Hope they can figure out a way to keep him around. I am somewhat optimistic since I think being a lower g-5 hc is miserable work.
The Athletic’s Playoff Predictor has us up to 6th best chance of making the Playoff (84% chance), 67% chance of hosting a home playoff game, and has us as the 7 seed vs 10 Clemson. Winner would play 2 seed Miami. I love all of that, but skeptical Miami gets the 2 seed.
If ND wins out, they’ll be the 5th seed. I only see 2-3 teams ahead of them running the table (Oregon, Clemson and possibly Georgia/ATM or Texas.
That's interesting how much higher it is than ESPN, which has us at 59% to make the playoffs. The Athletic must think we are much more likely to get in at 10-2 than ESPN does (20-25%, depending on which game we lose). https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/s...e-football-allstate-playoff-bracket-predictor Incidentally, ESPN's calculator only lets you play with scenarios for the 3 toughest remaining games for each team. Virginia is a 96% win probability, and FSU didn't make the cut.
This is probably our best statistical team we have had since I started following ND in 2006 Even the 2012 title game team had flaws. Maybe 2018 was better? But every advanced metric and computer system fucking loves this team
It’s because it’s the first team with truly elite coordinators on both sides of the ball that we’ve had. We were generally a one sided team in the past. And even with the injury issues, the coaching has been able to fix most everything thrown at them. I’m not sure our ceiling will be high enough with the injuries to truly compete for a title, but we’re probably a top 7ish team in the country now that our offense is figuring things out.
Tot Spoiler "The most important thing is we can't lose the pain. That's what I want to make sure our guys understand. You can't lose the pain. I don't want to lose the pain from that game because at times we are motivated by fear. At times we are motivated by (the fact that) we don't want to (let the loss) repeat itself. "And so there are times that I've got to remind them of that pain so we can make sure that we don't forget it. We've got to use that. We're going to be grateful if we utilize it and we learn from the lessons that it has taught us. When you have success, sometimes you forget about the pain of what NIU left in all of our hearts and our guts. I want them to reflect on that and I don't want to lose it. That's when I use it for motivation." While Riley Leonard's game has been surging since the tragic loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7, his performance in the first 30 minutes of Saturday's 51-14 victory over Navy was some of his best football to date because of his ability to push the ball down the field more than he has while rising to the top 25 (No. 23) in completion percentage heading into Notre Dame's one-sided victory in MetLife Stadium. After a typical underneath throwing game in the first quarter – he completed 7-of-8 for 73 yards, including a six-yard touchdown pass to Kris Mitchell -- Leonard worked his way down the field under the auspices of OC-Mike Denbrock, which showed Leonard's growth in confidence to complete some more challenging pass attempts. "That's one of the best throws I think I've ever seen Riley Leonard make," said ESPN/ABC analyst Greg McElroy after a 26-yard deep out to Jordan Faison helped set up a 32-yard Zac Yoakam field goal with 26 seconds left in the first half to give the Irish what would prove to be an insurmountable 31-7 halftime lead. "I mean, that was a dime from a long way away. The anticipation, the accuracy…off the charts good." It's another example of the progress Leonard has made since deciding he was no longer going to lug around the weight of the history of Notre Dame quarterbacks, even though he admitted after his 13-of-21, 178-yard, two-touchdown performance that he had spent some time speaking with former Notre Dame quarterbacks such as Sam Hartman, Ian Book, Ron Powlus and Brady Quinn. Part of Leonard's confidence to push the football down the field stemmed from the emergence of sophomore WR-Jordan Faison, who entered the game having played just four of the first seven games with four receptions for 29 yards. Jordan exited the field Saturday with four more catches on five targets for 52 yards with a long of 26 yards. He also had a 25-yarder negated by a questionable holding penalty against RT-Aamil Wagner. Faison's day started slowly when he failed to come up with a diving attempt on a slant. After that, his game kicked into gear. Following the negated gain, he caught a five-yarder on 1st-and-20 and then converted a 4th-and-7 with a beautiful 17-yard grab on a crossing route that was thrown on his back hip. It was a very difficult catch as Faison had to pirouette to make the reception while maintaining his speed. That led to a Jeremiyah Love two-yard touchdown run and a 28-7 lead. Then came that pretty 26-yard deep out that led to a 15-yard Riley Leonard run, a 12-yard pass to TE-Mitchell Evans to move the football into field-goal range where Leonard showed his first bout with inaccuracy on a long sideline toss to Kris Mitchell. As it relates to the chemistry between Leonard and Faison developing right before a bye week, the timing isn't perfect. You'd like that duo to jump back on the horse this Saturday. But a finally-healthy Faison could/should lead to a strong finish to the four regular-season games left in the regular season. Leonard had other moments – he completed his first seven throws – before closing out with a somewhat erratic 6-of-14. But again, Denbrock showed confidence to throw downfield to Jaden Greathouse for 42 yards on 3rd-and-6 in the opening drive. (Note: That was just the third pass of the season by the Irish beyond 40 yards – two by Leonard and one by Steve Angeli.) Meanwhile, Leonard looked like Bambi bouncing around the field in the run game. He added nine carries for 87 yards with a sack for minus-four. That was a bad sack to take on 3rd-and-7 from the Navy 13. He had RB-Devyn Ford as a safety-valve throw, which he should have seen/should have known the design of the play. Zac Yoakam then missed from 36 yards, which could have proved crucial in a 14-0 game if the Midshipmen hadn't proved so bumbling in their protection of the football. If Leonard hits Ford, it's probably a first down, the drive stays alive, and the mystery of the outcome could have reached its conclusion a bit earlier in the first quarter with a 21-0 lead. It was a ball that Leonard should have thrown away after not getting it to Ford, although he's so accustomed to using his feet to get out of jams, he naturally tried to escape before running into LT-Anthonie Knapp and taking his lone sack of the day by Navy defensive ends Luke Pirris and Justin Reed. But the fact that we're nitpicking a bit with Leonard is yet another sign of progress. He now has another interception-less streak started at 46. In addition to his short strike to Mitchell for a score, he also found Beaux Collins for a 37-yard touchdown and a 38-14 lead when Collins streaked past the Navy coverage for the easy score. Of course, no analysis of this game is complete without emphasizing just how inept Navy was offensively. Six turnovers – five fumbles lost and an interception. Incredibly, all five fumbles were unforced. The best explanation came from someone who should know – Midshipmen HC-Brian Newberry – who admitted his squad wasn't emotionally prepared for the magnitude of playing against the Irish. "I thought the stage might have been a little big for us, for our players today," Newberry said. "A lot of mistakes. We had guys afraid to make mistakes. When you play with fear in your heart, that is when mistakes happen. "I thought we had some guys try to do (too much) and play outside of themselves. We talked about not doing that in a game like this. You just have to be yourself. You have to be the best version of yourself and we just weren't that today." On the sixth snap of the football by Navy, FB-Alex Tecza dropped a pitch from QB-Blake Horvath that was a little hot but certainly catchable. Irish S-Adon Shuler picked it up, returned it inside the 10, and the Irish took a 14-0 lead moments later. Horvath and FB-Daba Fofana didn't find their mesh point and DE-Junior Tuihalamaka recovered the second of what would be seven fumbles/muffed punts. Navy was fortunate that Zac Yoakam missed a 36-yard field goal, otherwise it would have been 17-0 at the end of the first quarter. To be fair, the wind was really swirling in MetLife Stadium. Tim O'Malley and I recognized that on the field pre-game and you could see the referees pants really whipping in the wind throughout the game. But Isaiah Bryant made a really poor decision lunging for a sinking James Rendell punt and Jack Kiser recovered. Notre Dame turned that into a nine-play, 40-yard touchdown drive and a 28-7 lead with 5:05 left in the first half. A third-quarter kickoff bounced off Bryant out of bounds at the four. The Midshipmen were offside on a kickoff and then were called for delay of game before attempting another. QB-Blake Horvath – battling a thumb injury that was pretty much kept under wraps until the broadcast team of Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy brought it to light – dropped the football at his own one-yard line, which Jaylen Sneed pounced on in the end zone for a 44-14 Irish advantage. Eli Heidenreich dropped a punt that Rod Heard II recovered. That started a short touchdown drive capped by a Kedren Young touchdown run for the final points of the game. Leonard Moore's end-zone interception gave Navy its sixth turnover of the game – the most in 22 years since a 2002 loss to Boston College. "We had been phenomenal at protecting the ball," Newberry lamented. "It is something we emphasize. Going into a game like this, you have to be in the plus-margin in turnovers to have a chance. We are never going to win a game against a better opponent turning the ball over six times." With its plus-six versus Navy, Notre Dame shot up to No. 9 in the country in turnover margin. The Irish are now plus-10 with 18 turnovers forced and eight committed in eight games. Meanwhile, Navy went from plus-12 to plus-6, which still places the Midshipmen at No. 22. But they'll never forget this one. It was well-documented in Irish Illustrated's post-game Snap Judgments. This was a battle of strength vs. strength with both teams strong in red-zone offense and red-zone defense. The Irish won this one as well after Navy had scored touchdowns on 22 of their first 23 red-zone penetrations in its first six games. The Midshipmen scored just one touchdown on three trips while the Irish scored four touchdowns on six trips. The Irish sit at No. 8 on 22-of-28 trips for a 78.5 percent touchdown rate. Navy – No. 1 coming into the game – slipped just one spot to No. 2 behind Ohio State. On the defensive side of the ball, the Irish are No. 10 in red-zone touchdown percentage at 44.4 (8-of-18 touchdowns) while Navy fell to No. 18 (48 percent, 12-of-25 touchdowns allowed). Irish Illustrated predicted a big day for RB-Jeremiyah Love – which he had – but his day was done by his second carry of the second half that put him at 102 yards on 12 attempts with a pair of touchdowns, including his scintillating 64-yard burst with 12:28 to go in the second quarter that gave the Irish a 21-7 lead. His second touchdown – a two-yarder at the 5:05 mark of the second quarter – extended the Notre Dame advantage to three scores, which of course would expand from there. You've got to love everything about what Love has been doing in recent weeks. He now has 564 yards on just 89 carries (6.3-yard average) and nine rushing touchdowns. He's scored at least one rushing touchdown in all eight games. The Notre Dame record-setting streak is 10, held by Autry Denson. He's running with power, he's protecting the football, and he's getting skinny through holes on short-yardage. Running backs coach Deland McCullough didn't always trust Love in short yardage but he does now. He also blocks like a burly fullback and he pushed Riley Leonard into the end zone for his touchdown. The 64-yard touchdown run truly was a team effort, and when Love saw the crease to paradise, it was lights out for the Midshipmen. Every offensive lineman contributed to the run. LT-Anthonie Knapp sealed wide. LG-Billy Schrauth stood his man up and engulfed him. C-Pat Coogan ran out and engaged in a double team with RT-Aamil Wagner. RG-Rocco Spindler steered blitzing FS-Rayuan Lane III wide of Love to create the chasm. Love tucked underneath Coogan and it was a sea of green turf for Love. When Navy LB-Kyle Jacob lost his angle on the second level, Love knew it was there for the taking. WR-Beaux Collins simply had to run a little interference of CB-Dashaun Peele and it was off to the races. (Note: On Love's short touchdown run later in the second quarter, WR-Jayden Thomas and TE-Cooper Flanagan created an easy gap for him to prance through for the score.) It was, indeed, quite a mixed bag for the Notre Dame defense which received so much help from Navy's butter fingers that Al Golden's unit was protected from several big plays truly hurting the cause. QB-Blake Horvath had a 47-yard touchdown run and a 60-yarder. To Notre Dame's credit, Horvath's other 12 carries netted just 22 yards. The "Sling-T" is indeed quite a handful. You can't be prepared to stop everything, which is why a flea-flicker pass for 32-yards to Alex Tecza popped open. The Irish were fortunate when a deep ball to speedy WR-Nathan Kent was just beyond his leaping attempt. The Irish defended the Sling-T with, generally, a four-down look up front. Occasionally, Junior Tuihalamaka and Josh Burnham were in a standup position bracketing tackles Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills, who faced their share of double-teams. The Irish used three linebackers with four defensive backs in quarters or the cornerbacks pressing at the line of scrimmage when Navy had wideouts on each side. Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed would defend a slot or pinch up to the line of scrimmage when there wasn't a wideout on their side of the field. Cornerback Leonard Moore – who has proven physical in the run game – would serve on the second level when he wasn't head-up on a wideout. Safety Xavier Watts played some single-high. Ultimately, however, the Midshipmen are going to put defenders in compromising positions, and that's exactly what happened on Horvath's 47-yard touchdown run. Sneed was in the game at inside linebacker but was sealed off on the backside by RT-Javan Bouton as Horvath flowed to his right. Jack Kiser flowed with him. Ausberry was respecting the pitch man. Kiser was blocked by FB-Alex Tecza. Horvath found the crease between Ausberry and Kiser. This is an example of damned if you do, damned if you don't. Ausberry had to respect the pitch. He could have veered off from his job but Horvath would have pitched to Snipe Brandon Chatman for big yardage up the sideline. The only advantage for Notre Dame not defending the pitch man was the sideline. But Snipe Isaiah Bryant was 15 yards downfield blocking CB-Christian Gray. There was big yardage there, too, but Ausberry did his job and forced Horvath to keep it. Unfortunately, Sneed was sealed off and Kiser was blocked. Horvath cut it back and neither Leonard nor S-Adon Shuler could reverse their field against the downfield Navy blockers and Horvath pranced into the end zone. The only good news to come out of it was that the defense -- with continual help from Navy's mistakes – prevented a second Midshipmen touchdown for another 19:49. During that time, the Irish tallied another 17 points to keep Navy at arm's length. On Horvath's 60-yard run, my perspective on that was that DE-Josh Burnham took the bait before Leonard Moore came streaking across the field to prevent what would have been an 88-yard touchdown jaunt. In defense of Burnham, he didn't know how much pitch-man support he had behind him. Notre Dame had three, maybe four defenders off his left hip. He read it as he had to set the edge, which is understandable. When Horvath read Burnham's edge protection, he darted inside. LB-Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was completely fooled by the eye candy and washed outside from the second level with Burnham. At that point, there was no one in the middle of the field as Horvath ducked under his offensive linemen and emerged from the trees with a wide-open meadow in which to run. By his mere presence alone, it was good to see OG-Billy Schrauth back in action after missing most of the Purdue game and each of the next four games. When Marcus Freeman said Schrauth would play a role against Navy, the media speculated anything from a series or two at guard or perhaps special teams play. But Schrauth – who started the first three games of the season at right guard – bumped Sam Pendleton out of his starting spot at left guard as offensive line coach Joe Rudolph kept the more experienced Rocco Spindler in the starting lineup at right guard. At the very least, Schrauth offers a physical presence on the field. At most, he has next-level ability. I liked how he hopped in there when C-Pat Coogan was getting the business from NG-Landon Robinson after an unsuccessful running play. Schrauth popped in there with a "not on my watch" attitude toward Robinson. There were a few times when Schrauth showed a bit of a limp on that heavily tape right high ankle sprain. But he didn't appear to suffer a physical setback. He was probably very sore Sunday morning and will be early into this week. But getting that blood pumping to that area – as long as he didn't reinjure – will aid the healing process. He should be way up to speed by Florida State on Nov. 9. After a one-time-through look at the TV version of the game, I thought interior defensive linemen Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills did their jobs by playing stout in the middle. The stats don't necessarily reflect it – Cross had four assisted tackles and Mills one. Cross had a quarterback hurry. But they did, to use an old phrase, yeoman's work by playing predominately stout up the middle, which allowed some others to excel. It was a strong game for LB-Jack Kiser, DE-Junior Tuihalamaka and LB-Jaylen Sneed with S-Adon Shuler playing a physical brand of football. Kiser had nine stops, including five solos. Tuihalamaka played an extremely physical game. The Irish talked about the need to "tackle back" as opposed to pushing ball carriers forward with the tackle. Push them forward and the Midshipmen will keep moving the chains. Tuihalamaka played a violent game with seven stops (three solo). Sneed didn't get much action early. Tim O'Malley and I thought he might have been the culprit on the 47-yard touchdown run by Blake Horvath. But he was on the back side of the play. He did indeed get sealed off, but Kiser was ball side and couldn't get off his block. Sneed had nine tackles, all of which were assisted. To Sneed's credit since leaving the field early after the Louisville game, he has played like a good soldier. His playing time has been compromised along the way, but he's played hard. He was the hardest-playing guy on the field in the fourth quarter with a bunch of backups. Credit to him for maximizing his opportunities. He came into the game leading the defense in third-down stops despite 15 other defensive players logging more snaps than him on the season. Against Georgia Tech, Eric Goins knocked just two of six kickoffs for touchbacks. That's dangerous with a guy like Eric Singleton Jr. returning kicks. Against Navy, Goins got help from the slippery fingers of the Navy return men while sending just three of eight kickoffs into the end zone. To be fair, the wind was a significant issue. But the Irish need Mitch Jeter back when kicking off to return men from Florida State and USC in particular…Sensational tackle on kick coverage by Luke Talich…From out vantage in the pressbox, Zac Yoakam's miss from 36 yards looked like it missed further than the replay showed. That was a wind-aided miss…It may have been Loghan Thomas offside on Notre Dame's kickoff following Jeremiyah Love's 64-yard touchdown run. If it was, it's no coincidence that Thomas made the tackle…Nice slicing tackle on kickoff coverage by Kennedy Urlacher…Should Navy have gone for two after scoring to open the third quarter? Never been a proponent of chasing points too early but after the Eli Heidenreich touchdown, don't you want to cut it to 31-15 to make it a two-score game?... Christian Gray probably doesn't need the grab at the neck of Nathan Kent on his interference penalty because Gray was beyond Kent and Gray should have seen the ball was overthrown. And yet, better to be safe than sorry that you gave up a 66-yard touchdown pass. Horvath made the point moot when he ran 47 yards for a score two plays later…On Adon Shuler's fumble recovery, he was tripped up by Navy's Gage Leonard. Shuler was looking to cut it back inside, hoping to pick up a block from Jack Kiser, but just couldn't get it timed up…It was Rylie Mills against whom RT-Javan Bouton and C-Brent Self tried to execute a chop block in the first quarter. Mills was able to yank his right leg away from the attempt…This was the series Tim O'Malley emphasized right before halftime: It was a 28-7 Irish lead when Navy marched into the red zone with a chance to make it a two-score game before halftime. On 1st-and-10 from the 18, a bad pitch led to a four-yard loss. Jaylen Sneed then dumped Eli Heidenreich for a one-yard loss after correctly reading Heidenreich's pre-snap motion. On 3rd-and-15, Xavier Watts broke up a pass (and cussed himself for not intercepting it). Nathan Kirkwood's 40-yard attempt – impacted by the wind the way Yoakam's miss was – sailed wide left. The Irish then marched down for a field goal and a 31-7 halftime lead. Ball game over… Navy converted just one red-zone entry into a touchdown, but it was a great call. On 4th-and-goal from the one, the Irish defense was thinking Horvath keeper. Instead, he handed it to a motioning Eli Heidenreich and the Irish couldn't react quick enough to keep him out of the end zone…"Blake Horvath has emerged as a Heisman contender," said Sean McDonough at the top of the broadcast. "If you haven't seen this Navy offense, you're in for a treat," said Greg McElroy. Three-and-a-half hours later, Navy was just a nice little story with another talented quarterback…As the broadcast begins, Notre Dame is given a 54 percent chance of making the playoffs, a 58 percent chance with a win and an 11 percent chance with a loss. Navy had an eight percent chance of making it going into the game, a 24 percent chance with a victory, and six percent chance with a loss. Unlike play-by-play guy Bob Wischusen the previous week -- who must have brought it up a dozen times -- nothing more needed to be said. That's how you do it with such a nebulous stat in October… Navy came into this game with 37 touchdowns. It now has 39. They had 27 all last season, including none against the Irish…Navy NG-Landon Robinson ripped Jeremiyah Love's shoe off on the third snap of the game and threw it 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. That's an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for delaying the game. Love would had to have come out of the game if he had to retrieve his shoe… It was a feisty Marcus Freeman with the officials. He started early on the goal-line false start call against the Irish on the second touchdown dive. He vehemently argued the roughing the passer call against Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa in the third quarter. From the pressbox in the third quarter through binoculars, I could see Freeman still arguing that call based upon his mannerisms with the official…Riley Leonard's 19-yard run late in the first quarter was sprung by not one but two blocks by TE-Cooper Flanagan…It's going to be interesting next year when Cooper Flanagan and James Flanigan are aligned on the same side of the formation blocking like Flanagan and Eli Raridon did against Navy…Loghan Thomas with the big hit on kick coverage…That's a whole bunch of hair on one side of the line of scrimmage when KVA and Tuihalamaka are aligned next to each other…All you can do is throw your hands up when a fumbled snap is picked up by Horvath and thrown to Chatman for 21 yards…I'm a stickler when it comes to the pronunciation of Horvath in the city of South Bend. As a mostly Hungarian descendent, I know how Horvath is pronounced in South Bend. I know a bunch of Horvaths and it's pronounced Hor-voth. Apparently in Hilliard, Ohio, which is where Blake Horvath is from, it's Hor-vath. That's fingernails on a chalkboard for a Hungarian from South Bend… Oh no! Saw Gabe Rubio limping on his left ankle inside the five early in the third quarter. But he stayed in the game, made a running tackle late in the third quarter, left the game for Armel Mukam, and then returned in the fourth quarter when Mukam went down with an injury. These snaps were very valuable to Rubio, who will be one of two guys in the middle next year defending most of the snaps against Navy's Sling-T…Unreal drop by Blake Horvath in the end zone. Another example of how much that right thumb must have been bothering him…Agree with the Overtime crew of Tim O'Malley and John Brice. Mitchell Evans did look quicker in this game after the catch than he has at any point this year…When the Irish Illustrated crew talks about Leonard Moore's length despite standing just 6-foot-1, his interception provides another example, just as it looked against Georgia Tech when he was coming off the edge on the flubbed Yellow Jackets field goal. He flashed that length again on his back-of-the-end-zone interception while getting that toe tap inbounds. It was his first career interception. It sure looks like there will be many more…The tunnel screens to Jeremiyah Love are a good idea. They have to make that work with him in space. Another failed one in this game with not enough men to block Navy's pursuit… Do you know why Navy was called for delay of game before its kickoff? We saw it unfold from the pressbox. The delay was a result of the game that Max Hurleman and Jayden Harrison were playing. Navy was trying to kick it to Hurleman and avoid Harrison. So Hurleman and Harrison were trying to deceive them. First, they switched sides. Then they switched back. Then Hurleman and Harrison stacked. It all caused the delay of game as the Navy kicker tried to decipher their moves…The roughing the passer call on Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was poor but a bit understandable, particularly depending upon the angle of the referee's vision of the play. The optics caused the call, but KVA had no other way to hit the quarterback and his body naturally followed through on top of Horvath. All things being equal, it should have been a no call. But our view was different than the official's view…Neat to see walk-on DE-Kobi Onyiuke get some third quarter action. He's always been one of the more physically impressive looking walk-on defensive linemen Notre Dame has had…Pretty hard to believe that on the last play of the third quarter, Junior Tuihalamaka was not called for hitting Horvath out of bounds. As Greg McElroy said, it's tough for the official to keep the flag in his pocket when the hit takes place on the aggrieved sideline…Eli Raridon, now in his third year, just can't seem to find his groove. After dropping a pass that would have gained a first down early in the third quarter, I believe it was he who was called for an illegal formation. He just hasn't developed the way many anticipated he would in '24, including Irish Illustrated… As shotgun snaps go, Joe Otting's to Steve Angeli was about as bad as it gets. You didn't see it on TV, but it was a ground ball that threatened to sneak through the infield…Angeli's internal clock as it relates to sacks is about as bad as it gets...Please use some common sense if you criticized the broadcast breaking away from coverage before showing Notre Dame singing the alma mater. It was 3:30 ET. Missouri at Alabama was up next. If you were a Notre Dame fan and Notre Dame was playing at 3:30, imagine your reaction if they showed Alabama singing a song in front of its home crowd. It's TV, folks. They have a schedule and sponsors to accommodate…Backup offensive line: LT-Tosh Baker, LG-Sam Pendleton, C-Joe Otting, RG-Sullivan Absher, RT-Ty Chan. Chris Terek then came in at right guard with Absher shifting to right tackle. Why no Guerby Lambert? Because he's played in three games and they need to save him for something potentially more important if something were to happen to Anthonie Knapp…Kedren Young's first career touchdown. It's easy to like this kid's future.
This is why we have to start growing these guys ourselves. Even 2/3 of that production from day one has this team sitting at 2 or 3 right now. Even first time starters would come into the season with more familiarity with the receivers and playbook. Granted, the playbook was new for everybody this year, which also hurt production across the board. Coordinators move on when they are good, but it will he nice to probably have back to back seasons with the same playbook. No matter which QB wins the job, we can't expect them to be current Riley Leonard in game 1, but they should be more comfortable than A&M and NIU Leonard was. And yes, the OL, etc.
in this situation, his injury and missing all of spring ball was a MASSIVE issue that prevented him learning the offense like he should...and yes the OL play those first few games, lack of trust/connection with his WRs taking all of this into account, it's amazing they won at A&M...that was Leonard using his legs, the OL winning in the 4th quarter, and a handful of clutch throws to Beaux and Greathouse (that 3rd and 5 was huge) that won them that game...oh yea, and the best defense in the country didn't hurt either :)
Leonard has saved sooo many sacks this year because of his legs/strength to get out of sacks...this oline at the beginning of the year was almost 2021 bad and they barely had any sacks ND's offense could be top 10 level by playoff time, especially if Faison and Mitch Evans are both fully healthy and clicking in the offense
247's visitor list for the FSU game Spoiler Stop me if you've heard this before - the (second) off week came at a good time for Notre Dame, as the 7-1 Fighting Irish look to end the season on an 11-game winning streak. Originally viewed as a necessary reprieve between a physical Navy team and a ranked Florida State team that was the next evolution of the 2023 playoff snub Seminoles, the optics have changed somewhat with a 6-1 Navy team and a certifiable tire fire for a program down in Tallahassee. Even with the Seminoles looking like a team lacking in talent and motivation, though, the contest next Saturday night is shaping up to be one of the biggest recruiting weekends in recent history at Notre Dame. Please note that this list is subject to change, with (many) more visitors expected than I have been able to confirm, to date. Cancellations are also possible, even for players listed here who have been confirmed for months. HOMECOMING: NOTRE DAME COMMITS IN TOWN Several Notre Dame commits will be returning to town for the showdown with Florida State. That includes Florida resident, Justin Thurman. The running back commit ranks No. 477 nationally and No. 36 among running backs in the Composite rankings. In six games this fall, Thurman has rushed 69 times for 319 yards and eight touchdowns, adding five receptions for 39 yards. A pair of wide receiver commits will join him. Elijah Burress, who was in MetLife taking in the Irish win over Navy last weekend, will attend. The Composite No. 548 player, No. 87 receiver, and newly-minted Top 247 prospect has caught 26 passes for 684 yards and 11 touchdowns in eight games this fall. Antavious Richardson, a four-star athlete with some learning to do before he sees the field as a projected wideout, will round out the confirmed group of 2025 committed offensive skill players. The Composite No. 378 player overall and No. 20 athlete is 37-of-60 passing (61.7 percent) for 748 yards, six touchdowns, and three picks, with 71 rushes for 894 yards and five scores on offense. On defense, there are a pair of commits confirmed to be coming for the FSU game, starting with defensive lineman Dominik Hulak. The No. 473 player and No. 35 edge rusher, whose stats are missing his most recent game, has 26 tackles, three for a loss of yards, four sacks, one hurry, and one fumble recovery on defense this fall. The other name to know for next weekend is Brandon Logan, the in-state safety commit. Ranked No. 758 nationally and No. 64 among safeties in the composite, Logan has accrued 49 tackles, nine for a loss of yards, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a defensive touchdown through nine games this fall. LET’S MAKE THIS OFFICIAL: OFFICIAL VISITORS Two official visitors are confirmed to be in town this weekend, both committed elsewhere. Up first is defensive lineman Jalen Wiggins, who has been committed to the Florida Gators since January. The No. 126 player and No. 15 Composite D-lineman's stats have not been properly published in a centralized location, but he was just added to the Under Armour All-American roster two weeks ago and had a six-sack performance last Friday night. The other name to know here is Andrew Olesh, a tight end committed to Michigan. Olesh is also considering Oregon, Penn State, Alabama, and of course, the Wolverines. Ranked No. 76 nationally and No. 3 among tight ends, Olesh has true dynamic ability from his tight end spot. On the year, he has 15 carries for 153 yards and 41 receptions for 709 yards with four touchdowns. UNOFFICIAL ODDS AND ENDS: PROSPECTS CONFIRMED TO BE IN ATTENDANCE PREVIOUSLY Among the list of unofficial visitors, the biggest confirmed name is 2025 linebacker, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng. Ranked No. 107 nationally and No. 11 among linebackers, the IMG Academy (FL) standout has not been properly credited this fall on MaxPreps. The senior is reportedly considering Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, and USC. The rest of the list so far is in the 2026 class. Wideout Connor Salmin, the No. 145 player and No. 26 wide receiver in the 2026 composite rankings, will return to South Bend that weekend. His stats this season are unavailable. Thomas Davis Jr., the first of two linebackers in this group, will be in town. Listed as the No. 147 player and the No. 11 linebacker in the junior class, Davis has previously stated that Notre Dame is his leader in this process. Notre Dame will look to widen that gap next weekend, as they push for Davis to make his pledge. Last up in this group is Tank King, a linebacker from Port Arthur, Texas. King, ranked No. 160 overall and No. 13 among linebackers, was in College Station when the Irish downed the Aggies, and he'll be looking for his second helping of an Irish win next weekend. WILDCARDS: THE BOYS OF BISHOP GORMAN (NV), AND A HOOPS FIVE-STAR Back on August 30, Jett Washington, a Consensus Top 100 player, the No. 63 overall prospect and No. 5 athlete in the 2026 class, told me he was eyeing the FSU game on November 9 for a visit, but nothing was confirmed. Now, 60 days later, Irish Illustrated has been hearing rumors swirling about that visit again, and again, without direct confirmation. We are working to officially confirm this visit has been booked as soon as possible. The big factor here is who Washington is rumored to be coming with, namely his teammate, LSU commit, and longtime Notre Dame target Derek Meadows. Irish Illustrated has been reporting for weeks that the staff was working overtime to get Meadows back on campus, and have picked up multiple notes that a visit could be more and more likely over the past few weeks. It is worth noting that none of these sources have expressed bullish confidence about the Irish odds to flip Meadows, even if he visits, despite an overall optimistic tone to the majority of conversations. It is also worth noting that Michigan, who was previously a surprise in Meadows' Top 5 after stepping up to the plate big-time with NIL offers, is also reportedly re-engaging with Meadows. Andrew Marsh, a Michigan wide receiver commit who was recently interviewed for a feature about his rrecruiting efforts, named Meadows to his Top 3 list of guys he's looking to bring in. The Wolverines are also deep into efforts to flip No. 1 overall prospect and Michigan native Bryce Underwood from LSU. (Photo: FightingIrishMedia.com) It remains to be seen if Meadows is even truly open to leaving LSU's class. The Tigers have had back-to-back years of extremely explosive offensive play in the Brian Kelly era, with a Heisman winner and three offensive first-round NFL draft picks last season, two of whom were pass catchers. The visit also has not yet been confirmed by Irish Illustrated or national sources, which is almost certainly an indication of major defensive efforts by the Tigers as they look to ward off potential suitors from poaching yet another blue-chip pass catcher from their 2025 class. The Tigers lost the commitment of No. 1 wide receiver Dakorien Moore earlier in the cycle, with the five-star eventually committing to Oregon. They do not appear keen to repeat the experience with Meadows, despite some (to my knowledge, unsubstantiated) rumors regarding his status in the Tiger class due to his limited production this fall. Through nine games, Meadows has 16 receptions for 309 yards and four touchdowns. That brings us to the final visitor, Nate Ament, a five-star hoops recruit. Ament's presence makes the much-anticipated FSU weekend a multi-sport affair, as he represents the lone remaining prospect on the board for Notre Dame MBB in 2025, and the potential of the first Top 5 signee in Notre Dame basketball history. Notre Dame is swimming in highly competitive and aggressive waters in this process, but Ament has been receptive to the message of development through head coach Micah Shrewsberry's plan. This visit needs to be perfect, including the blue and gold-clad home team sending the Seminoles back to Florida bruised and beaten into further irrelevance. it is absolutely hilarious that they are using Singer's recruiting info (the rumors!!!) that other board members brought over from ON3 to the 4HL to put into this article...they are so far behind in recruiting info since Loy left that their has been an uproar in the 4HL and the members are actively talking about signing up for On3 to get recruiting info the new guy (Eric Thomas) literally adds nothing to the recruiting team, it's quite sad
I saw a playoff projection that had LSU playing at ND first round and now I need that more than I need air to breathe
Bk back in south bend would be fucking hilarious. I know nd would lose since that would be a new and creative way to rip my heart out.
Funny thing is, first inclination because of the bias of looking at Tebow through the lens of his pro career and other external factors is to take your comparison as a knock. But looking back, while Tebow's passing numbers in college weren't huge, they were pretty damned efficient - especially when paired with his rushing. It's actually not a bad comparison.
I retract my statement then, and the religion aspect makes this a 10 out of 10 comparison I will now assume that Leonard is a virgin and that he circumcised at least a few Africans
I’m actually pretty shocked Deland settled on both those RBs so early in the process given his success at ND thus far. Granted, he can change it all by flipping one of the Clemson or Texas commits were apparently targeting now, but this seemed like a somewhat lazy gameplan to start from him this year. A meh grade on an otherwise stellar tenure at ND.
https://247sports.com/player/james-simon-46134704/ There’s way more chatter around Gideon, but this kid has been mentioned as well
Of the guys Deland offered early none were really interested in us so I get him taking Anderson and Thurman, Anderson I liked more than others but it appears he has not recovered from his injuries so they dropped him. Thurman is a solid back but not a needle mover. I think it is a weak RB class but watching Gideon's tape, yeah, that is someone they should go after. I don't remember him being in the mix initially.
I swore I’d never go back to that city after the last time. Let’s see if I have any convictions. My travel buddies hate it as much as I do, so no.
Gonna be hot as hell. Miami’s return in 2026 better be late November like this year was supposed to be
Men’s basketball beat a solid IPFW 91-50 tonight in an exhibition IPFW is a solid program. We might be better than expected this year
some rumors that Tenn or Northwestern might be the 12th game that's missing right now per an insider on D3's site