Tag: Matt Fortuna

Matt Fortuna: Morrison injury is ‘devastating blow’ for Notre Dame

Hard to disagree here.

Few college football analysts are as intelligent as Matt Fortuna. When he has something to say about a certain topic, people listen, especially when it comes to adversity.

Notre Dame is going through perhaps its biggest adversity yet with star cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] suddenly going out for the year with a hip injury. Naturally, this has shaken Irish fans to their core, and Fortuna says there’s every reason to feel that way.

In an appearance on “The Big College Football Show” on the Chicago Sports Network, Fortuna made it abundantly clear that this is as bad an injury scenario as the Irish could have envisioned. Not only did he call the future first-round NFL pick their “best player”, but he pointed out that this stretches the injury-ravaged defense even further.

Worse yet, Fortuna doesn’t see the Irish as they are making a deep run in the College Football Playoff if they even get there. Unfortunately, it’s hard to disagree with him:

A prayer might be the last hope Irish fans have at breaking that national championship drought this season, so hit your knees.

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Social media reacts to Xavier Watts’ two first-half interceptions

That’s six picks for him this season.

Christian Veilleux had to know [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] would be one of his biggest challenges when he led Pittsburgh’s offense against Notre Dame. He most certainly did not have two first-half interceptions by Watts in mind. Yet that’s exactly what happened, and they both set up all 14 points scored by the Irish’s offense in the half. The Irish led, 17-0, at the break.

Watts’ first pick set up the touchdown by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]:

This one set up a chip-shot field goal for [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] right before halftime:

You have to give Watts mad props for emerging as perhaps the one Irish defender you absolutely do not want to mess around with. If you don’t have a half-decent offense, which is the case for the Panthers, players like Watts will make you pay. Watts has done just that, and he’s going to be a major reason the ride back to the Steel City will be a long one.

Here is what social media is saying about Watts:

Social media reacts to Sam Hartman’s long TD pass to Chris Tyree

That’s a good answer to adversity.

Notre Dame’s offense was slow out of the second half, and USC took advantage. Marshawn Lloyd ran for a 31-yard touchdown to cut into the Irish’s lead.

Needing a score to seize momentum back and keep the Trojans at a reasonable distance, the Irish did just that. [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] ran play-action and hit [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag] on a post route for a 46-yard touchdown. That increased the Irish’s lead to 31-13:

As has been pointed out before, the Irish need to keep the pressure up. Williams is starting to get a little too comfortable out there, and he’s doing what he does in that situation.

At the same time, the offense needs to respond to every Trojans score from here on because that’s the only way victory will be assured. The defense can’t be solely responsible for a win.

Until we see what happens, enjoy some of these tweets about Hartman’s scoring connection to Tyree:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame walk-on scoring game-tying touchdown

Bet you didn’t have him scoring.

As far as Notre Dame walk-ons go, it’s gonna be tough to top [autotag]Rudy Ruettiger[/autotag] in terms of notoriety. But it’s a lot easier to pass Ruettiger in on-field performance if you have a chance to play. [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] got that chance in the second quarter against Louisville, and he came up at a big time. Two plays after making his first collegiate catch, he caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to tie the game:

Whatever happens the rest of this game, Faison will have this moment forever. Not everyone in his position has this particular opportunity, and he made the most of his. If he has a few more plays like this, he’ll be listed on the depth chart every week. Not bad for someone whose main sport is lacrosse.

While Faison is waiting, he can read these and other reactions that were posted to social media after his touchdown:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame unveiling green uniforms

What are your thoughts on the unis?

If there’s one thing diehard college football fans love, it’s tradition. That’s why many of them, including our own Nick Shepkowski, is upset that the regular season will be devalued by the expanded College Football Playoff beginning in 2024. Some don’t like it when nicknames or rivalry trophies are changed. Then, there are uniforms.

Reaction to the revelation of Notre Dame’s green uniforms for its Sept. 23 game against Ohio State has been mixed. While some like how spiffy they are, others see it as a reflection of the program’s apparently misplaced priorities, namely that it’s focused more on dressing well than winning games. Others don’t like that this was lumped in with the announcement that the program is extending its relationship with Under Armour.

Whatever you feel about it, chances are those feelings are reflected among these thoughts we found on social media. Take a look at the following and see if that’s the case:

Notre Dame football: What to like about new special teams coach

What to like about Notre Dame’s likely new special teams coordinator.

Reports surfaced Sunday that Notre Dame is already keying in on a replacement for [autotag]Brian Mason[/autotag] as special teams coordinator. Mason is leaving the Irish for the Indianapolis Colts, with whom he’ll coach special teams. The search for Mason’s replacement reportedly will not be a very long one.

According to Matt Fortuna of The Athletic, Notre Dame is headed to the SEC to fill its special teams vacancy.  Below is what Fortuna tweeted on Sunday afternoon:

Source: Notre Dame is expected to hire Ole Miss special teams coordinator Marty Biagi to the same position. Biagi, who served as a special teams analyst with the Irish in 2016, replaces Brian Mason, who left for the Indianapolis Colts.
– Matt Fortuna on Twitter

A quick look at the biography of [autotag]Marty Biagi[/autotag] details his work, which suggests Notre Dame special teams should resemble more of what we saw in 2022 instead of what they were like for much of the 12 previous seasons.

Twitter reacts to Michael Mayer scoring Notre Dame’s first touchdown

Is this dude good or what?

Everyone knew going into the season that [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] was the one Notre Dame offensive skills player you couldn’t sleep on. To this point, Mayer mostly has lived up to that reputation. However, he has been announcing his presence early and often in the first half against BYU. He had one big catch on third down, and he ended that drive by doing this:

As you can see from the tweet, that touchdown did more than only give the Irish the lead. That tight end receptions record previously was held by [autotag]Tyler Eifert[/autotag]. It’s probable Eifert knew his record was in danger for some time now, but records are made to be broken.

Irish fans and scribes undoubtedly remember Eifert well, but Mayer is in the here and now, and some of them took to Twitter to express their appreciation for this special kid. Here are a few of the things they had to say:

Reactions to Notre Dame’s first half performance against Ohio State

The Irish have the lead going into half 👀

In a massive matchup like No. 5 Notre Dame visiting No. 3 Ohio State there are going to be plenty of hot takes. There was a rollercoaster of emotions for both teams and here are the best reactions to game action during the first half.

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Report: Shawn Stiffler hired as Notre Dame baseball coach

Like the hire?College World Series

With Link Jarrett moving within the ACC to Florida State, Notre Dame needed a new coach to build upon its College World Series berth. Less than three weeks after the end of the 2022 season, the Irish appear to have found their man. According to Matt Fortuna of The Athletic, VCU coach [autotag]Shawn Stiffler[/autotag] has been tabbed as the Irish’s next coach.

Stiffler just completed his 10th season as Rams coach, accumulating a 352-207 record during that time, including a 42-20 record in 2022. Stiffler has led the Rams to the Atlantic 10 Tournament title and the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two years and in 2015. They also won the regular-season title in 2019, and Stiffler was named the conference’ coach of the year.

During Stiffler’s tenure, the Rams produced four All-Americans, five Freshman All-Americans and 43 all-conference players. Here’s hoping that success will carry over against the arguably tougher competition that will come with this new job.

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Matt Fortuna: Only national title will justify Kelly leaving Notre Dame

Will Kelly win a national title in Louisiana?

With college football teams conducting spring practices, Brian Kelly departing Notre Dame for LSU is back at the forefront. Kelly has said the Tigers have better resources and facilities for winning a national championship than the Irish. Matt Fortuna of The Athletic says that’s the only way Kelly’s decision will be validated. In an editorial available only to subscribers, Fortuna makes it clear that now is the time for Kelly to put up or shut up.

In fact, how both LSU and Notre Dame look depends on Kelly’s success or failure to put the Tigers over the top. Fortuna says so in his lead:

“Here’s the thing about Brian Kelly, LSU and Notre Dame: Kelly needs to win a national title at the former to validate his decision to leave the latter. And the latter needs him to not to do that in order to validate its own approach to doing business.

Plain and simple.”

In the long history of college football, there surely have been rivalries between programs that haven’t even played each other. The Tigers are not a future Irish opponent, so this would qualify under that umbrella. Depending on what Kelly does in Baton Rogue, this could be an intense such rivalry. Fans on both sides will be wringing their hands in anticipation.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89