Tag: irish

Notre Dame football notes: Longest regular season break since…

This Saturday, Notre Dame will conclude their longest break between regular season games in a long time. Find out details here.

Notre Dame’s game against South Florida feels like forever ago.

By the time the Irish and Florida State do battle on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium it’ll have been a full three weeks since Notre Dame suited up for a regular season game.

Does that feel like a long time?

Of course, as well it should.

In case you were wondering, that’s the longest break between regular season games Notre Dame will have had since Knute Rockne’s first year as head coach.

The following from Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune:

The last time the Irish went as many as 21 days between regular-season games was 1918, coach Knute Rockne’s rookie season, during the Spanish Flu pandemic. Thirty-five days elapsed between the Sept. 28 opener against Case Tech, a 26-6 win, and a hastily scheduled 67-7 rout of Wabash on Nov. 2.

The original opponent, Nebraska, canceled just as the Irish were departing for Lincoln, Neb.

Hopefully that long of a break doesn’t mean it’s too rusty of a Notre Dame team we see on Saturday night.  Based off how North Carolina looked against Boston College last week though I’m not expecting anything close to a flawless showing for the Irish.

However, it’s no excuse not to still cruise to a victory and 3-0.

Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire as we’ll release our staff predictions on Friday morning.

 

Big Ten Hockey Announces November Return

Hockey is set to return to the Big Ten next month. Details here…

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference office announced today (Oct. 6) that the 2020-21 hockey season will begin as soon as November 13, 2020, and will feature 24-game conference schedules, plus an additional four games per school against Arizona State University hosted at Big Ten venues. The 2020-21 schedule will conclude March 18-20, 2021, with the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament.

“The 2020-21 hockey season builds on the rich traditions of Big Ten Hockey and brings new competitive opportunities to the Conference with the Arizona State University scheduling agreement,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. “As our teams return to competition, we will continue to keep the health and safety of our student-athletes at the forefront of our decisions.”

“We’re excited Big Ten hockey will be back as early as mid-November,” Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson said. “While following our University and athletic department’s health and safety protocols, we’ve been training and preparing for the upcoming season and today’s announcement will add to our energy and focus levels as we continue to develop our identity ahead of the 2020-21 season. We want to thank Commissioner Warren and the league’s head coaches and administrators for helping us find a safe way to return.”

Big Ten hockey teams will follow the same medical protocols developed by the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force and announced on Sept. 16, 2020, including:

  • — Daily antigen testing
  • — Enhanced cardiac screening
  • — An enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about practice/competition
  • — Arizona State has agreed to adhere to the same testing protocols as the Big Ten Conference

The 2021 Big Ten Hockey Tournament will return to the one-weekend, single-elimination format used during the first four years of Big Ten hockey and will feature all seven conference teams – Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The tournament will be held March 18-20 and will consist of six games (three games on Thursday; two games on Friday; and the championship game on Saturday).

“The 2020-21 schedule and the modified Big Ten Tournament format have been structured in a way that maximizes flexibility for the season,” said Red Berenson, Special Advisor to the Commissioner, Hockey Operations. “The opportunity to return to competition in mid-November and the scheduling agreement with Arizona State is an exciting time for Big Ten Hockey.”

Notre Dame’s full 2020-21 Big Ten hockey schedule, including times and television designations, as well as further details regarding the 2021 Big Ten Hockey Tournament will be announced at a later date.

An SEC quarterback is compared to Notre Dame’s Book, is it warranted?

ESPN got a nugget from an SEC assistant, as they compared a new starter to Notre Dame’s Ian Book. It the comparison justified?

As this weird season continues, the data for new starting quarterback is finally coming to fruition. Adam Rittenberg of ESPN looked at 5 of the newest starters and obviously Notre Dame doesn’t have one. There was however, a comparison to the Irish starting signal caller Ian Book.

Georgia didn’t start Stetson Bennett in their opener, the nod went to D’Wan Mathis, but Bennett did finish the game and started this past week even with the USC transfer JT Daniels being medically cleared to play. It looks like it’s Bennett’s job to lose at this moment and Rittenberg found that an SEC assistant compared the Bulldogs new starter to Notre Dame’s Book.

Is this a warranted comparison? Both are similar size at around 6-feet tall, Book has a slight weight advantage. The diminutive starters rely on a high completion percentage, Bennett sporting a 64.9% this year, while Book had 73.1% in his first two starts. Each of them had a win over an opponent ranked No. 7 in their second game, Book over Stanford and Bennett over Auburn.

Book had a 6-to-0 TD to INT ratio, while Bennett posted 3-to-0. Book had an advantage in yardage as well, throwing for 603 yards in his first two games, Bennet just 451. Bennett does have two less quarter of work, but the advantage goes to Book.

Book’s passer rating was also better than Bennett’s during their first two games of extended action, 178.4 to 148.7. There is an area where Bennett does statistically beat Book, it’s in adjusted quarterback ranking. Bennett sports a very impressive 94.4, Book after two starts was 79.3.

At this point, it seems like the SEC assistant was quick to the gun in the comparison between Book and Bennett. What is interesting though was a comment made by Kirk Herbstreit and David Pollack, a former Bulldog. They both said in their CFB Podcast yesterday that Bennett led the offense better than previous starter Jake Fromm, who was a fifth-round pick in last years NFL Draft.

The literal book is still out on Bennett, while we know exactly what the Irish get every week with Book. It’s an interesting comparison, although, it might be a little too early to anoint Bennett as Georgia’s savior. Fromm did lead the Bulldogs to a spot in the College Football Playoff finals, If it wasn’t for Tua Tagovailoa’s heroics, Fromm’s squad probably would have defeated mighty Alabama for the crown. It’s a bit too early to make any comparisons right now.

Scouts Eye: Notre Dame’s newest commit, WR Jayden Thomas

The Irish added a 3rd wide receiver prospect in their 2021 recruiting class. Find out what to expect out the newest Notre Dame commit.

The Irish have added a pair of Georgia  wide receivers to their 2021 recruiting class just this week. On Monday, it was Deion Colzie, deciding that Notre Dame really was the place he wanted to be after decommitting in March. Today it was Jayden Thomas pulling the trigger for the Irish. Here’s what to expect from the newest Irish commit Thomas.

Check out Thomas’ junior highlight reel here.

A game-breaker who can make plays multiple ways. Thomas is able to take direct snaps sometimes completing a pass, splitting out wide or in the slot, change the field with a punt return or even return kickoffs. He runs good, crisp routes and uses his body well to shield off defenders. Thomas does a good job using his hands to catch the ball, rarely using his body to catch. He’s a willing blocker who will get better at it as he gets stronger. Thomas plays both ways, showing that he can flip his hips well enough to adjust to balls that aren’t the most accurate throws. I love that he’s a two-sport athlete as well. Thomas could be an addition to Link Jarrett’s baseball team as well.

The Irish are getting a fantastic prospect as Rivals rates him as the 195th overall player and 36th wide receiver. At 247Sports, they have Thomas as the  260th player and 45th wide receiver nationally. ESPN has him ranked as the 218th overall player.

With Thomas’ commitment, the Notre Dame class now stands at 19 players, good for 9th best overall class in the country according to the 247Sports composite (although it has yet to be updated, I used their class calculator to add Thomas). It’s a great collection of prospects that Kelly and company have assembled.

College Football Playoff makes yet another change

Once again there was a change with the CFP, although this one does not change much.

This football season continues to throw curveballs at teams and fans. Early this morning, it was announced the College Football Playoff committee will push back its initial rankings one week.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Multiple games have been postponed or canceled, the SEC just started play this past week and the Pac-12 and Big Ten have yet to get going.

Data points this year will be much more difficult for the committee to assess, and just yesterday the committee announced it will keep the playoff field at four. What we do know is there will be four weeks of rankings, with the last on Dec. 20.

This really doesn’t change much for the Irish, as long as Brian Kelly’s group keeps winning, its a moot point. The key is to keep winning.

It has been a wild ride so far for college football in 2020. Don’t expect that to change much as we approach the seasons conclusion.

Welcome back Deion Colzie, WR rejoins Irish 2021 class

The talented Georgia star has decided to recommit to his dream school.

The wild recruiting ride of Georgia star wide receiver Deion Colzie has finally come to an happy ending for the Irish as the star has recommitted to Brian Kelly and Notre Dame.

A quick timeline of events for Colzie, his initial commitment to the Irish happening last year on October 19 then his decommitment on March 20 of this year. This came as a shock to much of Irish Nation as Colzie has multiple times mentioned his dream school resided in South Bend.

Colzie is welcomed back with open arms as he rejoins the 2021 class, which now has 18 commits. Lorenzo Styles Jr. is the other wide receiver commit in the class, the pair give the Irish two of the best in the country.

Now that Colzie has rejoined the Irish, the overall ranking of the class has jumped from 14th in the nation to 11th according to 247Sports composite rankings.

What a great way to start the week off for Notre Dame.

Expert proclaims Notre Dame one of the winners of Week 3

The Irish were among a group of winners during week 3’s action.

It’s easy to see the improvement from game one to game two for the Irish. Not only did the offense fire out of the gate, scoring on 5 of their 6 first half possessions, the only non-scoring drive was a missed field goal, the defense showed up as well. Posting a shutout against South Florida shouldn’t go overlooked, it was an impressive performance on both sides of the ball.

After the day concluded, Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY, graded out winners and losers from the week. The Irish were among his winners, as Myerberg singled out Ian Book for his performance in leading the offense saying “a much stronger game” came from the senior.

It wasn’t just the offense however, the defense as a whole was dominant. “While the shutout on defense and increased balance on offense comes against the Bulls, a program in a rebuild under new coach Jeff Scott, the Irish look prepared for an ACC slate that heats up in October,” said Myerberg of the win.

Two games against ranked opponents lie ahead of the Irish for next month, No. 24 Louisville and No. 21 Pittsburgh. Those games will be tough, but the Irish should be favored in both of them.

The real tests come later in the schedule during a three-game stretch in November. First up the Clemson Tigers come to South Bend, then road trips to visit former Irish quarterback Phil Jurkovic and Boston College before final road game in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. The foray into ACC play is starting to heat up, so strap in. It’s going to be a fun ride.

Quick hitters from Brian Kelly’s Monday press conference

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly touched on who to watch for against Wake Forest, Jack Kiser’s play, offensive sets and more.

Every Monday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly speaks with the media. Like clockwork, it happened again today and here are some of the major points Kelly touched upon as they prepare to travel to Wake Forest on Saturday.

-Kelly singled out a few Demon Deacons, but the one that stood out was defensive lineman Carlos Basham Jr., as the Irish will have to “game plan for him.” Kelly didn’t want to give away much of the game plan for facing Basham Jr., as he noted that “he can be a game wrecker if you let him.” Basham Jr. leads Wake in sacks with two on the season.

-Staying on the defensive side of the ball, Kelly expects the Deacon’s as a unit to give the Irish a test on Saturday. “This is a defense that has a lot of experience, expect them to play well against us.”

-Kelly credited off-season work and preparation as to why players like linebacker Jack Kiser entered the lineup on short notice and played well. “You look at it in terms of what you do in the offseason. You come here with an expectation to play…we make certain that all of our players are prepared.” They sure were ready to play this past Saturday.

-Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa’s play has been spectacular early so far. Kelly went on to say that his “recognition of blocking schemes, that awareness that you get with experience.” Teams try to run screen plays, but he continually sniffs them out. “He’s got a complete game,” said Kelly.

-On true-freshman Jordan Botelho: “He’s coming along quite well. He’s a quick study, knows the game very well. He plays with a bit of reckless adondonment. He’s got to clean up some other things… he’s got to show discipline.” The disciple Kelly is talking about is after Botelho blocked the punt, he could have easily been called for a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration.

-Two and three tight end sets are here to stay. Currently the Irish offense is “developing our identity” and they’re “deep a the position (tight end). It’s less about game plan and more about who we are. You’ll continue to see two tight end sets and sometimes three tight end sets.”

-On his viral halftime speech (watch it here): “First of all I didn’t know that was going to be public… this had everything to do with us… I wanted to make sure we finished strong, regardless what the score was, I didn’t want to let up.”

–On Ian Book’s transformation since his last visit to Wake Forest

Kelly’s halftime speech shows change in Notre Dame’s program

Notre Dame’s head football coach Brian Kelly gave a inspiring halftime speech that resonates loudly where the program is headed.

In college football there is a certain mentality that you have to have to consistently be among the best in the country. There are a few teams, that regardless of returning experience, they’ll always have high level of play. Take Alabama for instance, they consistently lose players to the NFL early, but just keep churning out teams that compete for National Championships every year.

How about Oklahoma? Four straight years, including this one, with different starting quarterbacks, same result. Each year they’ve won the Big XII, after one game they’re viewed as the favorite again this year.

It isn’t a coincidence that these programs are almost always in the CFP. It’s in their programs DNA, it’s just what they do.

After seeing this from Irish coach Brian Kelly, I feel like they are trending towards having the culture that the elite, of the elite schools do.

“We’re scoring every time we got the football. We’re not letting them score any points. We want a shutout. We’re playing for a shutout. This thing is too damn hard. I’m tired of being the nice guy.” If this didn’t pump you up, somethings wrong with you.

Back to the message, it’s about a mentality, a focus, one that might have been missing during the early years of Kelly’s tenure. The killer instinct, a change in culture, in urgency, in everything.

Back in 2019, Kelly spoke of coaching for five more years, with his newly signed extension, that brings him to exactly that time frame. You think that Kelly wants to get a championship before the extension is up? You bet your ass he does. This change in mentality is a step in that direction.

Irish steady as Big Ten is back in Amway Coaches Poll

The newest Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports was released, the Irish find themselves holding steady after a blowout win on Saturday.

Doesn’t it feel nice waking up after the Irish demolished South Florida to a tune of 52-0? You bet your ass it does, but as we all prepare to watch Notre Dame alum getting paid to play, in the back of our minds were wondering how the polls will react to the Big Ten rejoining fall football.

The Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports gave the Irish some hope, as our midwestern neighbors once again shook things up. Dropping 52 on South Florida didn’t impress the coaches enough though, as the Irish didn’t see change at all from their No. 7 ranking.

Clemson remained at the top spot, while Miami made a big jump to No. 14. The U is “back,” although we have seen this proclamation before. Have them beat a top 10 team handily, then we can talk. Until then the Hurricanes’ will ride high on the prime time win over then No. 16 Louisville, who dropped out of the poll entirely.

The Big Ten as a group was ranked again, although their top team, Ohio State, was just No. 10 after holding a preseason rankings of No. 2. Interesting take by the coaches to include them when their first game won’t happen for over a month.

Here is the rest of the coaches poll, with ACC teams in bold and last weeks ranking in parentheses.

1 Clemson (1)

2 Alabama (2)

3 Oklahoma (3)

3 Georgia (4)

5 LSU (5)

6 Florida (6)

7 Notre Dame (7)

8 Auburn (9)

9 Texas (8)

10 Ohio State (NR)

11 Texas A&M (10)

12 North Carolina (11)

13 Penn State (NR)

14 Miami FL (18)

15 UCF (13)

16 Cincinnati (14)

17 Wisconsin (NR)

18 Oklahoma St. (12)

19 Michigan (NR)

20 Memphis (15)

21 Tennessee (17)

22 Minnesota (NR)

23 BYU (22)

24 Virginia Tech (19)

25 ULL (21)