It was Pflueger who was out of sorts in a good way who helped paved the way
In an absolute “got to have it” game for Notre Dame basketball Sunday night, veterans John Mooney and Rex Pflueger and John Mooney were nails in the 61-57 Fighting Irish victory.
Mooney did what Mooney does, scoring 16 and pulling down 11 boards en-route to his 19th double-double on the year.
It was Pflueger who was out of sorts in a good way who helped paved the way. The fifth year guard had a season high 18 points while shooting a perfect five-of-five from beyond the arc.
For comparison, Pflueger entered Sunday shooting all of 30% from three.
Clemson was playing without leading scorer and rebounder Aamir Simms who was dealing with the flu. They wound up being led by guards Tevin Mack and Alex Hemenway who each finished with 16.
The Tigers fell to 11-12 overall on the year and 5-8 in ACC play.
Notre Dame won their fourth straight ACC game to improve to 15-8 overall and get back to .500 and 6-6 in the league.
The difficulty scale now gets turned up for Mike Brey and Notre Dame as the Irish return to action Tuesday night in Virginia before a trip to Cameron Indoor Arena and Duke awaits Saturday.
A win would also bring the Fighting Irish to .500 in ACC play this season.
Shortly ahead of game time in Clemson it appears that Notre Dame has caught a break as the Tigers will be without their leading scorer, Aamir Simms as he deals with the flu.
Simms leads Clemson with 13.4 points per game and is also their leading rebounder, pulling down over seven boards per contest.
Aamir Simms will NOT play tonight (flu). Trey Jemison will make his first career start in place of Simms.
Sunday evening presents a very realistic chance at a fourth straight as Mike Brey’s Fighting Irish squad will be at Clemson.
Notre Dame basketball has taken advantage of a break in the schedule a bit and been playing better, winning their last three ACC contests.
Sunday evening presents a very realistic chance at a fourth straight as Mike Brey’s Fighting Irish squad will be at Clemson.
As of early Sunday afternoon, Notre Dame is a very slight underdog as they visit the Tigers with Clemson being favored by 1.5 points and the over/under being set at 137.5.
Odds via BetMGM. Access USATODAY Sports Betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated February 9 at 12:10 p.m. ET.
Notre Dame enters plays 14-8 overall, 5-6 in the ACC and 2-4 on the road. Clemson starts today 11-11 with a 5-7 ACCclip and 9-4 home mark.
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Going toe-to-toe with the likes of Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State and winning the commitment of a talent like Shipley would go a long way in showing Brian Kelly wasn’t joking about recruiting taking another step
Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class is off to a very hot start as its currently seen as a top-three class nationally by most outlets. Obviously there is a ton of time to go but early returns have been nothing short of great.
What would make it even greater would be landing another elite offensive talent and playmaker, something Will Shipley checks the boxes of.
Notre Dame continues to look to wow Shipley who all of the big dogs in college football are after, including but not limited to Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State.
Landing his talent can’t be understated and going toe-to-toe with the likes of Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State and winning the commitment of a talent like Shipley would go a long way in showing Brian Kelly wasn’t joking about recruiting taking another step.
Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire as we’ll have the latest in regards to Will Shipley and everything else related to Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting efforts.
The only real double take upon seeing the release for me is that Stanford remains a night game.
Notre Dame’s home schedule for the 2020 season has long been known but kickoff times however were not. At least not until Friday when the team and NBC Sports announced the kickoff times for all seven home games this season.
Of those seven, six will be played at Notre Dame Stadium while the Shamrock Series makes a return at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, when Notre Dame takes on Wisconsin this October.
Here’s how the scheduled home slate looks time wise:
Sept. 12 – Arkansas, 2:30 ET
Sept. 19 – Western Michigan, 2:30 ET
Oct. 3 – Wisconsin (Shamrock Series, Green Bay, WI), 7:30 ET
Oct. 10 – Stanford, 7:30 ET
Oct. 31 – Duke, 3:30 ET
Nov. 7 – Clemson, 7:30 ET
Nov. 21 – Louisville, 2:30 ET
As expected the matchups with Wisconsin and Clemson will both be in primetime. The Shamrock Series game has always been a primetime affair while Clemson being far and away the biggest of home opponents for Notre Dame this season gets the evening kickoff.
The only real double take upon seeing the release for me is that Stanford remains a night game. I know there have been some classics in this matchup but with the Cardinal seemingly on the decline I’m surprised to see NBC having interest putting this game in primetime. Why it may make sense though is that the slate of national games for that October 10 day doesn’t appear great at night, meaning ratings could benefit despite a not great matchup:
Texas/Oklahoma is always a noon ET kickoff while Clemson/Florida State, Ohio State/Iowa, and Michigan/Michigan State all appear to be lopsided matchups from this far out.
The SEC has a couple big games that week with Auburn and Georgia doing battle and LSU taking on Florida but it is hard to imagine CBS not choosing its one primetime SEC game for the year to not include Alabama or LSU for a second consecutive season as that honor went to Notre Dame and Georgia in 2019.
When people say recruiting doesn’t matter, they’re lying. It does. Maybe it doesn’t always play out on the field but you aren’t a regular powerhouse if your team’s name isn’t at or towards the top of these lists with regularity.
The second and final national signing day has come and gone with no movement for Notre Dame, who had all of their eventual signees known back in December during the early signing period.
Now the grades and rankings start to come out from those who are much smarter than myself on such things. Where did the three big outlets rank Notre Dame’s class and how many elite prospects were they able to bring in?
247 Sports: 17th
Of Notre Dame’s 19 signees, 247 ranks just one as a five-star talent (TE, Michael Mayer) and eight players as four-stars and eight more as three-stars.
ESPN: 14th ESPN doesn’t give away their information or thoughts on recruiting for free but they do reveal their team rankings without cost. This is however the highest ranking any of the three services gave Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish.
Rivals: 21st
Rivals, like 247, has Mayer ranked as a five-star recruit. However, Rivals lists nine players as four-star talents but just six as three-star caliber. This is the lowest of any of the three major outlets ranked the Fighting Irish.
Listen, you see the rankings and they leave you far from thrilled. I get that.
Clemson is ranked atop all of these and your usual super powers of Alabama, LSU, Georgia and the other regulars are right there as well.
The loss of Landen Bartleson hurts as depth at corner takes an obvious hit. I think it’s important to remember how high folks were on Chris Tyree just a few short weeks ago in these same rankings, yet his overall ranking went down the closer to national signing day we got.
When people say recruiting doesn’t matter, they’re lying. It does. Maybe it doesn’t always play out on the field but you aren’t a regular powerhouse if your team’s name isn’t at or towards the top of these lists with regularity.
That doesn’t mean you can’t still be bad or disappointing if your name does appear high. See Notre Dame under Charlie Weis or what our friends over at USC are going through right now.
It’s a class with a lot of potential, just few certain future stars. Here’s to hoping we look back on this class four years from now and are discussing how much it shocked the college football world for all the right reasons.
New York opts for the best player available in CBS Sports’ new mock. In this case, that’s Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
With the NFL season coming to a close on Sunday night, the window for mock draft season opened up.
Although the draft is still months away, that hasn’t stopped pundits from trying to predict the first round and beyond. Following the Super Bowl, CBS Sports whipped up its latest mock draft, pairing the Jets with an interesting selection.
With three consecutive offensive linemen taken in front of the Jets, New York opts for the best player available rather than taking or potentially reaching for a need. That’s how Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons lands in green and white in this post-Super Bowl mock.
Here is CBS Sports’ explanation for the surprising selection:
The Jets have glaring needs along the offensive line and at wide receiver but four tackles are already off the board and this class is deep at WR. Instead, New York takes Simmons, who can line up just about anywhere on the field. He reminds us of a bigger version of Derwin James.
Simmons is the prototypical player for today’s NFL. He can go from rushing off the edge to off-ball to slot coverage with ease. While Simmons is probably one of the best defensive prospects in this draft and certainly one of the closest prospects to being a sure thing, it doesn’t excuse the Jets from passing on wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb.
The Clemson product is certainly a polarizing prospect who the Jets would be able to line up all over the defense. The thing is, the Jets already have that type of player in Jamal Adams, who compares similarly to Derwin James.
In any event, if the Jets find themselves in this situation, they should put the 11th pick up for sale and open up for business. Adding more draft capital and trading back to take an offensive lineman, say Houston’s Josh Jones, is the safe route. The safe route isn’t sexy, but the Jets don’t have the roster flexibility to ignore glaring holes in the first round if the team has any intentions of competing in 2020.
Can we get JJ Watt in a Notre Dame uniform next time they play Clemson though, please
If you missed Saturday Night Live this past weekend like most of the nation has done for sometime, JJ Watt, Houston Texans star and a University of Wisconsin product was the guest host.
Watt and much of the cast did a sketch remaking “Rudy” and did so in just four or so minutes.
Let’s take a closer look at the most versatile player in the 2020 NFL draft, Isaiah Simmons.
With drastic changes throughout the Carolina Panthers’ organization, nobody truly knows what direction they will go with their first-round draft pick. However, there are obvious needs that must be addressed, especially after the retirement of Luke Kuechly and Greg Olsen’s exit left huge holes at their respective positions.
Fortunately for the Panthers, there is a special playmaker who might be available at No. 7 who can eliminate multiple concerns. Let’s take a closer look at the most versatile player in the 2020 NFL draft, Isaiah Simmons.
Scouting Report:
Simmons is a redshirt junior from Clemson who comes in at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. Although he is listed as a linebacker, Simmons has played almost every defensive position during his time in college. He has lined up at linebacker, single high safety, strong safety, defensive end, nickel corner and has even taken a few snaps at outside corner.
Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables called on Simmons in a variety of situations and was able to keep opponents off balance by putting him all over the field. He can drop back and cover anyone man-to-man, no matter their speed, height, size, or talent. According to Pro Football Focus, he achieved an elite coverage grade of 92.5 over the course of his college career.Simmons is also able to consistently stop the run when he lines up in the box.
Not only is he one of the most athletically gifted prospects we have ever seen, he’s an immediate plug and play starter for any team. Like all prospects he has some weaknesses, but over time it’s getting harder to pick them out. Clemson effectively used Simmons as a mismatch eliminator and that is exactly what his role will be in the NFL.
Highlights:
Simmons vs. Ohio State
Simmons vs. Georgia Tech
Simmons vs. South Carolina
Simmons vs. Notre Dame
College numbers:
44 games, 148 solo tackles, 11 sacks, 28.5 tackles for a loss, four interceptions, 20 pass breakups, six forced fumbles.
Fit with the Panthers:
With so many question marks on the Panthers’ defense, Simmons could answer several and fill a few positions at a high level. He could play Mike linebacker in some packages as a replacement for Luke Kuechly, play single high or box safety in place of either Tre Boston or Eric Reid, or he could be a shutdown matchup “corner” against quality receivers around the NFC South like Chris Godwin, Calvin Ridley and Michael Thomas.
The more players they can find like him who are capable of filling multiple roles, the more likely the Panthers will be competitive in 2020. Simmons would be an immediate star in Carolina.
Some Notre Dame fans may be upset about the fact Clemson gets an extra week to prepare and get healthy for Notre Dame.
The ACC announced its schedule for the 2020 football season on Wednesday morning and Notre Dame fans probably aren’t going to be too happy.
That is because the marquee opponent of 2020, the defending national runner up and the team that figures to be a runaway number one entering the season will be coming off their bye week when they play at Notre Dame in November 7.
That’s right, the Clemson Tigers will play Syracuse on October 24, have a bye week on Halloween weekend and then come to Notre Dame on November 7.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame will play host to Duke on Halloween before welcoming Clemson to Notre Dame Stadium for only the second time ever a week later.
𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙢 1️⃣2️⃣5️⃣
Need a printable version of our 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣0️⃣ schedule?
You may recall that Notre Dame played seven teams coming off a bye week last year and went 7-0 in such games. Meanwhile the Irish went 1-1 after the bye in 2019 including the debacle at Michigan to end October.
To me that’s life as an independent. When you say you embrace getting everyone else’s best shots that doesn’t just for middle of the road squads who play their best game of the year against you.
It goes for the elite programs like Clemson as well.
