Tag: college

Notre Dame Greatest Game Tournament – Final Day of Elite Eight Voting

Last call for voting in the Elite Eight of the greatest games tournament is here. Check it out and get your votes in. Will any 1 seed fall?

We’re into the closing minutes (hours, actually) of the Elite Eight round in the 2020 Fighting Irish Wire Tournament.  In determining the greatest Notre Dame football games since 1986 we’ve gone from 64 to eight and will be into our Final Four later tonight.

Thoughts on the tournament so far?

Mine are that the seeding committee did too good of a job to date.  With eight “teams” remaining, all are the 1 and 2-seeds in their respective regions.  Sure we’ve seen a few upsets but there is no Cinderella in the round of eight.

So who moves on?  That’s up to you and you have until 10 p.m. ET Monday night to get it done.  Vote here for the Elite Eight match-ups:

Basilica Regional Final:
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Grotto Regional Final:
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Hesburgh Regional Final:
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Golden Dome Regional Final:
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Voting will close again at 10 p.m. ET and we’ll know our Final Four then.  Based off the time of posting (just after 3 p.m. ET) we already seem to know one of your regional winners as ’88 Miami has a 97-3% lead in voting over the Sugar Bowl upset of Florida.

Peyton Manning crashes one of Tennessee’s online classes

Former Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning crashed one of Tennessee’s online classes this week.

Due to COVID-19, many colleges and universities across the United States have sent students home and are finishing the semester through online classes. The University of Tennessee, Peyton Manning’s alma mater, is among the schools that have switched to online courses.

To brighten up students’ day and share a word of encouragement, Manning crashed one of UT’s online classes earlier this week.

“I just wanted to drop in and say hello to all the fellow communications students there,” Manning said. “[I] realize this is a unique time and probably not the ideal way you guys expected to spend your senior year but I encourage you to keep a positive attitude, keep working like you’re doing and try to take advantage of the little bit of extra time that you have to accomplish something else or help out somebody in need.

“[There are] a lot of people hurting out there during this time. Be thankful for what you have and just know the University of Tennessee is proud of you and going to support you every way [they] can.”

Manning broke Tennessee’s records for passing yards (11,201) and touchdowns (89) during his time at the school and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2019. A two-time Super Bowl champ, Manning will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year.

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Texas Football: Top games to rewatch during quarantine

We’ve compiled a list of the best Texas football games to relive during the quarantine.

Do you miss watching Texas sports?

While there are no live sporting events present on our televisions due to the Coronoavirus (COVID-10) outbreak, we’ve compiled a list of the best Texas Longhorns football games to relive during the quarantine.

Other than the 2006 Rose Bowl where quarterback Vince Young scrambled for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to defeat the University of Southern California, it’s tough to rank the most exciting outcomes when there are many to choose from.

Here are just a few of our favorites.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8, Page 9

2020 FIW Tournament: Grotto Region First Round Voting

Voting for the Grotto Region of the 2020 FIW Tournament to determine Notre Dame’s greatest game is underway!

Voting for the Grotto Region’s first round is open from 6 p.m. ET, Sunday, March 15 until Wednesday night, March 18 at 6 p.m. ET.  Be sure to vote for all eight regional match-ups here and see the bottom to click links and vote for the other three regions as well.

First Round Match-ups:
The 1993 “Game of the Century” gets a somewhat surprisingly difficult opponent for a 16 seed as the Lou Holtz-led upset of No. 9 Michigan in 1987.
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Another comeback win over a blue-blood from that 1999 season meets a memorable win over a Drew Brees-led Purdue team in 1998.
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Arnaz Battle strikes early as Notre Dame remains unbeaten at Florida State while Alabama’s last trip to South Bend results in a 1987 Notre Dame win.
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Gary Godsey beats eventual Big Ten Champ Purdue and Drew Brees (with the help of Nick Setta and some great special teams play) in 2000 while a 1990 trip to Tennessee ends in a top-ten victory.
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Glenn Earl blocks a field goal to force overtime and Joey Getherall scores on an end-around in the extra period to save what turned into a BCS berth.  That meets a tough 2012 win over Michigan in which Tommy Rees scored Notre Dame’s only touchdown.
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The Rocket strikes twice in an early-season No. 1 vs. No. 2 win over Michigan while Mike Goolsby’s pick-six helps lead the way in a 2004 upset win at then top-ten Tennessee.
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A couple of wins over Stanford both kept undefeated Notre Dame seasons alive in mid-October.
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Perhaps Brian Kelly’s biggest win to date at Notre Dame meets up with that opponents biggest rival, just three years later in a game that the 2015 Fighting Irish made an impressive, blowout debut.
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Links to vote for the other three regions first round match-ups:

Basilica Region
Hesburgh Region
Golden Dome Region Region

Broncos OC Pat Shurmur on Michigan State’s radar for head coach job

Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is among the candidates Michigan State is considering for the football team’s head coach position.

Michigan State’s football program has a head coach opening and Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is among the names being “kicked around the athletic department” as potential candidates to fill the job, according to a report from David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press.

Shurmur served as the Giants’ head coach from 2018-2019 and he just had his introductory press conference in Denver last week. KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis reported Monday that “Shurmur is on Spartan’s radar but it appears he’s all in” with the Broncos.

Shurmur played on the offensive line and spent a little time at linebacker when he attended Michigan State. He then served as a graduate assistant with the Spartans for two years and then spent time as the school’s tight ends, offensive line and special teams coach from 1990-1997.

During his introductory press conference on Feb. 6, Shurmur was asked if he has a desire to be a head coach again in the NFL (that was before reports emerged about his candidacy at Michigan State).

“I have the desire to be the offensive coordinator here,” Shurmur said. “I think what happens with those settings is typically if you’re doing a really good job where you’re at and somebody think you can provide the vision for their organization, they come tap you on the shoulder.

“Until that time, you just worry about doing the job you have.”

Given that Shurmur just recently joined Denver’s staff, it seems unlikely that he would leave the team to coach college football. That’s not out of the realm of possibility, though, so Michigan State’s coaching search bears watching in the coming weeks.

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Notre Dame Football: 2020 Signee Facing Burglary Charge for Stealing Guns

Landon Bartleson is facing burglary charges for breaking into a business in Danville, Kentucky and stealing nine guns.

WKYT in Lexington, Kentucky is reporting Notre Dame signee to the football recruiting class of 2020, Landon Bartleson is facing burglary charges for breaking into a business in Danville, Kentucky and stealing nine guns.

Bartleson and two juveniles were taken into custody Friday.

The report states that police are also investigating a vehicle theft that happened overnight that the three are believed to be linked to.

Bartleson signed his letter of intent to play football for Notre Dame on December 18. The 6-1, 182 pound cornerback received a three-star grade from Rivals.

We’ll obviously let things play out but if the the report is true it’s safe to assume Bartleson will never enroll at or play for Notre Dame.

We will have on this troubling story as it develops.

Cole Kmet Headed to NFL Draft

Do I wish he was back at Notre Dame? Yes, the Irish would be a better football team with him being there. But what else does Kmet have to prove in college?

Way back in October we shared a conversation with you here at Fighting Irish Wire with Eric Edholm, the lead NFL Draft analyst at Yahoo! Sports.

It was an interview in regards to Cole Kmet and how quickly he might be soaring up draft boards even though he missed the first couple of games in 2019 and had limited tape.

Eric pointed out the lack of tape isn’t a bad thing if a ton of it is good. Well, that was the case for Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet who he gave a first round grade to even then.

Despite Kmet saying late in the fall that he intended on coming back to Notre Dame for his senior season, the tight end declared for the draft today.

I get people will be upset that he said one thing and then did another. He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last.

Do I wish he was back at Notre Dame? Yes, the Irish would be a better football team with him being there. But what else does Kmet have to prove in college?

But football is an incredibly violent game that physically humbles even the greatest of players eventually.

I don’t blame Kmet one bit for going to the NFL – he’s got a limited window to make money for his insane talents and he’s good enough that another year in college wasn’t going to do much to improve his stock, but instead would most likely only hurt it if change it at all.

Thanks for the tremendous season, Cole.

Now go knock them dead in the NFL like so many Notre Dame tight ends before you have.

Julian Okwara’s Touching Thank You Note to Notre Dame Community

Okwara finishes his Notre Dame career with 14.5 career sacks, three forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.

Julian Okwara’s Notre Dame career didn’t end the way anyone wanted as he suffered a leg injury at Duke in early November but his future still remains plenty bright at the next level.

More on that in a moment but Okwara took a moment Sunday to simply say “thank you” to the entire Notre Dame community for his last four years.

Okwara finishes his Notre Dame career with 14.5 career sacks, three forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.

In Pro Football Focus’s latest NFL Mock Draft they had Okwara going in the late first round, citing that he figures to be loved at the scouting combine.

Claypool’s Monster Half Leads Notre Dame to 20-6 Intermission Lead

Notre Dame scored two plays later and takes a 20-6 lead to the locker room at halftime in large part to their star wide receiver who also had a first quarter fumble recovery on special teams.

Through thirty minutes of the Camping World Bowl it’s obvious the best player on the field today has been none other than Chase Claypool who has pulled in four receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown.  It’s worth noting I have no idea how replay officials took away what should have been his second touchdown reception of the half as well, but I digress.

Leading 3-0 in the first quarter and facing a third-and-12, Ian Book found Claypool in the right side of the end zone to score the game’s first touchdown.

Claypool has been fantastic all year and made huge plays in key spots to extend game-deciding drives time and time again.

After Notre Dame stopped Iowa State on a fourth and one late in the first half, Book immediately went to his favorite weapon, Mr. Claypool himself and connected for what anyone watching thought was his second touchdown of the game, but officials overturned the touchdown call and marked him down inside the one yard line.

Notre Dame scored two plays later and takes a 20-6 lead to the locker room at halftime in large part to their star wide receiver who also had a first quarter fumble recovery on special teams.

You’ve got one more half of Chase Claypool ever in a Notre Dame uniform.  Enjoy it and FINISH!

Notre Dame Football: Plays of the Year – Number 8

Three blockers to take on three defenders all while it’s an incredibly easy throw for Ian Book to make to Tony Jones.  It may not have been as important as Book’s touchdown pass to Jones in the regular season finale at USC in 2018 but the execution is perfect on a type of play Notre Dame hasn’t executed well with any regularity for quite some time.

As we near the end of the 2019 calendar year its a good time to look back at everything that went on in 2019 both personally and for our favorite sports teams.  We’re counting down the 10 best plays of Notre Dame’s 10-2 regular season.

We will unveil the plays twice a day from now through Friday and feel free to leave comments in our forum if you agree or disagree or are just looking for some general Notre Dame or college football conversation.

Here’s what we have so far:
No. 10 – Cole Kmet Gives Notre Dame the Lead at Georgia
No. 9 – Kyle Hamilton Announces His Arrival

Which brings us to number eight:

Watching Notre Dame’s offense in recent years has left a lot to be desired in terms of the screen game.  How can you tell?  Just by reading that you already remember the most-successful and best looking screen pass of the 2019 season if you watched each Notre Dame game.

It’s something that has lacked execution for years and did for large chunks of this year.

But it was something that was finally executed perfectly in the final game of the regular season and got Notre Dame on the board for their first score of the day at Stanford.

Tony Jones, Jr. gets the love for capping the drive but the execution of this play is flat-out perfect.

Three blockers to take on three defenders all while it’s an incredibly easy throw for Ian Book to make to Tony Jones.  It may not have been as important as Book’s touchdown pass to Jones in the regular season finale at USC in 2018 but the execution is perfect on a type of play Notre Dame hasn’t executed well with any regularity for quite some time.

Stay tuned as we have seven more plays to count down before kickoff on Saturday.