Before the season I predicted the Irish would be 8-4 with losses to Michigan State, Pittsburgh, USC, and one other game (North Carolina or Boston College) because of youth. The Michigan State game is explicable. The Spartans matched up well against the Irish: an average-to-good defense with a potent rushing offense. The Notre Dame team […]
Yes, you read the title correctly. The Notre Dame Football program is at a unique crossroads this week as it recovers from a marathon loss to Pittsburgh and is preparing to face Boston College. This week is more crucial to the outcome of the season for the Fighting Irish than their bye week was two […]
It’s week ten of the ESP and week three of the BCS Standings. A comparison of the ESP and AV Ranking follows. Elite Selection Playoff For the second week in a row the top five of the ESP are identical to the BCS Standings. Despite the loss, Texas only dropped three spots. This is in […]
It was really a game of two halves (and four overtimes) for Notre Dame Saturday. Through two quarters of play the Irish held a three-minute time of possession advantage, outgained Pittsburgh 240 to 71 yards, and secured a two-touchdown lead. From the third quarter on Pitt reversed the fortunes, outgaining Notre Dame 275 to 146 […]
After routing the Huskies to start the second half of their season, Notre Dame welcomes Pittsburgh to South Bend. The visiting Panthers enter the contest with a 5-2 record, 28 the AV Ranking, and impressive resume. Although potentially untested (70th ranked AV strength of schedule, Pittsburgh is respectable in most statistical categories. The most glaring […]
Charting the Irish offense from Saturday’s game against Washington leads to some interesting results. Namely, the Irish still frequently give away their run/pass intention prior to snapping the ball. While offensive coordinator Mike Haywood had arguably his best play calling game of the year, the Irish are extremely predictable based on personnel grouping and formation. […]
It’s week nine of the ESP and week two of the BCS Standings. A comparison of the ESP and AV Ranking follows. Elite Selection Playoff The past few weeks have seen some movement at the top but the really surprising thing is the number of teams in the top 25 of the ESP that aren’t […]
Notre Dame owned an edge in nearly every statistical category in their 33-7 win over the Washington Huskies. The Irish offense didn’t punt once, and the defense limited the Huskies to only a few first downs through every meaningful minute of play. The Irish had nearly a 15 minute edge in time of possession, was […]
Coming off a bye week Notre Dame travels to Seattle to face the win-less Washington Huskies. With the memory of a mistake-ridden loss to North Carolina fresh in the minds of the Irish players, a strong effort in the early going is a necessity. A convincing road win would go a long way to getting […]
This past week, the Notre Dame Football team found themselves at a very unique crossroads. For a long while, the Irish have yet to field a football team that could be so enjoyable to watch and yet, with a split second and a mental lapse, could be so frustrating to watch. When they are clicking […]
