Tag: Notre Dame Stadium

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. USC

See who thinks the Irish have a chance.

Notre Dame really needs to find a way to beat USC. The national title hopes are gone, but this could be key in determining the direction of the program. Win, and everything will seem fine, at least for one night. Lose, and even more questions will be raised.

Here are the prognostications from some college football experts:

Social media reacts to Rico Flores’ go-ahead touchdown for Notre Dame

Big score.

Rico Flores was such an unknown that we didn’t even have any images of him uploaded in our system before Notre Dame played Ohio State. However, the freshman Irish receiver made his first mark on the program in the biggest way possible.

Trailing, 10-7, in the fourth quarter, the Irish began a drive at their own 4-yard line and was able to drive 96 yards over the course of 11 plays, albeit with the help of a defensive holding call. That drive ended when Sam Hartman found Flores in the back of the end zone to give the Irish their first lead of the game:

There’s no telling how this game will end. However, Flores’ first collegiate touchdown got Notre Dame Stadium rocking as much as it has all season. Social media was rocking, too. If you don’t believe that, we found some of the best tweets reacting to this big score for the Irish:

Central Michigan statistical leaders through two games

Here’s who to watch for on the opposition Saturday.

Notre Dame and the Mid-American Conference seem like an odd match. It definitely is historically speaking considering that you can count on your hands the number of times the Irish have played those teams. Still, it’s a legitimate relationship for the foreseeable future, and that includes the Irish facing Central Michigan on Saturday. It’s a game that NBC Sports has decided is only worthy of putting on Peacock instead of the main network, but that’s another story.

The Chippewas have a couple of heavy hitters on their nonconference schedule. They already got blown out when they visited Michigan State, and now, they have to deal with a surging Irish team. While the players might appreciate the opportunity to play such prominent programs on the road, they would be lying to themselves if they said they matched up with them on paper.

Despite the odds, the Chippewas will come to Notre Dame Stadium, and here are the best players they have lined up to face the Irish:

Tale of the Tape: Notre Dame offense vs. Central Michigan defense

Feeling confident about these matchups?

Through three games, Notre Dame’s offense has been as prolific as advertised. Even so, Irish fans have to keep pinching themselves to see if what they’re watching is real. While there have been some nice Irish offenses over the years, it has been quite a while since anything quite like this could call South Bend its home. And with [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] already being tabbed as a Heisman Trophy finalist in some circles, there is good reason to think the whole season will be like this.

Central Michigan’s defense will come into Notre Dame Stadium with a very mixed showing so far this season. While the rushing defense has been solid, the passing defense suggests Hartman will have another big game. It’s rather strange for a defense to be great in one aspect and terrible in another. Then again, who said football had to be predictable?

Here’s a look at how the Irish’s offense matches up with the Chippewas’ defense:

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. Tennessee State

What’s your prediction?

Notre Dame and Tennessee State have not met before, but they will Saturday in the first 2023 game at Notre Dame Stadium. Some Irish fans might not be happy about the Football Championship Subdivision level coming to South Bend, but there’s nothing that can be done about that right now. The only thing fans should be focused on is the Irish improving to 2-0.

Let’s look at what some college football experts are predicting for this game:

Tale of the Tape: Notre Dame offense vs. Tennessee State defense

Can the Irish offense light up an FCS defense?

We now have an idea of what Notre Dame probably will do offensively this year. Granted, Navy might not have been the best opponent to make any such assessments. After all, the Irish were able to do literally whatever they wanted when they had the ball. The result was one of the most impressive offensive performances we’ve seen from this program in quite some time.

Tennessee State might not be the best opponent to judge the Irish’s offense against either. While the Tigers were decent on defense overall in 2022, the fact remains they’re the first Football Championship Subdivision to ever face the Irish. It’s not impossible for them to pull off the upset, but they would be lying to themselves if they said this would be easy. Few lesser-known opponents can say that’s been their experience at Notre Dame Stadium.

Here’s a look at how the Irish’s offense through extremely limited Football Bowl Subdivision rankings matches up with the Tigers’ 2022 FCS rankings:

Notre Dame football: Home opener results since 1986

What is the most memorable Notre Dame football home opener for you?

Notre Dame is 1-0 after their dominating 42-3 victory over Navy to start the 2023 football season.  Next up for the Irish is their actual home opener as they welcome Tennessee State to town Saturday.

It’s the first time Notre Dame will take on a non-FBS program which leaves only UCLA and USC left as teams to not take on FCS opponents.

It shouldn’t be close as Notre Dame is threatening to enter the nation’s top-10 and Tennessee State is just 14-27 since the start of 2019.

So how will Notre Dame fare in their 2023 home opener?  A win is expected and it should come by plenty of points.

Before we get deep into game week, let’s take a look back at how Notre Dame has done in each home opening game since Lou Holtz began with the Irish in 1986.

History of Notre Dame’s rivalry with Navy

This rivalry is filled more history than nearly any other rivalry in college football.

Few rivalries in college football have as much history and prestige as Notre Dame-Navy.

Except for the COVID-19-affected season, these programs have played each other every year since 1927. Even with the college football landscape seemingly always in flux, there’s no reason to think this rivalry will stop anytime soon. Most fans on both sides are fine with that, even if the Irish have won the vast majority of the meetings.

If for no other reason, Notre Dame owes it to Navy to keep the rivalry going. When Notre Dame faced financial difficulties during World War II, the Navy opted to use the university as a training ground for its V-12 program. The money the Navy paid for that usage kept the university from going under, so Notre Dame feel it’s forever in its debt.

The result is many memorable moments over the years. Here are some of them:

Notre Dame-Miami game scheduled for 2024 pushed to 2026

Apologies to those who love to recall Catholics vs. Convicts.

Those who followed Notre Dame in the late 1980s remember the games against Miami all too well, particularly Catholics vs. Convicts. However, the programs haven’t met since the Hurricanes crushed the Irish, 41-8, in 2017. The good news is the rivalry finally will be renewed later this decade. The bad news is it now will take a year later than originally scheduled as reported by the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson:

This is perfectly understandable from the Hurricanes’ perspective. They aren’t going to drop any games against in-state rivals, and they sure won’t give up a home against Ball State just so they can go to South Bend. You don’t want to put yourself at any kind of scheduling disadvantage.

As for the Irish, they now need to find another home opponent for 2024. The remaining ones from the ACC are Louisville, Florida State and Virginia, and the Irish also play Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Pittsburgh and Wake Forest come to Notre Dame Stadium this upcoming season, so you can cross them off the list. 2025 will bring visits from NC State and Syracuse.

Maybe Boston College fills the spot since the Irish already are scheduled to travel to them in 2025? Or another Power Five school that has a 2024 opening? Perhaps a Group of Five school that’s never been to South Bend will get its chance? The speculation will run wild until a new opponent can be determined.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Woodward Sports Network: ‘Nobody should schedule Notre Dame’

Nope. Not happening.

With college football being thrown completely out of whack, attention has turned to Notre Dame once again. All indications are that despite the calls of many outside the Irish fan base, their independence isn’t ending anytime soon. The program will not be intimidated by such pressure.

But that’s not stopping outlets such as the Detroit-based Woodward Sports Network from telling would-be opponents to force Notre Dame’s hand. Check out this clip from a show with a panel that includes Braylon Edwards, who faced the Irish three times while with Michigan:

Please. Any athletic director with a brain would be foolish not to agree to play the Irish regardless of the state of their own program. The exposure and grandeur is too hard to resist, and lesser opponents gladly will take the money they’re paid to come to Notre Dame Stadium because being there is not an opportunity that comes along every year.

These programs are shifting conferences because of money. Nobody is going to take a financial hit just so it can get Notre Dame to persuade itself to join a conference. If anything, teams will do whatever it takes to get a piece of the pie in South Bend because it benefits everybody to some degree. Those who think otherwise should find a different line of work so they aren’t detrimental to their school.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89