notre dame 2022 – Syndication Server

Is Rees The Broken Piece?

Notre Dame football: An examination of Tommy Rees

No matter how the rest of this year plays out, there is little doubt what question will be top of mind for fans the minute the Notre Dame season comes to an end. Will offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Tommy, excuse me, Tom, Rees going to be back in 2023 or not?

I don’t mean to pick on Rees, single him out or use him as an easy scapegoat. It just is and has been abundantly clear for many years now that the offensive side of the ball has held Notre Dame back from reaching its ultimate goals and Rees is directly linked to this situation more than anyone else now that Brian Kelly is out of the picture.

This fact leads to some tough questions regarding everything from on-field play to behind-the-scenes quarterback recruiting, retention & development. Let’s take a look at some cases both for and against Rees returning in 2023.

Notre Dame vs Stanford: 3 Confidences & Concerns

ND vs Stanford: Confidences & Concerns

What I find most interesting about posting this list weekly is how many items may appear on the confidence side one week but on the concerns side the next, or possibly be neutrally listed by default on neither. Such is the fickle nature of college football.

The do or die nature of each of those cherished fall Saturday gridiron battles that comprise the shortest regular season of all major sports lend themselves to weekly mood swings and quickly varying levels of confidence or worry.

This being said, it really does feel like the Irish are settling in and finding themselves, who they want to be, starting to form their new Freeman Era identity. Maybe we underestimated how complex this process is / was out of the gate?

Marcus Freeman seems more comfortable week to week, Drew Pyne is playing about as well as any reasonable Notre Dame fan can ask for and the defense, while frustratingly inconsistent at times, for the most part plays winning football. The arrow is pointing up with two very winnable home games coming up. Let’s discuss our 3 Confidences and 3 concerns for Stanford Week.

Notre Dame & NIL Should Be The Perfect Marriage

Notre Dame & NIL: 10 Deals That Need To Happen

Ever since the US Court System ruled in late June of 2021 that College Athletes could legally profit from promotional, marketing, and commercial use of their Name, Image and Likenesses once a player is at a school, programs around the country have grappled with how to approach this new dynamic. Some school’s boosters have formed “collectives” where business entities exchange ideas and come up with NIL offers and compensation. Others have little to no NIL involvement thus far and then there’s an entire other group of schools that have been accused of using NIL as a loophole to lure recruits or transfers to their program with up front cash and benefits, a clear violation of both the spirit and practicality of NIL.

Thus far, many of Notre Dame’s NIL efforts involve some local deals in place that revolve around South Bend children’s education and other charitable work, certainly noble endeavors I support. In addition to these efforts, Notre Dame is in a unique position as a worldwide brand to utilize their vast alumni base spread across almost every business sector there is through NIL. An opportunity not every fan base can offer. Right now I feel Notre Dame has one toe dipped in the NIL water. For them to keep up with the times they will need to be open to players branching out and flexing the Notre Dame reach muscle more broadly while also ensuring all of Notre Dame’s values are being upheld. NIL isn’t a dirty word, it’s an opportunity. Let’s get creative here and look at 10 simple, fun and obvious NIL deals Notre Dame players should have / pursue. ls

Notre Dame vs BYU: Confidences & Concerns

A few things to feel good about and a few things to worry about

After a tumultuous and stressful first month of the Marcus Freeman Era, it feels like the bye week was a much needed and welcomed chance for everybody around the Notre Dame program. Players, coaches and fans alike were able to sit back, take a breath and just slow things down for a moment.

As we emerge from the break and focus on the Irish’s Shamrock Series game versus BYU in Las Vegas this weekend, a tremendous opportunity presents itself to Notre Dame. The chance to knock off the 16th ranked team in the country and show that early early September was a mirage and not who the Irish are.

n this regard, what happens in Vegas most definitely does not stay in Vegas. The Irish can take the proverbial “next step” in forming their early Freeman Era identity by notching a ranked win in primetime this Saturday. Let’s take a look at three confidences and three concerns I have pertaining to the Irish entering this affair.

Notre Dame bye week breakdown: what we know through 4 games

What do you KNOW about this Notre Dame team 1/3 of the way through the regular season?

As is often the case when discussing Notre Dame football, how you feel about the Marcus Freeman led Irish after his first month at the helm depends much upon your perspective and what lens you choose to view things from.

Certainly there are justifiable reasons for concern in the short term such as the lack of collective production out of the wide receiver group or the entirety of the Marshall game debacle. At the same time there are justified reasons for optimism in the long term after the impressive offensive performance the Irish delivered in Chapel Hill last week and the resolve the team has shown after a rough start to the season .

While there is much nuance to navigate and grey area to ponder when analyzing the infancy stage of the Freeman era, I do feel that there are some knowns that we can count on as we transition into the second phase of the season.

Let’s discuss them.

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