Good morning! And happy Valentine's Day! VIDEO ESPN: Weis likely done coaching (1:59) RECRUITING One Foot Down: 2015 football recruiting: DB and K review Slap the Sign: 2015 Notre Dame football recruiting: Offensive grades One Foot Down: Dexter Williams is the back Notre Dame needed Irish Illustrated: Kraemer all in with Irish Irish Sports Daily: Mack leveraging the competition Blue & Gold Illustrated: Four-star Mitchell hears from Kelly The Patriot News: Penn State ...
Charlie Weis

The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday night, 41-30 — and then celebrated by playing some polka. Here, the Irish's Chris Brown is tackled by Michigan's Delonte Hollowell after making a catch. (Photo:vGregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Morning Roundup: Feb. 13, 2015
Good morning! Here are your headlines: FROM OUR SITE Friday roundup: The "safety transfer" edition PODCAST TNNDN: ND Fan Radio: Vol. 36 - Notre Dame coaching carousel - Part 1 (2:02:38) COACHING 247 Sports: Hawkins: Sanford would be 'lights-out' hire at Notre Dame Rant Sports: Mike Sanford makes Notre Dame a New Year's Six bowl contender 7KTVB (Idaho): Already time for the next big Harsin hire (Mike Sanford) Anchor of Gold: Report: Stanford assistant Marc Mattioli to ...

Good Fridays w/Padre: Beating the Conundrums
It’s an upside down world lately. I feel like Ferdinand and Isabella when Columbus came back. I mean I feel bewildered, not greedy and despotic. If I wanted a comparison for greedy and despotic, I’d use ESPN. I am bewildered at the odd inversions and reversals of these times. The football team had a mediocre season, while the basketball team is in the top ten. The Joyce Center picks up its 600th victory, while the Stadium ended the season with two wrenching losses. The Stadium is becoming ...

Notre Dame Offense: A Question of Identity
After reading Moons' excellent HLS debut, I started thinking a lot about one of the corollary questions that inevitably arises with any discussion of the Notre Dame offense under Brian Kelly. While we have loads of stats and trends for the offense, the "identity" question seemingly never gets an answer. In fact, as I listened to the most recent Power Hour this past week, that same question arose without a real answer. Just what does Notre Dame do well and why does it seem that Brian Kelly can't ...

CFB Week 5: A Tale of Two…
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 ...

The Irish Blogger Gathering Returns for the Final Hate Week
Yes, everyone, the Irish Blogger Gathering (IBG) is indeed back this season. We took last week off because: I was late in rounding everyone up this season. We decided that we beat the offseason to death already. So now that Rice is in the books, it's go time. This year the IBG has a familiar cast of characters: myself, Mike Coffey of NDNation, Aaron Horvath of the official ND Football blog, Frank Vitovitch of UHND.com, and the return of The Subway Domer! You may notice Keith ...

Friday Roundup: The “Brian Kelly Goes to the Moon” Edition
It's almost time. The thought raced through Brian Kelly's mind as he gazed into his mirror. Clad in a navy-blue suit and gold tie, he clutched his inspiration loosely in his hand. More notes, scribbles, and arrows littered the page than his five-wide goal line section of the playbook. How does one prepare for Rice with Michigan around the corner? The question plagued him even before fall camp had started. He could only serve so many rice-themed dishes at the training table. It was a ...

Friday Roundup: The “Changes” Edition
This past week, Notre Dame football and its fans witnessed one of the most visible changes that the program has seen. But the new artificial surface is only the tip of the iceberg of the changes that Notre Dame has seen recently. Earlier this month, Notre Dame officially became an Under Armour school. The Bookstore channeled Black Friday with a midnight event as soon as the calendar flipped to July and demand hit a level that forced the cancellation of many online orders as inventory flew off ...

Toryan Smith
Where Are They Now? Toryan Smith
What is a Notre Dame man? When I asked a friend and teammate of Toryan’s to describe who he is, he pretty much defined exactly that: ‘Toryan is as passionate as they come. What you see is what you get. Loyal to those he calls friends and family. He wants to impact those around him and create a positive change in the world. He isn't afraid to "rock the boat." He stands up for what he believes in. He is serious, but doesn't take things too seriously. He enjoys life.’ Toryan Smith, son of ...

Credit: AP Photo
Why You Should Be Thrilled About Bob Diaco to UCONN
No, that title isn't click-bait. Notre Dame football fans should all be genuinely excited that yet another coach has been plucked from the ranks of Brian Kelly's staff. First, it was Chuck Martin to the "Cradle of Coaches" at Miami University and now, Bob Diaco is off to take the reigns of UCONN, securing a 5 year, $1.5 million/year contract according to Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports. UPDATE: Diaco's final contract is now a confirmed 5-year, $8 million contract. Diaco's contact also includes ...