The Irish checked all the boxes for a perfect game against Navy - scoring every possession early, forcing turnovers and passing downs, and limiting first down yardage. Second-half garbage time stats obscure in the final box score what was an incredibly dominant performance by Notre Dame against a Navy team that's still competing for the [...]
We got one moderate upset (is it really an upset if the winning, lower-ranked team was favored?) and were sooooo close to a big one, but you know what they say about being close - it only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Most of this week went very boringly to chalk and most of [...]
Well... That was fun. Remember that all advanced stats models include adjustments for garbage time, which is defined differently in each model but basically means being up by enough that both teams will change the way they're playing; by any definition, Notre Dame reached garbage time before the half against Navy. What the Irish did [...]
I don't know why anyone was worried about winning this game. Jokes aside, this is the type of performance that will make people think the Irish are going to blow Navy out for the next 5 years. Don't forget, Notre Dame kicks off against Navy in Ireland to open next season. Back to South Bend, [...]
Saddle up for the 93rd meeting between Notre Dame and the United States Naval Academy, a yearly tradition stretching back to the Knute Rockne days in 1927. Have you heard? Navy football is in the midst of a terrific turnaround season following a dismal 3-10 record a year ago. The Middies enter this weekend ranked [...]
Does LSU's resounding win over Alabama truly signal the end of a dynasty, as ESPN's Ivan Maisel wrote? That feels a little hyperbolic for a Tide team that's still averaging almost a 30 point margin per game this year, but it gives some sense of the impact LSU's win had on the college football landscape. [...]
LSU toppled Alabama in Tuscaloosa in a thrilling offensive fireworks display that potentially blocks the Crimson Tide from making the College Football Playoff. Well, maybe. Elsewhere, Minnesota held on at home against Penn State to remain undefeated and now legitimately becomes part of the playoff conversation themselves, although their schedule continues to stiffen as we [...]
Credit to the Irish for rebounding with a huge win over a mid-level opponent - the mistakes that plagued them against Virginia Tech were largely eliminated against Duke, and accordingly the Duke game went the way the Virginia Tech game should've. That was the first truly stress-free performance for Notre Dame in five weeks, and [...]
Notre Dame got off to a fast start on Saturday night, lost its way briefly in near halftime, then eventually clamped down on an inferior Duke team in front of their home crowd. With no Danny Dimes under center, the Blue Devil passing game struggled all night and continued to give the Irish great field [...]
With just a handful of games remaining in the 2019 season (my goodness does every single college football year fly by or what?) we have a clear picture on the use of the current Notre Dame freshmen and how that will affect the roster shape in the next couple campaigns. As we'll discuss below, something [...]
When Charlie Weis became Notre Dame head coach in late-2004, he hired David Cutcliffe as his first offensive coordinator. Cutcliffe had just been fired by Ole Miss after his only losing season in Oxford, a mistake the Rebels would come to regret. However, Cutcliffe suffered a heart attack just before fall camp in 2005 and [...]
This is the first week for the official College Football Playoff committee rankings. Hey, SMU and Appalachian State have been cruising - let's discuss the probability that a Group of 5 team will finally make it into the playoff! The final two G5 undefeateds fell this weekend, so that was fun while it lasted. Possible [...]
With 6 out of our top 11 experiencing idleness things were quiet in week 10. Not so much this weekend as a pair of games will feature undefeated teams sure to reset the national playoff picture. We're recapping the week that was before looking ahead to major events in Tuscaloosa and Minneapolis. This Week's Biggest [...]
Notre Dame dominated the Hokies in the most important categories that decide games, but the Irish shot themselves in the foot in all of the less predictable and more random facets of the game. Turnovers and special teams blunders that cost valuable field position nearly led to a horrendous loss reminiscent of South Florida loss [...]
It didn't need to be close but it was far too close for comfort on Saturday afternoon as Notre Dame escaped an upset attempt from Virginia Tech. With just a few minutes remaining, the Irish drove 18 plays for a game-winning touchdown in a matchup that featured several patented upset-special check marks along the way. [...]
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