Notre Dame football: Early bowl projections – The Andy Ludwig Bowl?

We can only wonder what the pregame storylines would be about…

I’d say that it’s way too early to be going over bowl projections but is it actually?  When I saw recently that 247Sports had some out my first thought wasn’t “Oh my goodness, it’s too early for such a thing,” but instead was “where are they sending Notre Dame?”.

The projections, put together by Brad Crawford, were released on March 1.  The matchup Crawford calls for Notre Dame to have certainly would be an interesting one after the events of this off-season.

247Sports/Crawford Notre Dame bowl projection:  Holiday Bowl vs. Utah

Crawford mentions that both teams making the Holiday Bowl would feel like a bit of a disappointment considering how the Irish and Utes appear headed into spring football.

If the Utes and Fighting Irish play out in San Diego next season, that means each team fell slightly below expectations. Utah has won consecutive Pac-12 championships while Notre Dame hopes to get back inside the top 10 in Marcus Freeman’s second campaign. The Fighting Irish added Wake Forest quarterback transfer Sam Hartman from the portal, but did lose OC Tommy Rees to Alabama. He’s been replaced by a promoted assistant and that decision must payoff for Freeman.
– Brad Crawford on 247Sports: March 1, 2023

He’s right that anything short of a New Year’s Six bowl game will feel like a bit of a disappointment for Notre Dame, even with the significant coaching staff changes.  However, if these two are to meet in the postseason, can the trophy of the game be made into a silver rendering of the infamous Gerad Parker, Andy Ludwig, and Marcus Freeman picture (see below) from the Irish hockey game earlier this off-season?

Notre Dame and Utah have only met once in what resulted in an Irish victory in November of 2010.

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Joel Klatt releases new college football top 10 following Week 4

Which do you agree and disagree with?

College football is the greatest game on earth (fact not opinion) but it’s biggest issue is that by the time you blink you’re seemingly a third of the way through it.  That’s at least how it feels after the first four weeks of the season have already come and gone and most teams are already 1/3 of the way done with their schedules.

So what have we learned at this point?  And how much figuring out do we still have left?

As conference seasons heat up we look at who Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt rated in his top 10 this week as he actually gave a few extra teams as an added bonus.

Week 1 College football scoreboard: Georgia routs top-15 Oregon

What game is the biggest chance to be an upset this weekend?

Will there be a major upset in week one of this college football season?  The first full slate of the season opened Thursday with a thriller between Pitt and West Virginia that made us all collectively ask why we continue to do things that keep rivals like those from playing annually.

Week 1 sees some marquee matchups with No. 5 Notre Dame traveling to No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Georgia taking on No. 12 Oregon in Atlanta, but there are several compelling contests beyond that as well.

Will there be a major upset along the way today?  One top 15 team survived a scare as a missed PAT coupled with a missed field goal allowed them to hang onto victory.  Check out the results of all the top 25 games below.

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Please note – all games are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 3 unless otherwise noted

Notre Dame rooting guide for championship weekend

Which upset that Notre Dame needs to happen this weekend is most likely to occur?

You can go ahead and get excited about the future of Notre Dame football under new head coach Marcus Freeman but as Freeman himself said to the team when he spoke to them the first time as their head coach, “this is about right now!”.

And right now, entering college football’s championship weekend, Notre Dame has a chance at a College Football Playoff berth if things go as needed.

Friday night features a couple of games as Conference USA sees Western Kentucky battle UTSA for the league crown and Mario Cristobal may be coaching his final game at Oregon as the Ducks take on Utah in the Pac 12 championship.

There are then nine games on Saturday’s slate with four of them having a major impact on Notre Dame’s postseason destination.  Here is a rooting guide for Notre Dame fans for those four games:

‘College Gameday’ picks for biggest games of week 12

What potential CFP team has the biggest risk of getting upset today?

The College Football season is winding down with only two weeks of the regular season remaining.  As the race for the College Football Playoff is on and bowl projections become somewhat more clear each week, we have a big Saturday of action ahead of rivalry week in the sport next week.

As always, ESPN’s College Gameday staff made their predictions for the biggest games of the week on Saturday morning.  What upsets do some of them see coming today and which favorites will roll?

The band Twenty One Pilots served as this week’s guest pickers and here are the picks the staff gave on Saturday morning:

Alamo Bowl halftime recap

In a great position to win their third straight bowl, if UT can replicate their first half in the second half, they will pull out a victory.

After a solid first quarter for the Longhorns, the second quarter started out even better with a 71-yard punt return from D’Shawn Jamison, setting Texas up inside their own 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Collin Johnson broke wide open in the back of the end zone, giving the Longhorns their first touchdown of the night. It was Johnson’s first score since the Kansas State game.

Utah’s offense remained stalled to start out the second quarter, only gaining 25 yards on eight plays. Two sacks from Ta’Quon Graham and Joseph Ossai mixed with a false start from the offensive line forced the Utes back.

After only throwing for 33 yards in the first half, Ehlinger finally found his groove throwing the ball down the field. First, Johnson had a big play for 23 yards and then Devin Duvernay got a 40-yard reception down the sideline.

The Longhorn got cute on the next play, as Duvernay lost eight yards on a reverse. That play killed the Texas drive, making it 4th and 2 after Ehlinger managed nine yards on third down.

Tom Herman decided it was worth to go for it, but after good pressure from the Utes, Ehlinger threw an interception to Utah’s Javelin Guidry. Originally called a drop, the referees reviewed it, putting the Utes on the one-yard line.

Getting the first turnover of the game, Utah finally started to get their offense rolling to close the half. A big 26 yard run from running back Zach Moss got the Utes into Texas territory for the first time.

Just when it started to go well for them, an ineligible man downfield and an intentional grounding penalty killed the drive. They were forced to punt for the fifth time.

Texas is playing really well, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Shutting an explosive Utah offense was not something expected from the Longhorns, but is no doubt welcomed. Besides the turnover, everything has gone right for Sam Ehlinger and the offense.

In a great position to win their third straight bowl game, if Texas can replicate their first half in the second half, they will pull out a victory.

You can catch the second half of the Alamo Bowl on ESPN.

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WATCH: Collin Johnson scores Texas’ first touchdown

After only being able to kick an FG in the first quarter, Sam Ehlinger was able to find Collin Johnson in the endzone in the second quarter.

After only being able to kick a field goal in the first quarter, Sam Ehlinger and the offense was able to find the endzone early in the second quarter.

D’Shawn Jamison set the Longhorns up in a good position after a 71 yard punt return, going all the way down to the Utah six-yard line. Two plays later, Ehlinger found Collin Johnson wide open to give Texas a 10-0 lead.

The Longhorns have started out well against the 11th ranked Utes, getting good pressure on the defensive side of the ball. The offense is getting put in good positions and must continue to execute when given the opportunities.

Texas is currently playing Utah on ESPN.

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Alamo Bowl First Quarter Recap

Texas has played well so far. If the defense continues to play this way, the offense will have a great chance to win it for the Longhorns.

To start the game, Texas won the toss and elected to receive. Putting Sam Ehlinger and the offense on the field immediately, the Longhorns started out strong with a deep shot to Collin Johnson for 34 yards down the middle.

From that point on, Keaontay Ingram was solid in the run game, getting Texas down to the Utah 10 yard line. On third down, Ehlinger got away with a throw, as Utah more than likely should have had a pick-six.

Cameron Dicker hit a 29-yard field goal to put Texas up 3-0.

With Utah getting the ball for the first time, they got a first down via a Tyler Huntley throw to Cole Fotheringham on their first play. Texas forced a punt three plays later after stuffing running back Zach Moss and quarterback Tyler Huntley.

Texas got the ball back after a Utah punt and was not able to do much. Only gaining a first down through a Ute penalty, second and third down was dominated by the Utah defensive line, getting to Ingram and Ehlinger behind the line of scrimmage.

Zach Moss started to do Zach Moss type things for the Utes to open up their second drive, gaining 11 yards on the first two plays. Utah went to the passing game after that but found little success. Devonta’e Henry dropped a swing pass from Huntley that could have gone a long way. The Longhorn defense continued their strong start, forcing another punt.

Roschon Johnson got in the action to start the third drive, getting 21 yards throughout the entire drive. Texas could not capitalize on his gains though, punting for the second time after a Brennan Eagles screen pass forced a 4th and 11.

After getting away with a field goal on their first drive, Texas is lucky to be up 3-0 in this game. The defense has been outstanding so far, limiting Tyler Huntley to what he can do in the passing game. If they continue to play this way throughout the entire game, the offense will have a great chance to win Tom Herman’s third consecutive bowl game.

Texas stats

Sam Ehlinger: 2-6 33 yards

Keaontay Ingram: Five rushes, 20 yards

Roschon Johnson: Three rushes, 21 yards

Collin Johnson: One catch, 34 yards

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Twitter prepares for Alamo Bowl

If Texas can win, it will be a second straight year with a huge bowl win. Here is how Longhorn Twitter is preparing for the Alamo Bowl:

Texas will take the field for the final time in the 2019 season as they face the Utah Utes in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The Longhorns finished the regular season with a 7-5 record, while Utah made it all the way to the Pac 12 championship game, but lost to Oregon, making them 11-2.

Tonight’s game will be a big one for both teams as a win would give them momentum going into the 2020 season. If Texas can win, it will be a second straight year with a huge bowl win to end the season.

Here is how Longhorn Twitter is preparing for the Alamo Bowl:

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Three reasons Texas will win the Alamo Bowl

Seen as underdogs, Texas is going to need a lot to go their way to win the Alamo Bowl. Here are three reasons Texas will win against Utah.

Wrapping up the third season under Head Coach Tom Herman, the Longhorns are in their third consecutive bowl game. While it is not exactly where Texas wants to be, after not even going to a bowl game for the final two years of Charlie Strong, it can be seen as an accomplishment.

Seen as the underdogs in the Alamo Bowl against Utah, the Longhorns are going to need a lot to go their way to win this game. Things have gone their way before the game has even kicked off, as they should have the home field advantage and star wide receiver Collin Johnson is expected to return for the game.

Here are three reasons Texas will win the Alamo Bowl against Utah:

Home field advantage

Whenever you play a bowl game in your home state, a huge crowd in your favor is expected. That is especially true when the venue you are playing in is around an hour and a half drive. The Longhorns should have a huge crowd in attendance for Tuesday’s Alamo Bowl against Utah. The Utes should have a decent-sized crowd themselves but will be hard to outnumber the following Texas will have.

In a similar situation early in the year, Texas played a “neutral site” game against Rice at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans. While Rice is located in Houston, the support was mainly for Texas fans. Utah has a bigger undergrad population and more likely more alumni, it will not be able to balance out Texas fans. Having a virtual home game will keep the Longhorns competitive throughout the game.

Collin Johnson is back

For most of the season, Texas has been without star wide receiver Collin Johnson. After deciding to skip the NFL and come back for his senior season, Johnson has only played in six games this season. He has been effective in those six games, having at least five receptions in four games. He last played against Kansas State in November, where he had seven catches for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Even if he does not make an impact with the ball in his hand, he is something Utah will have to think about. His presence in the lineup takes the pressure off other receivers like Devin Duvernay. Johnson may not be 100% but as this will be his final ever time to play in a Longhorn’s uniform, expect him to make a significant impact.

Recent bowl success

Under Tom Herman, the Longhorns are 2-0 in bowl games. The last Texas coach to win their first two bowl games with the program was Blair Cherry back in 1947 and 1948. Playing in the 2017 Texas Bowl, the Longhorns took care of old Big 12 opponent Missouri, 33-16. Last season, Texas got a huge win in the Sugar Bowl against sixth-ranked Georgia, 28-21. Herman has gotten the team to play well for the big occasion.

With this being the 11th Power 5 opponent (12th if you count BYU) they have faced this year, they are not stranger to tough competition. However, this will be the most prestigious bowl game the Utes have played in since defeating Alabama in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns have been on a big stage before and will be ready to play. Having that advantage over Utah will give Texas the ability to compete with the Utes.

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