Jimmy Grant

via NBC

Another Step in the Process

October 3, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

Saturday evening came and went and I left the Notre Dame broadcast very satisfied. The 52-17 win over Miami of Ohio was convincing and the game was over early as it should be. I know the cynics out there will say "big deal, it was Miami of Ohio." I guess they forgot Syracuse and Connecticut losses at home to end the 2009 season and the Weis era. Maybe those same people also forgot Navy, Tulsa, and South Florida home losses the following year to kick off the BK era. I'll bet if we asked an LSU ...

3-1, but Slightly Irked

September 25, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

At 3-1, with consecutive resounding road wins over rivals, there is little to complain about if you are a Notre Dame fan. The passing game showed signs of progress on Saturday, which is something I suggested previously was critical if the Irish expect to keep winning. While it's still a work in progress, for now, I'm checking the box that the passing game is on the uptick. Considering that Saturday is a very winnable game against Miami of Ohio (though the Irish could be on upset alert if they ...

Can Wimbush Keep Up the Pace?

September 18, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

Many years ago, when a certain coach started fast, got a big contract extension, started throwing out terms like "All Day Tough Guys", I believed I was seeing the future of Notre Dame football. An older friend, who had seen tons more Notre Dame football than I, was very cynical. He stated emphatically that Notre Dame would never be "truly good" again until they ran the ball. He wanted a return to the power football era that Lou Holtz teams personified. He relished the power game where Irish ...

The Numbers That Matter Weren’t in Red

September 11, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

Was it 30,000 or 40,000 Georgia fans? At the end of the day, who cares. For starters, people have a right to sell their tickets. Period. Notre Dame even has an officially sanctioned secondary market now. We live in a different time. This is a phenomenon that is in all sports now. I think it is heavy-handed to judge people who sold tickets. Do we know their financial situation? Season tickets (with the building fund) cost people thousands of dollars. An individual could have made up a huge ...

Via the National Radio Hall of Fame

Big Games Miss Guys Like Larry Munson and Tony Roberts

September 5, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

I want to start out by saying I'm an unabashed historian. In fact, I'm a lover of all things history. I teach American History for a career and I'm a huge fan of football history. Quite honestly some of the information I retain is likely pretty useless. I've often thought, if I could have remembered something important like chemical formulas, physics, or math I might have wound up rather wealthy, but, I digress. As I await Saturday and the huge game between Georgia and Notre Dame, I can't ...

Matt Cashore / Irish Illustrated

It’s Finally Here

August 29, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

After a tough season, long winter, and perhaps endless summer, it is game week at Notre Dame. Saturday the Irish will usher in a new era in the history of Notre Dame Stadium and take on Temple as they attempt to right the wrongs of the previous season. Injury wise, bad news wise (arrests, grades, etc.) it was a relatively quiet summer in South Bend. Hopes are high for the Irish depending on whom you talk to, mums have been planted in the stadium, and helmets are being restored to their golden ...

You Had Me at “Wisconsin”

August 16, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

In the past few weeks, there has been a great deal of speculation that the Irish would be announcing an upcoming match up with the University of Wisconsin. The speculation officially ended on Monday with the announcement that the Irish will play Wisconsin at Lambeau Field on October 3, 2020 and at Soldier Field on September 25th, 2021. Both games will be part of the Shamrock Series. I must say, I'm not a fan of the Shamrock Series, but that is a whole different article. In this case, I'm okay ...

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly looks back at an official during the Notre Dame-Texas NCAA college football game on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, at Darrell K. RoyalÐTexas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. South Bend Tribune Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN

Preseason Musings from the Shore

July 13, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

I have to make a confession: I don't follow recruiting a whole lot. I never have. I know it is the lifeblood of a program but I just can't get into it. The process of how teams chase high school kids these days may be part of it. For me, kids announcing their Top 3 or Top 5 is unsettling and borderline obnoxious. Listening to pundits trying to project how the career of a 17 year old will take shape also seems like a waste of time. I could also just be getting old. My second ...

Via flicker, Credit: Nick Kenrick.

Waiting for the Phone to Ring

June 28, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

As we are finally inching towards July and in desperate need of football content in our lives, I hope this piece does not ramble too much. I remember being a ninth grader the last time Notre Dame won the National Championship. Back then, I thought his would happen regularly. Time and adulthood has proved otherwise, but still we press on. It is funny how our fandom evolves or even ebbs and flows. I buy “The Shirt” every spring, for starters. I think it is a good cause, but more importantly ...

Notre Dame and Memorial Day

May 29, 2017 by Jimmy Grant

For many Americans, this weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer. Lost in our trips to the beach, barbecues, and perhaps even the current political rhetoric, is Memorial Day and its meaning: a time to thank veterans, but ultimately to recall and honor those that made the ultimate sacrifice. Some Notre Dame fans are familiar with the impact of the military on the University of Notre Dame dating back as far as the Civil War era. The book Notre Dame and the Civil War by James M. Schmidt ...