Jack Swarbrick has consistently put Notre Dame's football independence above all else. Even when faced with a daunting prospect of playoff expansion, a move that could have forced Notre Dame, yet again, into conference membership, he found an out. Sacrifices have to be made to protect the ND family. A playoff by may have been left at the scene of the crime, but Jack executed any thought that the Irish would need to flock to a conference to preserve title hopes. In doing so, Shane and I see ...
College Football Playoffs
HLS Picks: 2020 Championship Edition
There have been just a few non-football things of more import happening this past week, but Eddie and I wanted to say farewell to the 2020 season the best way we know how, making one final trip to the altar of GAMBLOR.We give our thoughts on the winner, spread, and total, along with a brief preview of how we see this game playing out. Enjoy this brief episode and, when you hear my child crying and screaming in the background, don't worry. The tragedy was spilling his granola oats. He'll ...
HLS Recap: Talkin’ ‘Bout The Narrative™
To end the Notre Dame football season, we decided to go with a single segment, no-ad stream of consciousness pod. Sure, there are a couple of major national things to hit, but the meat of this episode is talking about Notre Dame falling to Alabama and The Narrative™ surrounding the program. Just like BK in the post-game presser, we got a bit spicy on this one. There will be one final pod to put a bow on the end of this crazy, COVID-wrecked season. But for now, come commiserate the end of ...
Bust the Narrative: Notre Dame Can Beat Alabama
I had planned to fire this off on New Year's Day, but what the hell, let's end 2020 with a dose of unbridled optimism to balance what I did on the picks pod. As I stated there, I'm not overly confident, but I do see paths forward. Come join me in this journey. Grab your blue and gold glasses. Forget what the sim did. Notre Dame can beat Bama. ...
HLS Sim: Notre Dame vs Alabama – CFP Semifinal
Typically, we've done this year's sim under a complete separate, COVID-free reality. We are still honoring that spirit, as if ND made the playoff, they'd play in the actual Rose Bowl. However, with some PC upgrades, and using a different version of the game, came new, updated rosters with tweaked ratings. So, we decided to just roll with whatever those rosters and depth charts were. Injuries, as always are completely out. Yes, that means Bama has Waddle. We weren't sure what this new and ...
HLS Picks: 2020 New Year’s Six & Others
Eddie and I return after a bit of a break to pick the bowl games that matter (and a couple that don't). That means a lot of random topics while we catch up, followed by thoughts on the New Year's Six, playoffs, and yes, Notre Dame facing off against Alabama. In fact, the ND pick manages to turn into an explosive $100 Extra Life sidebet to kick of the 2021 campaign that I haven't even started yet. One of us took Bama and the other took ND. Tune in and fine out the logic behind the ...
So, You Want to Expand the Playoff
Perhaps you're an Aggie that's big mad that Notre Dame and/or Ohio State made it into the playoffs over Texas A&M. Perhaps you're a fan of a Group of Five team like Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, San Diego State, or even a UCF fan still holding a grudge. Perhaps you are just tired of seeing this system, know the BCS is never coming back, and are just hoping for something different than semi final blowouts. Now that I've tossed in every possible search keyword that I can think off, I'll get ...
HLS Recap: Over? Nothing Is Over Until We Decide It Is!
The last time that Shane and I had to deal with a post-loss podcast was 2019. Sure, it's been over a year, but I feel we made up for lost time in this rant-heavy episode. Notre Dame drops the ball against Clemson. Army, everyone in the group of five, and everyone not a brand name in college football gets screwed by the committee. Fans deciding to chalk up a loss to Alabama weeks before the game is played. Yeah, it's all covered. This felt good. Come get your audio ...
HLS Podcast: Back to the Futures Plus National Title Pick
All good things must come to an end. Our weekly trips to the altar of Gamblor are no different. Come join Eddie and I as we look back at our pre-season futures picks. Come enjoy how wrong we were as well as discovering that I may just have a Madden Curse-like superpower. Plus, will Eddie and I join the fake bandwagon of Clemson disrespect that lives in Dabo Swiney's head? Come join us and find out! #HAILGAMBLOR ...
HLS Podcast: Cotton Bowl Recap & HLS Tailgate Interviews
Yes, the Cotton Bowl was awful. Shane and I dive into the mess with a very active chat. However the highlight, in my opinion at least, was absolutely the interviews that I conducted during the HLS tailgate. Jessica Smetana from Sports Illustrated, and former ND O-linemen, and current ESPN personality, Mike Golic Jr. take top billing. However, don't sleep on an ND fan attending his first game, the HLS OGs, NDEddieMac, and some of my fellow Otters. Enjoy! ...