Tag: we are nd

Notre Dame Football: 3 game series with South Florida announced

Notre Dame won’t be playing South Florida just once in the years to come, but 3 times.

It won’t just be a replacement for the makeshift 2020 schedule that South Florida will be a part of with Notre Dame but instead a series the Fighting Irish and Bulls will begin on September 19.

South Florida announced the news we had seen reported a week or so ago, that the Bulls football team would be coming to Notre Dame on September 19 of this season.

In addition, the announcement states that Notre Dame will be taking on South Florida in their home confines of Raymond James Stadium, also home to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a future date, as well as the Bulls making a second trip in the future to Notre Dame.

That game will be Notre Dame’s first in Raymond James Stadium, and we’re all aware of how much pride the program takes in playng

Notre Dame and South Florida have played just once before as the Bulls upset then No. 16 Notre Dame to open the 2011 season in South Bend.  For what its worth, it was the maddest I’ve ever left Notre Dame Stadium as a fan.

It’s also worth throwing South Florida some props for their scheduling in the future as Florida, Alabama, Louisville, North Carolina State, Boise State and Miami (FL) are also scheduled to play at Raymond James Stadium in the next eight years.

Related:  The eight teams Notre Dame football has played but never beaten (hint – a team mentioned in this piece is on the list)

 

Notre Dame Football: Report suggests more annual ACC games to come

Both Notre Dame and ACC have a football fling, but neither appear racing to change their Facebook relationship statuses, either.

If you’ve followed us at Fighting Irish Wire at pretty much any point over the last year or so you’re aware that we refer to Notre Dame’s football relationship with the ACC as a “friends with benefits” situation.

Notre Dame gets six games annually but keeps their independence while the ACC gets Notre Dame on the schedule for six of their teams each year.  The Irish then belong to the conference for every other sport the rest of the year.

Both Notre Dame and ACC have a football fling, but neither appear racing to change their Facebook relationship statuses, either.

According to a report from SI’s Wolverine Digest, Notre Dame staying at six games with the ACC when things return to normal, might not be a given.

From the Wolverine Digest report:

“Notre Dame really wanted to play and was willing to enter into an agreement that could lead to something down the road … at the very least, more games every year against ACC teams,” an insider shared. “They’re adamance about playing was the ace-in-the-hole a group, led by Clemson, needed to really push for a season and turn the tide in favor of ignoring the Big Ten. 

“I mean, if Notre Dame, with their academic reputation and their national brand, was willing to go forward … it sort of just sealed the ACC’s fate.”

– Wolverine Digest Staff Report 8/26/2020

There isn’t clarification as to whether that means simply adding a seventh ACC game to Notre Dame’s schedule soon or if it means that Notre Dame has promised to join the conference as a full-time member down the road.

Is the entire ACC only on board with playing football in 2020 because it means that Notre Dame MIGHT one day decide to lose it’s independence?

That seems a bit far-fetched to me.

For instance – if Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Florida State are that set on following the Big Ten’s lead, Notre Dame offering to play more ACC football down the road makes them change their beliefs?

I’m not buying it.

There are a lot more questions from this report than there necessarily are answers – one being why Notre Dame pushing for football, something the Michigan football program is said to have also wanted for this season, is another reason to hate them like this piece flat-out says:

And if you’re looking for another reason to hate Notre Dame, now you have it.

-Wolverine Digest Staff Report 8/26/2020

I won’t sit and question the entire validity of the report, they’ve got to have someone in Chicago and Ann Arbor like they say, if they’re willing to go to press with this.

However, to me this feels like this is written a lot more as a piece trying to throw a life-raft to the Big Ten and its commissioner for the conference overestimating it’s own power than actually accepting any blame for a decision that is only being questioned more and more by the day.

What I do know is that Notre Dame seems a lot more open to the idea of one day joining a conference than it ever has been, but that that decision is anything but imminent, too.

This is compelling and thought-provoking, no doubt – I’m just not too certain it all adds up.

Stay tuned to Fighting Irish Wire for anything else that develops off of this and everything else related to Notre Dame as always.

Indiana’s top player becomes Notre Dame’s first 2022 football commitment

For the second year in a row a four star OT from Indiana is Notre Dame’s first commitment to a recruiting class. Find out all the info!

“It’s like deja vu all over again” – Yogi Berra

A little over a year ago Notre Dame landed it’s first commitment to the 2021 recruiting class when in-state target, four-star offensive tackle Blake Fisher chose to stay close to home and attend Notre Dame.

Fast forward a little over a year and the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Saturday saw Brian Kelly and Notre Dame land their first commitment to the 2022 recruiting class in, get this, a four-star offensive tackle who happens to be ranked as the top player in the state of Indiana.

Joey Tanona, a 6-5, 280 pound offensive tackle from Zionsville, Indiana picked the Fighting Irish over the likes of Arizona State, Iowa, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and more.

Just how well is Tanona viewed?

ESPN ranks him as a top 100 player in the 2022 class (86 overall) while the two main recruiting outlets (247Sports and Rivals) rank him as a four-star player.

Fisher is a nice piece and offensive guard Rocco Splinder would be a great addition if he ends up choosing Notre Dame, but the ceiling for the impact of the entire offensive line in the ’21 class doesn’t appear as high as first hoped.

Tanona gets Notre Dame off to a nice start with a four-star player on board, something they’ll have to do a bunch of if things start to return to normal in the recruiting world and official visits can actually again be done in homes and on campuses.

Notre Dame in NFL – Chase Claypool Inks Rookie Deal with Steelers

Former Notre Dame star turned Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool has inked his first NFL deal. Find out details on it here.

Former Notre Dame star receiver and the 49th overall pick in this past years NFL Draft, Chase Claypool has signed his rookie deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Claypool let it be known to the world that he has officially signed the deal as he took to Twitter to announce it.

Terms were not officially released yet by the Steelers.  However, Tom Loy of 247Sports reports that its a four year deal worth roughly 6.161 million dollars for Claypool.

Personally I can’t get over how great of a landing spot this appears to be for the former Notre Dame star.  If you were a young wide receiver where would you want to go in order to have the best chance at NFL success?

It’s hard to argue with what the Steelers have done at receiver historically as a franchise, but especially in the last decade or so the talent they continuously develop at the position is seemingly unmatched.

Notre Dame welcomes top running back target for virtual visit

Notre Dame has had tough luck recruiting the running back position in 2021 but are said to have had a productive virtual vist on Thursday.

Notre Dame has added some nice recruiting pieces in their 2021 class but are yet to land a commitment from a running back.

Logan Diggs is rated as a three-star running back from Metairie, Louisiana and currently holds 25 scholarship offers.  On Thursday he visited virtually with Notre Dame.

No commitment was made but the visit must have gone well considering Diggs decided to go with the ALL CAPS while typing “great”.

In all seriousness, it’s at least a step in the right direction.  For whatever it’s worth, 247Sports doesn’t seem to have Notre Dame as a real contender for Diggs as Arizona State, Arkansas, Michigan State, Oklahoma State and USC all receive the “warm” status in regards to his recruitment while Notre Dame gets hit with “cool”.  The Irish were later to the party than others, only having offered Diggs a scholarship on May 5.

Diggs is listed at 6-0, 195 pounds and ran for 924 yards on 165 carries at Archbishop Rummel in Louisiana last year, helping guide his team to a 13-0 record and a Louisiana Division I state championship.

92 Days Until Notre Dame Football (We Hope)

We’re hopefully 92 days until Notre Dame football returns to action. We count that down with Brian Kelly on today’s check-in.

In just over 13 weeks we will have the single greatest game on the planet back, college football.

Notre Dame is set to take on Navy on August 29th which is now just 92 days away. We continue our countdown to Notre Dame football returning today with a tip of the cap to Notre Dame’s current head coach, Brian Kelly.

92: The amount of games Brian Kelly has won at Notre Dame (even if he only gets credit for 72 of those due to NCAA sanctions that were handed down.

Those 92 wins are the fourth most in Notre Dame history with only some real legends in front of him in Knute Rockne (105), Lou Holtz (100) and Ara Parseghian (95).  A season anywhere near what the last two have brought would put Kelly in second all-time by December.

It hasn’t always been pretty and at times it’s been frustrating on various different levels but there is no arguing against where Brian Kelly has led this Notre Dame football program compared to where it was a decade ago.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikv3cQHLKGw&w=560&h=315]

 

Notre Dame: Women’s Basketball Gets Much Needed Win Over Miami

Freshman Sam Brunelle led the way with 25 points while Destinee Walker finished 21 points and seven rebounds herself.

It has been a trying year for Muffet McGraw and the Fighting Irish so Sunday’s win over previously 10-7 Miami had to be satisfying.

Especially considering the second half the now 7-12 Fighting Irish went on.

Holding a the slightest of leads at halftime Notre Dame came out on fire after intermission Sunday, outscoring the Hurricanes 24-7 in the third frame en-route to a 76-53 takedown of Miami.

Freshman Sam Brunelle led the way with 25 points while Destinee Walker added 21 points and seven rebounds.

Mikayla Vaughn (16) and Katlyn Gilbert (12) also reached double-figures.

Notre Dame shot a lights-out 70% from beyond the arc while Miami struggled from the outside, making just four of 23 attempts (17.4%).

The win was just the second for Notre Dame in ACC play as they now sit at 2-5 in the conference.

They’ll look for win number three of the ACC season on January 26 as they resume action with a trip to Virginia.

Notre Dame in the NFL: Tranquill Named to PFWA All-Rookie Team

Wednesday the Pro Football Writers Association released their All-Rookie Team and Tranquill was named to it as the Special Teams Specialist.

It’s fitting that Drue Tranquill is making an impact on special teams his first year in the NFL as the first memory most Notre Dame fans have of him is a blocked punt he had against Stanford in his freshman year of 2014.

Tranquill went on to become a captain and a huge reason Notre Dame’s defense was lights-out in 2018, helping guide them to a 12-0 regular season.

Tranquill was drafted in fourth round of last year’s NFL Draft to the Los Angeles Chargers and has already turned heads across the league for his play there.

Wednesday the Pro Football Writers Association released their All-Rookie Team and Tranquill was named to it as the Special Teams Specialist.

Tranquill was the only Notre Dame product named to the team and finished 2019 with 71 tackles between special teams and on defense for the Chargers.

Meet Notre Dame’s Newest Hero

When I saw this story I thought it was going to end like a bad Hollywood movie or music video, with McNamara beating the tar out of the thief and getting the purse back.  I’m beyond thrilled to now know that isn’t the case.

Tommy McNamara is all of 6’1”, 166 pounds and is in the middle of his senior year at Notre Dame.  Unless you’re a fan or follower of a certain team on campus, you’ve probably never heard of him.

But McNamara became Notre Dame’s newest hero this past weekend.

Now before you start looking for a list of football walk-on’s or basketball bench guys, know that you won’t find his name there.

Nor will you find him listed as a forward on the hockey team or any team currently in-season for that matter.

So who in the world is Tommy McNamara then and why should you care about him?

Because the senior lacrosse player did something this past Friday that almost nobody, let alone a young man in his early-20’s with undoubtedly a million other things on his mind, would do.

According to The Observer, McNamara was having lunch with a friend in a South Bend restaurant last Friday when he noticed a patron acting suspicious.

McNamara watched the person long enough to see them walk in and out of the restaurant multiple times before they grabbed a purse and made a break for the door.

Instead of simply yelling “stop!” from his seat, McNamara decided to chase the suspect.

But it wasn’t a fight McNamara was looking for to get the purse back, it was help he was simply trying to offer the troubled youngster he pursued.

“He was entirely apologetic. The first thing he said was ‘I’m sorry,’” McNamara said. “He’s sitting there thinking, ‘do I or do I not want to steal this woman’s purse?’ What’s crazy is I saw him leave the place a couple times — he would walk out, then walk back in. … That’s kind of why he was in the corner of my eye. He was just apologetic. … He was like ‘I don’t want to be doing this.’ It was a tough conversation, but a real one. That’s why I wanted him to be able to reach out.”

Upon his return to the restaurant McNamara was greeted like a hero, receiving a round of applause and even a blessing from a priest who was also happened to be grabbing lunch.

When I saw this story I thought it was going to end like a bad Hollywood movie or music video, with McNamara beating the tar out of the thief and getting the purse back.  I’m beyond thrilled to now know that isn’t the case.

Instead he took the opportunity to see a teenager do something inexcusable and instead of teaching them a lesson physically that he like could have, McNamara offered a helping hand to what he seemed to see as some sort of cry-for-help.

I don’t have anything much to add to this story besides that on Thanksgiving week and with the rest of the holidays approaching, it felt like a story that should be shared.

Hopefully we can all take a lesson from McNamara and the next time we see someone crying for help in whichever way it may be, we offer a helping hand instead of simply ignoring them or worse even, judging them to ourselves before ignoring them as we walk by.