Tag: Allen Pinkett

ChatGPT ranks top 10 running backs in Notre Dame history

How do you feel about this list?

We recently put AI writing tool ChatGPT to the test and had it list what it believed was Notre Dame’s top 10 quarterbacks. The list surely caused some debate for some readers, but guess what? We’re going to cause you to think again by having it generate its list of the top 10 running backs in program history.

Some of you might disagree with what ChatGPT says, and others might even say the list is too short. However, the point of this is to make you think and spark discussion. Also, even though ChatGPT has not been updated since September 2021, it’s a safe assumption that no one on the Irish since then has played well enough to have a place on this list with the possible exception of [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag]. Just out of curiosity though, would you include him?

Anyway, without further adieu, here’s the list with ChatGPT’s descriptions of each player. Some entries have been edited for clarity and updates:

25 unbreakable Notre Dame football records

How does a head coach let a quarterback get to seven interceptions in a single game?

Earlier this week LeBron James became the NBA’s leading scorer, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the record that had stood for more than 30 years.  Although I wouldn’t quite put it with Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak or Cal Ripken, Jr.’s consecutive games started streaks in terms of unbreakability, I have a hard time believing I’ll see someone else pass LeBron’s mark while I’m still on earth.

That got me thinking about what Notre Dame’s most unbreakable football records are.  So I did what every 37-year-old male does when they’re too awake to go to bed.

I sifted through the most recent Notre Dame football media guide and came up with 25 records I’m betting I never see broken for one reason or another.  Here are 25 of the most incredible marks in Notre Dame football history — ones that certainly will not be broken anytime soon.

Notre Dame’s top-rated running back recruits since 2000

What would happen if Notre Dame’s recruiting of the running back position could meet what it does on the offensive line?

Notre Dame has long been known for fielding a solid running game on an annual basis. [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag], [autotag]Ricky Watters[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Brooks[/autotag], [autotag]Ray Zellars[/autotag], [autotag]Autry Denson[/autotag] and [autotag]Allen Pinkett[/autotag] come to mind from yesteryear. Stars [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Adams[/autotag] and [autotag]Theo Riddick[/autotag] wowed crowds over the last decade.

It’s been a long time however since Notre Dame has brought in what would be considered top-tier talent at the position with regularity. Sure, Adams, [autotag]Tony Jones, Jr[/autotag] and some others have earned NFL paychecks over the last decade, it’s been a long while since Notre Dame produced Julius Jones, the last Irish running back to be more than simply a role-playing back in the NFL. Perhaps Williams will change that with the Rams, but time will only tell.

So what has Notre Dame’s recruiting at running back looked like the last two-plus decades?

Here are the top 30 Notre Dame running back recruits since 2000 according to 247Sports. It is worth noting some of these players wound up changing positions once getting to South Bend.

Notre Dame football all-time single game rushing leaders

Who was the best of this bunch?

Notre Dame might not be known as “Running Back U” but that doesn’t mean the Fighting Irish haven’t had their fair share of elite runners over the years.  And those elite runners have had some pretty elite performances, but which Notre Dame running backs had the biggest days of all-time?

We’ve previously looked at the single game passing records for Notre Dame quarterbacks and found that throwing for a ton of yards often doesn’t mean good things for the team.  How does that compare to running the ball extremely well on a given Saturday?

Here are Notre Dame’s top 10 all-time single game rushing leaders.

History of Notre Dame’s rivalry with Pittsburgh

Here’s a rivalry worth talking about.

Everyone knows about the rivalries Notre Dame has with USC, Navy and Michigan, although that last one currently is on hiatus. However, a lot fewer fans seem to realize that Pittsburgh is another program the Irish have played frequently. Ever since the Irish won a 6-0 decision during their first meeting in 1909, the Panthers have been a semi-regular opponent. Like with most rivalries, the Irish have the all-time edge, this one to the tune of 50-21-1.

The series isn’t fading away anytime soon as the programs currently are scheduled for seven future meetings. It’s time to give this rivalry the prestige and hype it deserves. To help fans appreciate the Irish’s history with the Steel City’s flagship university, let’s take a look at some of its most memorable moments to date. Diehard Irish fans undoubtedly remember many of these, but for the uninitiated, here is what to keep in mind during the programs’ future matchups:

68 days until Notre Dame football returns!

Notre Dame football returns in 68 days! Don’t miss today’s countdown as we look back on a rivalry that has been played, well, 68 times.

Another day down and just 68 more to go until we get Notre Dame football officially back in our lives.  We’ll be breaking down plenty of position battles, starting spots and everything regarding the 2020 Fighting Irish football team.

Day 69 looked back at a recent Notre Dame All-American who made a game changing defensive play in a win over a then top-fifteen team.  Now we move to 68 and an opponent who has come up here fairly often in recent weeks.

68: Total meetings all-time between Notre Dame and Pitt in football

I never think of Pitt as one of Notre Dame’s biggest rivals, probably because in my lifetime I can count on one hand how many times the Panthers have finished a season ranked in the top 25.

However, Notre Dame and Pitt have been playing nearly forever and the series has included some incredible moments even if the Panthers haven’t been a national championship contender like they were in the Dan Marino and Tony Dorsett days.

Notre Dame has dominated those 68 games, winning 47 of them and never losing more than three straight meetings in any point of the series that dates back all the way to 1930.

The series has had plenty of memorable moments, like when Allen Pinkett helped Notre Dame get a win at No. 1 Pitt in 1982, the 2012 comeback win that somehow kept Notre Dame’s unbeaten season alive or the 2018 thriller that again, somehow kept Notre Dame’s unbeaten season alive.

The most iconic moment in the history of this rivalry however may have happened when a pair of teams who finished the year a combined 16-10, battled to a three overtime game on the first day of November in 2008.

After blowing a 17-3 and being forced to overtime, Notre Dame played host to one of the more embarrassing moments for a grounds crew in sports history.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bU7wOJb58o&w=560&h=315]

The only thing worse was eventually losing that game and stumbling to a 7-6 final record after a promising 4-1 start.

They may not be on the schedule even close to annually anymore and they may not be in the national championship picture often, but the Notre Dame/Pitt rivalry continues to provide memorable moments all these years later and is the game that scares me the most in terms of an upset entering the 2020 season.

Related – Way too early game-by-game predictions for Notre Dame football in 2020

76 days until Notre Dame football returns!

We’re under 11 weeks until Notre Dame kicks off the 2020 college football season. Don’t miss this huge upset in today’s countdown memory!

We’re under 11 weeks until Notre Dame football returns as the Irish are scheduled to play at Navy the first weekend of September, despite the exact day of that weekend not yet being decided.

We’ve been counting down the days until Notre Dame football returns with yesterday giving a tip of the cap to the 1977 national championship squad.

Today’s Fathers Day edition of the countdown features a look back at a magical run that helped Notre Dame upset No. 1 in 1982.

76: Yards of Allen Pinkett’s touchdown run in the 1982 upset of No. 1 Pitt.

Despite being 5-1-1 on the year, Notre Dame was unranked when they visited No. 1 Pitt on November 6, 1982.  Pitt was loaded with talent as eventual Pro Football Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Jimbo Covert were playing for the Panthers at the time.

Leading 17-16 at the time, Notre Dame had just forced a Pitt turnover as it appeared the Panthers were about to take the lead.  After an incomplete pass on first down, the ball was handed to Pinkett and he took it 76 yards to stretch the Notre Dame lead to eight.

Don’t take my word for it though, listen to the man that made the run describe it.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upZgcUUB5QU&w=560&h=315]

Notre Dame went on to win 31-16 after Pinkett capped the scoring with just under five minutes to play.

Notre Dame improved to 6-1-1 with the upset and soared from unranked to 13th in the nation, but lost three straight to close the year to Penn State, Air Force and USC to finish 6-4-1, unranked and without a bowl appearance.