Tag: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Watch: Extended Highlights of Notre Dame’s 45-24 Win at Stanford

Since we won’t have a notre Dame game to watch for almost a month why not live in the moment and enjoy extended highlights from Saturday’s win over Stanford?

The next time we see Notre Dame playing a football game it’ll probably be taking place in Orlando just after Christmas.

From then we have to wait to the annual tease that is the spring game before the regular season begins August 29 against Navy in Dublin, Ireland.

In the meantime, how about living in the now? Check out the highlights from Saturday’s regular season finale that moved Notre Dame to 10-2.

The win was Notre Dame’s first at Stanford since 2007 and Brian Kelly’s first victory there as head coach.

How Brian Kelly Saw Ian Book Grow in 2019

Book became the first Notre Dame quarterback to throw for 30 touchdowns in a season since Brady Quinn in 2006.

Ian Book wasn’t fantastic early against Stanford just like most of his teammates but he got stronger as the game went on and wound up throwing for 255 yards on 17 of 30 passing while tossing four touchdown passes.

It wasn’t his best game but it was still pretty solid in the 45-24 Notre Dame victory.

Brian Kelly was asked about Book’s play, specifically his nerves now compared to last year and even the start of 2019 after Saturday’s game.

“He’s a different person now. He was really in a great place. He found a stillness to him that he’s never had before. And he plays the game differently now. His calmness is really about his confidence now and what he can do” Kelly said.

Facing a first and 17 at their own seven, Book made one of his biggest plays connecting with speedster Braden Lenzy for 43 yards.

“I think that’s a big turning point in the game. And they dropped eight but he showed patience in the pocket. We wouldn’t have saw that earlier in the year” Kelly said of the 43 yard gain.

“But I think it just goes to his mindset, his stillness that he has found and the way he plays the game now. It’s been really fun to watch his growth throughout the year.” Kelly added.

Book became the first Notre Dame quarterback to throw for 30 touchdowns in a season since Brady Quinn in 2006.

Book finishes the regular season with 33 touchdown passes and just six interceptions.

No. 16 Notre Dame/Stanford: First Half Thoughts

Mercy, what a start and not in a good way. Don’t know if it was too much wine with the turkey or what but the first roughly 25 minutes or so were about as flat as a team trying to give any reason to get elevated in the CFP rankings could look. A …

Mercy, what a start and not in a good way. Don’t know if it was too much wine with the turkey or what but the first roughly 25 minutes or so were about as flat as a team trying to give any reason to get elevated in the CFP rankings could look.

A blocked punt while trailing 17-7, capped by a quick touchdown from Ian Book to Tommy Tremble bailed out an offensive line who was unable to help punch it in from the one before false starting.

The touchdown pass to Tremble was an incredible throw by Book, one he made while moving away.

The then 41 yard touchdown pass from Book to Chase Claypool put the Irish ahead for the first time today. Claypool took a while to find his feet at Notre Dame but is an absolute beast of a playmaker who is going to be missed next season.

5 First Half Thoughts:

Stanford might be young and bad at 4-7 but this game clearly means something to them. They came out guns a blazing while the Irish needed 25 minutes to get warmed up it appeared.

If it ain’t Lenzy, it ain’t working in the running game. I know the offensive line is beat up and regulars are and have been out for sometime but even on a sloppy track I expected a lot more out of the run game early today.

Notre Dame’s pass defense entered today as the third most efficient unit in the nation but don’t tell that to Stanford. Have been impressed largely by Davis Mills, specifically his willingness to stay in the pocket, deliver a strike while knowing a huge hit was coming on the second Cardinal touchdown of the day.

Defensive line took this game over the last few Stanford possessions. Tell me how they play the rest of the way and I’ll tell you if Notre Dame wins and/or covers.

Notre Dame has had better special teams the majority of this season than its opponents. The blocked punt was huge in waking up the Irish but that’s something that has felt like a rarity during the Brian Kelly era and deserves praise again early today.

Enjoy the second half.

Notre Dame Opponent ACC Championship Bound After Thriller

This battle between two 2019 Notre Dame opponents was an exciting one and by no-way an easy victory for the Cavaliers who jumped out to an early two-possession lead before the lead bounced back and forth.

The story of the year in the ACC has been the gap between Clemson, who hasn’t lost a conference game since mid-October of 2017 and the rest of the conference who at times this year hasn’t had a second ranked team in the Amway Coaches Poll Powered by USA Today, AP Poll or the College Football Playoff committee rankings.

When No. 3 Clemson travels to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game next week they’ll be playing 9-3 Virginia after the Cavaliers finally got by rival Virginia Tech and won the Commonwealth Cup for the first time since 2003.

That’s because Notre Dame’s September 28 opponent, who the Irish got by after a dominating defensive second half, won a thriller in Charlottesville, Virginia.

This battle between two 2019 Notre Dame opponents was an exciting one and by no-way an easy victory for the Cavaliers who jumped out to an early two-possession lead before the lead bounced back and forth.

A late Virginia field goal gave them a 33-30 lead with under two minutes left before a defensive score with under a minute left put them up 39-30.

Virginia’s win and Coastal Division title means all seven ACC Coastal teams have won the division in the last seven years.

This was the fourth straight season that Notre Dame played the eventual ACC Coastal Division champion, winning the last two of those match-ups (Pittsburgh 2018, Virginia Tech 2019). It’s the sixth time in six years since starting their ACC deal that Notre Dame has played a team that wound up in the ACC Championship Game:

2014 Florida State

2015 Clemson

2016 Virginia Tech

2017 Miami

2018 Pittsburgh

2019 Virginia

Since starting their deal with the ACC to play four games annually in 2014 and it being bumped up to five a year later, Notre Dame has gone 23-7 vs. ACC foes in regular season play, including winning 14 of their last 15 regular season games against ACC opponents.

It should be noted that the only time Notre Dame played Clemson in that time was in the Cotton Bowl, a 30-3 blowout win for the Tigers last December.

Notre Dame will play ACC foes Wake Forest, Pitt, Clemson, Duke and Georgia Tech in 2020.

Notre Dame at Stanford odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Notre Dame-Stanford on Saturday afternoon with odds, bets, and picks.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2) and Stanford Cardinal (4-7) play Saturday at Stanford Stadium at 4 p.m. ET. We analyze the Notre Dame-Stanford odds and betting lines while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.

Notre Dame at Stanford: Three things you need to know

1. Notre Dame has won its last three games by 31, 32 and 33 points respectively. Last week’s win was a 40-7 rout of Boston College keyed by 24 unanswered points by the Irish in the second half.

2. Stanford fell to California to lose the “Axe” for the first time in 10 years. The Cardinal have lost three straight.

3. The last time Notre Dame won at Stanford was in 2007 — Jim Harbaugh’sfirst year at Stanford.

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Notre Dame at Stanford: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 9:20 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Notre Dame 31, Stanford 17

Moneyline (ML)

Notre Dame is laying -834 on the moneyline.

Stanford (+500) must run often to keep Notre Dame off the field and set up the passing attack. Notre Dame’s main weakness is stopping the run but Stanford barely tops 100 yards per contest on the ground. Furthermore, Notre Dame has too many offensive weapons not to win here.

The odds are too chalky with a $10 bet fetching a profit of only $1.20. PASS.

Against the Spread (ATS)

Notre Dame is just 7-4 against the spread overall and 2-2 ATS away from home, coming in at 0.6 points per game above the cover line. Stanford is 3-3 ATS at home and exceeds the cover by 0.9 points per contest.

Back the CARDINAL (+16.5, -115). Irish QB Ian Book and Notre Dame have looked great in their last three games but this one will be closer than expected at Stanford.

Over/Under (O/U)

The projected total is 46.5. This will be razor-thin close and all depends on Notre Dame. If the Irish come out with a purpose and play downhill, the Over hits easily. If Stanford controls things early, then the Under is very likely. A little more of Column A will be enough to push the OVER (-106).

That pick will make a profit of $9.43 on a $10 bet Saturday if the two teams combine for 47 or more points.

Get some action on this game or others, place a bet with BetMGM today. And for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Irish in the NFL: Chargers sign cornerback KeiVarae Russell

The Los Angeles Chargers signed former Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback KeiVarae Russell to their practice squad.

The Los Angeles Chargers signed former Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive back KeiVarae Russell to their practice squad on Tuesday.

Russell starred at Notre Dame for three seasons, missing the 2014 season with an injury but returning his senior year to record 48 solo tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

That was enough for him to get picked in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Chiefs – but not enough for him to stick with them, as he was released in September of that year.

He caught on with the Bengals and appeared in 20 games with them over the last three seasons, recording one interception, two passes defended and 17 solo tackles as a backup defensive back and a special teams contributor.

Cincinnati cut him just before the start of the 2019 season however, and he has remained without a team until Los Angeles signed him on Tuesday.

The former Irish cornerback will have a long road ahead of him to make it onto LA’s active roster, but at least he’s back in the NFL for now.

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Ricky Watters named Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist

Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Ricky Watters is one of 25 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s modern era ballot was cut from 122 all the way down to 25, but former Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Ricky Watters made it through the second round of cuts, and is still eligible for induction as a member of the class of 2020.

The ballot will be pared down to 15 at some point in January, before the five inductees are announced on the Saturday before the Super Bowl.

Watters was named to five straight Pro Bowls from 1992-1996, and was a Super Bowl champion in 1994 with the San Francisco 49ers. His career was cut short by injuries, but he was arguably a top-two running back in the NFL in the early-1990’s, and still finished with 10,643 rushing yards and 78 rushing touchdowns, both just outside the top-20 of all-time.

Watters starred at Notre Dame before getting drafted 45th overall by the 49ers in the 1991 NFL draft. He rushed for 1,814 yards and 21 touchdowns with the Irish, while also hauling in 610 receiving yards.

He also excelled as a punt returner, leading the NCAA in punt return touchdowns in 1988, with two.

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Irish in the NFL: Quenton Nelson named to ESPN’s 25 under 25

Former Notre Dame Irish guard Quenton Nelson was named to ESPN’s all 25-under-25 team.

Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Quenton Nelson was the only offensive lineman named to ESPN writer Mike Clay’s 25 under 25 team – a list of the 25 best players in the league who are age 25 or younger.

Nelson has had an incredible start to his NFL career as the starting left guard for the Indianapolis Colts, where he was drafted sixth overall in the 2018 draft.

Nelson immediately took over as a starter for the Colts, and has played all but one offensive snap in the last two years.

He was a Pro Bowler and a first team All-Pro in his rookie season, but amazingly he’s playing even better in year two.

Here’s an excerpt from Clay’s article, where Nelson came in at No. 5.

The lone offensive lineman on our list, Nelson has been the driving force for the emergence of the Colts’ line as one of the league’s best units. The Notre Dame product has been on the field for all but one of Indianapolis’ offensive snaps since he was selected with the sixth pick of the 2018 draft. His 94.1% pass block win rate ranked 11th among guards during his rookie season and sits at 93.7% (11th best) this season.

Nelson was named to the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro during an outstanding rookie season, and he’s on track for significantly more award recognition over the next decade.

Nelson starred at Notre Dame from 2014-2017, and was named an All-American in his final season with the Irish. He has a chance to be one of the best offensive linemen in the league, and perhaps of all-time, if he keeps this pace up.

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Notre Dame Football: Hamilton Earns National Honors Again

Another week has come and gone and more hardware is headed towards freshman safety Kyle Hamilton.

Another week has come and gone and more hardware is headed towards freshman safety Kyle Hamilton.

After recording his fourth interception of the season and three tackles versus Boston College, Hamilton was named to the Pro Football Focus College Football Week 13 Eckrich Team of the Week.

Pro Football Focus summed up Hamilton’s week with the following:

The Fighting Irish have a bright future with Hamilton roaming the backend of their defense. He recorded four total tackles against bost College and saw three passes come his way as the primary coverage defender. Allowing just one reception for seven yards, Hamilton broke up another and intercepted the third pass his way to see just a 2.8 passer rating into his coverage.

Hamilton’s four interceptions are tied for the most by any freshman in the nation, unfortunately that target he allowed after his interception evened up his totals for the year between personal interceptions and receptions allowed – an absurd stat to consider.

https://twitter.com/greg2126/status/1198368027575631872?s=21

With Isaiah Pryor committed to play in the secondary next year you can’t help but feel good about the future of Notre Dame’s secondary as Hamilton appears to be one of the schools all-time greats in the making.

Notre Dame/Stanford Kickoff Time Announced

Notre Dame vs Stanford kickoff time announced

The 2019 regular season finale for Notre Dame will take place Saturday afternoon at Stanford.

The game will be played on FOX and kickoff at 4 pm E.T.

Stanford has been a big disappointment this year as they’re just 4-7 after losing last night against rival Cal.

If the dominos fall correctly Notre Dame could be playing in the Cotton Bowl for a second year in a row, assuming a win over Stanford on Saturday.

The Irish will be looking for their first win at Stanford since 2007 while Brian Kelly is seeking his first victory in Northern California.