Tag: Indiana

Notre Dame founders are connected to recent title game appearances

Is this a good omen for the Irish?

The University of Notre Dame was founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross in 1842. Two members have since been beatified or canonized by the Catholic Church. Now, those members of that congregation have connections to the football team’s two most recent national championship games.

The Irish last played for a national title during the BCS Championship Game that followed the 2012 season. That game took place Jan. 7, which is the day Canada observes the feast day of Andre Bessette, who joined the congregation in 1870 and is its first and, to date, only saint. He was canonized in 2010.

The Irish’s upcoming College Football Playoff title game appearance is scheduled for Jan. 20, which is the day the Church remembers Basil Moreau, the congregation’s founder who was beatified in 2007. It was Moreau who sent the [autotag]Rev. Edward Sorin[/autotag] and six brothers of the congregation to northern Indiana, where they eventually founded Notre Dame.

Here’s a video the university released about Moreau ahead of his beatification:

Given all of this, maybe the stars are aligning for the Irish to finally break their national championship drought.

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USC fans dream of better days as Notre Dame hosts, wins playoff game

The misery of USC football is self-evident on its own terms, but that misery was magnified when Notre Dame hosted and won a playoff game on Friday night.

Friday night was a historic one for the sport of college football. It marked the first ever game of the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

Under the new format, first round games will be played on college campuses. Throughout the sport, fans and analysts took to social media to celebrate how amazing it was having a playoff game in front of 80,000 screaming fans in a historic venue, as opposed to in a generic NFL dome.

Unfortunately for USC fans, the team that got to host the first ever on-campus playoff game was their hated for Notre Dame. After defeating USC 49-35 to finish off an 11-1 regular season, the Irish secured the No. 7 seed in the playoff and a first round home game.

In front of a raucous Notre Dame Stadium crowd, the Irish defeated No. 10 seed Indiana 27-17. Now, Notre Dame moves on to the quarterfinals, where they will face No. 2 seed Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Watching the game, USC fans could not help but dream of a College Football Playoff game at the Coliseum. But instead, the Trojans are related to a mid-tier bowl game, while their archrivals got to enjoy the spotlight.

Notre Dame women’s basketball sells out ACC home opener vs. Virginia

Will you be in attendance?

The primary excitement around the Notre Dame campus right is about the football team in the College Football Playoff and rightfully so. But when football ends, the focus will shift to the women’s basketball team, a national championship contender in its own right.

Even amidst all the football hoopla, Irish fans are finding time to turn out for women’s basketball games. Maybe no more home football games this season have at least partly to do with it, but Purcell Pavilion should be seeing a lot of fans as ACC play begins in earnest.

To that end, the women’s basketball team announced in the hours before the football team defeated Indiana that its conference home opener against Virginia has been sold out. What’s more, this season now has had the most sellouts for the program since [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] became coach. This is remarkable considering we’re not even into January yet.

People want to see the Irish play, and they deserve the attention.

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Photos of Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff win over Indiana

What image or images will you remember most?

Every time Notre Dame takes part in something historic, the significance of that something seems to increase. Such was the case in their 27-17 win over Indiana, which served as the first College Football Playoff game in history to take place on a campus. What better place to kick off this new playoff era than Notre Dame Stadium?

Before the Irish focus too much on playing Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, they should take a little time to reflect on what they just did. They shined under the brightest lights their historic stadium has ever seen, and it happened when they were fortunate enough to be the ones to break new ground in the playoff. The memories and images that came with this game will live in their minds forever and rightfully so.

In case anyone on the Irish actually wants to relive this evening now or in the future, we’ve provided a photo gallery they can view for their enjoyment. But you, the fans, most likely will get first dibs, so here it is:

Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

Enjoy this win over the holidays, folks.

The fourth quarter of the first-round College Football Playoff game between Notre Dame and Indiana mostly was uneventful. That’s in part because the Irish had this game in the bag well before it got underway. All that was left to do really was wait for the clock to hit zero and let the Irish enjoy their 27-17 win.

The quarter wasn’t completely devoid of action though. [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] had a 37-yard field goal blocked, but the Hoosiers did nothing with that. [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] responded by directing a 78-yard drive that featured a 44-yard completion to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] that came up just short of the end zone. Leonard ran it in himself two plays later for his 15th rushing touchdown this season, an Irish quarterback record.

The Hoosiers came alive after the two-minute timeout when Kurtis Rourke fired a 7-yard touchdown pass to Myles Price and then completing a two-point conversion pass. They then recovered an onside kick, and Rourke led another scoring drive, this one via a 23-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. The late surge came too late to make a difference though.

Having ended the Hoosiers’ dream season, the Irish now turn their attention to the Sugar Bowl, where Georgia awaits them. With just under two weeks to recover and prepare, we’ll find out plenty about this team come New Year’s Day.

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Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Third-Quarter Analysis

One quarter away from victory.

Notre Dame is in good shape to defeat Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff. There wasn’t a whole lot of action in the third quarter, but there was enough that people will talk about at game’s end.

[autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] pitched the ball to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] on the opening kickoff of the second half, and that got the Irish into Hoosiers territory. The ensuing possession went nowhere, but [autotag]James Rendell[/autotag] punted the ball 31 yards to back the Hoosiers up to their own 12-yard line.

The Hoosiers went three-and-out after Kurtis Rourke was sacked by [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and then [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag]. Mills’ sack proved costly though as he went down and ended up limping off the field. Fortunately, he was up and moving on the sidelines and could return to this game.

The Irish began their next possession at the Hoosiers’ 41. A late hit out of bounds on third down put them in the red zone, but even that nearly went for naught. They came up short on a fake field-goal attempt but were bailed out by a Hoosiers timeout right before the ball was snapped. That prompted them to do the sensible thing and have [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] actually kick a field goal, which he did from 33 yards out after a false start penalty.

After another Hoosiers three-and-out, the Irish drove for a few minutes before ending the quarter on the outskirts of field-goal range. That 20-3 lead sure looks safe, but stranger things have happened in college football. We’ll see.

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Notre Dame vs. Indiana: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish are halfway to New Orleans.

Notre Dame began the second quarter against Indiana by concluding a successful drive that originated in the first. Specifically, [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag], giving the Irish a 14-0 lead in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The teams then showcased their respective defensive strengths, forcing punts on back-to-back possessions. That was followed by Kurtis Rourke completing a couple of first-down passes to get the Hoosiers into the red zone for their best scoring chance yet.

The Irish’s defense didn’t let the Hoosiers get too far into the red zone though and forced a fourth-and-4 at the 16. The Hoosiers’ offense lined up as if they were going for it, but after a timeout, Nicolas Radicic came out to kick a 34-yard field goal instead and get the team on the board.

The Irish’s offense then came out to try and make the Hoosiers pay for taking what for all intents and purposes an inconsequential route. The half’s final drive brought the offense to the Hoosiers’ 31-yard line, and [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] erased Radicic’s field goal with one of his own from 49 yards out with seven seconds left.

The Irish have a 17-3 lead and are only 30 minutes away from a trip to New Orleans to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. While not a done deal yet, all signs are pointing to it happening. It should be a fun second half.

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Notre Dame vs. Indiana: First-Quarter Analysis

What are your thoughts after a quarter?

The College Football Playoff is underway, and it couldn’t have gotten off to a crazier start. Whether Notre Dame or Indiana wins, the victory will have to be earned.

After the Irish’s defense started the game with a three-and-out, [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag]’s first pass was deflected at the line and ended up in the hands of the Hoosiers’ D’Angelo Ponds. But just when it seemed like the Hoosiers were going to score the game’s first points with a short field, [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] got his own interception of Kurtis Rourke near the end zone.

Even with the Irish backed up to their own 2-yard line, it proved not to matter for [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag], who promptly tied a program record with a 98-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. Just like that, it was the Irish on the scoreboard first.

The Hoosiers put together a nice drive on their next possession but ultimately were forced to punt again. The Irish didn’t have another explosive play on their ensuing drive, but it was far more calculated, and it resulted in one first down after another. They were in the red zone by the time the clock hit zero on the game’s first 15 minutes.

Breathe easy, folks. There’s a lot of football ahead.

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Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts becomes two-time consensus All-American

The Irish will miss him after this season.

Notre Dame safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] has a bright future in football. The NFL is calling him, and he hopefully will have a nice career there. For now though, he continues to rack up accolades as part of the Irish.

Watts has repeated as a consensus All-American, becoming the first Irish player to do so since [autotag]Aaron Taylor[/autotag] in 1993 and the first Irish defensive back to achieve it since [autotag]Todd Lyght[/autotag] in 1990.

When the Irish face Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Watts will have chance to add onto his five interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, nine passes defended and 49 tackles. He has earned one honor after another this season, and a college football team usually can’t get far without a player of his caliber.

Hopefully, Watts enjoys what will be his final game at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday win or lose. And if you’re interested in his thoughts about these honors, here’s what he recently said on WNDU-TV:

The Irish are lucky to have him for sure.

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Former Wisconsin starting tight end transfers to Indiana

Wisconsin transfer tight end commits to Indiana

Former Wisconsin tight end Riley Nowakowski committed to Indiana on Wednesday.

The former Badger starter transfers to the Hoosiers, a team that plays Wisconsin in 2025, for his final season of eligibility.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 transfer portal departure tracker

Nowakowski played five seasons at Wisconsin. He shared starting duties in both 2023 and 2024, totaling a combined 18 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.

The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native originally joined the Badgers as a walk-on linebacker in the class of 2020. He soon switched to fullback in the program’s old offensive system under former head coach Paul Chryst. Phil Longo then flipped the veteran to tight end upon arrival in 2023, as his air raid offense did not employ a traditional fullback.

Nowakowski commits to an Indiana program that is amid a breakout 2024 season under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. The No. 10-ranked Hoosiers went 11-1 in the regular season and are set for a first-round College Football Playoff game against No. 7 Notre Dame.

Wisconsin recently landed former Ball State star tight end Tanner Koziol, making the position a real strength entering 2025. He projects to play a sizable role as the program shifts back to a pro-style offensive under new coordinator Jeff Grimes.

The progression of the position will be one to watch as the season kicks off, as will the possible reemergence of the fullback position.

Nowakowski will be on an opposing sideline for that campaign. For more on where former Badger transfers are headed, bookmark our transfer departure tracker.

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