Notre Dame – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Notre Dame earns first true road victory of season over Virginia

Nice victory in every sense.

Notre Dame had not won on the road yet this season, nor had it won any of its previous nine games at John Paul Jones Arena. Saturday’s game at Virginia offered the Irish a chance to end both droughts. This they did to the tune of a 74-59 decision.

The Irish (9-10, 3-5) led the Cavaliers (9-11, 2-7) wire-to-wire, and this one never was in serious doubt. They were completely in sync on offense, and their defense held the Cavaliers in check until the deficit was at 27. Although the Cavaliers cut that lead almost in half late in the second half, there simply was too little time left on the clock for the run to make a difference.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] led all scorers with 21 points, including four 3-pointers in the first half. Although he went back to the locker room with an apparent injury as the Cavaliers were surging, he quickly reemerged and appeared no worse for the wear when he returned to the court.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored 16 points and dished out a game-high five assists. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 13 points.

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USC poaches Notre Dame’s GM

USC goes to Notre Dame to shore up its football operations. It’s a show of respect and a real attempt to get better.

At long last, USC football has a general manager. On Friday afternoon, 247Sports reported that the Trojans will be hiring Notre Dame’s Chad Bowden as their new GM. The hire fills a significant void in USC’s recruiting operations department.

The son of former MLB executive Jim Bowden, Chad Bowden came to Notre Dame in January of 2021 along with defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman. When Freeman was promoted to head coach following the 2021 season, he put Bowden in charge of the Irish’s recruiting. This past season, he served as Notre Dame’s assistant athletics director and general manager.

Prior to the Bowden hire, USC had been operating without a clear general manager. Dave Emerick had been acting as a de facto GM of sorts, but the Trojans’ recruiting and NIL operations seemed to lack a clear and unified direction.

According to reports, USC will pay Bowden more than $1 million to hire him away from South Bend.

In addition to making the Trojans better, the hire makes the USC’s biggest rival worse. Just four days after a loss in the national championship game, Freeman and the Irish will now be looking for a new general manager.

Notre Dame All-American safety Xavier Watts declares for NFL draft

Go Xavier!

Ask any Notre Dame fan who the leader of the 2024 defense, and most if not all of them will say [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag]. Nobody did more for that unit than him, and there’s no way the Irish would have gone as far as they did without him. Now, he’ll see how he contribute at the next level.

Watts, a graduate student at Notre Dame, has announced his declaration to enter the 2025 NFL draft. There wasn’t any question that he would turn professional after this past season, especially with sites like Tankathon projecting him as a second-round pick. The question now is how soon if at all he will make an impact as a professional.

Watts was a two-time consensus All-American for the Irish. In 55 career games, he recorded 188 games, nine tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and had 13 interceptions, one of which resulted in a 100-yar return for a touchdown, the longest such play in Irish history:

https://www.instagram.com/xavier.watts/p/DFOFA2ZyTk3/?hl=en

Best of luck to Watts on his next adventure. It figures to be a good one.

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Shane Gillis spoke with Notre Dame ahead of College Football Playoff title game

The man loves his Irish.

Whether you enjoy Shane Gillis or can’t stand him, there’s no questioning his Notre Dame fandom. This past season especially, Gillis was seen around the Irish or talking about them often. As long as he’s at the height of his popularity, we should expect to see a lot more of him when it comes to the Irish.

To that end, Gillis was involved with the Irish in the hours leading up to the College Football Playoff title game against Ohio State. In an appearance on “Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast,” he revealed he spoke to the team that morning.

While Gillis didn’t disclose the nature of his speech, he said most of the Irish players were excited to see him. Clearly, his fandom is known among those on the Irish’s roster, and it’s great to hear he received that reaction.

Here’s the portion of the podcast where Gillis talks about his experience:

Hopefully the next time the Irish get to play for a national championship, Gillis’ luck rubs off a little better.

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Notre Dame lineman commits to Tennessee

Notre Dame transfer offensive lineman commits to Tennessee.

Notre Dame offensive lineman Sam Pendleton entered the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday. He announced his commitment to Tennessee on Friday.

“What a great ride I’ve had over the last two years,” Pendleton announced. “As I step into this next chapter, I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. I would like to thank coach (Josh) Heupel and his staff for being so welcoming. Let’s get to work! Go Vols!”

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound offensive lineman appeared in 16 games, including seven starts, at Notre Dame from 2023-24. He started seven contests for the Fighting Irish in 2024.

Pendleton is from Reagan High School in Pfafftown, North Carolina.

How much money does Wisconsin make for Ohio State’s College Football Playoff national title?

Wisconsin Badgers 2024 College Football Playoff payout revealed

Wisconsin is poised to benefit greatly from Ohio State‘s run to the 2024 College Football Playoff championship game.

First, Ohio State’s win followed Michigan‘s 2023 title, giving the Big Ten consecutive national champions. That further establishes the conference as the top in the sport.

Second, it raised the Big Ten’s bonus payout to $46 million, according to Front Office Sports. That total is evenly divided among the 18 conference members, giving Wisconsin a $2.55 million payout.

The College Football Playoff bonus breakdown is $4 million for each team that makes the field, $4 million for each of the eight teams that make the quarterfinal, $6 million for the four semifinalists and $6 million for the two finalists.

The Big Ten had four teams make the field ($16 million), three make the quarterfinal ($12 million), two make the semifinal ($12 million) and one make the final ($6 million). Those totals added together create the final $46 million figure.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJOKJzx-V1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

There is one special circumstance to note: Notre Dame keeps its entire $20 million bonus. As an independent, Notre Dame doesn’t have conference mates it has to share the bonus with. Otherwise, those listed figures are divided evenly among the respective conference’s members.

Wisconsin finished far from the playoff field in 2024 with a season-ending five-game losing streak and a 5-7 record. It still benefits from the new structure. As Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan compete for championships, programs such as Wisconsin reap the financial rewards.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball keeps up winning ways vs. Boston College

This fell under the “typical victory” category for the Irish.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team is proving time and again this season that no opponent is safe. Someone might give the Irish a scare for a time, but they’ll find a way to overcome that and win. Boston College learned this the hard way in an 89-63 Irish victory.

The first quarter saw the Irish (17-2, 8-0) locked in a tight battle with the Eagles (12-9, 3-5), who found themselves with a one-point lead at the end. But the Irish took the lead on the opening possession of the second quarter and never gave it back.

Though the Eagles kept the game within striking distance for the rest of the first half, the Irish stayed on the gas pedal in the second and built their lead to the point where it was insurmountable. While there weren’t a lot of highlights that will be watched over and over, that was fine because the Irish did everything they needed to make this game a blowout by the end:

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had a typical night, leading all players with 23 points and five steals. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] picked up two first-quarter fouls but stayed away from fouling the rest of the game en route to scoring 16 points.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], making her third start of the season, continued to show she’s all the way back from her injury with 14 points. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] came agonizingly close to a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go with a game-high six assists

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Yet another Notre Dame offensive lineman is in the transfer portal

Notre Dame loses another offensive lineman.

Notre Dame lost another offensive lineman to the transfer portal on Thursday.

At least this time, the player in question was a special-teamer and not a starter.

[autotag]Ty Chan[/autotag] is following [autotag]Pat Coogan[/autotag] and [autotag]Rocco Spindler[/autotag], both starters, into the transfer portal. Fighting Irish players have a five-day window to enter the portal following the national championship game loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Chan’s departure will hurt less than Coogan’s or Spindler’s, but he’s still a depth piece and the fourth offensive lineman to leave. [autotag]Sam Pendleton[/autotag] is leaving, too, to seek more playing time.

The departures of Coogan and Spindler are baffling though details that would explain why could emerge later. For Chan, the choice is likely about getting more playing time.

Jan. 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first half the national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame cornerback Benjamin Morrison declares for 2025 NFL draft

Probably the least surprising news of the offseason.

If there’s one regret [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] likely has about his career at Notre Dame, it’s that he finished it watching from the sidelines. An injury six games into the 2024 season caused him to miss the rest of the winningest season in Irish history.

Irish fans were devastated in part because they knew they had seen the last of Morrison playing for their team. Even before the season, mock 2025 NFL drafts had him being selected in the first round. That has not changed despite him missing the entire second half of this past season. In fact, Tankathon currently has him as the only Irish player to be taken on the first day.

So with the season over, it only was a matter of time before Morrison announced he would forgo his remaining college eligibility and declare for the NFL draft. He finally made that official with the following heartfelt post on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/benmorrison/p/DFLXGSDSlzT/?hl=en

Morrison finishes his Irish career with 84 tackles, five tackles for loss, nine interceptions and one touchdown over 31 games. We wish him the best in his next phase as a player.

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Notre Dame sophomore center nominated for top award in college hockey

Vote for him.

A Notre Dame player never has won the Hobey Baker Award, which is given annually to the best player in college hockey. The closest it came was when goaltender [autotag]David Brown[/autotag] was named a finalist in 2007. Perhaps it will happen this time around?

Irish sophomore center [autotag]Cole Knuble[/autotag] has been named a nominee for the award. He leads the team in points (25) and assists (16) while being tied for the team lead in goals with [autotag]Justin Janicke[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Nelson[/autotag]. He already has surpassed his points and assists totals for all of last season (20 and 11 respectively) and tied his goals total for that season.

Voting for the award has begun and will continue through March 9. Only one vote is allowed for each person on a given day. A list of finalists will be announced March 19.

Knuble might have trouble getting some attention given the Irish’s 8-15-1 record. But if you need any convincing, here’s a highlight package from one of his better games, even if it was played last season:

You get the idea though. Knuble is good, and he deserves recognition.

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