Tag: RJ Oben

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Third-Quarter Analysis

It’s not over yet, but the Irish better do something quickly.

If Notre Dame wants to win the College Football Playoff title game over Ohio State now, it better make its move quickly. Only 15 minutes remain, and the third quarter showed the Irish are no closer to slowing down the Buckeyes. They trail, 31-15.

Any hopes of the Irish seizing momentum after halftime were snuffed out on the second play of the quarter, which saw Quinshon Judkins run for 70 yards. Three plays later, Judkins had his fourth touchdown since the Irish had gotten a first down when he ran into the end zone from right next to the goal line.

On the Irish’s first possession of the second half, they promptly turned the ball over on downs after [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] couldn’t handle a fourth-down pass from [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag]. That set the Buckeyes up in good field position, but to the Irish’s credit, they allowed only one first down this time. Still, the Buckeyes added onto their lead when Jayden Fielding kicked a 46-yard field goal.

The Irish finally broke their first-down drought when they took the ball back, albeit on a third-down pass interference call. But that proved to at least momentarily spark something within the Irish’s offense as it moved the ball better than it had since the opening drive.

This particular drive culminated with [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag]’s pass to [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], who had enough space to score a 34-yard touchdown. Leonard then threw a short pass to [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] for the two-point conversion. Just like that, the Irish had life again.

The momentum was snuffed out on the next possession though when [autotag]RJ Obe[/autotag]n was penalized for roughing the passer. The Buckeyes already were starting to drive, and this put them in Irish territory. That’s where we stand, and the Irish are in trouble.

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Notre Dame vs. Georgia: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish came alive late.

If you love defensive struggles, the second quarter of the Sugar Bowl between Notre Dame and Georgia was much like the first. The only difference points actually were scored. Fortunately for the Irish, they scored far more and hold a 13-3 halftime lead.

Big offensive plays by both teams resulted in nothing more than field goals on their first full possessions of the quarter. For a while after that, nothing else of consequence happened.

The Irish then had a nice drive near the end of the first half that allowed [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] to kick the go-ahead 48-yard field goal.

Just when it seemed the Irish would take a 6-3 lead into the locker room, [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag] sacked Gunner Stockton, who coughed the ball up to [autotag]Junior Tuihalamaka[/autotag]. On the very next play, [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] hit [autotag]Beaux Collins[/autotag] for the game’s first touchdown from 13 yards out.

Either team can win, at least at this stage in the contest. All that matters for these teams is surviving this game and moving onto the Orange Bowl against Penn State. Both sides have 30 minutes to prove they deserve that privilege, but the question is whether the winner deserves to play beyond that.

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Notre Dame football releases depth chart ahead of Georgia matchup

Notre Dame’s depth chart for Georgia brings few surprises.

The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish depth chart for the Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs is out.

The biggest name that’s not on it is [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] — the defensive end is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury suffered against Indiana in Notre Dame’s 27-17 win over the Hoosiers.

It appears [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag] will replace Mills with [autotag]Joshua Burnham[/autotag], who also plays the Vyper pass-rush position, in the work.

Otherwise, there are few surprises on the depth chart. It’s nice to see [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] back at the top for defensive tackle now that he’s returned from an injury of his own.

One notable absence is offensive lineman [autotag]Charles Jagusah[/autotag]. While indications were that he was ready to return from injury, he’s not listed on the chart. We’ll have to keep an eye on his availability against Georgia.

Dec 20, 2024; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with tight end Eli Raridon (9) after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Who can replace Boubacar Traore for Notre Dame?

Here’s who may replace Boubacar Traore.

Notre Dame has lost another key defensive lineman to injury. Now the Fighting Irish will have to look for a replacement.

End [autotag]Boubacar Traore[/autotag] is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. The defensive end was injured in the first half of the Fighting Irish’s 31-24 win over the Louisville Cardinals. Traore had 11 tackles, five tackles for loss, and led the Irish with three sacks. He was also tied for second on the team for most quarterback pressures with eight — Howard Cross III has the most at 9.

With Traore joining Jordan Botelho on the injured list, who’s next?

[autotag]Junior Tuihalamaka[/autotag] seems the most likely replacement. Thus far the junior has seven tackles, two tackles for loss, and a half of a sack.

Freshman [autotag]Loghan Thomas[/autotag], who played 14 snaps versus Louisville, seems likely to see a lot more action.

Head coach Marcus Freeman also pointed to Josh Burnham, who is returning from injury, RJ Oben, and Bryce Young, as possible replacements.

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka (44) celebrates after an interception in the first quarter against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

“Josh is a guy that could play either field end or Vyper for us. RJ Oben and Bryce Young, obviously, have done a good job at the field end position, and Junior has done a really good job stepping up at the Vyper position, as well as Loghan Thomas getting some reps,” Freeman said. “And so you have five quality individuals that can play the end position for us. And we’ve got to have guys step up, just like Junior has done. And I’m confident that if something would happen again that we’ll have to have another guy step up.”

Vyper is another term for rush end.

Burnham and Young each have four tackles and 1 quarterback hit, and Young has blocked a kick on special teams. Thomas has one tackle and 1 quarterback hit, while Oben has eight tackles — four solo and four assisted.

Based on Freeman’s quote, Tuihalamaka seems likeliest to have the most impact with Traore out, with Burnham and Thomas following. Oben and and Young seem more likely to see most of their reps at field end.

Either way, Traore’s loss is a tough pill to swallow for the Irish.

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Notre Dame D-lineman Joshua Burnham out with ankle injury vs. Purdue

Tough break for him.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Notre Dame’s offense hasn’t lived up to expectations, but the defense mostly has held up its end of the bargain. It would help to not give up big plays though, and the unit has been prone to them at times. Having as many available players as possible will go a long way with that.

The Irish’s defense took a hit shortly before it was set to take the field against Purdue. Junior defensive end [autotag]Joshua Burnham[/autotag] will miss the game with an ankle injury. The good news is there are no other pregame injuries to report:


Burnham previously was listed behind [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag] on the depth chart at defensive end. That spot now will be occupied by freshman [autotag]Bryce Young[/autotag].

Burnham played in both of the Irish’s previous games. While he was kept off the stats sheet at Texas A&M, he was credited with four tackles and one tackle for loss against Northern Illinois.

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Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts named third-best safety in college football

Time for him to go out and prove it.

Notre Dame figures to rely on its defense once again to win football games in 2024. It’s hard to dispute that given that there’s some future NFL talent on that side of the ball. Among that talent is safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag], who many currently project to be taken as high as the third round in the 2025 draft.

Big Game Boomer, college football’s list aficionado on social media, has released his list of the top 50 safeties in college football entering the upcoming season. Let’s just say Watts will be the best safety on either side of the ball at least during every regular-season game for the Irish this year:

Big Game Boomer already had reserved spots on his respective position lists for [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Kiser[/autotag], [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]RJ Oben[/autotag]. Most recently, he has put transfer Jordan Clark on his nickel/slot corners list:

So yeah, this defense is gonna be good. Let’s hope the offense can support it.

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Two former Blue Devils listed on CBS Sports’ top 100 college football players for 2024

CBS Sports released its top 100 college football players for the 2024 season on Monday, and while no current Blue Devils made the cut, two recent Duke players who transferred to Notre Dame appeared.

CBS Sports released its top 100 college football players ahead of the 2024 season, and while no Blue Devils made the cut, two former Duke players did.

Quarterback Riley Leonard and edge rusher R.J. Oben, who both left Durham for Notre Dame this offseason, appeared on the list. Oben came in first at 89th before Leonard at 98th.

Oben spent five seasons with the Blue Devils before he left to take his last year of eligibility in South Bend. He’s put up at least four sacks in each of the last three seasons, with 62 total tackles and 14 sacks across that time frame. His 27 pressures and 73.8 PFF pass-rush grade were the highest totals on the Duke team last season.

Leonard threw for 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022, and he compiled 1,102 yards and three touchdowns during his junior year. After helping the Blue Devils win their first four games of the year, he suffered an ankle injury during a game against, coincidentally, the Fighting Irish in Week 5. He only threw 39 passes for the rest of the year.

The third-year quarterback still finished with a QBR of 72.2 for the 2023 season.

Notre Dame lands massive defensive commitment in transfer portal

Notre Dame continues to load up through the portal!

[autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] hasn’t won as many games as Notre Dame football fans would like through his first two seasons but there is one place he has won big and repeatedly: the transfer portal.

After restocking the wide receiver group recently and landing a second quarterback from the ACC in as many years earlier in the week, Freeman and Notre Dame landed a big-time defensive commitment Wednesday.

Pass-rush specialist RJ Oben, previously of Duke, is now headed to Notre Dame.  He made the announcement on social media.

Oben is coming off a year where he was a major key on Duke’s solid defense.  He totaled five sacks, 17 tackles, six tackles for loss, and another six quarterback hurries this past season.

Oben will be key in replacing another transfer, Javantae Jean-Baptiste, who transferred from Ohio State before the 2023 season.

Oben stands 6-4, 260-pounds and figures to jump to the head of the depth chart at one defensive end position.  Inexperienced [autotag]Aidan Gobaira[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyson Ford[/autotag] also figure to play the position going forward.

As the defense loses some key pieces for 2024, adding Oben certainly lessens the blow to what was a very solid defensive line in 2023.