Tag: ND Football Recruiting

Notre Dame vs USC: Winning Is The Best Medicine

Winning is the only thing that will cure these Notre Dame blues…

Notre Dame nation is in an odd place this week. Questioning this team. The coach. Themselves. Trust was broken with this Louisville performance and it’s hard for fans to tell where exactly this team is at. And why it’s there? And how will it be moving forward? Simply put, there is doubt. Justifiable doubt. There’s only one way out of this mess in the short term. Beat USC.

Winning cures all. At least in the short term. If Notre Dame can somehow knock off the Trojans they’d be able to at least enter the bye with one elite-level win feather in their cap trending up into a week to regroup. If things go poorly against USC however, the bottom will have completely fallen out and the bye will be filled with nothing but negativity.

Let’s examine just how critical a win over the Trojans would be.

Notre Dame Football: Picking Up The Pieces

Notre Dame looks to pick up the pieces and make something of what’s left in 2023.

Notre Dame is in a tough spot right now, both big picture and small. Look at their current stretch of games. An emotion-draining last-second loss to Ohio State, followed up by a physical last-second escape against a rock-solid undefeated Duke team, then a trip to the hornet nest that was unblemished Louisville’s home turf. The Irish have dropped 2 of these games eliminating them from the playoff this year and have the reigning Heisman winner heading to town this week yet to come.

Given the Louisville result, it’s obvious that there are now big-picture concerns regarding this program overall and not just week-to-week ones of improved execution. Before any of these big-picture concerns can be addressed, Notre Dame has a handful of games left to play. They must find ways to improve now. There isn’t a minute to be wasted with your nemesis heading to town.

Let’s examine some quick fixes the Irish can implore to try and knock off Caleb Williams and the rest of his Hollywood Hotshot teammates.

Former Notre Dame target 5-star defensive end decommits from Arizona

Will the Irish try once more?

When Arizona 2024 5-star defensive end [autotag]Elijah Rushing[/autotag] was set to make his verbal commitment in July, many thought that [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] was in the mix.

Rushing opted to stay home and commit to the Wildcats, but has had a chance of heart and decommitted. The door now has opened for the Irish to make a move, but the question is will it be to South Bend?

He made an official visit in June, so Rushing is very familiar with that Notre Dame has to offer. Now that he is back on the market, it’s up to the Irish coaching staff to get back into his ear and continue to recruit.

The early indications are that he is now leaning towards an Oregon commitment, but since that hasn’t been made, there is still time for Notre Dame to make a push in Rushing’s re-recruitment.

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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.

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.

Scout’s view: Notre Dame 2025 running back commit Daniel Anderson

Another big time back heading to South Bend

[autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] didn’t get a win on the field this past weekend, but they won plenty off it.

Not only did they put on a great environment in front of a rowdy crowd and television audience, the coaching staff impressed recruits on campus which led to three verbal commitments in the 2025 class.

One of them was Arkansas running back [autotag]Daniel Anderson[/autotag], who was in the house for the game Saturday night, committing to the Irish prior to the start. The junior running back doesn’t have a national ranking at the moment, it’s still very early in the class.

What I can tell you about is his skill set, which is impressive after watching his sophomore tape, not much junior film has been shared. Find out below what to expect from Anderson when he arrives in South Bend.

‘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?