Your weekly dose of Notre Dame news, opinion, and other stuff.

Top News

Former Notre Dame tackle Paul Duncan passed away last Friday from a heart attack while on a run near his home. He was just 35 years old. Also, Jim Lynch–former team captain, Maxwell Award winner, National Champion and the No. 16 best player in our Hall of Fame Pyramid as the highest rated linebacker at Notre Dame–died on Thursday at the age of 76.

Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer has been placed on the Biletnikoff Award watch list for the best pass catcher in the country, so that’s cool.

Fresh off a national title, Kirby Smart and Georgia have been working on a contract extension this off-season. The ink has now dried on a new 10-year $112.5 million contract.

The talks between the Pac-12 and the Big 12 over a possible partnership have ended. It was fun while it lasted.

During SEC Media Days, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said and I quote, “We know in time Vanderbilt football will be the best team in the country.” Yet another red flag for our former friend Clark.

The Division I Council has recommended the 2 transfer windows to be eligible for the following season take place on December 5th to January 18th and May 1st through May 15th for this upcoming 2022-23 academic year. They’ve also recommended dropping the free one-time transfer and allowing multiple transfers as long as the athlete is academically eligible.

The trailer for Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist has dropped from Netflix:

Deion Sanders has pledged half of his salary to help improve the football facilities at Jackson State.

Leading Texas A&M wideout Ainias Smith was arrested for DWI, possession of weed, and possession of a hand gun. He’s been suspended from the Aggies football team.

Notre Dame’s new field turf–the second synthetic surface laid down since 2014–is now installed. They have gone back to a smaller, skinnier yardage markers last seen in 1997.

Midfield logo may also be a bit more brighter and mustard-y.

The first ESPN GameDay of the season will be on Thursday, September 1st for the “Backyard Brawl” between Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Former South Carolina quarterback Phil Petty–who led the turn around under Lou Holtz–has passed away at the age of 43.

Uniform of the Week

I once had a summer job with a kid who was playing football at Columbia. I thought now that is one of the more strange places to play college football in the United States. You’re in the Ivy League, absolutely stuffed into the concrete jungle of the upper west side of Manhattan, and you play your games nearly 6 miles away from campus on the tip of the island in a 17,000 seat multi-purpose stadium. It has to be one of the more unique athletic experiences in football.

Of course, the baby blue and dark blue always works. This current color scheme reminds me a little too much about North Carolina. My biggest focus is the helmets. I love the Columbia Lions logo, he’s partly menacing but really looks like he’s laughing at you. I’m not sure what’s going on with the front of the center helmet stripe, though. It begins in gray (why?) and splinters into triangles fading to baby blue. Check out the cityscape above the back neck bumper.

Recruiting

Notre Dame picked up wideout Jaden Greathouse (0.9479) last Friday afternoon. Commit post HERE. 

The second best linebacker Troy Bowles (0.9797) from Tampa committed to Georgia. The Dawgs also picked up defensive lineman Jamaal Jarrett (0.9270) on Tuesday.

Running back Justice Haynes (0.9773) committed to Alabama over Georgia where his father played.

Tight end Jelani Thurman (0.9405) gave a verbal to Ohio State.

Top corner Malik Muhammad (0.9800) committed to Texas.

Tackett Curtis (0.9583) is headed to USC from Louisiana.

Another Tampa linebacker Lewis Carter (0.9275) jumped on board with Oklahoma.

Edge rusher Ta’Mere Robinson (0.9392) committed to Penn State.

Stanford picked up edge rusher Hunter Clegg (0.9250) from the state of Utah.

YouTube Channel

Two things I always make sure I have easy access to at work, in the car, or at home are gum and Chapstick. I keep my mouth fresh. I try not to snack or eat bad food at work which leads to a lot of people looking at me like I’ve murdered their entire family when I decline a cupcake. Instead, I chew a lot of gum and drink a ton of fluids throughout the day to stay full or feel like I’m snacking on something with flavor. I have to be one of the world leaders in chewing Orbit Bubblemint–it offers a hint of bubblegum but keeps my mouth fresh with mint. Imagine that with the name and everything.

I switched dentist’s several years back but this prior doctor told me that I chew too much gum and that he could tell by the way my fillings were being colored. Something about the flecks of gum being ground into the silver finish of the metal. I don’t know, it seems kind of cool to me. Afterward, I cut back my consumption. After a few visits to a new dentist I asked him if he knew I chewed a lot of gum. He said nope, no issues and I’ve been full steam ahead ever since.

Tunes

We all know the Red Sox ruined “Sweet Caroline” with the ‘bum, bum, bum’ and the ‘so good, so good, so good’ to the point where the song is practically unlistenable. As it so happens my 5-year old learned this song in school this year and is forcing me to play it for her endlessly over the last week or so. And yes, she does the ‘bum, bum, bum’ part but not the even worse ‘so good’ part. The song has a somewhat creepy past as Neil Diamond saw a picture of Caroline Kennedy riding a horse during her father’s Presidency and then used this as inspiration 6 years later for this song.

What’s worse are these lyrics. My god these may be the worst lyrics of any hit song in history. It’s like Diamond had a stroke throughout and no one in the studio forced him to complete some revisions. It’s such a short song lyrically too! Right away, “Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing” are the first words uttered and who talks like that? It’s such a clunky song and it’s so weird that it’s among the most blasted songs at parties and in large crowds.

Trivia

The most passing yards by Tommy Rees in a single game against a Power 5 opponent came in 2013 against which team?

The Other Football

After 4 seasons with Dortmund and 8 seasons with Bayern Munich, we have seen striker Robert Lewandowski leave the Bundesliga to sign with Barcelona for a reported $45 million.

Bayern Munich have signed defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus for $68.5 million.

Christian Eriksen has officially signed with Manchester United on a free transfer while signing a 3-year deal.

Chelsea striker Sam Kerr is the first female athlete on the global cover of the upcoming FIFA 23 game.

The US Women’s team defeated Canada 1-0 in the CONCACAF W Championship on Monday.

England scored a late goal from Ella Toone to defeat Spain 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Women’s European Championship. Germany beat Austria 2-0 on Thursday to also make the semifinals. The rest of the quarterfinals wrap up on Friday and Saturday.

Streaming

I’m not someone who could be considered a foodie. Neither of my parents really loved cooking so growing up it wasn’t something that I took to heart. I’m a recovered picky eater, don’t really enjoy cooking, and I’m pretty sure I will never get into cooking to any great degree as I grow older. At heart, I feel like I’m the type of person who would order in or eat out for every meal if I could. I may have featured Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown series (now streaming on HBO Max) in a previous Rambler last year, I can’t remember. It feels familiar that I probably did. I’ve completely skipped all of the food shows that have flourished beginning in the mid-2000’s and didn’t even know about Bourdain when this series debuted back in 2013.

However, this is among the best work done on TV this century, I’m sure of it. The narration from Bourdain is truly special and the production is so calming and enjoyable. I think the travel and cultural aspect to the show is what really draws me in and romanticizes things so well that I imagine I maybe can be that dude out there trying exotic food from all corners of the earth. What a loss Bourdain was for us all.

A Look Back

The first game of Lou Holtz. For the folks who lived through this you often hear about how they just knew the program was turning around despite a mediocre 13-10 record through 2 seasons. The 1986 opener certainly had that feel. Michigan was coming off a No. 2 ranking from 1985 and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Nebraska. They were ranked No. 3 to start 1986 while Notre Dame was unranked with that last memory for the Irish being one of the ugliest losses in school history down in Miami. Notre Dame being competitive in this game was a big deal.

Many moons ago I ranked this as the no. 46 worst loss in Notre Dame history (through the 2013 season) and the 5th worst loss ever to Michigan. This game was a terrible gut punch for the Irish. Notre Dame lost a fumble at the Michigan 7-yard line. They threw an interception in the end zone. The misplayed a freaking kickoff and lost possession. It would all finish with a 45-yard field goal miss from John Carney while trailing by 1-point and just 13 seconds remaining.

18S Paddock Club

Formula 1 returns to Le Castellet this weekend, and despite 2 French drivers on the grid and a deep history with the sport, this could be the last visit to the country for a while. The Paul Ricard track’s contract is up after 2022 and F1 leadership has signaled their desire to add races elsewhere at the expense of France where this circuit is deemed too remote and not enough of a money-maker for the sport. Yes, we now live in a world where the French Riviera is no longer a desired destination for glamourous F1.

The FIA was supposed to be enforcing new bouncing regulations for this grand prix but pushed that back a couple more races instead. Last year, we saw a fun strategic battle unfold between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton with the Red Bull driver catching up to and passing the Mercedes driver late in the race for the first of 3 wins in a row. That was a turning point in 2021 when Verstappen truly announced himself as a championship contender.

French Grand Prix
Circuit Paul Ricard
FP1 7/22 8:00 AM ET
FP2 7/22 11:00 AM ET
FP3 7/23 7:00 AM ET
Qualifying 7/23 10:00 AM ET
Race 7/24 9:00 AM ET

This weekend, Verstappen comes to France with a healthy 38-point lead in the championship although a failure to take the checkered flag on home turf in Austria last time out has eased concerns that the Dutchman would walk away with the title. Track limits became a huge talking point in Austria on that fast track and expect more of the same here in France with obscenely large run-off areas that don’t punish drivers from going wide through turns.

3 Questions for France:

1) Can Ferrari’s reliability turn around?

Despite the points deficit you could argue this is Charles Leclerc’s championship to lose. He just needs his Ferrari to be able to not let him down. Their car is easier to drive out of the box, has a wider set up window, and has closed the straight line speed against Red Bull. But, Ferrari aren’t introducing any reliability upgrades for another few races and have no intention of turning their engines down to avoid DNF’s or a loss of points. It’s full steam ahead.

2) Will Verstappen remain patient?

Verstappen’s consistency at getting podiums is absurd. Last year, he drove possessed as if every race needed to be 1st or it was certain doom. This year, he’s been much more calm as seen in Austria. Leclerc can win the next 5 races, each with the fastest lap, and if Verstappen grabs 2nd every time his deficit to the Ferrari would only be 2 points with 7 races remaining. He can afford to play the long game and see if he can beat Leclerc on pace, wait for Red Bull to out-develop in the coming weeks, or expect more Ferrari engine woes.

3) Can McLaren allow things to get too dark?

Alpine is now tied with McLaren for 4th in the constructors and if not for some terrible reliability and strategy for the French team this fight may not even be close right now. McLaren has been clear that they aren’t focused much on developing this 2022 car while Alpine continues to fight to improve their car. McLaren also remains committed to a strong advertising game (particularly roping in as much of the American audience as possible) but continues to deal with the saga of Daniel Ricciardo who has only finished in the points 3 times this year and only 5 times out of his last 18 races.

Trivia Answer:

Rutgers, 2013, 319 yards