Tag: NCAA football

Amid changing college football landscape, Duke sounds committed to keeping pace

In a Wednesday story from Yahoo Sports, Duke AD Nina King reaffirmed her desire to keep pace with changes in the college football world.

Over the past few years, power has consolidated in a big way throughout the college football world. Even the most tuned-out fans can notice that.

The Pac-12 almost entirely dissolved over the offseason. Teams like the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, USC Trojans, and UCLA Bruins now play for the Big Ten, and the ACC picked up remnants like the Stanford Cardinal, California Golden Bears, and SMU Mustangs. With Division I football trending farther and farther toward one or two mega-conferences, would the Blue Devils have a chair when the music stopped?

The past three seasons have made that less of a concern. Former head coach Mike Elko won nine games in his first season and finished with a 7-5 regular-season record last year despite losing starting quarterback Riley Leonard for most of the conference schedule. With both of them gone this year, first-year head coach Manny Diaz led the team to its first 5-0 start in three decades after a massive comeback win against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Since the start of 2022, the Blue Devils have a combined record of 22-9 with two bowl victories, a resume that’s impossible for any decision-makers and possible realignment committees to ignore.

According to a Wednesday story from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, this recent run stems from a Duke athletic department entirely focused on making sure they remain a part of the national picture.

“We do not want to be left out,” athletic director Nina King told Dellenger. “We want to make sure our program is in the next iteration, whatever it is. We are in a good position right now. Not sure you could have said that 5-10 years ago. We will be attractive.”

It remains to be seen when any further changes come to the sport’s power structure, although some amount of change seems inevitable. It doesn’t sound like the Blue Devils are at risk of an effective demotion through any fault of their own, however.

Dabo Swinney talks about tampering in college football

Dabo Swinney sounds off on the issue of tampering in college football, acknowledging that teams have approached his players after games.

The topic of tampering in college football came up Sunday in Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s weekly Zoom meeting with reporters.

Acknowledging that tampering was active in the sport, Swinney called it “one of the unfortunate things” about college football.

“There’s certainly a lot of tampering (from other) people after games, though, that’s for sure,” Swinney said. “I’ve had several people over the last couple of years that have brought that up to me, where somebody’s come over to them. I’ve had parents tell me that (players have been approached after games). That’s just kind of the way it is, the way of the world right now. There’s not a lot of barriers.”

Swinney said that he limited his postgame communication with opposing players to handshakes and congratulatory messages.

“I ain’t going over there saying, ‘Hey man, if you hate it there, come play for us.’ I don’t do any of that stuff,” Swinney said. “On the road, I try to congratulate players, but I don’t get involved with any of that stuff. I think that’s probably pretty obvious.”

Tampering has become a growing concern since the dawn of the transfer portal and NIL. In the offseason, the Iowa Hawkeyes self-reported a Level III violation for contacting Alabama Crimson Tide offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor during the 2023 season.

Proctor transferred to Iowa after Nick Saban announced his retirement at Alabama in January. Proctor transferred back to Alabama only three months later.

During an appearance on College GameDay on Aug. 24, Saban said that teams were “camped out” in Tuscaloosa following his retirement to get players from Alabama to join their programs.

“So, if they wanted to look at somebody tampering, they should’ve done a little investigation right there,” Saban added.

Saban’s comment followed remarks by Miami (Ohio) coach Chuck Martin, who claimed that Alabama illegally recruited and “stole” kicker Graham Nicholson, last year’s Lou Groza Award winner.

Clemson, ranked No. 14 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll, heads to Tallahassee to take on rival Florida State Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN.

RELATED: Kickoff time, TV info announced for Clemson football vs. Wake Forest

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Notre Dame also makes a move north in the AP Poll following Week 5

The Irish continue to move north in the polls

It’s not just the US LBM Coaches Poll where Notre Dame football made a move, it was the AP Poll as well.

The Irish defeated a ranked Louisville team 31-24 on Saturday afternoon, as they moved up two spots from No. 16 to No. 14 this week. The Cardinals dropped seven spots, as they are still inside the top-25 at No. 22.

Looking at some future opponents for Notre Dame, USC rallied to beat Wisconsin and also moved up in the poll, now sitting at No. 11. Navy, who is currently undefeated at 4-0, is receiving votes and if they continue to win over their next two games, could very well make an appearance into the AP Poll.

There is also a new No. 1 team, as Alabama defeated previous No. 2 Georgia to take over the top spot with the Bulldogs falling to No. 5. The Crimson Tide dominated the first place votes as well, as 40 writers have them as the best team in the country, with Texas getting 19, and Ohio State having four.

Notre Dame defensive lineman Donovan Hinish (41) and cornerback Christian Gray (29) celebrate Louisville coming up short on a fourth down during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Louisville at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend.

With a bye week next weekend for the Irish, they could make a move if teams around them fall during Week 6.

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Every photo from Notre Dame’s triumphant win over Louisville

Check out all the great photos from Notre Dame’s win over Louisville

It was a great Saturday in South Bend this weekend, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team held off the Louisville Cardinals to win 31-24.

The top-25 win makes that No. 9 for head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] in his third year, which is close to besting an Irish record that was started in 1940. Notre Dame moved to 4-1 on the year, as they continue to make their way to a potential [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] spot.

The game against the Cardinals had a bit of everything for both teams, as multiple big plays happened early and although they didn’t span the whole game, it was still extremely exciting.

You can re-live all of the action below, photo-style, as these are the best shots of Notre Dame’s win over Louisville.

Watch as you can see there is still bad blood between Notre Dame and Louisville

These two teams don’t care much for each other

While it was just the fifth ever meeting between Notre Dame and Louisville on Saturday afternoon, the two teams clearly do not care much for each other.

The two teams have alternated hosting a budding rivalry that started in 2014, as the Irish broke the series tie to take a 3-2 advantage after their 31-24 victory. It was somewhat of a revenge game for Notre Dame, as Louisville dominated their meeting last year.

There was some noticeable trash talking happening on the field, which is fairly normal when two top-25 teams are competing against each other. What you don’t often see is the bad blood continuing following the conclusion of the game.

It not uncommon for major rivalries to have post-game scrums, but this isn’t one of those. That didn’t stop the fact that both teams were still chirping at each other following the game in a video shared by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. You can draw your own conclusions from what transpired following the contest.

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Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard explains why he sat out a play vs. Louisville

It wasn’t what it looked like

While it may seemed like Notre Dame Fighting Irish starting quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] had re-injured his shoulder, that was not the case in the win.

The broadcast didn’t mention much of the injury, as he sat out just one play before re-entering the game. It seemed like it was nothing at the time, and Leonard confirmed exactly that after the game.

The Athletic’s Pete Sampson grabbed the quote from the “injured” one, and it wasn’t exactly that. Leonard told the press that he just got the wind knocked out of him, and needed a play to regroup. He said that “it was really no problem after a couple minutes. It really didn’t play an impact on me.”

While he might not think it impacted his game, it seemed like it did. The Irish offense was cruising and shortly after taking that hard shot, it seemed like the whole offense followed its quarterback. Clearly this is good news for Leonard in avoiding something serious, as he does have an extensive injury history.

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Notre Dame starts fast, then holds off Louisville for the victory

The Irish get a top-25 home win

After one quarter of play, it looked like Notre Dame football was going to run Louisville out of Notre Dame Stadium.

After running back [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] fumbled the opening kickoff and the Cardinals found the end zone, the Irish responded with three straight touchdown drives.

Running back [autotag]Jeremiah Love[/autotag] got it started with a 6-yard plunge, then quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] found wide receiver [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] for a 34-yard score. To cap off the flurry, Leonard ran one in from 4-yards away after Notre Dame recovered a botched snap on a punt.

Then the Irish’s offense went extremely quiet during the next two quarters, just a [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] 48-yard field goal, which kept the Cardinals in the game. Early in the fourth quarter, they cut Notre Dame’s lead to 24-17, but another response happened.

The Irish would march 75-yards on just 5-plays capped by a Love 32-yard touchdown reception from Leonard. The lead went back to two scores, which gave them a solid cushion.

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) after a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

The Cardinals would come back and score a touchdown, to pull within a score once again. Notre Dame would need a big drive to seal the deal, but they couldn’t get it done. The defense saved the day as they made a final stop to end the game.

The Irish would win 31-24, improving to 4-1 on the year with a bye next week. They return to the field on October 12th to take on the Stanford Cardinal.

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Louisville will have one star back, but will miss one against Notre Dame

Some good and bad news for the Cardinals as they prepare for the Irish

As we wait for the kickoff between Notre Dame and Louisville later this afternoon, there was news about two Cardinals playing status.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel is reporting that transfer wide receiver [autotag]Caullin Lacy[/autotag] is expected make his debut against the Irish today as he will “give it a shot” to get on the field. The senior had a huge year in 2023 with South Alabama, catching 91 passes for 1,316 yards and 7 touchdowns.

His return gives Louisville another weapon to test the Notre Dame secondary.  Speaking of defensive backs, it looks like the Cardinals will be without [autotag]Quincy Riley[/autotag], as Thamel is report that he will is doubtful for the game.

He is one of the biggest playmakers on their defense, as he’s picked off a pass and forced a fumble so far this year. It’s clearly a good news and bad news situation for the Irish. Hopefully the Notre Dame secondary is ready for Lacy while the wide receivers take advantage of Riley’s absence.

Louisville Cardinals defensive back Quincy Riley (3) runs the ball down the field during their game against the Austin Peay Governors on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Ky.

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Notre Dame starts slow, but is able to stave off upset minded Miami (OH)

The Irish come out victorious against Miami (OH)

It wasn’t as easy as many thought it would be for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team on Saturday afternoon against Miami (OH), but they still managed to come out victorious 28-3.

The Irish were very sloppy on offense, as their first three drives were all five plays or less, as they saw the Redhawks take a 3-0 lead. Notre Dame would answer as they found the end zone on their four series as quarterback Riley Leonard ran it in from 8-yards out.

Their fifth also resulted in a touchdown, Leonard finding wide receiver Beaux Collins for a 38-yard scoring strike as the two teams went into the half with the Irish up 14-3.

A fumble by quarterback Riley Leonard gave Notre Dame a sloppy start to the second half, but they would recover quickly, find the end zone once again on a Jeremiyah Love 15-yard touchdown run. Leonard again found pay dirt as he exploded for a 50–yard rushing score to stretch the lead to 28-3 mid-way through the fourth quarter.

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) catches a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

At that point the game was in hand, and Notre Dame’s victory would improve its record to 3-1 on the season. The Irish will get back on the field next weekend as they host a ranked Louisville Cardinals team.

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Despite big win at Purdue, Notre Dame doesn’t move much in AP Top 25 poll

Notre Dame’s big win doesn’t do much for the AP voters.

Notre Dame gained just one spot, moving from No. 18 to No. 17, in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, despite blowing out the Purdue Boilermakers 66-7 on the road.

There appear to be a few reasons for this. There is the ongoing fallout from the Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois — despite being idle Saturday, the Huskies gained two spots to No. 23 — as well as the perception that the Fighting Irish were supposed to take care of business against a down-and-out Purdue squad that isn’t expected to contend for much.

It’s also a week in which there just wasn’t much movement in general. There weren’t really any upsets involving Top 25 teams, though there were scares. LSU stays one spot ahead of the Irish at No. 16 after nearly losing to South Carolina, and Georgia drops out of the top spot and falls to No. 2 after hanging on against Kentucky in a low-scoring nail-biter.

Missouri dropped a spot to No. 7 with a one-score win over Boston College. We should note that the Irish did pass Michigan, which is now No. 18.

Back to the Irish — the poll continues to reflect that Notre Dame shouldn’t have lost to Northern Illinois, although the longer NIU stays ranked the less bad that loss looks. Voters are likely expecting the Irish to take care of business right now. Things will get a bit more interesting two weeks from now when Notre Dame hosts No. 19 Louisville in South Bend — a bad loss to the Cardinals last season derailed the Irish’s playoff bid.

Should Notre Dame win that game, the polls will get quite interesting. Until then, it appears the voters aren’t going to reward Notre Dame for doing what was expected against Purdue, and that will probably hold true next week against Miami of Ohio, too.

 

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