Tag: Audric Estime

Who is missing from Notre Dame in Sun Bowl via opt-out?

These names could be in the Sun Bowl, but they won’t be.

It’s become increasingly common for college football players to opt out of inconsequential bowl games for one reason or another. With the College Football Playoff field tripling in size next year, that could solve the problem a bit, at least as far as the number of team this practice impacts. This is the future of college football, even if you don’t agree with it.

With Notre Dame facing Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, several Irish players are missing, either having entered the transfer portal or choosing to focus on preparing for the NFL draft. That means many of the Irish’s leaders in each major statistical category will be absent, so it’s not worth listing a bunch of names that won’t play.

Instead, we’re going to list the percentage of each major statistic that will be missing from the Irish during the final game of the season because of opt-outs. Hopefully, this won’t discourage you from watching the game too much:

Watch: Audric Estime’s farewell video to Notre Dame

What’s your favorite Audric Estime memory at Notre Dame?

There are plenty of talented players that run through the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium and get cheered for their few years on campus. Then they either go on to the NFL or to their non-football careers. While not forgotten, their memory fades over the years.

For any Notre Dame fan during the last two seasons, it is going to be hard to imagine the Audric Estime in blue and gold memories fading anytime soon.

Estime announced he was forgoing the Sun Bowl and his senior season and will enter the NFL draft.  The star running back figures to be one of the first at his position selected in April.

Estime posted a video to social media highlighting his time and memories at Notre Dame and the two-minute clip is certainly worth your time. Check it out below and thanks for the memories, No. 7.

Audric Estime opts out of Sun Bowl to prepare for NFL draft

Good luck, Audric!

[autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] showed this season that he’s ready for the NFL. Not wanting to leave any money on the table and given the short shelf life of an NFL running back, Estime has decided that time to declare for the draft is now. He also has become the latest in a series of Notre Dame players opting out of the Sun Bowl. He made the announcement on social media:

But the announcement wasn’t enough for Estime. Minutes later, he posted a video featuring some of his favorite memories with the Irish:

In three seasons with the Irish, Estime ran for 2,321 yards and 29 touchdowns while averaging 6.2 yards a carry. He also caught 26 passes for 277 yards and one touchdown. That’s a collegiate career anyone can be proud of.

Estime saved the best for what turned out to be his last collegiate season. In 2023, he ran for 1,341 yards on 210 carries and scored 18 touchdowns. Those touchdowns were more than tripled those of the next closest player and made him the Irish’s leading scorer at 108 points.

Best of luck to Estime in the future. Big things are coming for him.

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Social media reacts to fourth touchdown for Audric Estime

Much of the chatter on social media during Notre Dame’s game against Stanford has been about Audric Estime.

Much of the chatter on social media during Notre Dame’s game against Stanford has been about [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]. More specifically, it’s been about how he didn’t make the latest cut for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the best running back in the country. The only thing to do in that case is let your game speak, and boy, has Estime ever.

Here’s Estime’s fourth touchdown against the Cardinal, this one from 25 yards out:

It probably already has been asked once or twice on this site during this game, but is there anything else that can be said about Estime? Every NFL team should be lining up to check him out at the combine because he is going to be so good for somebody. Irish fans know it, and they want the world to know it via social media. Here are some of the best tweets about yet another in a series of Estime touchdowns:

Social media reacts to Jordan Faison 45-yard touchdown reception

Yes, it’s Faison.

Notre Dame has focused on the run game for most of its game against Stanford. [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] has been the beneficiary of that, scoring three touchdowns thus far. But the pass game has had its moments, too. We saw the latest example of that when [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] found [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] for a 45-yard touchdown, increasing the Irish’s big lead over the Cardinal:

And if that wasn’t enough, the Pac-12 Network went to commercial after this touchdown with a shot a Faison in his lacrosse gear:

This was Faison’s third touchdown this season and his second in as many games. It’s a testament to how there are so many great athletes on this Irish team. A national championship might not be in the cards this year, but it’s such a treat to watch these young men do what they do so well. If you don’t believe that, why don’t you see some of these reactions from social media?

Social media reacts to Audric Estime’s third touchdown for Notre Dame

What a player.

Notre Dame has made its offensive strategy against Stanford clear, and it involves feeding [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] over and over. Against better programs, having such a predictable plan might flop spectacularly. But Stanford is not a better program, and that’s becoming more clear as this game continues. In fact, Estime scored his third touchdown of the game on the first possession of the second half on a 5-yard run:

The Irish have been fortunate to have a running back like Estime in their arsenal. Sometimes, you just need someone to do what they do best in order to win. The Irish have recognized that this is one of those games in which Estime can do that, so there’s no need to change anything up as long as what they’re doing is working.

Social media has taken notice of Estime’s big evening and taken to social media to express thoughts about him such as these?

Watch: Marcus Freeman and Audric Estime seem to feud before halftime

What was this all about?

It wasn’t the prettiest of first halves for Notre Dame at Stanford on Saturday night but as the second quarter clock struck 0:00 the Irish held a 28-16 lead.  Frustrations over three first half turnovers from Notre Dame though appeared to boil over a bit just before intermission.

Leading 27-16, moments after Gi’Bran Payne extended Notre Dame’s lead with a short touchdown run, cameras caught an exchange between Audric Estime and Marcus Freeman on the sideline.  What they are discussing in a rather intense way isn’t certainly known but the optics clearly aren’t great.

Estime had a monster first half, pacing Notre Dame with 140 rushing yards and two scores on 14 carries.  Was he upset he didn’t get a chance at another?

Check out the video below:

We’re certain Freeman will be asked about this following the game so stay tuned for what he has to say.

Social media reacts to Audric Estime scoring second touchdown

He is so good.

If this is to be [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]’s final game with Notre Dame, he’s determined to go out with a bang. For the second time in the first half against Stanford, he scored a touchdown to put the Irish in front. Yes, it’s shocking to hear that the Cardinal have led more than once, but the Irish have turned the ball over three times. Nonetheless, he ran to the end zone from 6 yards out here:

Irish fans are running out of superlatives on how to describe Estime. As long as he’s on his game, his team has a very good chance of winning. It doesn’t matter how well the opposition plans for him or how much better it is than Estime’s team. He is going to factor in the outcome, and all opponents can do at that point is watch.

Here are some of the best reactions on social media that were tweeted after Estime’s second score:

Social media reacts to Audric Estime scoring game’s first touchdown

What a season for this kid.

There’s no telling what Notre Dame running back [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] will do after the game against Stanford. Will he sit out the bowl game in preparation for the NFL draft? Is he somehow coming back for another season, thus making that question irrelevant? We’ll get the answer to that later, but for now, here he is running 39 yards for the game’s first touchdown, giving the Irish a 7-3 lead:

Appreciate Estime while you still can, Irish fans. He has had a special season and probably should be honored more than he will be. Even with a barren trophy case for this season though, he has been one heck of a bright spot for an offense that always has come out very prepared or not prepared at all.

People took to social media after the touchdown to express their thoughts about it. Here is some of the best of what was tweeted:

Notre Dame running back Audric Estime snubbed for national award

This is a big miss by their committee

On Tuesday afternoon the [autotag]Doak Walker Award[/autotag], given out annually to the nations top running back announces its semi-final list, and Notre Dame running back [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] was nowhere to be found.

The Irish running back is No. 15 in rushing yards with 1,103 while being tied for 7th in touchdowns with 14 was shockingly omitted from the list of ten. There is now way that there are 10 better running backs in the country than Estime.

Many of the names I can understand, but having to Group of 5 players over him just makes no sense. On a weekly basis Estime has played better competition and produced at a high level.

It would be nice for them to amend this list, but that most likely won’t happen at this point. The snub hopefully motivates Estime this weekend and beyond.

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