Tag: ron powlus

See Notre Dame Highlights from 1994 Win at Michigan State

30 years ago this fall…

Late last month it was announced that the Notre Dame-Michigan State football rivalry was being renewed.  The former annual rivals haven’t played since 2017 when Notre Dame went into East Lansing and had their way with the Spartans.

The Megaphone Trophy will be on the line when the two meet in 2025 and 2026, just like it was back in the early parts of the 1994 season when the two met up north.

The X/Twitter account College Football Classics recently posted the SportsCenter highlights from the 1994 contest between Notre Dame and Michigan State.  Check them out below and see what school record Notre Dame set with the close victory.

Son of former Notre Dame quarterback commits to Notre Dame

Think we’ll see him in any games?

There always is something gratifying about seeing a former Notre Dame player’s kid go out for the Irish. That’s exactly what 2024 outside linebacker recruit [autotag]Tommy Powlus[/autotag], son of former Irish quarterback [autotag]Ron Powlus[/autotag], is doing. Although he will begin his career without a scholarship, he seems excited about the opportunity to suit up for the same program his father did:

Powlus won’t have to travel far to go to Notre Dame as he currently attends Penn in Mishawaka. If, for whatever reason, college football doesn’t work out for him, he also is an accomplished lacrosse player, so he at least has another sport he can fall back on. All we know for certain is athleticism definitely runs in the family.

There isn’t a lot about Powlus online other than his MaxPreps and Hudl profiles as well as Penn’s athletic site. Even in those cases, not much information is offered. It looks like we all will finding out about him at the same time assuming he even gets the opportunity.

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

ChatGPT ranks top 10 quarterbacks in Notre Dame history

Do you agree with these rankings?

No position in sports is more important than the quarterback. Notre Dame is lucky that it will have a good one this season in [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]. Though his services only will be for one year, the potential for him to have a history-making season is high. With that will come high expectations.

But how will Hartman measure up to the great Notre Dame quarterbacks of the past? For that, let’s turn to AI writing tool ChatGPT and see what it believes is a fair list for the top 10 men under center to play for the Irish.

Keep in mind that ChatGPT has this disclaimer:

“Ranking the top 10 quarterbacks in Notre Dame history is subjective and open to interpretation, as different eras and playing styles contribute to individual greatness. However, based on their impact on the program, statistical achievements, and team success, the following list represents 10 notable quarterbacks in Notre Dame’s storied history.”

And this one:

“Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and there are many other talented quarterbacks who have contributed to the Notre Dame football legacy. The rankings can vary depending on personal opinions and criteria used to evaluate their performances.”

On that, here is the list with some entries edited for clarity and accuracy:

Notre Dame football: Top 25 quarterback recruits since 2000

Four in the top 16 since the 2020 recruiting class. Not bad by Tommy Rees on his way out the door.

It was once said the highest pressure position in all of college football was playing quarterback at Notre Dame.  Sure, when [autotag]Beano Cook[/autotag] puts the pressure on you to win multiple Heisman’s and national championships, it’s nearly impossible to dispute the claim.

Times have changed a bit in recent decades and although the pressure on Notre Dame quarterbacks might not be the same as it was during the peak of the [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] era for [autotag]Ron Powlus[/autotag], but pressure comes with playing for the Irish still, no doubt.

Quarterback has also been perhaps the biggest difference between the elites and Notre Dame in recent years in the sense that the elites have an elite signal caller while the Irish put out good but far from elite players at the position recently.

If we look back since the year 2000 there have been some fantastic quarterbacks to wear blue and gold.  Which of those came in with the biggest hype in terms of recruiting rankings?  And which ones soared beyond the little hype the may have been surrounded by?

And which didn’t even play quarterback in college?

Here are the top 25 Notre Dame quarterback recruits since 2000 according to the 247Sports composite ranking system.

Notre Dame quarterback retires from football

All the best to him going forward

Notre Dame’s quarterback room will look even more different than expected in 2023. Not just because transfer Sam Hartman enters as the projected starter or because Drew Pyne left for Arizona State, but because a veteran backup signal-caller has retired due to a medical reason.

Ron Powlus III has medically retired from the Notre Dame football team.  Powlus spent the last two seasons on Notre Dame’s bench, and with the talent brought in at the position (Hartman and freshman Kenny Minchey), he wasn’t expected to compete for playing time this year or next.

According to Blue and Gold Illustrated, the retirement of Powlus means a walk-on freshman that Marcus Freeman hadn’t even met until Wednesday morning is now the fifth rostered quarterback.

Powlus III, who played high school football locally at Penn, will almost certainly remain close to the Notre Dame program as his father, former Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus, remains a senior associate athletic director.

All the best to the younger Ron going forward.

Initial thoughts on Notre Dame facing South Carolina in the Gator Bowl

What are your thoughts on the Irish going to the Gator Bowl?

The Irish know where they are bowling, in Florida at the Gator Bowl. The matchup pits Notre Dame against the other USC, South Carolina, with both teams sporting an 8-4 record and ranked inside the top 25.

There are plenty of thoughts that have passed through my head since the game was announced, some pretty big questions about the future of both programs. We will know much more in the coming days but that still didn’t answer some of the pressing questions that surround this game that will be played a day before New Year’s Eve. Find out below some of the first thoughts I had about this matchup.

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

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Today in 1995 Northwestern stunned No. 9 Notre Dame

One of the all-time college football upsets made way to an incredible Rose Bowl run 26 years ago today and it all started at Notre Dame.

It was a perfect Saturday afternoon in South Bend nearly three decades ago  today as the 1995 college football season got underway for the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame had high aspirations for year as they were looking for a bounce-back after a disappointing 1994 campaign that saw the Irish duck to just 6-5-1.

Related: Notre Dame’s all-time results vs. each Big Ten team

The opener was supposed to be a cakewalk against a Northwestern squad that hadn’t won more than three games the last eight seasons and hadn’t been to a bowl game in 46 years.

On top of that, Notre Dame had beaten Northwestern by a combined score of 111-34 the previous three seasons.  It wasn’t supposed to even be a game, but what proceeded to happen was one of the great upsets in college football history and led to one of the all-time underdog seasons the sport has ever seen.

Gary Barnett, Pat Fitzgerald, Darnell Autry, and the rest of the Northwestern Wildcats upset Notre Dame 17-15 before an embarking on an incredibly unlikely unbeaten season in the Big Ten and earning just their second trip to the Rose Bowl in program history.

That Notre Dame team would lose just once more that regular season and record lopsided victories over blue-bloods Texas and USC, but the majority of Irish fans think of just one game when they look back at 1995.

The opener against Northwestern.

Here are photos from that all-time afternoon that came at the unfortunate expense of [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] and Notre Dame:

Notre Dame football’s top quarterback recruits since 2000

Which Notre Dame quarterback were you most excited for before they ever played a down for the Irish?

Over the years Notre Dame has had more than a couple great quarterbacks.

[autotag]Joe Theismann[/autotag], [autotag]John Huarte[/autotag], [autotag]Tom Clements[/autotag], [autotag]Joe Montana[/autotag], [autotag]Rick Mirer[/autotag], and [autotag]Ron Powlus[/autotag] are just a few of the all-time signal callers the university has had.  All of those men came to Notre Dame during much different times however, as recruiting and the available information around it has changed significantly over the years.

[autotag]Brady Quinn[/autotag], [autotag]Jimmy Clausen[/autotag], and [autotag]Ian Book[/autotag] are a few of the best Notre Dame has had at the position since the year 2000, but how were each rated as recruits?  And just how high might the next quarterback commitment check in in these rankings?

247Sports has compiled a list of Notre Dame’s quarterback recruits since 2000 and included each of their final recruiting rankings.  Here is how the top 20 turned out.

Top 10 career passers in Notre Dame history

When you’ve played football as long as Notre Dame has your record books end up looking pretty impressive. That’s the case when you look at the best quarterbacks to ever play at Notre Dame. So who holds the records and even more impressively, who are …

When you’ve played football as long as Notre Dame has your record books end up looking pretty impressive.  That’s the case when you look at the best quarterbacks to ever play at Notre Dame.

So who holds the records and even more impressively, who are some of the megastars you remember who didn’t make the top 10?

Here are Notre Dame’s top ten career passers:

Fab Four: Selecting Notre Dame football’s Mount Rushmore of all-time recruits

On the eve of early signing day, Fighting Irish Wire recalls the most hyped commits in school history.

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Notre Dame football has attracted some of the biggest names over the years but many of those big names even pale in comparison to others.

With the help of 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and the thoughts of others, we’ve compiled Notre Dame football’s Mount Rushmore of all-time recruits.

The selections weren’t based on who actually went on to have the greatest careers at Notre Dame, but those who came in with the absolute most hype.

Some met that hype. Some exceeded it. Others came up well short.

Who made it and who were some of the close calls that were left off?

Let’s share and discuss each.

More Mount Rushmores from the College Wire Network:

Bama / Aub / Fla / LSU / Tenn. / UGA // Mich. / Mich St. / Ohio St. / Wisc. // Okla. / Texas // ND // USC

First up, the four honorable mentions…

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