Tag: Mike Golic Jr.

Notre Dame’s JD Bertrand named First-Team Academic All-American

The captain is quite smart.

[autotag]JD Bertrand[/autotag] was a captain at Notre Dame the past two years. Somehow, that didn’t take the linebacker away from his studies enough for his grades to suffer. In fact, he absolutely thrived in the classroom, and now, he’s been recognized for that.

Bertrand has been named a First-Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators. He’s the 37th Irish player to be so honored and the first since [autotag]Drue Tranquill[/autotag] in 2016 and 2017. Other Irish honorees over the years include [autotag]Mike Golic Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag], [autotag]John Carlson[/autotag] and [autotag]Joe Theismann[/autotag].

Bertrand was recognized by virtue of earning a 3.62/3.74 GPA. He also was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team alongside [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag] and [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag]. There are some smart players on the Irish indeed.

Bertand’s current focus is preparing for the NFL draft. Whoever picks him, if anybody, will be getting someone with intelligence and leadership qualities. Hopefully, those will be on full display at the next level.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Social media reacts to Jean-Baptiste scoring off blocked field goal

Holy moly.

Notre Dame didn’t start off well against Stanford, but that changed as the game progressed. By the fourth quarter, all that was left was to take whatever was left of the Cardinal’s soul. What was the best way to do that? How about [autotag]Jason Onye[/autotag] blocking a field-goal attempt and [autotag]Javontae Jean-Baptiste[/autotag] returning the ball 60 yards to the house?

Jean-Baptiste is 6-foot-4, 260 pounds. That’s all you need to know about the improbability of this play. There surely are many moments Jean-Baptiste will remember when his Irish career is over, but this one has to be near if not at the top of the list. One simply has to love when a defensive lineman gets a moment to shine with the ball.

As one might have guessed, social media was ablaze with this moment. You don’t see this happen every football game, so it deserves to be celebrated once it’s seen:

 

Social media reacts to Audric Estime’s third touchdown for Notre Dame

What a player.

Notre Dame has made its offensive strategy against Stanford clear, and it involves feeding [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] over and over. Against better programs, having such a predictable plan might flop spectacularly. But Stanford is not a better program, and that’s becoming more clear as this game continues. In fact, Estime scored his third touchdown of the game on the first possession of the second half on a 5-yard run:

The Irish have been fortunate to have a running back like Estime in their arsenal. Sometimes, you just need someone to do what they do best in order to win. The Irish have recognized that this is one of those games in which Estime can do that, so there’s no need to change anything up as long as what they’re doing is working.

Social media has taken notice of Estime’s big evening and taken to social media to express thoughts about him such as these?

Jac Collinsworth main subject of Awful Announcing story on nepotism

Good discussion to have?

For the past two years, Notre Dame’s NBC broadcasts have come under heavy criticism. Never was it on display more than during and after the Irish’s stunning dominance of USC. Social media bashed the broadcast early and often. People seem to have had enough of what they’ve been exposed to on coverage of Irish home games.

To that end, Jesse Pantuosco of Awful Announcing saw it fit to pen an article about nepotism in sports with Notre Dame play-by-play announcer Jac Collinsworth being the story’s primary subject. Jac, of course, is the son of NBC Sunday Night Football color analyst Cris Collinsworth. He also is a Notre Dame alumnus. But he hasn’t won many fans calling Irish games, and this article in particular says he didn’t rise to the big moment of the Irish walloping the Trojans.

Here’s the main argument against Collinsworth in the story:

“The elder Collinsworth is one of the best in the business, and maybe Jac will get there someday, but Saturday proved the 28-year-old is still very much a work in progress, failing to meet the moment in his biggest assignment to date.

Naturally, Collinsworth’s relative lack of polish has sparked a larger discussion about nepotism in sports media, with many questioning his credentials while wondering if Collinsworth is qualified for his current role, leapfrogging more deserving broadcasters on the strength of his last name. Not only was Collinsworth ill-equipped for primetime, but his rapid ascent presents problematic optics that NBC will now have to answer for, fast-tracking a novice announcer in desperate need of seasoning.”

The story goes to cite similar situations in Noah Eagle, Chris Simms and former Irish offensive lineman [autotag]Mike Golic Jr.[/autotag] None of those broadcasters have come under as much scrutiny as Collinsworth though. Whether it’s merited or not, it’s unfortunate that the situation has necessitated this discussion. Here’s hoping Collinsworth has a better end to the season.

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

How social media reacted to Notre Dame-USC: Irish side

Pretty much everyone is happy and rightfully so.

Notre Dame fans were on edge the entire week after a disappointing loss at Louisville. It didn’t help that Caleb Williams and his high-powered USC offense were about to come to South Bend. While a victory wasn’t impossible and the Irish even were listed as a slight favorite, the confidence in a win happening wasn’t that high. Those fears were put to rest with a 38-20 win.

Maybe the best part about the win is that it not only came against the Irish’s biggest rival and made college football’s best player look vulnerable, but it came right before a bye week. That means the fans will get to enjoy it for a little longer. If the field celebrating on the Notre Dame Stadium field afterwards isn’t an indication of things to come, nothing is.

There were a lot of tweets celebrating this victory. Here are some of the best that were found:

Social media reacts to Xavier Watts’ scoop-and-score for Notre Dame

What a night for the kid.

[autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] will not forget this game. The Notre Dame safety knew his team had to show a complete effort against USC. He provided that and then some. Not only did he have two interceptions to set up touchdowns, but he picked up a ball that [autotag]Cam Hart[/autotag] knocked out of Mario Williams’ hands and ran it to the end zone:

They say that to the winner goes the spoils, and Watts deserves every bit of them. Everyone on the Irish had a good game, but this was the perfect exclamation point to as good a night as a safety can have. Whatever Watts gets as a result of this game, he’ll cherish it for sure.

Irish fans are celebrating, and it’s not unwarranted in the least. This win was huge. There were many things to celebrate about this contest, but let’s focus only on tweets that came from this Watts score:

Twitter reacts to Notre Dame’s first lacrosse national championship

Hope you love this championship as much as these people do.

If you win a national championship at Notre Dame, you’re going to be remembered forever. The 2023 men’s lacrosse team entered university immortality Monday when it defeated Duke in the national championship game. It was their first time winning the national title after two previous runner-up finishes.

Let this serve as a reminder that every athletic program at Notre Dame deserves your support and not only during moments like this. These student-athletes and coaches work just as hard as those in the football or basketball programs. This is their life, and it’s great to see that rewarded.

If you think no one cares about Notre Dame athletics that aren’t football or basketball, think again. There are so many people either employed by the university or simply a supporter of the university who were hoping to see the Irish defeat the Blue Devils. They got their wish, and they took to Twitter afterwards to show how happy they were:

 

NFL players are divided on the league allowing No. 0 on jerseys

Next season we’ll see players wearing a number not seen in decades.

For the first time in 50 years, we will see an NFL player wear No. 0 on their jersey during the 2023 season.

On Tuesday, the NFL voted to allow skill players (anyone who isn’t on the offensive or defensive line) to wear No. 0 on their uniform if they so choose. It’s admittedly a minor aesthetic change overall, but it’s one that some players should absolutely take advantage of if they can.

With an entire catalog of numbers now available to most guys in the league, some took to Twitter to react to the news. Some, like a certain Jacksonville Jaguars playmaker, even maintained that they’d be making the switch immediately. But not everyone was a fan of the No. 0, especially of its limitations on positions.

Twitter reacts to Olivia Miles’ game-winning buzzer beater

People understandably are thrilled with this shot.

The three things certain in life are death, taxes and Twitter going crazy whenever a basketball player beats the buzzer to win a game. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] did just that against Louisville to give Notre Dame a 78-76 triumph in overtime. In case you missed the shot itself, here it is:

What can you say about Miles that hasn’t been said already? She is very good in every aspect of basketball, and clutch moments like this only add to the legend she’s building for herself in South Bend. The best part is she only is a sophomore, so she has more than enough time to create even more memories. Barring an unforeseen turn of events, she is destined for the Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor.

If you don’t believe the hype surrounding Miles, just look at some of these tweets after her buzzer beater. More people are discovering her, and they are excited to know she exists:

How Twitter reacted to Gator Bowl: Irish side

Just guessing you’re very happy right now.

If a 100-yard pick-six wasn’t going to intimidate Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, nothing would. After South Carolina’s O’Donnell Fortune picked off a [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] pass to tie the score on the aforementioned play, everything looked like it would come apart in the end. Instead, Buchner wrapped up game MVP honors with this 16-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag], giving the Irish a 45-38 they wouldn’t relinquish:

As soon as the Gamecocks turned it over on downs with the help of some dumb penalties on their part, Irish fans were ready to celebrate the program’s first bowl victory in three years. It punctuated a 9-4 season that will serve as a passing grade for [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag]’s first season at the helm. To end with that and a ranking in the final poll is a good year in anyone’s book. If you don’t believe that, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t, take a look at some of these postgame tweets from Irish fans: