John Madden passed away on December 28th at the age of 85 leaving behind of the most memorable and lasting impacts on football in American history. Although he stopped coaching in the NFL (1978) before I was born, retired from the television booth well over 10 years ago, and hadn't been in the spotlight much [...]
If Notre Dame couldn't get this one, against this team, with the momentum they had coming in, then it's easy to self-flagellate and think the Irish are just never going to win one of these things. Notre Dame lost the Fiesta Bowl to Oklahoma State 37-35, not scoring the entire second half until it was [...]
Like many of you I felt an unease as Michigan put together a decent season. Used to seeing Harbaugh's teams sulk and give up every time the slightest adversity presented itself in a road game, I figured Wisconsin would smash them, they didn't. Like clockwork, they dropped a winnable game at MSU, which I figured [...]
The game was almost beside the point Saturday as Notre Dame dominated Stanford 45-14 to move into the clubhouse at 11-1 in a season that against all odds will end as very much part of the College Football Playoff story. Coach Brian Kelly abandoned any pretense of being gentlemanly at the end of the game, [...]
What more could you ask than a 55-0 beating of an overmatched foe on Senior Day to clinch Notre Dame's 5th straight 10-win season? The Irish completely took over the game on Jack Kiser's pick-six to make it 10-0, and from there the only drama was how much action the senior reserves would get. Georgia [...]
Notre Dame did what you're supposed to do to a team missing its best player Saturday, pounding Virginia 28-3 on the road. Much of the game was perfunctory due to how hopeless the Cavaliers looked offensively, which was certainly because of the absence of Brennan Armstrong, out with a rib injury. However, it's worth crediting [...]
If you’re a long-time reader of this blog - especially if you go back to when we were on the old site – you probably know I’m a fan of the triple option. I know this is anathema to most Notre Dame fans, but it’s always been my little quirk. It’s a simple offense so [...]
Welcome back to the latest edition of America's favorite question and answer segment from 18 Stripes. Today, we'll tackle the sudden coaching vacancy at TCU, the Heisman race, how the initial playoff rankings will be handled, plus a look at a pair of forlorn head coaches at major programs. 1) The Heisman race is heating [...]
Another week, another effective performance against a flawed but offensively formidable opponent. This time though, the Irish offense was efficient enough that the advanced stats view the game much more positively. An advantage in yards per play, success rate, and points per scoring opportunity led to a solid bump from both SP+ and FPI, right [...]
It was a very quick first half and a bit of a slow start for both Notre Dame and North Carolina on Saturday evening in South Bend before the offenses finally started piling up the points later in the game. That, and both defenses struggled mightily to contain their opponents. The over/under was 62.5 and [...]
Late in Notre Dame's 44-34 win over North Carolina, the NBC broadcast team discussed that the Irish aren't winning pretty or in dominating fashion - they're just winning. It's something of an 18 Stripes motto that, well, winning is hard. Week after week, doing enough to fight off your opponents, especially on nights you don't [...]
Notre Dame played easily its most complete game of the season Saturday, and picked a fine time to do it, dispatching rival USC 31-16 to get this 'bridge season' back on track. There was plenty to like from the Irish's performance, and even more so because the one thing that went seriously wrong - an [...]
As it turns out, it was not time to talk to your kids about Iowa football. Purdue's very much non-fluky win over the erstwhile #2 team - they outgained Iowa by almost 200 yards, allowed just 86 yards in the second half, and never trailed on their way to a three-score final margin - was very good [...]
Welcome back to the 18Stripes G5 Top 10. We had some interesting movement due to some surprising results. Let's cut the intro down and get right to it. Also Considered: BYU, Liberty, UAB, App State, Western Michigan Week 7 Recap Movers and Shakers For a quick peek behind the scenes of how I go through [...]
The advanced stats box score shows a comfortable Notre Dame victory, while the scoreboard and viewing experience against Virginia Tech were extremely unsettling for most of the game. The Irish may have discovered a new offensive identity under Tyler Buchner with rushing efficiency strengths resembling 2020, only with a clear weakness on passing downs where [...]
Recent Comments