Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
What’s your prediction?
Notre Dame and Tennessee State have not met before, but they will Saturday in the first 2023 game at Notre Dame Stadium. Some Irish fans might not be happy about the Football Championship Subdivision level coming to South Bend, but there’s nothing that can be done about that right now. The only thing fans should be focused on is the Irish improving to 2-0.
Let’s look at what some college football experts are predicting for this game:
Here are the players to watch for the Tigers.
The most prominent name presently connected to Tennessee State is coach Eddie George, once one of the NFL’s most prominent running backs. While George did not attend Tennessee State, over 100 NFL players have. Among them are Pro Football Hall of Famer Richard Dent and Ed “Too Tall” Jones, the top overall pick in the 1974 draft who played 15 seasons for the Dallas Cowboys.
Saturday’s game is prominent in that it’s the first time Notre Dame has played a program from the Football Championship Subdivision. If that had to happen, and many Irish fans weren’t happy about it when it was announced, at least the Irish are playing a historically Black university and not some seemingly random FCS school that the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world love to schedule to inflate their College Football Playoff resumes.
Statistically, here are the top returning players on this year’s Tigers from 2022:
Can the Irish offense light up an FCS defense?
We now have an idea of what Notre Dame probably will do offensively this year. Granted, Navy might not have been the best opponent to make any such assessments. After all, the Irish were able to do literally whatever they wanted when they had the ball. The result was one of the most impressive offensive performances we’ve seen from this program in quite some time.
Tennessee State might not be the best opponent to judge the Irish’s offense against either. While the Tigers were decent on defense overall in 2022, the fact remains they’re the first Football Championship Subdivision to ever face the Irish. It’s not impossible for them to pull off the upset, but they would be lying to themselves if they said this would be easy. Few lesser-known opponents can say that’s been their experience at Notre Dame Stadium.
Here’s a look at how the Irish’s offense through extremely limited Football Bowl Subdivision rankings matches up with the Tigers’ 2022 FCS rankings:
Quite the get for the Irish’s secondary.
[autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] might be developing into a star, but Notre Dame always can use some depth in its secondary. Once Rhode Island defensive back [autotag]Antonio Carter[/autotag] entered the transfer portal in April, the Irish were among many Football Bowl Subdivision teams interested. They officially made their offer May 5, and Florida and LSU followed over the next few days. Finally, Carter was ready to make his decision, and it was good news for the Irish:
thank you Lord, He made it all possible! #Committed #GoIrish🍀@Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/k8TDqPDNkV
— Antonio Carter (@AntonioC_viii) May 13, 2023
Carter started 21 of the Rams’ 22 games over the past two seasons and played in all of them. During that period, he recorded 105 tackles, broke up 17 passes, had 5.5 tackles for loss, forced three fumbles, recovered another three fumbles and had one interception. Basically, he did everything expected of a defensive back, and he was ready to see what he can do at the top tier of college football. Here’s hoping he can at least approach what he did in the Football Championship Subdivision.
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Be happy for these people at least.
Take away the plane crash and Randy Moss, and you’ll find that Marshall actually has a pretty nice history of team success. It’s won 13 conference championships and a couple of national titles at the Football Championship Subdivision level. Now, you can add an upset win over Notre Dame in South Bend to that history. The folks in Huntington will be celebrating this until the wee hours of the morning.
Go to Twitter, and you’ll find more than a few tweets ripping on the Irish, talking about how overrated they are and wishing they would just go away altogether for the common good. If you sift through all of those though, you’ll find people who care about the Herd all the time and not only when they have a win of this magnitude. Those are the people you should be happy for, not those who would wish the Irish out of existence if they could.
Here are a few of them on Twitter:
Not exactly numbers to be trusted after only one week.
Notre Dame can’t possibly figure out what kind of team it has after opening the season against Ohio State. Everyone knew the Buckeyes were the superior team, and they proved. Therefore, the numbers the Irish have below should be taken with a grain of salt, especially since they remain highly ranked. Hopefully sometime over the next couple of weeks, these numbers will reflect a winning team a lot more.
Marshall’s first game against Norfolk State was utter dominance, and you can see that in the numbers it has. However, going from a Football Championship Subdivision program to one like the Irish is about as monumental a step as one can take on the schedule, and the Herd are taking it. The numbers you’re looking at now likely is as good as it will get for the Herd this season. If you’re a Herd fan visiting our site (and thanks if you are), let it soak in from now until kickoff in South Bend.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89
Get to know the Irish’s 2023 home opener opponent a bit.
Notre Dame has announced that its 2023 home opener will be played against Tennessee State, a Historically Black College and University. On the surface, it’s a great opportunity for a lesser-known program to receive national exposure. However, it also will be the first time the Irish have played a Football Championship Subdivision opponent. The reaction to this news within the fan base mostly has been lukewarm at best and outright negative at worst.
Notre Dame presently is the only Football Bowl Subdivision opponent the Tigers have scheduled for the future. That makes the decision either more of a headscratcher from the Irish’s point of view or it merely makes the Irish an outlier. Either way, the Tigers don’t get to play FBS schools very much, so you better believe they will be hyped for the opportunity. In the spirit of that, let’s take a look at how they have done against teams from college football’s top level:
Why are we keeping the Group of Five under the same umbrella as the Power Five?
Talk of Big 12 schools leaving the conference for greener pastures means the future of college football has become a hot topic yet again. There’s speculation that longtime rivals Texas and Oklahoma will leave for the SEC. We’ve also heard of Kansas and Iowa State heading to the Big Ten. It makes one wonder if the Big 12 even has a future as a Power Five conference.
Then, amidst all that discussion, you see tweets like this from Statistically Speaking Podcast host Kyle Umlang:
The future of College Football pic.twitter.com/1zckIaF3Hr
— Kyle Umlang (@kyleumlang) July 23, 2021
Notre Dame no longer being an independent aside, this graphic gives you pause. Note that some Group of Five schools have been bumped up to Power Five status. “Some” is the key word here. Most of them remain on the outside looking in.
The point is the Power Five conferences only are going to get bigger as time goes on. Unless they eventually admit all Group of Five schools, which is unlikely, what’s even the point of those schools trying to compete with the big boys? Invitations to major bowls already are hard to come by for them, and the new College Football Playoff proposal only serves to benefit the Power Five even more.
Given all of this, there is only one solution: Break the Group of Five conferences away from the Power Five, and let them compete for their own championship. The likes of Northern Illinois and UAB have no hope of winning a national championship under the current or future structure. A new playoff system just for them would at least give them a shot at adding serious hardware to their trophy case. No reasonable college football observer can say they have one now.
Power Five schools still would be allowed to schedule Group of Five schools if they wish, just like they currently do with Football Championship Subdivision Schools. After all, Nick Saban is well within his right to schedule lesser opponents just ahead of the Iron Bowl, as cheap as that is. However, it no longer does any good for the Power Five and Group of Five to compete under the same umbrella. The Group of Five schools barely ever has a shot at New Year’s Six bowls anymore, let alone a national title. That structure is keeping these programs from growing, and they’re stuck where they are as a result.
Let’s discontinue this charade of all Football Bowl Subdivision schools being on equal footing. It’s not true, and everyone knows it. By starting a new playoff for the Group of Five, there would be more opportunities for those schools to play for high stakes, and that would be better for the development of both the players and coaches. When the best you realistically can hope for is a conference championship, something is amiss. At least with March Madness, every Division I conference has a shot at standing above the rest.
Let’s add yet another champion to the college football season. Some might call it a cheap move, but is it any better than what we have now? Heck, the new Division I subdivision can take some of the bowls its team already gets sent to. Would it really bother the Power Five schools if they didn’t get to go to the New Orleans Bowl or Bahamas Bowl?
The national championship is the goal for every team. Give the Group of Five teams a chance. It’s time to set them free from the grips of the Power Five.
Why are we keeping the Group of Five under the same umbrella as the Power Five?
Talk of Big 12 schools leaving the conference for greener pastures means the future of college football has become a hot topic yet again. There’s speculation that longtime rivals Texas and Oklahoma will leave for the SEC. We’ve also heard of Kansas and Iowa State heading to the Big Ten. It makes one wonder if the Big 12 even has a future as a Power Five conference.
Then, amidst all that discussion, you see tweets like this from Statistically Speaking Podcast host Kyle Umlang:
The future of College Football pic.twitter.com/1zckIaF3Hr
— Kyle Umlang (@kyleumlang) July 23, 2021
Notre Dame no longer being an independent aside, this graphic gives you pause. Note that some Group of Five schools have been bumped up to Power Five status. “Some” is the key word here. Most of them remain on the outside looking in.
The point is the Power Five conferences only are going to get bigger as time goes on. Unless they eventually admit all Group of Five schools, which is unlikely, what’s even the point of those schools trying to compete with the big boys? Invitations to major bowls already are hard to come by for them, and the new College Football Playoff proposal only serves to benefit the Power Five even more.
Given all of this, there is only one solution: Break the Group of Five conferences away from the Power Five, and let them compete for their own championship. The likes of Northern Illinois and UAB have no hope of winning a national championship under the current or future structure. A new playoff system just for them would at least give them a shot at adding serious hardware to their trophy case. No reasonable college football observer can say they have one now.
Power Five schools still would be allowed to schedule Group of Five schools if they wish, just like they currently do with Football Championship Subdivision Schools. After all, Nick Saban is well within his right to schedule lesser opponents just ahead of the Iron Bowl, as cheap as that is. However, it no longer does any good for the Power Five and Group of Five to compete under the same umbrella. The Group of Five schools barely ever has a shot at New Year’s Six bowls anymore, let alone a national title. That structure is keeping these programs from growing, and they’re stuck where they are as a result.
Let’s discontinue this charade of all Football Bowl Subdivision schools being on equal footing. It’s not true, and everyone knows it. By starting a new playoff for the Group of Five, there would be more opportunities for those schools to play for high stakes, and that would be better for the development of both the players and coaches. When the best you realistically can hope for is a conference championship, something is amiss. At least with March Madness, every Division I conference has a shot at standing above the rest.
Let’s add yet another champion to the college football season. Some might call it a cheap move, but is it any better than what we have now? Heck, the new Division I subdivision can take some of the bowls its team already gets sent to. Would it really bother the Power Five schools if they didn’t get to go to the New Orleans Bowl or Bahamas Bowl?
The national championship is the goal for every team. Give the Group of Five teams a chance. It’s time to set them free from the grips of the Power Five.
No one can be quite sure what to expect out of the quarterbacks when Notre Dame faces USF in its lone nonconference game Saturday.
No one can be quite sure what to expect out of the quarterbacks when Notre Dame faces USF in its lone nonconference game Saturday. In one corner, you’ve got Ian Book, who was decent against Duke but showed obvious signs that’s he still getting used to his receivers and Tommy Rees’ scheme. Though he and the rest of the offense got it going by the fourth quarter except for Kyren Williams, who did his job throughout, it would be nice to see the quarterback Irish fans have come to know. The Bulls are a perfect opponent against which he can open up a little more.
In the other corner, you’ve got Jordan McCloud, who leads an offense that carried the ball more times than threw it in a 27-6 win over The Citadel. The Bulls might be able to get away with that against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, but McCloud will need to be the focal point a lot more when facing a quality Power Five team like the Irish. Though McCloud seems to be fairly accurate in his passes, throwing for only 68 yards simply won’t cut it in the environment he’s about to walk into. His career high is 267 yards last year against Cincinnati, and that’s what he needs to shoot for to at least a shot at pulling off the upset.
