Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Who can get the Irish back on track after their heartbreaking loss?
Notre Dame doesn’t have time to think about what could have been against Ohio State. Its focus now must shift to a resurgent Duke team. Wins continue to be necessary because you never know what can happen over the next two months. The College Football Playoff might still remain in play.
Here are the Irish’s statistical leaders to watch for against the Blue Devils:
Which Notre Dame players worry you? #GoBucks
The first quarter of [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s season is ending this weekend, with its biggest test of that time frame coming in South Bend, Indiana, with a massive clash with Notre Dame.
The Irish have been one of the more impressive teams in the country, entering the game 4-0, with a top-10 scoring offense and a defense that isn’t far behind. The top-10 matchup brings a lot of talent to the table on both sides.
For the first time this season, both team will be challenged. Some of those challenges are highlighted below, as I look at which Notre Dame players could give Ohio State some problems on Saturday night.
Here are the players most equipped to take down the Buckeyes.
Notre Dame got through its four games unscathed, and now it’s time for the really big test. Ohio State is coming to South Bend, and this could more or less decide the Irish’s fate for 2023.
It will be tough, but they’ve shown they have the personnel to meet the challenge.
Here are the statistical leaders to watch out for in the upcoming contest:
Here’s who to watch against Central Michigan.
Notre Dame not only got through its first real test of 2023, but it stepped on the gas against NC State to show how talented it is.
Up next is Central Michigan, which should provide a bit of a breather. More importantly, it will serve as a tuneup for when Ohio State comes to South Bend the following week.
Here are the statistical leaders to watch out for in the upcoming contest:
Get ready for the season with some familiar names.
The first buildup to a Notre Dame football game for 2023 finally has arrived. You all have been very patient in waiting for this week, but that patience has paid off. Waiting for this long deserves a pat on the back, so give yourself one as you’re reading this. And even if you have heard this preseason spiel before, give yourself a pat on the back anyway.
With that schmaltz out of the way, let’s talk about the players on the 2023 Irish roster who performed the best in 2022. We should see some of that on display in the season opener against Navy. Although the Midshipmen are not exactly the best opponent to use as a measuring stick, we at least can get an idea of what’s to come. After all, they don’t call it Week 0 for nothing.
Here are the 2023 Irish players who did the best in football’s top statistical categories:
A couple of members of the 2022 Notre Dame recruiting class went head-to-head in one-and-one drills and it was certainly entertaining.
The top returning Notre Dame defender has matched up frequently in fall camp with sophomore wide receiver Tobias Merriweather. Morrison was a freshman All-American last season while Merriweather struggled to get playing time despite showing flashes.
At practice on Wednesday the two did one-on-one battles and fortunately for us, Andrew Sanders of WNDU was able to capture a couple of the plays. The first saw Merriweather show every bit the hype he’s received as he worked Morrison.
Oh hello, Tobias Merriweather pic.twitter.com/ophAWP5g8Z
— Andrew Sanders (@DrewSandersWNDU) August 16, 2023
The good news for Notre Dame fans is that Merriweather did that against an absolute stud of a cornerback. Perhaps just as good of news is that Morrison bounced right back and won the next round.
… y'all know Big Play Ben got his lick back though pic.twitter.com/uFERYhr39V
— Andrew Sanders (@DrewSandersWNDU) August 16, 2023
A ton has been made of the freshmen receivers but in Merriweather’s second go-around expectations are clearly high for him. As exciting as these were for what they are, thank God a game against an actual opponent will be played in less than 10 days.
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The Irish have two of the best lining up for them on Saturdays
There is a lot of hype for a few [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] players entering the 2023 season.
One of them has been a stalwart on the offensive line since his freshman season, [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag]. The Minnesota native was selected by CBS Sports as one of their preseason All-American first team offensive linemen.
The other isn’t who you might expect, but a known name nevertheless. Cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] was the other member of the Notre Dame football team to make CBS Sports list. He was picked on their second team after a massive freshman season. Morrison was one of six true sophomores, excluding specialists, to be named to either the first team or second.
2️⃣0️⃣@BMoe_21 has been named to the Bednarik Award Watchlist#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/5ZVxnfoDkn
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 14, 2023
Both players have been named to numerous other award watch lists, so many expect big seasons from these two Irish stars.
7️⃣6️⃣@JoeAlt7 has been named to the Lombardi Award Watchlist#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/UgEa4qHA52
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 15, 2023
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Disrespect?
I’ll start this by saying that I’m not huge on preseason All-American teams. If you think the significance of preseason team rankings is useless then the announcement of preseason All-American and all-conference teams is significantly more-so.
However, they do help generate conversation and as we get into summer and games are still almost 12 weeks away I’m not against more college football conversation.
In looking at the Athlon Sports college football preview magazine I was caught a bit by their preseason All-American teams in regards to a Notre Dame player.
Offensive tackle Joe Alt was named a first team member, something nobody is going to argue. However, Benjamin Morrison appeared not on the first or second teams but instead on the third-team.
I’m not going to freak out over this because I’ll save that for things that are significant but nobody listed on the first or second teams touched Morrison’s six interceptions a season ago. That’s not to say interceptions are the only thing that matter in regards to a corner but they’re clearly significant.
Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama) and Kalen King (Penn State) were the first-team cornerback selections while Cooper DeJean (Iowa) and Fentrell Cypress (Florida State) were on the second-team. Will Johnson (Michigan) joined Morrison on the third-team.
Again, I’m not going to lose my mind over it, but just thought it was worth pointing out.
Enjoy a few of the best photos from Benjamin Morrison’s Notre Dame career to date below!
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How will his year go now that he’s not sneaking up on anyone?
His first spring at Notre Dame began in 2022 without much fanfare but it was clear by last season’s season-opener at Ohio State that the Irish thought they had something in true freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Morrison saw the field with significant playing time that night and before long was able to work his way into the starting lineup.
By November he’d turn into one of the best cornerbacks in the country, intercepting six passes, all coming from November on and none being bigger than his 94-yard pick-six to put the upset of Clemson on ice.
So what else is there to know about Morrison as we head into 2023, his sophomore season?
Will anyone win this year?
It’s the time of year when we start seeing award watch lists come out in anticipation of the college football season. With Notre Dame expected to be highly ranked once again, there are plenty of players who are ripe for watching. Whether or not any of them actually take home any of this hardware is anyone’s guess right now, but they’re at least on the radar of those who know college football best.
In some cases, more than one Notre Dame player is on the watch list for the same award. Also, as different award watch lists come on different days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Rest assured, we will be doing just that as these lists continue to come out.
At season’s end, we’ll find out if any of them or maybe somebody different becomes the first national award winner for the Irish since [autotag]Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah[/autotag] won the Butkus Award in 2020:
