A Notre Dame Football Blog
If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, do that now. In Part 2, we’re comparing numbers. To start, how has Notre Dame compared on the recruiting trail to its direct market competitors? (In Part 1 we defined the market as Ohio State, Michigan, Stanford and USC) Using 247sports.com composite team rankings, here are the ranks for each recruiting class: * Stanford only signed 13 players in 2013. I think the rankings draw out what we all probably thought to be true: Notre Dame and Stanford are peers; ...
Winning on Signing Day is critical to winning on Saturdays, or so we’re told. Given that it’s the middle of February and we’re a long way away from actual football, I decided to investigate the veracity of this so called truism. I went back to the 2009 season and compared 247sports composite team recruiting rankings, final BCS or Playoff Committee rankings, year-end AP rankings, wins/loss, and s/p+ strength of schedule for more than a dozen teams. There is a lot of really interesting data ...
Notre Dame vs. Purdue, Shamrock Series Game (Matt Cashore USA TODAY Sports)
Good morning! National Signing Day is now over, but not without a little midday excitement. Here are your headlines: FROM OUR SITE National Signing Day so far: The Irish at 24 SIGNING DAY/RECRUITING NEWS NY Times: National Signing Day, when college football makes a spectacle of itself UND.com: Fighting Irish add 24 names to 2015 Notre Dame Football roster Irish Illustrated: Meet the class: Offense Irish Sports Daily: Signing Day capsules: Offense Irish Illustrated: Meet the ...
Well, it's been a good day, so far, for the Notre Dame Figthing Irish, with twenty-four recruits, including early-enrollees, in the bag. Once again, Coach Kelly and his staff trolled far and wide to land this class, pulling athletes from what appear to be thirteen (13) states, giving Brian Kelly 224 votes in the Electoral College. But the biggest troll of the day, so far, was the (tragically-incorrect) news that Brady Hoke had joined the Irish coaching staff as a defensive coach. This would ...
Notre Dame could be playing between the hedges at Sanford Stadium later this decade (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yesterday, all potential Friday Roundup topics promptly took a back seat in my brain once Todd Gurley's suspension hit the newswire. Georgia originally announced the suspension as "indefinite", but Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman and his source believe the suspension will only last two or three games. Regardless of suspension length, Gurley will likely bid farewell to any chance of winning the Heisman thanks to this mess. Regardless of where you might stand on the NCAA rule about a student-athlete ...
I believe that Notre Dame fans can more or less be classified into two distinct groups: those that prefer the status quo and those that embrace and/or desire change. I think it is a more apt description than "traditionalist" and "non-traditionalist" as all Irish fans certain have their own "thou shalt not touch" list when it comes to certain traditions and even standards at Notre Dame. Debates centering around change at Notre Dame infuriate me. Part of it has to do with my steadfast belief ...
Years 2008: Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, L 23-24 2014: Notre Dame @ Syracuse, W 31-15 In 2008, Notre Dame managed to win the turnover battle (+2), out-gained Syracuse, and had Jimmy freakin' Clausen at QB, yet still managed to lose against a team that had just fired their coach. There's a reason One Foot Down named this the worst loss of the Weis era. It all but glued Weis' rear to the hot seat in 2009. Last night, Notre Dame lost the turnover battle in a big way (-4) and completely ...
I'm not used to storybook endings for Notre Dame football. That might sound a bit strange for a program full of feel-good lore, legends, and even a movie about a walk-on that managed to record a sack on his only defensive snap. That was all "back then" as many people that love to hate the Fighting Irish will consistently remind me. Recently, the script for Notre Dame football ends in nightmares. The 2012 season, and the events that followed after it, serves as a perfect example. After an ...
Jack Swarbrick wore the biggest grin on his face since perhaps the conclusion of the 2012 regular season. His masterful plan now public, he opened his bottom desk drawer, revealing a bottle of scotch and glassware. Certainly some might think scotch before ten in the morning on a Thursday a little concerning, but not this day. This is a day for celebration. After pouring his morning beverage, his phone predictably rang. He had been waiting for this. "Hello, this is Jack." "YOU SORRY SON ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SyTCWjjarw A song of wins and losses shall resume its tune next week. The weekly battles shall resume as shall the feasts, drinking, joy, and pain. Brace yourselves, football is coming. Lord Brian Kelly is looking to lead his once proud house back to its former glory. The house of DuLac was once an undisputed king of the north and their influence extended across the realm. The game has changed and Lord Kelly is trying to change with it in the face of a ...