for June on the 25th when the thrilling 2002 football win over Michigan will air.

Check it all out on the Notre Dame Athletics YouTube page.

Will USC’s disassociation with Reggie Bush be ending soon?

Reggie Bush hasn’t been recognized by USC for ten years. That NCAA punishment is coming to an end and the two reuniting may be coming soon.

Where were you on June 10, 2010?

I was celebrating a Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory from the night before and on a plane home from Philadelphia that afternoon.

It was that day however that USC was hit with significant penalties, forcing them to disassociate themselves from the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, before that award was ultimately taken away.

Wednesday will bring the 10-year anniversary of that ruling which means that disassociation could quickly be coming to an end.

Bush hasn’t been able to represent USC in the last decade.  Even when the Fox Sports pre-game show he stars on went to The Coliseum for the USC vs. Utah game last fall, Bush was cheered but not allowed to be publicly acknowledged in the stadium during the game.

Former USC AD Pat Haden said in 2015 that he wanted to welcome Bush back as soon as possible while former USC sports information director Tim Tessalone said the same a few months back.

Current USC AD Mike Bohn has not publicly spoken on if he will or won’t be welcoming Bush back like others in the USC community desire.

We all saw those USC teams and games – Reggie Bush is a legend, perhaps the best college football player many of us ever saw and should be welcomed back the athletic program he starred for.

Rivals: Irish in on top RB’s but not seen as leaders

Notre Dame has offered many backs in the 2021 cycle and face uphill battles to gain a commitment from one of them.

There is a lot of unknown as to who will lineup beside quarterback Ian Book for the 2020 season. What we do know is that after this year, the Irish will graduate Jafar Armstrong, Avery Davis, and Stanford transfer Trevor Speights, although each of them could petition the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. If both opt to move on, the roster would only have 4 scholarship backs remaining.

This probably isn’t a number Brian Kelly and running back’s coach Lance Taylor want to see, so getting a quality running back in the 2021 is extremely important. Rivals took a look at the best 5 remaining uncommitted backs and the Irish have offered all but one of them.

The Irish have offered Texas’ Camar Wheaton, but at this moment he is viewed as a pipedream for Notre Dame. Mike Farrell, Rivals national director of recruiting, see Oklahoma as the leader in Wheaton’s recruitment. Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, however, is a much more realistic possibility for the Irish. Edwards had intended to visit multiple schools over the summer, but COVID-19 has stopped everyone from visiting schools. Although Farrell sees Michigan as the leader for Edwards, he also sees the back’s recruitment to drag on for a few more months prior to a commitment. If the Irish push hard for Edwards, I could see him spurning the Wolverines and heading a bit south to South Bend.

Like Wheaton, another Texas star in LJ Johnson has an Irish offer, but Notre Dame is not seen as a player in his recruitment. Prophet Brown, a California prospect, is a back that I really think could be a great fit in the Irish offense. Unfortunately, like Edwards, the Irish are trailing in Brown’s recruitment to the supposed leader in Oklahoma. Here is the kicker, the Sooners are in on Wheaton and are looking at Brown as more of a defensive back. These two factors could play a huge role in the Irish being able to get Brown’s attention and ultimately land a commitment from the back.

Getting a quality back in this class is paramount, the depth needs to be addressed. It could be another graduate transfer like Speights or the Irish could land one these talented backs. Look for Notre Dame to make a push for a 2021 back to create some solid depth for Taylor’s group.

Notre Dame makes cut for prized 2022 athlete/wide receiver

Notre Dame hasn’t had the best luck recruiting the wide receiver position in recent months. Perhaps that’s headed for a change here shortly

Notre Dame hasn’t had the best of luck recruiting the wide receiver position in recent months as one of the nation’s best for 2021 de-committed and the only wide receiver commitment in the 2021 class appears to be very much on the fence.

Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish did get a small dose of good news though for 2022’s class Tuesday as one of the nation’s top athletes in Kaden Saunders revealed Notre Dame as one of his seven finalists.

Saunders says in his statement that he wants to make a commitment around his birthday in September and tells how pretty much every video conferencing app has become his way of developing relationships at potential schools.

Saunders, a four-star recruit according to 247Sports, hails from Westerville South High School in Ohio.  The 5-10, 170 pound athlete is being recruited to Notre Dame as a wide receiver.

If the Irish are going to win his commitment in a few short months they’ll have to stand out compared to Michigan, Arizona State, TCU, Penn State, Indiana and West Virginia, all who Saunders also listed in his top seven.

 

Notre Dame Football: Ten Best Jump Ball Catches Ever

Notre Dame has been playing football a very long time and have had some incredible jump ball catches for touchdowns. See the top ten here!

Notre Dame’s advanced media team has been cranking out top ten lists all spring and summer long, helping us get at least some of the sports content we so desperately crave with so few live sports taking place.

They recently released the “Top Ten Jump Ball Catches” in Notre Dame football history, complete with highlights for all.  As always, let’s first watch the ten they chose before briefly discussing them on the next page (to avoid any spoilers).

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACcg9WCvcXo&w=560&h=315]

My thoughts…

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Irish Ranked Highly in another Pre-Season Poll

It seems like all but a certainty that Notre Dame Football will be ranked inside the Top 10 to start the season.

Other outlets have updated their pre-season Top 25 and it was 247Sports turn to do the same thing but with a caveat. “This isn’t an updated version of something 247Sports put out in the winter. This is a start-from-ground-zero ranking that takes into account an offseason worth of coaching changes, recruiting wins and transfers.” I’m sure other publications take this into their equations as well, but the eight experts polled by 247Sports just wanted to make sure you knew the criteria for their rankings.

With that in mind, Notre Dame has come in 8th in this newest update. At first glance, noticing the Irish ranking 83rd overall in returning production is a bit scary.  This shouldn’t be a concern at all, look at the rest of the teams ranked in this Top 10. Each of the top three schools, Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama are in comparable returning production areas, while Oklahoma, who is ranked 7th is just one spot ahead of the Irish.

The Irish preview starts on the offensive end as “Notre Dame has maintained some offensive continuity this offseason by promoting quarterback coach Tommy Rees.” The offensive line will clearly be a strength for the Irish this season but having to replace each skill position starter is a challenge. Chris Hummer, who wrote the snippet, see that “there’s a strong skill cast beside him and some exciting impact freshman (Chris Tyree, Jordan Johnson) than can help right away.” It is a lot to ask for freshman to be big time contributors, but the Tyree, the Virginia running back and Johnson, the Missouri wide receiver could do just that. Look out for Kentucky tight end Michael Mayer to make an impact as a first-year player as well.

Looking on the other side of the ball, Hummer is a bit worried about the “defense is far more of a question mark with just five defensive starters returning.” Yes, it is a bit worrisome but as I mentioned earlier, returning production doesn’t tell the whole picture. “You have to trust coordinator Clark Lea, though. He’s put together back-to-back top 15 defenses.” The trust is there, with a reworked secondary and the emergence last year of linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah the base for a solid defense is there.

As we have seen the Irish have been ranked somewhere in this range by the majority of outlets. A pre-season Top 10 ranking will bring a lot of expectations in South Bend. Brian Kelly will have his work cut out for him to finish with Notre Dame’s fourth consecutive 10-plus win seasons.

Will Notre Dame not be playing in NFL stadiums in 2020?

Will Notre Dame be playing schedule games in NFL venues in 2020? Brian Kelly spoke to Mike Tirico about potentially changing that Tuesday.

For playing a plenty respectable schedule in 2020, Notre Dame has a very kind set of games in terms of where they’re played.

Sure they have to play Wisconsin who is almost always in the top 15, but they get them at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers instead of at Camp Randall in Madison.

Wake Forest doesn’t present the most difficult of places to play but the Irish are slated to play the Demon Deacons in Charlotte, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers instead.

And the meeting with Georgia Tech on Masters weekend is currently set to be played in the Atlanta Falcons stadium, not on Georgia Tech’s campus.

That only helps things for Notre Dame in terms of the of the likelihood of a victory in each of those games by not having to go play a true road game.

But it all might be changing according to Brian Kelly, who spoke on Mike Tirico’s new show on NBCSN Tuesday.

The one thing worth mentioning there is that Pitt does not have a stadium on their campus as they play at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wisconsin would then come to Notre Dame Stadium as well since it is technically a Notre Dame home game in the Shamrock Series.

I can’t at all get upset about any of it.  One, the Badgers having to come to Notre Dame Stadium, even if the crowd is nowhere near capacity only does Notre Dame favors.

College football is made to be played on campus, though.  I know some of those in Georgia and Florida or Oklahoma and Texas will discuss how great their rivalries are when they’re played annually on neutral fields, but is there anything better than a football Saturday in the fall on your favorite college campus?

As cool as it is for teenagers to get to play in NFL venues and as much as Notre Dame promotes doing so, there is nothing like college football being played on campus and not in neutral or watered down professional stadiums.

Some might get upset because Notre Dame doesn’t play as many games in NFL venues but to me, this would be more how college football is meant to be played.

88 Days Until Notre Dame Football Returns

In 88 days we get Notre Dame football back. In the meantime, relive the last national championship team at Notre Dame!

[jwplayer wcheWLNP-er0jUifI]

In 88 days we’ll gladly all welcome Notre Dame football back when they take on the Navy Midshipmen in Annapolis.  In the meantime, we have rosters to break down, opponents to preview and position battles to discuss.

In the meantime why not take a moment to remember the last national championship football team at Notre Dame?

(19) 88: Notre Dame’s last football national championship

After Reggie Ho’s heroics helped Notre Dame to a win over Michigan in the opener the Irish rolled with wins over Michigan State, Purdue and Stanford to move to 4-0.

A win at Pitt in early October moved Notre Dame to 5-0 before the greatest Notre Dame football game many have ever seen, a 31-30 thriller over powerhouse and No. 1 Miami on October 15.

Wins over Air Force, Navy, Rice and Penn State followed before a battle with the top two ranked teams in nation when No. 1 Notre Dame traveled to No. 2 USC for the regular season finale before a 27-10 win despite being significantly out-gained by the Trojans.

The Irish then knocked quarterback Major Harris out of the game early in the Fiesta Bowl as Notre Dame won that contest 34-21, earning their first national championship since 1977 and their last claimed title on record.

Got an hour?  Check out the highlight video recapping that magical 1988 season below.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A5sT_YARUk&w=560&h=315]

Watch: Brian Kelly’s SportsCenter Appearance

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly joined Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter Monday. Watch the interview right here!

[jwplayer wcheWLNP-er0jUifI]

If you missed Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly’s appearance with Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter Monday night then don’t fret, because we’ve got you covered here at FIW.

Kelly revealed Notre Dame’s plan to test players for COVID-19 each week ahead of games, something that had been speculated about but wasn’t yet known.  He also discussed how he has failed as a leader by not doing enough to help stop racism.

If those two pieces don’t do enough for you then you’re always welcome to watch his full appearance with Van Pelt, which you can do below.

[protected-iframe id=”275389f781d33d74474effbb00733d54-162776928-7793168″ info=”https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/2020/06/08/notre-dame-to-test-players-weekly-during-season-for-covid-19/?utm_source=smg&utm_medium=wasabi&utm_content=home-hero” ]

Related: 10 Things You May Not Know About Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly’s SportsCenter Appearance – 5 Things

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was a guest on SportsCenter Monday night and shared some news in regards to Notre Dame football.

Brian Kelly joined Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter on Monday night and discussed a wide array of topics.  If you didn’t catch the interview don’t sweat it, we’ve got you covered right here with the five things to takeaway.

On Social Issues:

Van Pelt led Kelly to start the conversation by discussing the current state of affairs in the United States in the wake of the unnecessary death of George Floyd.  Kelly offered the following on what went on with his team in the days immediately following that event.

“Dialogue.  It started with getting everyone together and to give them the platform to speak on what happened”

Kelly went on to add that he has “failed as a leader” of young men because he hasn’t done enough with his platform to help change things for the better.

In order to create this change we all claim to want, Kelly stated: “It can’t be talk, it’s got to be action”

Next:  “White men don’t like talking about racism”

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5