Tag: Brian Kelly

Amway Coaches Poll: Notre Dame Moves Up

A week after dropping a spot, Notre Dame moved back up in the latest Amway Coaches Poll, Powered by USA Today

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Last week some Notre Dame fans were upset when the Amway Coaches Poll Powered by USA Today was released because the Fighting Irish dropped a spot to No. 16 despite having their way at Duke.

The Irish were rewarded for their win over previously No. 23 as they moved up one spot to No. 15 in this week’s poll.

Here is the latest Amway Coaches Poll, Powered by USA Today:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. Alabama

6. Oregon

7. Oklahoma

8. Utah

9. Penn State

10. Florida

11. Minnesota

12. Michigan

13. Baylor

14. Wisconsin

15. Notre Dame

16. Auburn

17. Cincinnati

18. Memphis

19. Boise State

20. Iowa

21. SMU

22. Appalachian State

23. Oklahoma State

24. Texas A&M

25. San Diego State

Dropped out:

Navy, Texas and Indiana

Notre Dame Recruiting: Second 2022 Defensive Back Offered on Navy Weekend

Xavier Nwankpa of Southeast Polk in Pleasant Hill, Iowa became the second defensive back in the class of 2022 to receive a scholarship-offer from Notre Dame.

While Iowa was busy ruining Minnesota’s perfect season and Iowa State was upsetting Texas on a last-second field goal, Notre Dame was dismantling Navy and attempting to steal defensive back prospect out of The Hawkeye State.

Xavier Nwankpa of Southeast Polk in Pleasant Hill, Iowa became the second defensive back in the class of 2022 to receive a scholarship-offer from Notre Dame.

Iowa, Iowa State and Nebraska were the first three programs to offer Nwankpa a scholarship.

Mike Singer of Blue-Gold Illustrated caught up with Nwankpa who said he was “excited and in shock” upon receiving the offer.

Check out Nwankpa’s sophomore highlight tape below and stay tuned to FIW for any breaking recruiting news!

Watch: Chase Claypool’s Huge Day in Numbers vs. Navy

The four touchdowns on the day brought Claypool’s career total at Notre Dame to 15, which means his four today accounted for 26.6% of his career scores.  His season total also jumped from five to nine (44.4% total).

 

Chase Claypool had a career afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium, going for 117 yards receiving on seven receptions, four of which resulted in touchdowns.

It capped off a big week for Claypool who on Thursday accepted an invitation to participate in January’s Senior Bowl in preparation for the NFL Draft.

He spent Saturday having his best game to date in a Notre Dame uniform.  A few notes about what No. 83 accomplished this afternoon:

Claypool’s four touchdown receptions tie Maurice Stovall for the most-ever in a single game by a Notre Dame receiver.  Stovall accomplished his feat in a 49-23 win over BYU on October 22, 2005.

The four touchdowns on the day brought Claypool’s career total at Notre Dame to 15, which means his four today accounted for 26.6% of his career scores.  His season total also jumped from five to nine (44.4% total).

Claypool’s 47 yard touchdown reception from Ian Book that made the game 14-0 in Notre Dame’s favor was the longest reception his career.

Claypool’s dominating performance also earned him the game-ball from his head coach.

Chase Claypool and the rest of the senior class will play their final game at Notre Dame Stadium next Saturday when they welcome Boston College to town.  The 8-2 Fighting Irish and 5-5 Boston College Eagles will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. ET next Saturday and like all home games, can be seen on NBC.

View a few of Claypool’s touchdown receptions from his record day:

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Notre Dame 52, Navy 20 – Game Ball Awards

Khalid Kareem forced two fumbles early on and got Navy out of their game-plan offensively.

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No. 16 Notre Dame’s 52-20 rout of No. 23 Navy was sight for sore eyes, as the Irish dominated Navy in every part of the game until calling off the dogs in the second half.

When you dominate a game like Notre Dame did Saturday, especially in the first half, there were plenty of performances that were praise-worthy and deserving of our game-ball award had it been pretty much any other week, but we limit them down to one on both offense and defense to present you our FIW game ball awards for the Navy game.

Offense:

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No. 16 Notre Dame Rolls No. 23 Navy: 5 Instant Thoughts

On an afternoon where Notre Dame dominated in every fasset, nobody was more dominant than Chase Claypool, or Ch4ase Cl4ypool as he’ll be known for this afternoon.

No. 16 Notre Dame moved to 8-2 on the season after destroying No. 23 Navy 52-20 at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

Ian Book helped lead the way offensively, throwing five touchdown passes on the afternoon, four of which went to Chase Claypool.  The blowout win was a pleasant site for Notre Dame fans who have grown accustomed to stressing through the Navy game with a “just survive and advance” feel on an annual basis.

With that here are your Five Instant Thoughts:

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Watch: Braden Lenzy Does Another Rocket Ismail Impression

Some things never get old. Seeing a No. 25 wearing blue and gold show off his blazing speed and burn an opponent for a touchdown is one of those.

On an afternoon known as the Chase Claypool celebration as he’s already put up four touchdown receptions but with the Irish leading 21-0 in the second quarter this afternoon we saw Braden Lenzy do another Rocket Ismail impression, getting behind the Navy defense for a 70 yard touchdown reception.

Some things never get old. Seeing a No. 25 wearing blue and gold show off his blazing speed and burn an opponent for a touchdown is one of those.

The Irish lead 45-3 at the time of this post. A pleasant change of pace for a Notre Dame/Navy game for the second year in a row.

Notre Dame/Navy: Injury Update (Pre-Game)

The good news is that Braden Kenzie appears back after dealing with fatigue issues.

As No. 16 Notre Dame gets set to kickoff against Navy, a couple of injury notes to keep an eye on for the game.

The Irish have been hit with injuries at the receiver position this season, dressing just four scholarship receivers last week at Duke.

The good news is that Braden Lenzy appears back after dealing with fatigue issues.

The bad news?

McKinley has pulled in 11 receptions and four touchdowns for Notre Dame this year.

Nick’s Notre Dame Mailbag: Should ND Still Play Navy Annually?

Is it enjoyable? Not in the moment, but at the same time it’s one of the most unique rivalries in all of sports.

Earlier this week I solicited questions for the first of the weekly mailbag series we’ll have on Fighting Irish Wire. If you missed it there are a few ways to leave questions that may end up getting used:

1. Leave a comment on this or any other post on Fighting Irish Wire

2. Leave a question on our Facebook page – either on one of our posts or on our wall

3. Tweet us @IrishWireND or me personally @Shep670

4. Leave a comment on our Instagram Page. And even if you don’t leave a question – you should go follow it as it’s going to become a lot more active soon.

5.  You can also click to e-mail me at the top of any of my posts on Fighting Irish Wire

With all of that said – here is your second Midweek Mailbag answered by yours truly.

Question 1: Should Notre Dame still play Navy annually?

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College Football Playoff Rankings: Notre Dame, And the Three Other 7-2 Teams

No. 16 Notre Dame and three other college football teams in the College Football Playoff top-25 have seven wins and two losses.

With losses to Georgia and Michigan, the Notre Dame college football team is looking down the barrel in this year’s College Football Playoff.

Considering the circumstances that surrounded the countless departures on defense and then the injuries leading up to Week 1 of the 2019 season, sitting at No. 16 doesn’t happen often for Brian Kelly. The first time the Fighting Irish have occupied such real estate was back in 1952. Since then, only eleven times (excluding preseason polls) has the program experienced a college football’s poll bottom percentile. Because of this, Notre Dame is expected to play in the Camping World Bowl against a conference who has had twists and turns almost all season long, the Big 12.

The two losses may have hurt Notre Dame’s chances of being on the inside-looking-out, but it’s not the only 7-2 team in the College Football Playoff Top 25.

No. 15 Wisconsin

Running back Jonathan Taylor and kicker Collin Larsh both have been the backbone of Wisconsin’s offense. The Badgers two losses come at the expense of Illinois and Ohio State – the latter’s defense who kept Taylor to only 52 yards rushing and forced Wisconsin’s pass game with Jack Coan. For the most part, its defense itself has remained in tact, blanking four opponents. Over the past three games specifically, it has given up over 21 points per contest. Remaining on Paul Chryst’s schedule is Nebraska, Mizzou and the eighth-ranked, row-the-boat-coach Fleck Minnesota Gophers.

No. 14 Michigan

Prior to playing Notre Dame, Michigan didn’t have the same swag against Wisconsin and Penn State. Both away games, Michigan coughed up the ball four times against the Badgers and were held scoreless for almost two full quarters against the Nittany Lions. At this point, it’s really Ohio State’s conference, but Michigan has somewhat regained its footing and lies only a couple of spots ahead of Notre Dame. The Wolverines haven’t played a game since Nov. 2 and that couldn’t come a moment too soon. Going forward, there lies a surprisingly trippy home stretch ahead with Michigan State, Indiana and The Game to round off the season.

No. 12 Auburn

Of the three teams on this list, Auburn has the toughest end-of-season schedule against No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Alabama, who recently forfeited its No. 1 spot to LSU. Most significantly to Gus Malzahn’s team this year was a season opener win against then-No. 11 Oregon, followed by an eight point win against Texas A&M. Losses to Florida and LSU within three weeks of each other was likely the red flag for the committee, though no one hardly ever understands their deliberations and final decisions. On Nov. 23, there is a rehearsal game for Auburn before the Iron Bowl. Quarterback Bo Nix has been up and down with incompletions and a lack of targets. It’s a team that’s much like the SEC version of Wisconsin – depend on the run and a defense that’s just as effective against the run as well.

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Midweek Mailbag – Get Your Questions In!

Your questions can be anything in regards to Notre Dame or college football for that matter.  They can be incredibly serious and big-picture or something small and funny.  I’ll pick out the best ones from the following places:

Last week we debuted the “Midweek Mailbag” and answered five of your best questions we could come up with.  They ranged from hypotheticals such as “IF Brian Kelly were to leave who would be the first three people you’d target who would be REALISTIC candidates, not dream ones?” and there was a solid one about being independent and if players prefer that or conference-life.

If you missed it, you can check out last week’s right here.  I was even asked if I even liked Notre Dame because I dared to repeat information that Paul Finebaum gave, even though his info appears to have been correct.

Your questions can be anything in regards to Notre Dame or college football for that matter.  They can be incredibly serious and big-picture or something small and funny.  I’ll pick out the best ones from the following places:

1. Leave a comment on this or any other post on Fighting Irish Wire

2. Leave a question on our Facebook page – either on one of our posts or on our wall

3. Tweet us @IrishWireND or me personally @Shep670

4. Leave a comment on our Instagram Page. And even if you don’t leave a question – you should go follow it as it’s going to become a lot more active soon.

Now get asking those questions and see if yours makes the cut.  Get-on, now!