Category: Notre Dame

College Football Rankings, Season Predictions: Independents Spring Version 2022

Independents college football rankings and predictions with realistic best and worst case records and quick analysis – the 2022 spring version.

Independents college football rankings and predictions with the realistic best and worst case records and quick analysis – the 2022 spring version.

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The independents are all in interesting situations.

Former Big 12er BYU won’t be on its own for much longer, Liberty will once again be a thorn in the sides of several Power Five teams, Army should rip through its schedule, and New Mexico State, Notre Dame, UConn, and UMass are all starting the 2022 season with new head coaches.

The rankings are based on how good the teams should be and not the final projected records. Keeping in mind that this all could/might/will change when we make the final calls in August …

– 2022 College Football Schedules By Teams: All 131 Schools

Current Notre Dame 2023 commit projected to NFL Draft First-Round

It’s a while away, but high praise regardless

The group of 2023 stars have yet to even enroll into their respective collegiate campuses but that still doesn’t mean you can’t project what they will look like 3-5 years post-high school. Brian Dohn of 247Sports polled some of the analysts they rely on and came up with multiple names that they’d bet to become first-round selections.

There were no repeats allowed on this list and when it came to Cooper Petagna’s turn, he selected Notre Dame defensive end commit Keon Keeley as his future early selection. He notes that Keeley “possesses arguably the highest upside of any defensive prospect in the class outside of Cormani McClain.”

That’s a very high praise for Keeley and the other players who made this list. It’s a massive task to project what any of these players will turn out to be, but for anyone to be selected, it’s a nice honor.

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Notre Dame RB Williams finally hears his name called in NFL Draft

Longer than what we expected

When Irish running back Kyren Williams opted out of his final seasons of college football and entered the NFL Draft, he most likely didn’t believe that he would have to wait until day 3 to hear his name being called. That was the case however, as Williams was finally selected by the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams with the 21st selection of the fifth round.

After seeing multiple other back who didn’t nearly have the same amount of production in college getting selected, the process was most likely humbling for the former Irish star. He does end up in a good situation, as the Rams offense is one of the best in the league.

The expectation for a fifth round pick isn’t too high and if we had to guess, Williams will exceed those. With a chip on his shoulder, it would not be surprising for Williams to carve out a solid role in the Rams offense.

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247Sports projects two Notre Dame players selected in ‘23 NFL 1st round

Double up in 2023?

The 2022 NFL Draft has just begun but many writers are already looking forward to next years draft, especially the first-round. Blake Brockermeyer, a former Texas All-American and first-round NFL selection turned analyst for 247Sports looked ahead to the 2023 draft. He sees two current Notre Dame players as potential early selections. Find out below where Brockermeyer thinks they’ll go. (The teams are just projections at this moment.)

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Notre Dame offers big time 2024 athlete from Florida

The Irish are hitting the 2024 class hard

The Irish have gotten their first commitment this week in the 2024 class, Michigan defensive end Brandon Davis-Swain, shortly after the Blue vs. Gold game over the weekend. That is just the start and Marcus Freeman and his staff are hard at working looking for their next potential commitment.

Earlier today, Florida athlete Booker Pickett Jr. tweeted out that he has received an offer from Notre Dame. At six-foot-four-inches and 200-pounds, Pickett Jr. could grow into a defensive end or could play behind the end at outside linebacker or even a hybrid, think former Irish linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The Irish are included in Pickett Jr.’s ever growing offer list that already includes Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State, Michigan, USC and others.

It looks like linebackers coach Al Washington is leading the charge for Pickett Jr.’s verbal, as he was tagged in the announcement of the offer. It still early in the Florida athlete’s recruitment, but getting on him early is a good start for the Irish.

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Notre Dame adds another 2023 defensive line commit

The defensive line haul is extremely impressive for the Irish

The Irish have consistently been ranked at the top or near the top of the 2023 recruiting cycle. This evening they have added Massachusetts defensive lineman Boubacar Traore to the already impressive class.

At six-foot-five-inches and 235-pounds, Traore selected the Irish over Boston College (was once committed), Michigan, and Pittsburgh. Those were his only current offers, which is a bit strange for a player who is viewed as one of the top players at his position. It’s also a bit odd due to the family lineage, his brother Badara, went to LSU and although went undrafted is currently an offensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Traore becomes the eleventh total commit in Marcus Freeman’s first full recruiting cycle, the third defensive lineman with Keon Keeley and Brenan Vernon. The 2023 Notre Dame recruiting class is beginning to look like it will be on that will shape Freeman’s tenure.

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The winning streak ends, Notre Dame baseball drops contest against MSU

The Irish drop a game in the home of the Tigers

The Irish were streaking once again but their most recent run came to a halt this evening in Comerica Park, the home of MLB’s Detroit Tigers. Notre Dame didn’t play against the big league club, instead facing off against Michigan State for the second time this year.

The first game went the Irish’s way, winning 2-1, but it was the Spartans that held a late 2-1 after five innings. The Irish would tied the game at 2 in the top of the sixth, but that would be their last runs as MSU scored four unanswered run to ultimately defeat the Irish 6-2 and stop their current five-game winning streak.

The Irish didn’t treat this game like a normal mid-week contest, trotting out their normal starting lineup and sending out some of their better pitchers to the mound. Unfortunately, the two early runs MSU scored were unearned, the final run also unearned. It was very uncharacteristic of the Irish, as their defense coming into the game was fourth in the country according to fielding percentage.

The loss puts their season record at 26-9 with their next contest back in South Bend against Boston College. The three game set begins on Friday at 5:00pm EST and concludes on Sunday at 1pm.

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Notre Dame adds first offensive lineman to 2023 recruiting class

The tenth commit is an offensive lineman

The Irish continue their momentum from the Blue vs. Gold game into Monday as they did not have to wait very long to add a commitment to the 2023 recruiting class. North Carolina offensive lineman Sam Pendleton made his verbal pledge to the Irish, with Notre Dame beating schools like Clemson,  Florida, Michigan, Penn State, North Carolina and others for Pendleton’s commitment.

At six-feet-four-inches and 305-pounds Pendleton projects as either a right tackle or could slide inside to either guard position. He’s a bit on the smaller side to play the coveted left tackle position, but plenty of size to play on the other side.

Pendleton becomes the tenth commit in the 2023 Irish recruiting class that is rated as one of the best in the country at this point of the cycle.

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Notre Dame completes comeback, baseball team sweeps Wake Forest

WOW, what a comeback for the Irish

After the top of the fifth inning, it very much looked like the Irish’s modest four-game winning streak would come to an end after Wake Forest took at 8-2 lead. The Notre Dame hitters had something else to say about that, as they soon went to work.

The Irish battled back and after five innings, trailed 8-7, but they were going to need more eventually. The Demon Deacons scored three in the top of the sixth then the Irish answered back with on, for a 11-8 score at the end of the inning. The visitors would tack on another run in the top of the seventh before the Irish bats once again woke up with a four spot in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 12. Jack Zyska with the biggest hit of that inning, his three-run homer, his second on the day, tied the game.

A single by Carter Putz in the bottom of the ninth would close the heroics for the Irish as they at one time erased a six-run Wake Forest lead. This comeback was one that many will not forget, especially Zyska.

The win improved gave the Irish eleven straight wins at home and a perfect 5-0 home stand. Their winning streak also has reached five games and their ACC record is now at 11-7.

Notre Dame is back on the road on as they travel north to face Michigan State in Comerica Park, the home of MLB’s Detroit Tigers. They will then return to South Bend as Boston College comes into town for a weekend series beginning Friday afternoon.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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The day after: Three lasting thoughts after Notre Dame’s Blue vs. Gold game

What still sticks out in your mind?

It was a fantastic April Saturday, the weather cooperated and the Irish won a football game. There were plenty of instant takes after the game concluded but now that it has been about 24-hours, there is more to digest. Here are a few lasting thoughts from Notre Dame’s Blue vs. Gold game.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen