Notre Dame is expected to have a big season, and fans want to get out to see the Irish. Naturally, fans want to see them at Notre Dame Stadium, and it’s becoming clear it doesn’t matter who the opponent is.
While sellouts are typical for Irish games, it always amazes that they happen even when it’s not the home opener or involving a high-profile opponent. The Irish have confirmed this fact by announcing they’ve sold out the game against Miami (Ohio) and their lone night home game against Florida State. This is on top of the sellout against Louisville they already announced, bringing their sellout total to three:
If you want to go to a home game this year but haven’t bought tickets, there’s no need to panic yet. There still are three games available: the home opener, senior day and the annual clash with Stanford. It’s not too late.
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Klavemann graduated from Refugio High School in the Lone Star State. She suited up for the Florida State softball team from 2015 to 2018.
Texas A&M softball head coach Trisha Ford added a valuable member to her coaching staff this past week.
On Friday evening, Ford hired Morgan Klaevemann as the program’s new director of player development. Klavemann joins a staff that includes assistants: Jeff Harger, Russ Heffley and Eric Leyba.
“Super grateful and excited for this opportunity! Gig’em,” Klavemann stated Friday night on X.
Klavemann graduated from Refugio High School in the Lone Star State. She suited up for the Florida State softball team from 2015 to 2018.
While with the Seminoles, Klavemann won the national championship in her senior year. She was selected to the All-ACC first team in consecutive seasons during her first three campaigns.
Klavemann began her coaching career in 2022 as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas Tech. Prior to that, she worked at the Aggies’ softball camps in 2021.
As a former speedy center fielder, Klavemann primarily worked with the Red Raiders outfielders and base runners.
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Because the game on the field is only half the fun
There’s been so much happening inside the world of college football since the end of last year that it can be hard to remember what we got so worked up about during the season (non Connor Stalions division)
Fortunately, we have plenty of evidence of schools, fans and commentators frolicking around and finding out. And, wow, was the 2023 campaign an absolute hater’s delight.
This is not a perfect list by any means — there are far too many grudges in college football to capture all of them — but they sure are some of our favorites.
Let’s remember some of last year’s pettiness to get you ready for kickoff next week.
Colorado stomping on the Oregon logo at midfield before their game
The Ducks won 42-6. The Buffaloes tallied 199 total yards. The most time Colorado spent at midfield during their trip to Oregon was during their walkthrough.
Ole Miss’ deep fried Brian Kelly meme after beating LSU
Deion Sanders takes off his hat and glasses for Jay Norvell
Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports
It’s hard to remember now, but for a moment there in the beginning of the 2023 season, it was really easy to love everything about Deion Sanders’ showmanship. He just knew how to play the game. Ahead of Week 3’s matchup with rival Colorado State, CSU coach Jay Norvell mocked Coach Prime by quipping “when I talk to grownups, I take my hat and glasses off, that’s what my mother taught me”.
Sanders couldn’t wait to respond — in multiple ways. He even went on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff show and mocked Norvell right back before an overtime victory in Boulder.
Just before Oregon-Oregon State faced off for the final time as Pac 12 opponents, news began to break that Michigan State was preparing to poach Beavers head coach Jonathan Smith. So what did the fine folks at Oregon’s Autzen Stadium do? They put the Michigan State game on the the videoboard and then watched as the Ducks went out and won 31-7. Smith was officially named MSU head coach two days later. He’ll bring his new Spartans team back to Autzen this season on October 4.
Clemson’s long walk after losing to Duke
After Dabo mocked the long walk from the visiting locker rooms to the field here at Wallace Wade, it appears that Duke put a bunch of children’s bounce houses in Clemson’s path pic.twitter.com/nEPUQqTacW
As if Duke needed any more reason to get amped up to face Clemson in the season opener, Dabo Swinney decided to complain about how far his team has to walk back to the visitor’s locker room. So what did Duke do? First they put a bunch of bounce houses in the way of Clemson’s path. Then the Blue Devils shutout the Tigers in the second half of a 28-7 victory. Dabo really should’ve just kept this one to himself.
Alabama returns the favor after Texas put the Crimson Tide band in the nosebleeds
The newest SEC rivalry is off to an amazing start.
After the Texas Longhorns put Alabama’s marching band in the highest, furtherest part of the stadium in 2022, the Crimson Tide did the exact same thing to the Longhorns when they came to Tuscaloosa to open the 2023 season.
A year ago, Alabama didn't send its band to Austin for the Texas game because it would be sat in the upper deck.
This year, Alabama will be returning the favor. Upper deck tickets only for Texas fans/band. Gotta love college football: https://t.co/sPL0VXx35b
Jordan Travis gets the final word on Alabama’s Rose Bowl loss
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Alabama’s season — and little did we know then, Nick Saban’s coaching career — had barely come to an end when Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis fired off a single emoji tweet that summed up how the school’s fans felt after being left out of the College Football Playoffs in favor of a Crimson Tide team that lost to eventual-champion Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
Jim Harbaugh’s bet pays off
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Sure, Harbaugh would go onto ruin the phrase by trying to turn it into an acronym — the most football coach thing he could do, honestly — but after Michigan won the Big Ten title game following his three-game suspension, there was only one thing left for him to shout that wouldn’t end with more discipline from the conference.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 28, 2023
Another reminder that college coaches hear every negative word said about them. Before North Carolina State toppled Clemson, 24-17, in late October, Smith went on ESPN’s College GameDay in Utah and proclaimed the Wolfpack were just waiting for basketball season to start.
NC State head coach Dave Doeren responded emphatically to that comment after the win, but, uh, NC State basketball truly got the last laugh when both men’s and women’s teams made the 2024 Final Four.
Too soon to chalk up the Florida State game as a win?
One of Notre Dame’s most anticipated games in 2024 will be when it hosts Florida State on Nov. 9. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 to begin the season, and it’s seen as one of the few games on the schedule that could give the Irish trouble. At least that’s the sentiment right now.
But are the Seminoles as much of a threat to the Irish as they’re being made out to be? CFB Kings pulled up Mike Norvell’s history against ranked opponents on the road going back to his first head coaching gig at Memphis. If this is to be believed, the Irish stand a very good chance at emerging from that game victorious:
A Mike Norvell-coached team has never won a true road game over a ranked opponent (0-7).
2016 – at #16 Ole Miss (L 48-28) 2016 – at #24 Navy (L 42-28) 2017 – at #12 UCF (L 62-55) 2018 – at #7 UCF (L 56-41) 2020 – at #12 Miami (L 52-10) 2020 – at #5 Notre Dame (L 42-26) 2022 – at… pic.twitter.com/DkvcunKEmx
All of a sudden, the pressure on the Irish to win this game just became greater. They definitely don’t want to be the team that let Norvell end this drought. Regardless, they will prepare for this game they would against any other ranked opponent, history be damned. Irish fans should be appreciative of that at least.
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Wisconsin has one remaining uncommitted top class of 2025 target
Wisconsin football’s class of 2025 is nearing its final form with the recruiting cycle beginning to slow now three full weeks into the dead period.
Big Ten media days are this week in Indianapolis, Indiana and training camp begins before the end of the month. Wisconsin’s currently-listed class of 2025 which is close to what the group will look like when it arrives on campus next summer.
Louis is 247Sports’ No. 216 player in the class of 2025, No. 15 running back and No. 34 recruit from his home state of Florida. Wisconsin is among his final three schools along with Miami and Florida State. It is worth noting, however, that 247Sports currently has a crystal ball listed for him to choose the Seminoles.
The talented running back is Wisconsin’s only remaining target at the position in the class. The Badgers finished the 2024 cycle with three running backs committed (Darrion Dupree, Dilin Jones and Gideon Ituka), and currently have zero in their class of 2025.
Wisconsin’s class of 2025 currently ranks No. 21 in the nation with 22 players committed. The possible additions of Gentry and Louis would be an impressive final act for head coach Luke Fickell in what has been a successful recruiting cycle.
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The Texans tried out former Saints offensive lineman Cameron Erving. He ended the 2023 season as their starting right tackle:
The Houston Texans tried out former New Orleans Saints offensive lineman Cameron Erving on Wednesday, per KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson. He ended the 2023 season as their starting right tackle after Ryan Ramczyk and Landon Young were both sidelined by injuries, totaling 208 snaps across three games. But he wasn’t re-signed after the season when the Saints hired a new offensive coaching staff so he clearly isn’t in their plans for 2024.
Erving entered the league as a first-round draft pick by the Cleveland Browns (out of Florida State, where he was college teammates with Jameis Winston), though Saints fans may know him best from his time with the Carolina Panthers. He also won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs and spent a year with the Dallas Cowboys before coming to New Orleans.
Kate Harpring hasn’t even begun her junior year at Marist in Atlanta. That’s the same high school her father, former NBA player Matt Harpring, attended. But that hasn’t stopped many prominent programs from making her offers already. She confirmed that Notre Dame is one of those programs on social media:
On the same day, Harpring also announced an offer from Iowa, which only added onto the list of schools that already have offers to her. Among the other schools hoping to add her as part of their 2026 recruiting class are Florida State, Clemson, Louisville, Maryland, Kentucky, Arizona, Utah and Vanderbilt. Needless to say, the Irish will have plenty of competition here.
We don’t know how the Irish would look as far as competitiveness by the time she arrives on campus. However, if many prominent schools already have made her offers, she obviously is something special. Hopefully, she chooses to prove that in South Bend.
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Florida State is not of interest to either the SEC or Big Ten if they manage to leave the ACC, leaving the Big 12 as the best option.
If Florida State manages to leave the ACC, and the ACC remains intact, they are unlikely to secure a spot in either the SEC or the Big Ten – according to a report from Brett McMurphy of Action Network.
The Seminoles have been looking to break free from the ACC and join either the SEC or the Big Ten to increase their revenue with much bigger media rights deals, but neither conference has expressed clear interest in the program.
Multiple reasons were provided, including a simple lack of interest in expansion and concern that FSU has shown “its not a good partner.”
Greg Sankey, the SEC commissioner, was asked if he’s following the ongoing legal battle between FSU, Clemson and the ACC, and he responded saying, “we’re focused on our 16. Period. I’m not going to guess about what happens next. We can certainly remain at 16 for a long, long time and be incredibly successful.”
This story changes if the ACC implodes and the floodgates open, with Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia, and Duke becoming highly sought after entities. But, unless that goes down, Florida State’s best option for realignment appears to be the Big 12.
Neither FSU or Clemson are reportedly that interested in the Big 12, and recently commissioner Brett Yormark said his league is focusing on integrating the eight new schools from the past two years, but if these two programs are desperate to leave the ACC this might be the last resort.
“Clemson to the Big 12” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
When Texas and Oklahoma left the Big 12, it would’ve been rational to assume it was on the way to extinction. Instead, it added BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. It also devoured part of the Pac-12 (now Pac-2), including Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah.
Apparently, the conference is still hungry, looking for more programs to join the 16-team league. Two of those teams are Florida State and Clemson.
Greg Swaim of the Greg Swaim Show made an X post claiming the SEC and Big 10 have all but ended their negotiations with the schools. While he gives no reason why the SEC stopped the conversation, he said that FSU and Clemson not being AAU accredited made the difference for the Big 10.
BREAKING: As we’ve said for a year, #FSU and #Clemson will not get a #B1G offer, due to neither being AAU accredited. But from Vegas the talk is the #SEC has now turned the pair down. With new sponsorship the B12 p4obably won’t pay quite what the other two do, but with those two they’ll pay double what the #ACC does.
P.S. And it won’t end there. The talk is the B12 will take six from the ACC.
BREAKING: As we’ve said for a year, #FSU and #Clemson will not get a #B1G offer, due to neither being AAU accredited. But from Vegas the talk is the #SEC has now turned the pair down. With new sponsorship the B12 p4obably won’t pay quite what the other two do, but with those two… pic.twitter.com/JjKccxisqP
After Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormak indirectly took a shot at the ACC, it was evident he was trying to vie for power among the remaining power conferences. But the comment looks to have more weight than initially thought, foreshadowing his plans to turn the ACC into the Pac-12 2.0. obvious
The beauty about college football is that the perceptions of certain games can change as teams’ trajectories change during the season. For now though, Notre Dame will be playing in some games in 2024 that people will want to watch.
Kelley Ford has released a chart of what is believed to be the 50 games in college football that most people will want to watch in 2024. The scores used on this chart were determined by their projected quality and competitiveness. The Irish appear on the chart three times for their games against USC, Texas A&M and Florida State:
The Irish and Trojans almost always live up to the hype involved with playing each other. The season opener against the Aggies could determine the path of the 2024 Irish. With the Seminoles coming off their best season of the Mike Norvell era, the Irish will bring their A game to that contest.
Every game is worth looking forward to obviously, but these three, as the kids say, hit different.
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