Tag: NCAA football

Notre Dame Bullied By Louisville: Irish Are In Big Trouble

Just how big of trouble are the Irish in?

Everyone knew that the four-game stretch Notre Dame is in the midst of currently would be tough. It appeared that way before the season and even more so once both Duke and Louisville got off to hot starts this year. But that doesn’t excuse the product Notre Dame put on the field against Louisville Saturday night. It cannot be used as an excuse.

Notre Dame got outcoached, out-schemed, out-efforted, out-executed, out-adjusted, and got sent to the outhouse when it was all said and done. The Irish were not prepared for this moment physically or emotionally. Quite frankly, this is completely unacceptable. For me, the worst part of this game result isn’t even the result itself, it’s the pandora’s box of negativity and questions, legitimate ones, big picture and small that will now loom over the rest of the season. Not ideal circumstances as undefeated USC rolls into South Bend next week.

Let’s examine the biggest areas of alarm.

Notre Dame vs. Louisville: Confidences & Concerns for Irish

How you feeling about tonight, Irish fans?

Notre Dame fans knew this stretch of the season would be tough. Any 4 game window that starts with Ohio State and ends with USC gets your attention, adding in night road trips to undefeated Duke and now Louisville, and you have yourself a gauntlet.

While the sledding is undeniably tough, the Irish should be in a better place mentally and emotionally to handle this environment than they entered last week’s contest. Why? Winning. Winning solves almost every football problem. And that’s what the Irish did last week.

Can the Irish ramp the offense back up? Will this be yet another last-second nail-biter? Let’s examine some confidences and concerns Notre Dame fans may have entering this tough road affair.

The NCAA Council votes to makes changes to the transfer portal rules

The transfer portal will look a little different as the NCAA approves measures to reduce the transfer window

The rules for NCAA athletics are ever-changing, and on Wednesday, the NCAA Council ruled on several issues, including new rules for the transfer portal.

Starting in the 2023-2024 academic year, the transfer portal will be reduced from its current 60 days to 45 days. With the implementation of NIL, I believe the rules for the transfer portal needed to be tightened alongside protecting the athletes receiving these deals. The 45-day format will now have 30 days following the end of the regular season to enter into the portal, and the spring portal should remain the same at 15 days during April.

This should help provide some stability when putting together a roster, especially since recruiting is now a 24/7 job. Jimbo Fisher said it best when describing one of the reasons for giving up playcalling. Recruiting not only entails recruiting high school players and transfers, but you must also recruit your current roster to keep them from leaving.

The transfer portal changes took the main stage, but the council also voted on several other measures, including gambling penalties and NIL protections. You can dive a little deeper into those rules here.

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Notre Dame Football: Irish Halfway Through Brutal Stretch

Think the last two weeks were tough?

Notre Dame’s 2023 schedule breaks down into three segments. Segment one is ensuring they were 4-0 heading into the Ohio State game. That mission was accomplished. Games 5-8 are where this season will be made or broken for the Irish. So far they are 1-1 with 2 very challenging games that lie ahead before reaching the bye. Segment 3 is ideally about closing out a playoff push.

This schedule looked daunting on paper in the summer. It looks even more so now. Notre Dame played undefeated NC State at their place. Undefeated Ohio State. Undefeated Duke at their place. Now undefeated Louisville awaits at their place before the Irish return home to face what will almost certainly be an undefeated USC team. Brutal.

Let’s examine this historic schedule stretch in more detail.

Notre Dame vs Duke: Confidences & Concerns

How confident or concerned are you about how things will go Saturday night?

This is going to be a tough week for anyone who feels favorably about Notre Dame Football. The coaches, the players, and most certainly the fans. Let’s be very clear and direct. The Ohio State loss was not just any run-of-the-mill loss. It’s going to hurt, it’s going to sting, and because of the way it happened, it’s going to linger.

In many ways one could argue Notre Dame’s staff must have their best week of coaching yet before heading to Duke.

At Night.

With them undefeated.

Gameday present.

Their side flying high while those in the Irish’s corner feel like they’ve been run over by a truck physically and emotionally. Everyone is drained. This is a tricky spot for Notre Dame for many reasons. How will they respond after last week’s heartbreak?

Let’s take a look at some confidences and concerns Notre Dame fans may have entering this game with their emotional tanks on empty.

Notre Dame fans are special

It’s just different here. And we’re not talking about in the SEC.

As Ryan Day’s new mortal enemy Lou Holtz once stated, “To those who know Notre Dame, no explanation is necessary. To those who don’t, no explanation will suffice.”

This couldn’t be more true. The reality is every emotion that ripples through Notre Dame football seems to carry extra weight. As [autotag]Paul Finebaum[/autotag] might say, “It just means more.”

Nothing is simple.

Clean cut.

Black and white.

For many Irish fans, present company included, Notre Dame football feels more like a weekly existential soul examination exercise than it does a simple game. Being Notre Dame fans isn’t what we are, it’s who we are. It’s always personal.

As someone who hosts a Notre Dame call-in radio show on YouTube right after every game ends, I must say I was genuinely moved by the calls I received for over three-and-a-half long miserable for all involved hours. This show was by far the least enjoyable one I’ve ever hosted, but may just be the most important.

Allow me to explain.

‘Big Game Notre Dame’ Strikes Again

It happened. Again. Now what?

Unfortunately, Notre Dame fans have been here before. For folks my age, this is the only Notre Dame we’ve known. Failing to win on the biggest stage. In the most humiliating and excruciating ways. One of the main lead-up storylines to this ballgame was the notion of “if not now then when” for the Irish in one of these moments. That question hits home hard after this outcome.

While this game ended in hauntingly similar “Bush Push” style, the feel is different. Notre Dame had about 10 different situations where if any 1 goes their way, they win. Notre Dame made none of those plays. The Irish blew this one. There’s no way around it. And that’s what hurts the most. Notre Dame doesn’t know how to win these kinds of games, which is devastating given that a hundred years of Irish lore is based upon the opposite being the case.

Let’s dissect some of the carnage, shall we?

Notre Dame vs Ohio State: Confidences & Concerns

How you feeling about the Irish today?

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State week is upon us. All of college football awaits the answers to so many major questions relating to both of these teams. How much better does Sam Hartman make Notre Dame in the most premier of matchups? How will new Buckeyes starter Kyle McCord handle the hostile “greened out” home crowd? Are the Irish ready to take the next step or are the Buckeyes a threat to win it all this year?

In many ways, this game feels like both teams’ first. Neither the media or fans on either side of this battle seem to have drawn many concrete conclusions about either team based on the results of the games leading into this. This kind of game at Notre Dame Stadium doesn’t come around often. Will the Irish take advantage?

Let’s examine some confidences & concerns Irish fans may have entering this Saturday’s Midwestern masterpiece of a game.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State: Irish win would alter program

Marcus Freeman’s coming out party at Notre Dame?

You saw the title I came up with. What was your first reaction to it? John is being dramatic yet again? Or perhaps the notion of it being “just one game”? Or did you really take a moment to think about what this title represents for Notre Dame?

All of America will be watching Notre Dame vs. Ohio State. Will this be the “same old big game Notre Lame”, or will the Irish take the practical and perceptual “next step” towards elite status in year two of Marcus Freeman? In some ways, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Let’s examine a few reasons a victory this weekend against the Buckeyes would change Notre Dame’s path into the modern playoff era.

Notre Dame vs Ohio State: It’s Different This Time

This time it’s different.

For the last 25-30 years Notre Dame Football has been known for one thing more than any other. Losing “the big game”, often in horrifically embarrassing fashion. That hurts to hear if you are an Irish fan, but it’s the truth. Notre Dame is a running meme when it comes to big-game blowouts. And don’t get me started on bowl game records.

Somehow, some way Notre Dame must end this cycle.

Change the narratives.

Force the country to view them in a different light.

There’s only one way to accomplish this. Beat Ohio State. Let’s examine some ways that the 2023 Notre Dame team is uniquely positioned to possibly do just that.