Your weekly dose of Notre Dame news, opinion, and other stuff.
Top News
With reports that the Big 12 is lining up to poach teams from the Pac-12, the conference on the west coast is looking to start negotiations on their new TV deal which will start in 2025.
The ACC and Pac-12 are reportedly discussing a partnership that will include a championship game in Las Vegas. It’ll totally work out!
Clemson is getting a new video board inside their football stadium that’ll be nearly 7,200 square feet.
The Peach Bowl–one of the semifinal playoff games–has already announced a sellout for this upcoming season.
I’m going to put a Twitter thread of mine right here about the conference movement and Notre Dame:
So, after a weekend of rumors of an imminent decision it seems like the pendulum has swung the other way for Notre Dame. They will be patient.
*NBC deal runs thru 2025
*CFB Playoff deal runs thru 2025— € Murt (@EMMurtaugh) July 6, 2022
Uniform of the Week
It’s wild to me that Central Connecticut is playing D-1 ball at the FCS level. Their campus is in between the route from Hartford to the campus of ESPN in Bristol–not exactly a hotbed for college football fever. I had a good buddy play hockey and captain the team several years back and from what I know it’s a relatively small school and extremely Connecticut with 96% of the students coming from in-state. I have to believe like 99.5% of the non-athletes are from Connecticut. This is where Steve Addazio went to school, for reference.
These are pretty so-so uniforms, do you agree? They brought a brand new Blue Devil logo to the school a few years back but don’t use it on their helmets. I feel like there’s a lot of potential here that’s being wasted. Can this team beat UConn? Mark your calendars, they play each other to open the 2022 season!
Recruiting
Notre Dame’s commitments since the last Rambler:
Quarterback Avery Johnson (0.9194) committed to Kansas State.
Louisiana receiver Omarion Miller (0.9532) gave a verbal to Nebraska.
Alabama picked up a commitment from the nation’s top community college player as receiver Malik Benson (0.9161) is headed to the Tide. Karmello English (0.9384) is a receiver who also added to Alabama’s haul this week.
Defensive lineman Keldric Faulk (0.9604) committed to Florida State.
Notre Dame target safety Micah Tease (0.9345) picked Arkansas this week.
Defensive lineman Dashawn Womack (0.9506) committed to LSU.
Wideout Jaquaize Pettaway (0.9790) committed to Oklahoma.
Corner Caleb Presley (0.9632) is headed to Oregon.
Michigan State nabbed Oklahoman edge rusher Bai Jobe (0.9686) on Thursday.
Watch out for Michigan keeping IOL prospect Amir Herring (0.9068) in-state.
Quarterback Marcus Stoke (0.8906) flipped from Penn State to Florida. The Gators also picked up running back Treyaun Webb (0.9322) this year, as well.
YouTube Channel
I’m usually fine when I’m actually sleeping but I do toss and turn quite a bit. My biggest problem is the inability to fall asleep. It’s been a massive problem for as long as I can remember. Only when I’m really sick or down to literally zero energy from physical exhaustion do I fall asleep in under 5 minutes. I’m not kidding when I say it probably takes me about 45 minutes on average to fall asleep soundly. In late 2019 and into 2020 I trained for a marathon which brought me some of the best sleep of my life as an adult. Apparently, the military has some ideas on how to fall asleep quickly:
Here are the tips:
1) No light or noise – Doesn’t work with kids.
2) 64 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature – Yup, our AC is set to 71 most nights and I’d prefer it way, way lower. I tend to sleep way better in the winter.
3) Basically, relax your whole body – Thanks for the tips, guys.
4) Calm your mind – This video was insanely stupid, I apologize.
Tunes
I recently watched the 2021 Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch and I’m sad to report that I didn’t think it was very good. At least for an Anderson movie. It had the usual charm as always but I found it way too scattered and not that interesting overall. It was almost like he hurried a story and put it together as quickly as possible. I especially didn’t enjoy the Timothee Chalamet storyline. However, we got a banger of a soundtrack:
I found myself vibing extremely hard to the music throughout and ended up adding a handful of the songs to my Apple playlist. It turns out, this composer Alexandre Desplat is pretty famous having done The Queen, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2, Zero Dark Thirty, as well as working with Anderson on a few of his other films, as well. He’s also doing the upcoming Pinocchio film.
Trivia
How many field goals did Jonathan Doerer miss last year?
The Other Football
Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Manchester United with 1 year remaining on his contract. He will not be attending the team’s pre-season tour in Thailand.
Chelsea is on the verge of signing Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling.
American midfielder Tyler Adams is headed to Leeds for about $20 million. Another American midfielder Luca de la Torre is headed to Celta Vigo from Dutch relegated side Heracles Almelo for $2 million.
Streaming
When Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was released I was ready. I was 15, heavily into the British Invasion music, watched Saturday Night Live regularly, and trusted that Mike Myers was going to come through with a big hit. I don’t think this movie still hits the same as an adult. But as a kid in the 1990’s it was an amazing theater experience. Those interludes with music that stopped with a dumb look on Austin Powers’ face were hilarious to me back then.
One thing I didn’t remember was how big the gap was between Wayne’s World 2 coming out in December 1993, to Myer’s last show on SNL in January 1995, to his next movie Austin Powers in May 1997. That was a long time to let this smash hit comedy marinate and come up with the right ingredients to make it work.
A Look Back
Today we look back at my first game inside Notre Dame Stadium and my first full experience of campus. I had started dabbling in the blog game in 2007 and by 2008 it had developed into something much more serious. At the time, I worked for a company with a branch in South Bend and after a few visits from some upper management I got my hands on a pair of tickets complete with a nice home to stay in just across the Michigan border for the 2008 matchup against Stanford.
I have a ton of memories of being on campus the day prior and on Saturday. The actual game, I can only remember this beautiful touchdown to Michael Floyd and that’s it. In looking at the box score it was a typical Weisian effort with pretty gaudy numbers through the air for Clausen, not a ton of scoring, and an absolutely embarrassing effort on the ground that was an early indicator of how difficult this Cardinal defense was about to be in the coming years. Fine, I’ll give you the stats: Armando Allen, Robert Hughes, and James Aldridge combined for 56 yards on 22 carries. Ouch.
18S Paddock Club
A wet qualifying at Silverstone saw Carlos Sainz pick up his 1st career pole just beating out a charging Max Verstappen who lifted at the tail end of a yellow flag from a late Charles Leclerc spin coming out of the 2nd sector. The race on Sunday was red flagged right at the start following a scary crash where Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu skidded upside down and flipped over the tire barriers into the catch fence. He would be okay.
The turn 1 crash also took out George Russell and Alex Albon.
Unbelievable that Zhou came away unscathed.Â
On the lap 3 re-start, Sainz got ahead of Verstappen while Leclerc and Sergio Perez both suffered front-wing damage in the first few corners after making contact. On lap 6, Perez took to the pits for a new wing. On lap 10, Sainz had a moment of understeer and allowed a quick Verstappen past for the lead. Only a couple of laps later, Verstappen slowed down with a car issue (later reported to be a piece of AlphaTauri’s car front wing endplate stuck under the floor) which would compromise the Dutchman’s day.
With both Ferrari’s at the top we witnessed a bit of strategy bungling as Leclerc was not allowed through past Sainz which allowed Lewis Hamilton to slowly but surely creep up behind from 3rd place. After both Ferrari’s put on new tires they wouldn’t call for Leclerc to pass until lap 31. Hamilton briefly held the lead going long on his medium tires but came out back in 3rd after bolting on a set of hard tires. On lap 39, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine came to a stop which brought out a full safety car.
Ferrari controversially refused to put Leclerc from the lead while Sainz, Hamilton, and Perez (who worked his way back near the top) all got free stops for fresh soft tires. What occurred was a tremendous 10-lap dog fight at the top of the grid. Leclerc went wide, allowing Sainz to take the lead. Perez fought past Hamilton. Perez went back and forth with Leclerc before making a pass. Hamilton briefly passed them both only to be passed by them again. Finally, Hamilton got past Leclerc to finish 3rd as Sainz had a heck of a weekend with his 1st career victory in F1.
Leclerc has to be livid right now. It’s another week of poor strategy and bad luck–he hasn’t won since round 3 and hasn’t made a podium over the last 5 races. On a weekend where Leclerc could’ve made up huge points for the championship, Verstappen hobbled to 7th place and only lost 6 points to Leclerc overall.
Elsewhere, nice drives by Fernando Alonso for 5th and Lando Norris for 6th (poor Danny Ricciardo continues a dreadful season in 13th), a happy birthday for Sebastian Vettel in 9th and double points for Haas, including Mick Schumacher (8th) picking up his first career points in F1.
Austrian Preview: We have our 2nd sprint race weekend of the year and the last until the penultimate weekend in Brazil coming in November. Red Bull once again comes in feeling good with Verstappen (-110) the betting favorite on a track in the mountains where the Honda/RBPT engine has always excelled in the thin air.
Over the last 6 races on this track (including the pair of 2020-21 Styrian GP’s) Verstappen has 4 victories and went wire-to-wire with 2 wins last year after leading every lap of both races.
Austrian Grand Prix
Red Bull Ring
FP1 7/8 7:30 AM ET
Qualifying 7/8 11:00 AM ET
FP2 7/9 6:30 AM ET
Sprint 7/9 10:30 AM ET
Race 7/10 9:00 AM ET
The drama is heating up all across the grid. This will be the last race before the FIA enforces some form of flexi-floor technical directive which could alter the season. There’s a call for an investigation into Zhou’s roll hoop failing. Ferrari is trying to close ranks after hanging out Leclerc to dry. Silly season for the drivers is coming at any moment. And we’re still waiting for the 2026 power unit regulations to be agreed upon as Porsche and Audi wait to enter the sport.
The second Sprint weekend of the season takes places this weekend at the #AustrianGP! 🇦🇹
Everything you need to know is right here 👉 https://t.co/tNy7Cn35qZ#F1 #Fit4F1 #Formula1 #Pirelli #Pirelli150 @F1 pic.twitter.com/Pwlvr1q6q8
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) July 4, 2022
3 Questions for Austria:
1) If not Verstappen, then who?
You could argue that Ferrari has fixed their setup woes since Montreal and will be very competitive on the straights against Red Bull. Time is running out. This can’t be a weekend where Leclerc is dropping 7 to 10 points against Verstappen given the sprint weekend and extra points available to everyone. Also, watch out for Sergio Perez who is still in territory to pip a world championship if Verstappen continues to have car woes.
2) Can Mercedes truly challenge for wins now?
Mercedes took another step forward in England last weekend, although it’s likely Verstappen would’ve driven away easily for a win without damage and Leclerc maybe more competitive without a missing end plate. Mercedes has been sitting in 3rd place just waiting to take advantage of mistakes to take a win one of these weeks.
3) Is Ricciardio in danger of losing his seat?
Last week was a new low for the Honey Badger. While teammate Lando Norris was fighting in the top of the midfield, Ricciardio was languishing at the bottom of the grid. He’s making somewhere in the range of $15 million per year as a top 5 earner in F1 but has rumors swirling that he’ll lose his seat next year even with 1 year remaining on his contract. McLaren seems to have quieted those rumors, for now.
Trivia Answer:
Five: Toledo, Purdue, Wisconsin, USC, Oklahoma State
I’m hoping that ND is slow-playing joining the big 10 and will just wait a short-period before making the jump so they can extract whatever they can from them. I’m hoping this is more of saying “we’re being patient” while they are actively strategizing on how best to enter to the big 10 more or less as quickly as possible. I agree with your thoughts in the twitter thread that it may be a problem and they may lose a lot of leverage if they wait too long.
When is the right time to make the decision? I have no idea – but anytime between like the end of the summer and perhaps before the end of the school year maybe? If they haven’t made the move by next summer I think I’d start to be concerned that, like you said, they are too entrenched with their current relationships. And even this timeline might have to be sped up if many other shoes drop, so to speak.
Now that’s it’s been a week, I think ND is waiting at minimum a year or two. Maybe longer. Maybe not even joining the Big 10 at all.
It seems like they are not going to walk away from the NBC deal. I imagine that complicates any negotiations with the Big Ten.
At minimum, ND looks like they are going to wait until the ACC collapses.
That sounds bad. I fear the ACC collapsing is going to be the last thing to happen.
Would they even need to walk away from the NBC deal? Couldn’t they just agree to join when they are next free to do so? (Is that 2026 season?) I mean most of the teams now are agreeing to join a few years in advance, no? And yet the big 10 could agree to #’s between 2023-2025 and then a new number with ND agreeing to join in 2026. I’m sure it’s more complicated but it doesn’t seem to me an insurmountable obstacle.
I guess what this would mean is that they really don’t care about the money at all, right?
Yeah this was my thinking; ND agreeing at some point to join the Big Ten in 2026. The Big Ten might even be fine with ND joining earlier and NBC keeping the ND home games through the end of the current deal; NBC would probably be very happy if ND was replacing some lackluster home games with games against B1G teams. I can’t lie that I’m biased, I *want* ND to join the big ten to avoid getting stuck on a sinking ship and being behind in money by like half a billion dollars by the end of the ACC’s current media deal, or having no leverage if the ACC collapses earlier and ND has no playoff inroads so *has* to join a conference. I just don’t believe Swarbrick and the administration would be *that* short-sighted with so much writing on the wall for college football. In spite of ND’s historic nature, money talks, and I don’t see ND settling for second tier.
Parts of it seem really bad.
The way-too-long ACC TV deal has to be playing a part. Otherwise, a few ACC teams may have jumped out already.
Is ND waiting to save some money and let other ACC teams blow it up first?
I think ND still believes they can make independence work. There’s talk of a blockbuster new deal with NBC but I can’t get over what they plan to do if the ACC loses 4-6 teams. The NBC money simply cannot make up for the loss in revenue if that happens AND the non-football sports would be on a sinking ship.
I have only seen him play a little, and against subpar opponents, but I predict that if the USMNT has any success in Qatar, Luca de la Torre will be a big reason why. Very impressed with that kid whenever he gets on the field. Also, hoping (obviously) Gio can get back to 100% before the WC, those two should be fun to watch for years to come.
I think I’m less worried about waiting than most people are. Waiting a year lets time tick off both NBC and ACC buyouts. If the ACC starts to collapse, we could either jump then all the way into the B1G, or the Big East will always be available as an Olympic sport fallback option if the time still isn’t right (annual basketball trip to MSG, just sayin’).
Especially if the SEC is guaranteeing playoff and schedule access, which is one of those rumors that seems reasonable since it’d be good for both the SEC and ND, then the only thing we’re giving up is money, and in the short term the amount of money is questionable once you net it against buying out of current contracts.
Jumping headfirst into a “pod” where we play Indiana, Illinois, and Northwestern every year seems like a much worse outcome right now than pausing realignment for the next nine months.
I agree, the only question remaining seems to be if we aren’t waiting are we cool with something like this?
Post-2025 NBC Deal: $35 million/year (130% increase)
Big East Deal: $10 million/year (100% increase)
Huge increases for both and ND would still be $5 million short of what the Big Ten makes right now and $30 million, conservatively, short of the new upcoming Big Ten TV deal.
I have a bad feeling ND is going to try this route for 5-10 years. But we’ll see!
I just don’t see the ACC surviving long term. I think the Big 12/Pac 12 can salvage enough markets and teams through a merger to be a little brother to the eventual Big 2 superconferences, but the ACC will be raided relentlessly due to geography.
So I’d love to see something creative like keeping the NBC deal and working out a deal with the B1G where we get USC protected, one other marquee game annually (tOSU/scUM/Penn State/Nebraska or MSU?) and agree to one cupcake game annually to help their ratings (Maryland/Rutgers/IU etc.). That’s three games
And then three SEC games per year with one guaranteed marquee game at least (Bama/Texas/Clemson/Georgia/LSU/FSU/OU) and two non-marquee games. Three more games there.
I imagine the future Big12/Pac12 would be happy to fill up 2 or 3 games for us, especially if Stanford doesn’t get picked up the B1G. Add Navy to get to 10, and leave the Shamrock open for another intriguing matchup for 11.
That probably wouldn’t work due to TV contracts, right? Where would non-football sports go?
With whatever rump is left of the old ACC + the Big East, I’m thinking.
I wonder if the ACC can command the kind of money that the SEC and Big 10 do. Pull in ND and another geographical fit… maybe WV, Cincy? The ACC goes to 16 teams, has Miami FSU Clemson and ND as premier football schools (Miami appears to be getting back on track with the Cristobal hire, FSU probably will at some point as well). ACC already has a great basketball conference.
The Big 12 and PAC take the best 16 (less Cincy, WV?) teams to form a conference there and call it the Big West or similar. So it becomes a power 4 instead of power 5.
Of course the big elephant in the room is the ACC grant of rights. It sounds like 8 or more teams have to be willing to ‘leave’ the conference for it to be breakable. Depending on how you look at it, Swofford either f’d or saved the ACC by doing such a long TV deal.
Right now the ACC has three very unhappy schools in it: FSU, Miami, and Clemson. There is no universe where ND would volunteer to help the three of them bring up the average of the rest of the conference to save it.
The grant of rights buyout right now is about 120 million (according to ESPN who won’t provide a source for that number), once the annual payout from the SEC/B1G tops 80 million a year that number becomes a pretty reasonable cost of doing business for a team looking to leave.
It was really disappointing to see what a half-assed paddock celebration Carlos got for his first career grand prix victory. That seems like a pretty dysfunctional team right now – can’t get their strategy straight, pissed off their #1 driver, although they seem to have the car figured out finally.
Also, the Dante Moore saga is finally over – Oregon. (sad trombone)
So crazy! There was a Reddit thread showing pic evidence of Carlos’ team support. There were like 7 crew hanging over the fence, but 1 was his cousin and 2 were photographers that were required to be there.
With that and Binotto finger-wagging Leclerc (Leclerc has legit complaints but has been doing a damn good job of keeping his mouth shut about it IMO), Ferrari’s become almost impossible to root for. I think I’m going to cut them from my fantasy team because they’re just… [valley girl voice] ugh, like, gross.
I don’t know who I’m going to replace them with, though. Mercedes still seems too expensive compared to their results.
Also, I’m so here for the Max-Lewis spiciness, I’ve missed it! Paraphrasing, Lewis said Leclerc raced him cleaner in Copse than Max did last year, and Max said it’s because Lewis, at 37yo, finally learned how to find an apex.
Just gold.
I laughed how Lewis took the dig without any prompt at all. Clearly still thinking about it.
Did you see one of the dudes on the fence was a McLaren mechanic too!?? That was funny.
I am surprised that a major event at Notre Dame was missed in Weekly Rambler. Perhaps there is a coming article that covers this in depth, though with interviews. The site could be improved with coverage of women’s sports and issues important to women in Weekly Rambler. After all the potential for an audience includes almost 50% of new grads. So, in weekly Notre Dame news in celebration of fifty years of women at Notre Dame from ND:
At 50 YearsA half-century after the start of coeducation, how Notre Dame has changed — and not changed — for women (ND Magazine)
NOTRE DAME TO HONOR THE PIONEERS OF WOMEN’S ATHLETICS (UND.com)
From 2006: Getting Started (UND.com)
I trust some are aware that the new President of the Monogram Club is
KATE MARKGRAF BEGINS TERM AS MONOGRAM CLUB PRESIDENT
Down-voting this is definitely A move.
Hmmm, I’m not here for the content I don’t get. I’m here for the content that is provided. Although, I do hear that premium membership has much more than basic. I guess you get what you pay for.
Content drives viewership, increases clicks and grows your business especially if it’s important to the immediate Notre Dame family and the community. There’s a good eight (web) page article on the announcement in the SB Trib. The link on NDNation leads to the prominent article on the University site. I’m sure there is more to come from the University and when the Observer returns. Personally, I am not that interested in the content that includes trivia, Streaming tunes, Formula Car Racing, soccer, Austrian politics, etc. As with decisions on independence vs joining a conference, this involved layers of stakeholders in ND Athletics, Administration, and the Monogram Club. This is not done lightly but reflects the University’s and the Athletic Department’s gratitude for the foundations these women made for the subsequent success of Irish women’s athletics. The timing and significance of the fifty year anniversary of Title IX is not a coincidence. As an aside, John Jenkins was a member of that class that welcomed in the first women to ND and Jack Swarbrick came a few years later as the women’s teams began getting varsity status.
I wouldn’t say no to anyone willing to come write for the site and cover women’s athletics and university issues.
MC,
From a macro, Notre Dame student sports POV, you are certainly right to focus on the tremendous role and contributions — and basic sports interest — of our women’s teams. So thanks for that.
I would just point out that this wonderful site is and always has been delightfully eclectic, much stemming from the persona, skills, and hard work of Monsieur Murtaugh, and his illustrious Staff. Attention paid to other than Notre Dame football does seem to be tightly linked to the interest — and ability to write — of volunteers. For instance I have learned a ton about men’s lacrosse, and used to enjoy impassioned treatment of men’s hoops, until the team fell on lean years.
I would be personally super pumped to read some insightful analysis on women’s sports here, say for starters women’s basketball, if only to take advantage of this site’s open, erudite, and above all respectful ethos. And the fencing team (men and women) surely deserves some kind of coverage, you’d have to say! But all of that is up to us collectively, n’est-ce pas?
Greetings to all from a very hot France. To be a bit eclectic myself, thanks for the Formula 1 stuff, Eric, my younger son is a big fan and you have helped me to understand that sport a little more! But apparently the French Grand Prix is completely sold out. Happily though so are all the Stones shows, I have been lucky, and so having loved their London, Amsterdam, and Brussels gigs, I am happy to look forward to Lyon and Paris.
Where in France are you again?
In Saint Cloud, just outside Paris. A great suburb, and I have a nice view of the Eiffel Tower from our second story window 🙂
Sure.The discussion has been good, though if the site had a sidebar for readers’ posts, I simply would have considered posting the University’s announcement on this site. EM puts a lot of work into 18S despite personal commitments. We can only hope that he stays independent rather than build a brand with loyal fans and joining a major blog. I suspect you have a future as 18S foreign blogger, n’est-ce pas? A female writer at the Observer covering sports might contribute her insights.
I downvoted this because I thought it was some sort of bot, I’m sorry. Should have paid more attention.
Wow, so we are not even going to bother to pretend that fans of the team deserve a right to first-hand tickets anymore? Who the f*ck is buying these other than scalpers? Seriously, that’s bullshit!
Is Alabama really expected to secure their 2nd (!!!) top 100 QB in the 2023 class?
There are 9 QBs in the top 100 and Alabama might get 2. WTH.
After a quick search – USC did it (took two Qbs) in 2021 (with 14 top 100 QBs), and Texas in 2020 with 7 top 100 Qbs.
Washington did it in 2018, #91 Yankoff (lolz) and #94 (someone with a less funny name than Yankoff).