Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Who leads the Irish heading into the final regular-season contest?

Notre Dame has its fate in its own hands for the College Football Playoff. All it needs to do is defeat USC, and a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium appears to be a certainty. Who would have thought the Irish would be in such a good position after the loss to Northern Illinois threatened to derail their season early?

The Irish can’t afford to get complacent though. The Trojans have not had a great season, but dealing the Irish a loss that could threaten their playoff chances would make up for everything that has gone wrong for them. That’s why the Irish will need to prepare for them like they would for any ranked team, and the talent they have should allow them to emerge victorious.

Here are the major statistical leaders the Irish are taking into their regular-season finale. Not all of them will be available, but they’re fun to see nonetheless:

Notre Dame statistical leaders through four games

Who’s on the board going into the next game?

The great thing about Notre Dame’s dominant win over Miami (Ohio) is that a few more players got a chance to shine. Consequently, we have a few new names popping up in our weekly statistical leaders listicle heading into the game against Louisville. That should force the Cardinals to be a little more aware of the players they’ll be going up against.

This goes without saying, but the Irish always can benefit from new players appearing in these categories. It highlights just how deep the team’s talent is, and anyone can step in at any point. It might take some players longer to crack the leaders lists than others, but that’s the beauty of a regular season that runs through the end of November.

So who are the players standing out the most going into the Irish’s last game before their first bye week? Take a look for yourself here:

Notre Dame Football: Watch Irish Linebackers Rare Speed Shown on Baseball Diamond

That young man can move…

Notre Dame football is getting set to start spring practice before long but on Sunday it was the Fighting Irish baseball team that is celebrating after capping a season-opening sweep at Rice.

Tied at seven in the top of the seventh inning, Notre Dame freshman [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] was sent in to pinch run for the Irish.  Bowen was a big-time recruit for the Notre Dame football team in the 2023 recruiting cycle, winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s top high school linebacker.

The speed that helped him win that award and that will hopefully play a role in him becoming a Notre Dame football great was on full display when centerfielder TJ Williams singled to left field.  Bowen, who was at second, showcased his top speed to score the go-ahead run for Notre Dame.  Check it out below.

That young man is listed at 6-2, 234-pounds in case you were wondering.  The speed is obvious but it’s a heck of a move to avoid the tag by Bowen as well.

Bowen and the Irish look to continue their hot start next weekend in Miami where they’ll take on Florida International in a three game series.

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Another Notre Dame football starter out against Central Michigan

The Irish are down another starter on Saturday

We knew earlier in the week that [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] would be without linebacker [autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag].

What we didn’t know was [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] would join the Irish captain on the unavailable list against Central Michigan. Luckily for Notre Dame, [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag] had a mini-breakout against NC State.

What’s interesting is when this week’s depth chart was release, Evans was tight end  No. 1, but the Irish now look to Staes along with [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag], who also scored a touchdown last week, to replace him.

As for Bertrand, [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] is listed behind him, and it would be the first start for the true freshman.

The Irish will kick off the game against the Chippewas at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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See it: Notre Dame two-sport great poses with future Notre Dame two-sport great

It’s probably too late for Samardzija to be any help to the Bears, isn’t it…

Notre Dame has had its fair share of multisport star athletes over the years.  During World War II, Edward “Moose” Krause starred in football and basketball while also lettering in track. Dick Arrington finished third nationally in wrestling in 1965 while earning All-American honors for helping protect Heisman Trophy quarterback John Huarte.

Bob Golic doubled up as an All-American wrestler while also starring on the football team. Raghib “Rocket” Ismail earned All-American honors in both football and track.

Perhaps the most well-known multisport star at Notre Dame in recent years was wide receiver and star pitcher, [autotag]Jeff Samardzija[/autotag].  Samardzija helped lead Notre Dame’s turnaround in 2005 and 2006 before opting to play professional baseball instead of taking his shot at the NFL.  The Valparaiso, Indiana, native crossed paths with incoming freshman [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] in a photo that was shared on social media Wednesday night.

Bowen was recently named the 2022 High School Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top high school linebacker.  Bowen plans to play baseball for the Irish in addition to football.

Related:  The best photos of Jeff Samardzija at Notre Dame

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Notre Dame-Tennessee State: Irish down two players for home opener

A pair of Notre Dame defenders have been ruled out for Saturday’s home opening contest against Tennessee State. Details here.

No. 13 Notre Dame will be without a pair of players when they kickoff against Tennessee State later this afternoon and both are on the defensive side of the ball.

Freshman linebacker [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] and sophomore defensive lineman [autotag]Gabriel Rubio[/autotag] have both been ruled out for Saturday’s home opener.

The Notre Dame football public relations team gave no reason for the absences but we’ll be sure to have any injury news that potentially comes.

Notre Dame is set to kick-off against Tennessee State just after 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon in a game that can be seen on NBC.

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Notre Dame football releases its depth chart ahead of season opener vs. Navy

Not much to see but more than a few true freshman show up for the Irish

As [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag]’s social media account reminded us this morning, it’s game week.

With that comes the Irish releasing their depth chart against [autotag]Navy[/autotag] in Dublin, Ireland. There aren’t too many surprises, but having four true freshman in the two-deep is interesting.

Linebacker [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] and cornerback [autotag]Christian Gray[/autotag] have impressed the coaches enough to warrant early playing time on defense. As for the offense, two receivers, [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] and [autotag]Rico Flores[/autotag], have also made early marks and will see the field in their first year.

Another true freshman, running back [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] was included, but he’s bracketed with two other teammates and behind starter [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] and backup [autotag]Gi’Bran Payne[/autotag].

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Watch: Notre Dame’s Drayk Bowen goes over juggling two sports in South Bend

Bowen has a lot on his plate

The newest [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] football and baseball star has arrived on campus and [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] is trying to find a balance juggling both sports at the collegiate level.

With spring practice fast approaching and baseball in full swing, Bowen has a lot on his plate at the moment. Not only does he have to practice for both the school aspect is thrown into the mix.

There have been plenty of successful athletes in South Bend play both and it would be great to see Bowen succeed in the diamond and the gridiron. Check out below as he explains how he juggles his schedule right now.

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Meet Notre Dame’s Now Complete 2023 Recruiting Class

Meet Notre Dame’s 26 current commitments in what is a top-five class nationally.

After a whirlwind couple of years the 2023 recruiting class has officially been completed at Notre Dame.  What started out tremendously hit a few snags along the way.  It closed with one of the strangest signing day stories you’ll ever see when Peyton Bowen bailed on Notre Dame for Oregon, only to change his mind and bail on Oregon for Oklahoma just a day later.

In all, Notre Dame wound up with 24 signed commitments after the second signing period in February.  It didn’t finish in the top couple of spots nationally like we had hoped after it’s tremendous start but will continue to add to the overall talent for Notre Dame.

Here are the 24 newest members of the Notre Dame football team:

Where each 2023 Notre Dame signee landed on ESPN’s final recruiting class update

The Irish class is loaded with talent

The first full class for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] should be viewed at as a booming success for [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] football. Not only did the Irish fill holes but they created a lot of depth across every position group. It was extremely impressive for the first-time head coach.

Today, ESPN released their final update to the 2023 recruiting cycle and there was plenty of Irish signees that were named on their list. Even though there weren’t any players ranked inside the top 50, Notre Dame players were still all around the list.

Find out below which Fighting Irish signees made ESPN’s final top 300 list.