Know Thyself Know Thy Enemy

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Wide Receiver

August 3, 2015 by Bayou Irish

Good morning, loyal readers. Today, I am happy to bring you the next installment of our internationally acclaimed series, Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy. Today, we turn our focus to the fleet of foot and the supple of hand: the wide receivers. Given the quality of Notre Dame's opponents in 2015, if the Irish are to live up to expectations this season, whether those are 12-0 expectations or 8-4 expectations, they'll need strong performances from the receiving corps. Fortunately, there's a lot of ...

Courtesy of ESPN

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Links!

July 22, 2015 by andrewwinn

Moons kicked off our "Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy" series with a look at the quarterback position. I definitely recommend you read that. Here's what others around the Notre Dame community are writing about our team and our "enemies" in the past week or so: FROM OUR SITE Rejected mottos for the 2015 Notre Dame football season OFFENSE One Foot Down: 15 storylines for the 2015 football season: Ronnie Stanley, #1 overall pick? Inside the Irish: Irish A-to-Z: Tarean Folston ND ...

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Quarterback

July 22, 2015 by Moons

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 ...

via @LTorbin

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Coach

August 27, 2014 by Bayou Irish

Fittingly, I hope, we end this year's installment of Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy with the position that defines an era: Coach. Years, if not decades, are defined by the men at the helm of the program. Rockne connotes herky-jerky newsreels and chamiponships. Leahy, Parseghian, Holtz, Devine, Willingham, and Weis each conjure images or feelings. Entering his fifth year at the head of Fighting Irish, the big fig himself, Brian Kelly's name is beginning to define the times. One ignores the ...

via Indystar.com

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Tight End

August 21, 2014 by Ryan Ritter

I haven't yet had a chance to partake in one of my favorite preview series that we do for Notre Dame football. While Bayou Irish has been absolutely killing it with that series, I asked if I could sneak in before the buzzer to get a post in. Thankfully, he agreed and I'm happy to throw out my picks for the top tight ends you will see this season on both the Irish and opposing sideline. THE IRISH: Ben Koyack, Senior, 6'5", 254 lbs These days, Notre Dame is most certainly "Tight End U". The ...

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Punter & Kicker

August 20, 2014 by Bayou Irish

La plus ca change... goes the old adage, and 2014 looks to be no different. With the whirl of changes going on with Notre Dame's coverage units, e.g. Greg Bryant likely pulling double-duty both covering and returning, punter-kicker is a position group where there is really only one pick in 2014. Whereas the Irish had multiple players competing in the kicking game in 2013 (Brindza, Tausch, Wulfeck), 2014 only has two roster spots: Brindza and sophomore John Chereson. THE IRISH: KICKER and ...

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Linebacker

August 5, 2014 by Bayou Irish

This is the only position group at which the Irish Player to Watch is a no-brainer. The Irish Player To Watch at linebacker is not just the best player at his position, he may be the best player on the team. But it's the team, and staff around him, that will ultimately decide Notre Dame's defensive fate. With Fall Camp underway yesterday at Culver Academies, first year Defensive Coordinator and inside linebacker's coach Brian VanGorder will have his hands full putting the right pieces in the ...

credit: subwaydomer.com

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Defensive Backs

July 29, 2014 by Bayou Irish

If the defensive line and wide receiver position groups raised questions, Notre Dame's secondary is a group full of answers. From Max Redfield at safety to fifth-year arriviste Cody Riggs, the Irish will enjoy a very solid, if inexperienced, two-deep. What new Defensive Coordinator Brian VanGorder does with the pieces will be an added wrinkle that has opposing offensive coordinators head-scratching at this point. If past is prologue or history repeats itself, Irish fans should expect a very ...

Via AP

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Wide Receiver

July 22, 2014 by Bayou Irish

This is one of those posts where past is prologue. Or something. It's also demonstrative of the frustrations that come from following recruiting. I say this because this episode of Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy features a player, USC's Nelson Agholor, who once set ND-fan's heart aflutter. And, looking back on it, it would be phenomenal to have him alongside DaVaris Daniels. Think of this column, then, as an exercise in "What Could Have Been." IRISH PLAYER TO WATCH: DaVaris Daniels, Senior, WR, ...

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - SEPTEMBER 14: Cam McDaniel #33 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs the ball against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium on September 14, 2013 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy: Running Back

July 14, 2014 by Bayou Irish

The running game is the magic elixir for all that ails a football program. With strong-legged ball carriers who are fleet-of-foot, sure-of-hand, who run north and south and downhill, an offense is guaranteed a cloud of dust and four yards. Running the ball strips the game to its pure essence and credits the strong, the smart, the well-rehearsed. While football, and the running game in particular, is by no means as simple as that, a solid running attack is a necessary element to any offense, ...