A Notre Dame Football Blog
The Trojans open as 6.5 point favorites over the Irish for the Nov. 26 matchup at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. SEASON OUTLOOK "The Trojans' entire schedule is a meat grinder," said FOX Sports' Bruce Feldman. "Eleven of their 12 opponents played in bowl games last season. The opener is against defending national champion Alabama in Texas. The closest of their three non-conference games to being seen as a breeze is against a Utah State team that has won 36 games the past four seasons ...
Nyles Morgan (Credit: Chicago Tribune)
Notre Dame coaches "undersold" sophomore linebacker Nyles Morgan last year in an effort to conceal a significant weakness in Brian VanGorder's defensive scheme. Blue & Gold Illustrated's Bryan Driskell criticized VanGorder, the Irish's defensive coordinator, for being too faithful to scheme and sticking with Joe Schmidt - although he graded out as one of the worst linebackers last year. "Why did you run a defense that required you to put such an inferior player on the field in order ...
The Easiest: Navy Yes, Navy! Before readers attempt to tar and feather me - or worse - I’m going with the Midshipman for a couple of reasons. But wait, what about the vaunted option attack and Ken Niumatalolo’s offense? Remember the years Notre Dame has struggled with it? Consider this: In the last five meetings with Navy, Notre Dame’s average margin of victory has been 22.6 points. This includes a decisive 41-24 victory last year against a Navy team that featured Heisman Trophy ...
Traditions are good things. Whether it’s field turf or pumped in stadium music, continuity from one year to the next is part of the rich fabric of Notre Dame, college football, and blogging about Notre Dame college football. As a new writer to HLS, I am humbly tasked with beginning this year’s “Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy” series. Over the coming weeks, the HLS staff will home in on one player from a variety of position groups and compare him to the stiffest competition the 2015 schedule can ...
We have finally come to the end of our Notre Dame opponent previews with a familiar foe and our biggest rival: USC Southern Cal. The sanctions are over as is the Lane Kiffin era. The Trojans are climbing their way back to full strength with former Washington head coach, Steve Sarkisian at the helm. Let's find out what's in store for the end of the 2014 Irish campaign. Previous Opponent Previews: Rice Michigan Purdue Syracuse Stanford North Carolina Florida ...