Tag: notre dame football team

Bowl Projections in April?! – We may as well react…

Perhaps even more absurd is trying to project bowl projections right now in a season that may or may not be played and at that, very possibly would at least start after a significant delay.

Quick – name something absurd you’ve done during your time having to stay home during the Coronavirus pandemic we’re all living through.

I’ll start:

I stayed up until almost 3 a.m. on Saturday night and into Sunday morning as I not only started but completed the entire seven episodes of “Tiger King” on Netflix.  Thoughts:  humans are just the worst, I’ve never rooted so hard for a team of tigers in my life and, uh, I have a lot of questions but will save them for another place and time.

Perhaps even more absurd is trying to project bowl projections right now in a season that may or may not be played and at that, very possibly would at least start after a significant delay.

Now enter Pete Fiutak, my partner on the College Football News Podcast (I’ve got technical issues on my end so recording has hit a snag for the time being).  Pete runs College Football News and his idea for fun was to try and project each and every bowl game for the 2020 season.

On April 1.

Yes, he’s crazy but we already knew that.  Now to answer your immediate question of “Where did he put Notre Dame!?!!”

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl facing off against Florida.

He had a lot of positive things to project about Notre Dame a few days back when he claimed they’ll knock off Clemson and be a player for a College Football Playoff spot but in his projections kept them just short of the CFP here.

Take all complaints up with @PeteFiutak.

Would this count as satisfying for you as a Notre Dame fan?  For me it’d be satisfying, sure, but it’s not often a schedule sets up to be both as strong but also as favorable in terms of being very top-heavy but also allowing for a potential playoff berth even if there is a loss in there.

NFL Network Mock Draft Lists No Notre Damers

f Notre Dame is to go without a first round selection it would be the first time since the 2017 draft that were to occur.

Daniel Jeremiah is a former starting quarterback at Appalachian State and spent time working in the front offices of the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore since he graduated in 2000.

Jeremiah is now an analyst at NFL Network and spends a ton of time offering his thoughts on draft prospects once we transition from the collegiate season to the off-season.

Jeremiah released his latest mock draft last week and perhaps to the surprise of some, no Notre Dame players were listed.

A few notable things from this draft:

-Joe Burrow goes first.  That part isn’t a shock but he’s the first of five players form LSU that Jeremiah projects to go on opening night.  The Tigers are tied with Alabama for the most first round picks in this mock at five.

-Clemson checks in with three projected first round picks, two of which come from the defensive side of the ball and one that comes from the offense.

-Ohio State has a somewhat surprising total of just two first round picks here but it doesn’t feel that light by Ohio State standards when you realize the projected second and third picks are both Buckeyes.

-No tight ends go in round one, noteworthy obviously when discussing Cole Kmet who several have as a likely first rounder.

-Four Notre Dame opponents from the 2019 season are projected to go in the first round by Jeremiah.  Those include offensive tackle Mekhi Becton of Louisville (4 – Giants), offensive tackle Andrew Thomas (10 – Browns) and running back De’Andre Swift (18 – Dolphins) of Georgia and offensive tackle Austin Jackson of USC (26 – Dolphins).  

If Notre Dame is to go without a first round selection it would be the first time since the 2017 draft that were to occur.

PFF Top 101 – One Notre Dame Star Checks in at 73

I ask because Pro Football Focus is ranking the best 101 players nationwide in 2019.  So far they’ve covered 26-101 and Notre Dame has just one representitive on the list.

Spoiler alert:  it’s not Chase Claypool.

When Notre Dame’s football team handed out their end of season awards in December the Team MVP went to Chase Claypool without much question.

Claypool was the best player on one of Notre Dame’s best offenses in program history and spent the first day at the Senior Bowl turning heads for all the right reasons.

But was Claypool the best player on Notre Dame last season?

I ask because Pro Football Focus is ranking the best 101 players nationwide in 2019.  So far they’ve covered 26-101 and Notre Dame has just one representitive on the list (I have trouble believing any Irish player comes in the top-25).

Spoiler alert:  it’s not Chase Claypool.

Checking in at No. 73 is Kyle Hamilton who they recently ranked the fifth-best returning safety in college football for the 2020 season.  Here is what PFF had to say about the young Notre Dame safety today:

The fabulous true freshman safety for the Fighting Irish wowed in his first season in South Bend, picking off four passes and breaking up another five while allowing just seven catches to be caught into his primary coverage. He missed a few too many tackles to come away with an elite-graded season overall, but he more than made up for that with his prowess on the backend. He didn’t allow a single reception over 20 yards and saw a completion percentage of just 30.4% when he was the primary coverage defender. In fact, he allowed a passer rating of just 1.6 when he was targeted, and no, that’s no typo…one point six. He made 38 solo tackles, and 12 of them went down as a defensive stop. He continually began to improve his overall game grades as the season wore on — the sky is the limit for No. 14.

Hamilton was great, no question about it.  He was a big part of the Louisville opener and by the middle of the year, the USC game specifically the defense was creating gameplans based on their faith in him not getting beat deep.  I can’t say how much credit that is worthy of for a freshman.

Is Hamilton the player you think who will be the best for Notre Dame in 2020 however?

I certainly only expect him to improve in his sophomore and junior seasons.  However, after an incredible Camping World Bowl showing and some marquee names leaving a very good defense I’m interested to see if a year from now how high Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah may show up the best players of 2020 list.

We’ll save plenty of this conversation for the months we still have to wait to get to football season again but it’s unlikely that any other Notre Dame players make the list that ranks Hamilton at 73 today.

Shaun Crawford Returning to Notre Dame for Sixth Season

In just 25 career games in five seasons, Crawford has recorded 66 tackles and four interceptions and 1.5 sacks.

Notre Dame received some much-needed good news at the cornerback position Friday when Shaun Crawford announced via video on Twitter that he’ll be returning for a sixth season with the Fighting Irish.

Crawford had said back in September that his fifth year was going to be it for him at Notre Dame but seemed to hint at a return for 2020 once the regular season concluded but official word did come down Friday afternoon.

In just 25 career games in five seasons, Crawford has recorded 66 tackles and four interceptions and 1.5 sacks.

For a secondary that is strong at safety but loses a ton at corner with the departures of Troy Pride, Jr. and Donte Vaughn, keeping Crawford around is a massive win.

Crawford figures to enter the season at one coner position while TaRiq Bracy who played over 400 snaps in 2019 is likely headed to the other.

This move doesn’t make Notre Dame suddenly great at corner but it certainly helps.  Now if Crawford can just catch some good luck and have a healthy, final, sixth season.

Crawford was Notre Dame’s winner of the Pietrosante Award this past season for leadership and courage.