Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Irish included in ESPN CFP Projection, barely

After week 5’s action, ESPN has updated their College Football Playoff projections, with the Irish getting a little love.

It’s finally back to a game week and this weekend can’t come soon enough. A whole lot has happened since the Irish shutout South Florida, the SEC race is becoming clearer. The perceived Big XII College Football Playoff contenders Oklahoma and Texas each lost this weekend, for the Sooners that’s two losses in a row.

While the Irish watched the rest of the college football world start to take shape in this ever odd season, it seems like an out of sight, out of mind situation with ESPN’s latest CFP projections. Only one of their 14 experts has Notre Dame in the final four, Ivan Maisel.

Alabama and Clemson were unanimously picked, while Ohio State was close with 13 of the 14. Georgia and Florida received seven and five votes respectively, with BYU also getting a vote.

Both the Bulldogs and Gators won’t have easy roads in the SEC, although if Florida wins their head-to-head matchup, they could be undefeated going into the SEC title game. The Big XII most likely not having a team worthy enough of a playoff selection, and probably the same out west in the Pac-12, the Irish have a prime opportunity.

The schedule still has Clemson as the biggest challenge, but the Irish should be favored in every other contest. The opportunity is there to make an impression. With the Irish facing Florida State in South Bend this weekend, a convincing win should get Brian Kelly’s squad at the front of their minds.

Notre Dame Football: Irish land commit from two-sport star

Notre Dame received great news on Friday as four-star high school senior Jayden Thomas announced his commitment to the University. Thomas joins a Notre Dame class that is fighting to be among the top ten in the nation in 2021 and a class of …

Notre Dame received great news on Friday as four-star high school senior Jayden Thomas announced his commitment to the University.

Thomas joins a Notre Dame class that is fighting to be among the top ten in the nation in 2021 and a class of receivers that is shaping up to be very special as Thomas joins Deion Colzie and Lorenzo Styles, Jr. as four-star commitments are the wide receiver position.

Thomas is listed at 6-1, 205 pounds and attends Pace Academy in Atlanta. He’s the second four-star receiver to commit to Notre Dame in a week as Deion Colzie of Athens re-committed to the Irish just days ago.

The commitment brings Notre Dame’s total to 19 in the 2021 class as it nears completion.

Thomas is also a fantastic baseball player and will join the likes of Torii Hunter, Jr., Cole Kmet, Jeff Samardzija, Golden Tate and several others who have played both football and baseball at Notre Dame.

Scouts Eye: Notre Dame’s newest commit, WR Jayden Thomas

The Irish added a 3rd wide receiver prospect in their 2021 recruiting class. Find out what to expect out the newest Notre Dame commit.

The Irish have added a pair of Georgia  wide receivers to their 2021 recruiting class just this week. On Monday, it was Deion Colzie, deciding that Notre Dame really was the place he wanted to be after decommitting in March. Today it was Jayden Thomas pulling the trigger for the Irish. Here’s what to expect from the newest Irish commit Thomas.

Check out Thomas’ junior highlight reel here.

A game-breaker who can make plays multiple ways. Thomas is able to take direct snaps sometimes completing a pass, splitting out wide or in the slot, change the field with a punt return or even return kickoffs. He runs good, crisp routes and uses his body well to shield off defenders. Thomas does a good job using his hands to catch the ball, rarely using his body to catch. He’s a willing blocker who will get better at it as he gets stronger. Thomas plays both ways, showing that he can flip his hips well enough to adjust to balls that aren’t the most accurate throws. I love that he’s a two-sport athlete as well. Thomas could be an addition to Link Jarrett’s baseball team as well.

The Irish are getting a fantastic prospect as Rivals rates him as the 195th overall player and 36th wide receiver. At 247Sports, they have Thomas as the  260th player and 45th wide receiver nationally. ESPN has him ranked as the 218th overall player.

With Thomas’ commitment, the Notre Dame class now stands at 19 players, good for 9th best overall class in the country according to the 247Sports composite (although it has yet to be updated, I used their class calculator to add Thomas). It’s a great collection of prospects that Kelly and company have assembled.

May I Have Your Attention Please: RIP Sgt. Tim McCarthy

Say what you want, there is no sport around, not even America’s pastime of baseball, that carries tradition like college football. No matter what stadium you’re in on a given fall Saturday, every campus has them and every student and fan thinks that …

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Say what you want, there is no sport around, not even America’s pastime of baseball, that carries tradition like college football.

No matter what stadium you’re in on a given fall Saturday, every campus has them and every student and fan thinks that their unique ones are the best.

At Notre Dame one of those more bizarre traditions happened between the third and fourth quarters every home game from 1961-2015. And no, it wasn’t the playing of the 1812 Overture.

Starting in 1960 Indiana State Police Sgt. Tim McCarthy would get on the public address at Notre Dame Stadium and share a quick PSA about driving home safely.

The problem that year was that nobody really paid attention to what he was saying so when he returned to the job in 1961, he came with a pun.

“The automobile replaced the horse but the drivers should stay on the wagon!”

McCarthy capped his first safe-driving message with that in 1961 and the rest is history as his puns became a Notre Dame tradition in a very short amount of time.

Over the years he’d offer countless new puns, each more groan-worthy but laugh-inducing than the previous.

“Some drivers are like steel. They are no good when they lose their temper!”

“Weaving in and out of traffic can make you a basket case!”

And “Remember – never get Dopey or Grumpy when the roads become Snow White!”

Those were just a few of his literal hundreds used over the years.

I remember being at my first Notre Dame game in 2000 when the Irish hosted Stanford. Once the 1812 Overture ended the stadium got eerily quiet and I couldn’t figure out why 80,000 people were so interested in hearing a safe driving PSA.

And then McCarthy dropped a pun, the crowd erupted and every game I attended from then on I didn’t made a peep during his announcement.

McCarthy stopped doing his announcements during the 2015 season at the age of 84. His final announcement was made between the third and fourth quarters of the UMASS game that year and for it he went back to the automobile replacing the wagon pun that was his first 54 years earlier.

McCarthy wasn’t necessarily a recognizable face for the vast majority of the crowd likely wouldn’t recognize him if he was standing next to them, but for roughly 45 seconds each home Saturday, McCarthy was a star for over a half-century.

McCarthy passed away on Thursday at the age of 89.

Thanks for the memories, laughs and finding a way to help keep drives home even a little more safe.

“The trip home will be heavenly…if you drive like an angel!”

For more about McCarthy I recommend reading this piece by John Heisler from 2015.

 

PFF has one Irish star in their latest NFL Mock Draft

The data drive experts at Pro Football Focus has one Notre Dame Football player in their latest NFL Mock Draft.

Pro Football Focus has plenty of statistical analysis behind their basis for making selections and rankings players. They once against used their large amount of data to predict the first round selections of the NFL Draft. Michael Renner named one member from Brian Kelly’s squad to go off the board on the first day, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Renner has JOK just making the end of the first, as he projects that the talented linebacker will be selected 29thoverall by the Green Bay Packers. Due to his versatility and the Packers scheme, Renner thinks this is a great fit for both sides. “The Packers often only employ one linebacker, which means he’s got to be able to cover a good deal of ground in the run game. That’s Owusu-Koramoah’s specialty. The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder flies around the field with reckless abandon and has looked like a different player over the second half of last season and into 2020.”

Through two games, JOK leads the Irish in tackles with 10 and is tied for second on the team with a sack. His numbers won’t rival last years, due to less games played, but the impact is still there. Owusu-Koramoah’s development has been amazing and something Brian Kelly and his coaching staff can take a ton of credit for. Enjoy JOK this season, we’ll be seeing him in the NFL next year.

College Football Playoff makes yet another change

Once again there was a change with the CFP, although this one does not change much.

This football season continues to throw curveballs at teams and fans. Early this morning, it was announced the College Football Playoff committee will push back its initial rankings one week.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Multiple games have been postponed or canceled, the SEC just started play this past week and the Pac-12 and Big Ten have yet to get going.

Data points this year will be much more difficult for the committee to assess, and just yesterday the committee announced it will keep the playoff field at four. What we do know is there will be four weeks of rankings, with the last on Dec. 20.

This really doesn’t change much for the Irish, as long as Brian Kelly’s group keeps winning, its a moot point. The key is to keep winning.

It has been a wild ride so far for college football in 2020. Don’t expect that to change much as we approach the seasons conclusion.

Georgia still ranked above Notre Dame in latest Amway Coaches Poll

After a very uninspiring season opening win, the Georgia Bulldogs are still ranked over Notre Dame.

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Maybe Jamie Newman knew something about how inept the Georgia offense would be this season when he opted out of the 2020 season. After trailing 7-5 at halftime to one of the worst teams in the SEC, Arkansas, the Bulldogs broke through and won “handily” 37-10.

The optics look good for Kirby Smart’s team, but it wasn’t like their quarterback, D’wan Mathis in his first career start, found his groove in the second half. It was Stetson Bennett, in his second go-around with his home state team that led the charge.

The score makes it read like the Razorbacks were punched in the mouth early and Georgia coasted to a win, obviously not the case. How Georgia was No. 4 over the Irish in the latest Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports will bother me at least until next week when the Week 6 edition is released.

Taking a look at other surprises include Miami jumping 6 spots to No. 8, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh going from unranked to ranked, and Oklahoma and LSU dropping 13 spots after upset losses.

Here is the latest poll, with the ACC teams in bold and last weeks ranking in parenthesis.

1 Clemson (1)

2 Alabama (2)

3 Florida (3)

4 Georgia (3)

5 Notre Dame (7)

6 Ohio State (10)

7 Auburn (8)

8 Miami FL (14)

9 Texas (9)

10 Penn State (13)

11 North Carolina (12)

12 UCF (15)

13 Texas A&M (11)

14 Mississippi State (NR)

15 Cincinnati (16)

16 Oklahoma (3)

17 LSU (5)

18 Wisconsin (17)

19 Oklahoma State (18)

20 Tennessee (21)

21 Michigan (19)

22 BYU (23)

23 Virginia Tech (24)

24 Memphis (20)

25 Pittsburgh (NR)

Current commit joins Rees in pursuit of ‘23 star WR Tate

There is a current commit that has been in the ear of elite wide receiver Carnell Tate. His efforts seem to be working.

Once again, I had the pleasure of speaking with 2023 wide receiver Carnell Tate, this time in person at Prep RedZone’s Showcase in suburban Chicago. A quick chat with Tate brought out an interesting tidbit regarding his recruitment with Notre Dame.

When I asked about who was recruiting him the hardest right now, Tate’s answer should be getting Irish Nation pretty excited. Tate said, “I definitely say Notre Dame because Pat Coogan has been recruiting me. Talking to me a lot. Like whenever I wear another school, he’s on me about it.”

It seem’s like what Coogan is preaching to Tate is working. The six-foot-two-and-a-half-inch pass catcher arrived in a Fighting Irish long-sleeve shirt.

Although it’s kind of hard to see, you can take my word for it. Tate was wearing a Notre Dame shirt.

What’s next for Tate in his recruitment is getting back to the coaches that have offered him; which also include Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa and others. He is the only offer out to an offensive player in the class for the Irish.

Don’t be surprised when other schools step up and offer Tate, it’s just a matter of time. What we hope is that it’s just a matter of time when Tate commits to the Irish.

Expert proclaims Notre Dame one of the winners of Week 3

The Irish were among a group of winners during week 3’s action.

It’s easy to see the improvement from game one to game two for the Irish. Not only did the offense fire out of the gate, scoring on 5 of their 6 first half possessions, the only non-scoring drive was a missed field goal, the defense showed up as well. Posting a shutout against South Florida shouldn’t go overlooked, it was an impressive performance on both sides of the ball.

After the day concluded, Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY, graded out winners and losers from the week. The Irish were among his winners, as Myerberg singled out Ian Book for his performance in leading the offense saying “a much stronger game” came from the senior.

It wasn’t just the offense however, the defense as a whole was dominant. “While the shutout on defense and increased balance on offense comes against the Bulls, a program in a rebuild under new coach Jeff Scott, the Irish look prepared for an ACC slate that heats up in October,” said Myerberg of the win.

Two games against ranked opponents lie ahead of the Irish for next month, No. 24 Louisville and No. 21 Pittsburgh. Those games will be tough, but the Irish should be favored in both of them.

The real tests come later in the schedule during a three-game stretch in November. First up the Clemson Tigers come to South Bend, then road trips to visit former Irish quarterback Phil Jurkovic and Boston College before final road game in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. The foray into ACC play is starting to heat up, so strap in. It’s going to be a fun ride.

Quick hitters from Brian Kelly’s Monday press conference

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly touched on who to watch for against Wake Forest, Jack Kiser’s play, offensive sets and more.

Every Monday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly speaks with the media. Like clockwork, it happened again today and here are some of the major points Kelly touched upon as they prepare to travel to Wake Forest on Saturday.

-Kelly singled out a few Demon Deacons, but the one that stood out was defensive lineman Carlos Basham Jr., as the Irish will have to “game plan for him.” Kelly didn’t want to give away much of the game plan for facing Basham Jr., as he noted that “he can be a game wrecker if you let him.” Basham Jr. leads Wake in sacks with two on the season.

-Staying on the defensive side of the ball, Kelly expects the Deacon’s as a unit to give the Irish a test on Saturday. “This is a defense that has a lot of experience, expect them to play well against us.”

-Kelly credited off-season work and preparation as to why players like linebacker Jack Kiser entered the lineup on short notice and played well. “You look at it in terms of what you do in the offseason. You come here with an expectation to play…we make certain that all of our players are prepared.” They sure were ready to play this past Saturday.

-Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa’s play has been spectacular early so far. Kelly went on to say that his “recognition of blocking schemes, that awareness that you get with experience.” Teams try to run screen plays, but he continually sniffs them out. “He’s got a complete game,” said Kelly.

-On true-freshman Jordan Botelho: “He’s coming along quite well. He’s a quick study, knows the game very well. He plays with a bit of reckless adondonment. He’s got to clean up some other things… he’s got to show discipline.” The disciple Kelly is talking about is after Botelho blocked the punt, he could have easily been called for a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration.

-Two and three tight end sets are here to stay. Currently the Irish offense is “developing our identity” and they’re “deep a the position (tight end). It’s less about game plan and more about who we are. You’ll continue to see two tight end sets and sometimes three tight end sets.”

-On his viral halftime speech (watch it here): “First of all I didn’t know that was going to be public… this had everything to do with us… I wanted to make sure we finished strong, regardless what the score was, I didn’t want to let up.”

–On Ian Book’s transformation since his last visit to Wake Forest