It turns out, Brennan Armstrong was not healthy enough to play quarterback for Virginia and right from the outset the Cavaliers faced an immense uphill battle to stay competitive with their talisman signal-caller injured. The Irish strung together a few nice touchdown drives from an otherwise unmemorable offensive performance and kept the pressure on Virginia's [...]
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 [...]
Bronco Mendenhall left BYU and took over coaching at Virginia in 2016. His first year, he went 2-10. In 2017, he went 6-7. In 2017 he went 9-4. In 2018, 8-5. In 2019, 9-5; the extra game was a 62-17 loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game. In 2020, the team started 1-4 but [...]
In a development that we can quite fairly say surprised not just us but the entire college football recruiting world, blue-chip offensive lineman Aamil Wagner announced his commitment to Notre Dame today. Usually the recruiting sites have content pre-written because the recruit has tipped them off, and when the announcement comes they just push all [...]
Alabama looks shaky, Michigan State and Wake Forest can't keep their perfect seasons, Nebraska loses close again, and Cincinnati survives by the skin of their teeth in a wild Week 10 for college football. Down the home stretch we come! Let's take a look at the latest Top 20 poll from 18 Stripes. 18 Stripes [...]
The year is 2026 and you've just been hired as the director of athletics at the University of Notre Dame after the 18-year reign of Jack Swarbrick came to an end. You're nervous. The athletics scene on campus is setting a high bar with a National Championship under head coach Tommy Rees and the No. [...]
Navy is done. Phew. There seems to be an oddly high level of discomfort in the fan base with what was an imperfect but highly effective performance against an annoying opponent. The defense held Navy without a touchdown for the first time since 1998 and held them under 200 total yards for the first time [...]
Welcome back to the 18Stripes G5 Top 10. This week's rankings may look wonky despite the relatively quiet week, but we'll dive into it after I give you the Top Ten. Also Considered: Utah State, SMU, UCF, Liberty, Marshall Week 10 Recap The CFP Rankings and These Rankings I wanted to briefly touch on the [...]
Notre Dame beat Navy again. For the 80th time in history the Fighting Irish ended up victorious over the Midshipmen. It's not a measuring stick game, just something to endure, suffer, and get over with as healthy as possible. For the most part, it was a pleasant enough afternoon although a non-contact knee injury to [...]
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 [...]
Notre Dame and North Carolina matched up extremely evenly in explosiveness and efficiency in a defense-optional battle. Still, the Irish created just enough advantages on the margins, like converting scoring chances and field position to pull away. Breaking down the ND defensive performance and if Marcus Freeman is still within the return policy window, how [...]
What a great weekend to watch Notre Dame topple North Carolina once again but as an appetizer witness Michigan coughing up a very winnable game to Michigan State. These are the moments on earth when you feel truly alive. We're getting closer to the end of the season and right now it's looking like about [...]
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 [...]
Welcome back to the 18Stripes G5 Top 10. We had a couple of great games shaking up the snow globe of the Group of 5 this weekend. Before we dive into that, let's take a look at the new Top Ten. Also Considered: Nevada, Liberty, Utah State, Air Force, Northern Illinois Week 9 Recap Movers [...]
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 [...]
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