Written by Craig James｜Contributor｜Twitter/X: @CraigJamesIT Photo by Sports Illustrated College football is driven by history, traditions and rivalries. Notre Dame is the epitome of history and tradition. Notre Dame versus the University of Sothern California is the best of all three. The matchup is the definition of college football. Two completely different demographics, two universities over 2,000 miles apart who hate each other like two neighbors who live too close. What started as a wife's vacation and a recruiting tool for Notre Dame has turned into one of the biggest college football rivalries. In 1926 Knute Rockne wanted to spread the Notre Dame brand across the country and give his program the opportunity to find players in California to recruit to Notre Dame. Legend has it Rockne's wife, Bonnie, thought it would be nice to have a vacation every year to California so she persuaded him to play there every other year. She thought it would be nice for the players to get a vacation from the South Bend winters and give Notre Dame the opportunity to use it to their advantage. Not only did this give her a vacation, this sprung Notre Dame into the national spotlight. The person responsible for persuading Bonnie was Southern California's athletic director Gwynn Wilson's wife Marion. On Thanksgiving day in 1925 Gwynn and Marion made the trip to snowy Lincoln, Nebraska to watch the Notre Dame, Nebraska game and to convince Knute Rockne to play a home and home series between the two programs. Knute did not go for their pitch, but his wife did. As many know, the wife always wins and she won big. Television wasn't even invented until 1927, this cross country trip gave people an opportunity to watch Notre Dame and helped grow the brand nationwide into what it is today. Photo by SB Nation In 1956 the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Los Angeles presented the team with a Gaelic War club that was decorated with jewels that were dated back to the original inception of the rivalry, in 1926. This would go on to be named the Jeweled Shillelagh and is still today the trophy the winner of this game gets every year. Whoever won the game that year would etch their name into the club and add a Jewel from that year. After the 1989 season, a new shillelagh was needed because there was no more room for more jewels or names. The newer Shillelagh arrived in 1997 and is much bigger and has every Jewel since the 1990 season on it. The original Shillelagh still to this day resides in South Bend. This long standing rivalry has given the world some of the most iconic games in the history of college football. In 2005, Southern Cal handed Notre Dame one of the most heart breaking losses in the long history of Notre Dame football. With under 15 seconds left Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart scrambled and tried to dive into the end zone for the win but he was hit short of the goal line and the ball was knocked out of bounds with seven seconds to go. The clock continued to count down, and after it hit zero, the Irish fans began to storm the field. But after huddling, the officials spotted the ball on the one-yard line and put seven seconds back on the clock. The next play, instead of spiking the ball and kicking a field goal to tie and send the game to overtime, the Trojan offense surprised the Irish by running the ball with Leinart. Running back Reggie Bush pushed Matt Leinart into the end zone. At the time this was against the rules but the referees awarded USC the winning touchdown and the rest is history. Photo by Sports Illustrated In the 93 meetings between the two universities Notre Dame leads the series 50-38-5. In the 97 years since the start of this rivalry they have only not played each other in 4 seasons. In 1943-1945 World War II halted the sports world so they did not have the opportunity to play and then again in 2020 when the PAC 12 decided to cancel all non conference games due to Covid. This rivalry may not be the oldest but it is one of the most intense rivalries in football. Both teams value this matchup and use it to put their players on an even bigger stage than their normal game week. Notre Dame having won the 7 of the last 10 games in this matchup is looking to play the spoiler this year just as the Trojans have done to the Irish in the past. Southern California is coming into South Bend 6-0 with legitimate National Championship hopes with Caleb Williams running their offense. Last year came with some controversy after quarterback Caleb Williams wrote an expletive directed at Notre Dame on his fingernails. This year the Irish will be looking for revenge from both that and an 11 point loss. The Irish are coming off one of the more disappointing losses looks to ruin the Trojans undefeated season and spoil their Playoff hopes. The hate will be there Saturday and will be a must watch come Saturday night on NBC.

Written by Craig James｜Contributor｜Twitter/X: @CraigJamesIT For well over a century, Notre Dame has been a premier program to be a coach and has continuously turned assistants into head coaches for other programs. If you have success at a place like Notre Dame, where the competition level is at the top, programs will be eager to make you their head coach. Notre Dame gives opportunity to their assistants unlike most universities. Nationally televised games every Saturday, critics waiting to pounce on you when you slip up, glory when you are successful, top recruits in the country, if a coach can make the most of those opportunities there is no doubt they will be give the chance to be a head coach at a higher level. A university like Notre Dame teaches you how to run a high level program, you are surrounded by the best coaches in the country to learn from every single day, and you learn to deal with adversity on the national level. Notre Dame is an opportunity that can change the whole landscape of your career if done correctly. There are countless coaches who are rising through the ranks who have used their success at Notre Dame to climb closer to their ultimate goal of being a head coach. A few have already started their head coaching careers and have Notre Dame to thank for a lot of their success. Mike Elko with Duke, Clark Lea with Vanderbilt and Matt LaFluer with the Packers to name a few have been some of the recent successes of Notre Dame assistants. Matt LaFleur Photo by David Eulitt / Getty Images Matt LaFleur - who is now the head coach of the Green Bay Packers was once a quarterback coach for Notre Dame under Brian Kelly. While he was only in South Bend for one year, he was able to propel himself back into the NFL. He took the Atlanta Falcons quarterback coaching job the following year before making two more stops in consecutive years as the offensive coordinator for the Rams and then the Titans, before ultimately becoming the Packers head coach in 2019. LaFleur entered the program the year after Everett Golson was declared academically ineligible, and Golson was his choice to start over sophomore Malik Zaire. Golson became only the fourth Irish quarterback to eclipse 3,445 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air. The Irish started off 5-0 and were torching teams through the air until they played Florida State and lost on a last second penalty that negated a touchdown for the Irish that would have given them the win. The Irish went on a 1-4 skid following the Florida State loss and finished the season at a depressing 8-5 record. The Irish would go on to the Music City Bowl and name Malik Zaire the starter in a shared role at quarterback in the game. The Irish would win 31-28. LaFleur has led the Packers to a 49-21 record over 4 full seasons and 4 games into the current season. Mike Elko Photo by Matt Cashore Mike Elko, who many Irish fans acknowledge when they think of turning the page for Notre Dame, is now the head coach for the Duke Blue Devils. Elko made his way to becoming the Notre Dame defensive coordinator after many stops, and his most recent being two years at Wake Forest as the defensive coordinator. He is known for changing the entire scheme and philosophy of the Irish defense. He wanted to dictate the game with defense, something the Irish had struggled to do during the Brian VanGorder years. He completely turned the Irish defense around in one season, and eventually left for the same job under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. In 2022 he was named the head coach for Duke and took over a program coming off a 9 loss season. He quickly turned the Blue Devils program around with a 9 win season in his first campaign. Now in 2023, his only loss has come at the hands of Notre Dame on a final drive. He has revitalized the Duke program like never before. Now he is being circled as one of the favorites to fill the Michigan State coaching vacancy after they have fired Mel Tucker. Clark Lea Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images Clark Lea started his coaching career at UCLA as a graduate assistant and worked his way through the ranks as a linebacker coach for several programs before becoming the defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish in 2018. In 2017, when Mike Elko left Wake Forest for the Notre Dame defensive coordinator job, he brought Lea with him to serve as the linebacker coach. When Elko left the following season for the same job at Texas A&M, Lea saw his first big time opportunity come about, as he was named the defensive coordinator for Notre Dame. Lea built off of what Elko started, he kept the 4-2-5 defense intact and hit the recruiting trails to finish the rehaul that Elko began. Lea served as the defensive coordinator until after the 2020 season, when Vanderbilt, coming off a 0-9 covid shortened season, hired him to take over the program as the head coach. Lea did not get off to the same hot start as Elko did and finished his first season at a lousy 2-10. The 2022 season showed the improvement Lea desperately needed, as Vanderbilt finished with a 5-7 record. The 2023 season came with high hopes for improvement, as Vanderbilt extended Lea 3 more years through the 2029 season, and many believed they could compete to be in the top 3 of the Eastern division of the SEC. Although the Commodores are sitting at 2-2 early in the season, there is plenty of excitement about the future of Vanderbilt football. Chuck Martin AP Photo/Michael Clubb Chuck Martin, who many remember from the 2012 undefeated season, has been the head coach for the Miami University RedHawks since the 2014 season. Before he accepted his job in Oxford, he was helping lead one of the most premier college programs to an undefeated season and a BCS National Championship berth. Martin was with Notre Dame from 2010-2013 serving multiple jobs and learning under both Charlie Weis and Brian Kelly. In December of 2013, Martin accepted the Miami job and has been there ever since. He has been successful there, and brought a conference title to Oxford in 2019. He has taken Miami to 4 bowl games over the 9 full seasons he has been there, and has won one of them - recently in 2021. Martin has consistently kept the RedHawks in the top 3 in the Mid- American Conference. Martin seems to be happy and looks to continue to grow both his legacy and the Miami program for the foreseeable future. Photo via Getty Images While there are many other coaches in the country who have ties to Notre Dame, the coaches mentioned are only the tip of the Iceberg. Another assistant, turned head coach, is Notre Dame's own Marcus Freeman. Freeman was the defensive coordinator for Cincinnati until he came to Notre Dame for the same job and the rest is history. I don't need to tell you about the winningest head coach in Notre Dame history is now the head coach for LSU. But any Irish fans can thank Kelly for putting Notre Dame back on the map and leaving the program in good hands with Marcus Freeman at the helm. For the rest of the country, they can thank Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame Football program for filtering out successful coaches that will in turn, turn programs around.

Written by Connor D'Aquila ⏐ Writer ⏐ Twitter: @ConnorDaquilaIT Photo via Timothy D. Easley | AP Photo Last Saturday night was forgettable all around for this Notre Dame squad, but perhaps no group was more disappointing than the offensive line. They allowed Hartman no time to breathe and were not getting any push for the run game to gain meaningful yards. When we see Joe Alt get put on his back by an opposing rusher, it is not a good sign for the line. This performance was a disappointing departure from what we had been seeing and from what many people considered one of the best lines in the country. Headlined by a tackle duo of Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, the NFL talent is there, but questions on the inside have come to fruition and impacted overall production in recent weeks. After starting Pat Coogan, Zeke Correll, and Rocco Spindler from left to right for the entire season, the Irish staff opted to switch mid-game for Andrew Kristoific and Billy Schrauth at center and left guard, respectively, against Louisville. Coach Freeman insists that Coogan was banged up and that caused the rotation, but that he will be back this week for USC. No matter the reason, the group did not play nearly well enough, especially for a school that tries to lay claim to “OLU.” Breaking Down the Performance Audric Estime came into this game one of the best running backs in the country, averaging over seven yards per carry. This Louisville defense, however, which ranked in the top 40 in rush yards per game allowed entering the weekend, gave the running backs all sorts of trouble. While their D-line is not bad by any means, it is also not elite, and a staggeringly low 1.6 yards per carry, totaling 44 yards against them is unacceptable. Jeremiyah Love was able to get loose a few times, but it was not enough. It was evident throughout the game that they were getting no push down the middle, but Coach Parker continued going back to it. This led to a constant stacking of the box by the defense, much like Ohio State did. In this game, however, Estime could only reach a total of 20 yards on a two-yard-per-carry average compared to 70 total and five YPC against OSU. Moving forward, this team is set up around the run, and it will be hard for the offense to find success without a successful run game. Equally concerning was the performance in pass protection. After protecting the ball extremely well for the beginning of the season, Sam Hartman ended the Louisville game with an alarming three interceptions, two fumbles, and five sacks. While some of this does fall on Sam, he also had almost no time to throw. I would also blame the first pick on Rico Flores, but regardless, the most striking aspect of the game film is the lack of time. The five sacks in this game were almost as much as the total of six for the six games prior. It is hard to be successful at quarterback without time to throw, and that was evident last weekend. Keep in mind, this is the same offensive line that allowed no sacks to a strong Ohio State defense. The regression started last week against Duke with two sacks allowed and only five YPC, but it was clearly much worse against Louisville. What Needs to Change? Here, we can look at three possible places: OC Gerad Parker, O-Line Coach Joe Rudolph, or the players. Of course, other factors play a role, but the bulk of the blame should fall on these people. The players seem to like Coach Rudolph, but I would argue that a lot of the blame should fall here. They have looked uncharacteristically sloppy thus far with bone-headed false starts and missed assignments, which primarily falls on the coach. At the same time, play-calling has not helped the case. The predictability of calls has allowed defenses to line up effectively, and although Freeman maintains he has no issue with the calls, even a quick watch of the game film shows that defenses are ready for the Irish offense. It is hard for the line to be successful when defenses can do this, and because the offense starts with the line, it becomes very difficult for the team as a whole to see success. Parker has taken a beating from fans and media in recent days, but it is easy to see why when you watch the game back. All this being said, the players have individually not looked as good as we would hope. Blake Fisher had sky-high expectations entering the season and has not lived up to the expectations recently. We were also hearing good things out of camp on interior guys like Zeke Correll, but he has been one of the biggest problems inside. Joe Alt has expectedly been a bright spot, coming in at number two on Pro Football Focus’s offensive lineman rankings. While this is great, he cannot do it alone, and if the team wants to have any chance against USC, it is vital that the others step up. With a weaker defense, the Trojans offer a great opportunity for a bounce-back game, and fans can only hope that they take advantage. At the end of the day, the blame cannot completely fall on one person, and the whole offensive unit needs to be better. The lack of criticism from Freeman in recent press conferences is concerning, but hopefully, the rhetoric is different behind closed doors. This weekend will be telling about the ability of the staff and players to adjust and fix the issues, but the outlook is grim if they do not.

Written by Mike Stacey｜Writer｜Twitter(X): @MikeStaceyIT IG: @mikestaceyit Photo Credit: Chicago Tribune If you are like me, your jaw may still be ajar accompanied by a glazed look on your face as you try to come to grasps with what you witnessed Saturday night at Louisville. From play calling to player performance, it felt like a bad joke watching the Irish attempt to win a football game against yet another ranked opponent under the bright lights. From the start, it was apparent Louisville was fired up and ready to go to play this game, and Notre Dame was not. I kept waiting for it to get better, for the Irish to wake up, for the play calling to improve, for the Irish to assume dominance, none of the above ever occurred. Instead, head scratching play after head scratching play ensued and the Irish ended up getting flat out dominated against a team that was clearly better Saturday night even though it shouldn't have been on paper. So what does this mean moving forward? First, let's break down some of the most egregious moments from Saturday night to try to help make sense of where it went wrong. Play Calling: When Gerad Parker was hired as the OC it felt like a major miss for the Irish staff who seemed to have had Andy Ludwig all locked up before something happened... (Save that discussion for another day) However, I was pleasantly surprised with how the Irish offense started off their season and felt like Parker was doing a good job. That was until the past 3 weeks when the Irish offense has sputtered and only put up 20, 21, and 14 points in their last 3 games against quality opponents. The same old story Notre Dame fans have grown accustomed to in big games as of late. This game, however, was the worst of them all in my opinion due to the odd play calling and horrendous execution. To start the game, the Irish were letting Sam Hartman pass the ball down the field. A start that I happily welcomed and hoped would spark Sam and the offense. Then, on a 1st and 10, Hartman threw a jump ball to Rico Flores that was intercepted, the first play call that had me scratching my head as Flores seemed to be the only option on this play. Another issue, was the outside backer who came in untouched on a blitz. Overall, horrendous play call, recognition and execution. Later in the half, the Irish had an absurd call on 3rd and 1 at Ville's 45, of all places. Rather than give the ball to your monster RB, twice if need be to move the sticks, the Irish tried to get cute with a misdirection end around which results in a terrible exchange and fumble for a turnover. Sadly, as terrible of a decision as this was, it may not have been the worst of the game. In the 4th quarter with the Irish down by 11 and facing 4th and 11 at their own 35, Marcus Freeman made a Madden video game decision and decided to have his offense, who couldn't convert on short yardage scenarios let alone 4th and long, try to go for it. The word "panic" comes to mind when I think of the best way to describe this decision. At this point, your defense is the best thing you have going. Punt the ball away, tell your defense to go make a play, and the game is still within your grasp. Instead, the Irish come up short and essentially hand the game over to Louisville. AWFUL! These are just some of the highlights, but there was plenty of bad play calling to go around in this one. Coaching A team that gets worse as the season goes on is a tell-tale sign of poor coaching, and that is exactly what we have been seeing recently with this team. Almost every position group on the offensive side of the ball is getting worse instead of better, with the exception of the tight ends and the running backs. The play of the wide receivers is borderline criminal. Last night the receivers accounted for 102 yards and one TD with the only TD and 48 of those yards coming from a walk-on playing for the first time this year! That is flat out disgraceful. I understand some of these players have been battling injuries, but there is no excuse for the type of performance, or lack there of, we are seeing. Whether it's lack of effort, lack of ability to get out of their breaks/ get open, this comes down to coaching and Coach Stuckey is doing a great disservice at this time. He needs to coach up these players and needs to do it fast if there is any hope of this team salvaging the season. The next group that has been on a steady decline is the offensive line. My goodness, Saturday night looked like a completely different unit than what we saw at the beginning of the year, and in their defense, at times it was. The Irish decided to give some of the back up players more reps in this game, and that proved to be the wrong decision. Not only did the starters not seem to be fresher due to this experiment, they also seemed to be more disjointed and off as a unit. The chemistry was not there, and the unit was absolutely dismantled by a D-line that the Irish should have had a considerable advantage over. Whatever coach Rudolph is doing in practice, he should reconsider, because this unit is having the biggest drop off of any on the team. Once hoping for a Joe Moore award, now this unit needs to hope they can simply withstand the defense in any given game. An atrocity that needs to be fixed immediately given the talent at hand. Lastly, PENALTIES. This team has been unbelievably undisciplined. The Irish currently rank 105th in the country in penalties, and although they cut back on the number of penalties on Saturday, (3) they could not have picked worse times to get them. In the 2nd quarter on 3rd and 1 at their own 43, Blake Fisher got flagged for a false start. The next play Love rushed for 3 yards and the Irish elected to punt. Fortunately Louisville jumped offsides on the punt and the Irish caught a break. (Which they turned into a lost fumble a few plays later) Then in the 3rd quarter following a TD that put Ville up 7, Hartman completed a beautiful ball to Evans that took the Irish all the way down to the Louisville 34 yard line. However, Fisher was yet again flagged, only this time for a face mask that turned a 30 yard gain into a 15 yard loss. The Irish would then settle for a field goal later in the drive. The final blow came in the 4th quarter on a pivotal drive with the Irish down 4. The Cardinals decided to go for it on 4th and 9 at midfield and the Irish defense came up with a big stop, or so we thought, until we saw the dreaded yellow flag. This time, Marist Liufau got flagged for a face mask away from the play. An absolute gut punch that gave Ville the first when ND should have been taking over with good field position. Ville then went on to convert that drive into a touchdown and all but put the game away. Energy This can also be under coaching, but the players need to be accountable as well. I understand it can't be easy to get up for these big night games week after week, especially during midterms, but the effort still needs to be better. The Irish continue to come out flat, unfocused, and with little fire in these big games. At this time, the Irish need someone in the locker room to step up, and hold these players accountable. But who? Right now, this is a team that looks lost and uninspired. They look like a team that is praying for a bye week, however, they have one more major test before that week comes. So what is it going to be? Are they going to lay another egg this Saturday and chalk it up to "it was too hard"? Or will someone light a fire under this unit and get them to give the effort worthy of this type of game, in this type of stadium, for this type of university. The Irish are facing some serious adversity right now, and the great teams come out stronger in these situations, while the weak ones completely fall apart. This is the biggest challenge to date for Marcus Freeman as a head coach. He has a lot of questions to answer and little time to do it. If the Irish lose again this Saturday it could derail this season. However, if they win it can give them some much needed momentum into the bye week. It's time to find out what Marcus Freeman can do. Will the Irish crumble under the circumstances? Or will this last week galvanize them and reignite this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!

Written By: Phil Kowalis｜Writer｜Twitter: @PhilKowalisIT Photo by ESPN Notre Dame's dreams of reaching the College Football Playoff were left shattered in pieces on the turf of L&M Stadium after the Louisville Cardinals dominated the Irish in every phase of the game on the way to a 33-20 victory. Jawhar Jordan ran through the Irish defense the entire second half and finished the game rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cardinals to the win. The Notre Dame offense was almost nonexistent as the Irish were held to a season low 44 yards rushing and turned the ball over five times. The Irish defense did not play poorly and held the team in the game for three periods as Notre Dame trailed only 17-13 entering the final quarter. The Irish defense would wear down in the final quarter as the Irish offense could not sustain any drives to let the defense get any rest. Let's take a look at the grades the Irish received after suffering their second loss of the season. Photo By: Timothy D Easley / AP Offense: Offensive Line/Tight Ends: Grade F The Notre Dame offensive line was dominated by the front seven of the Cardinals defense from the opening snap. Louisville held the Irish to only 44 yards rushing on 28 carries for a 1.6 yard per carry average, all of which were season low totals. The Irish offensive line struggles were not limited to the rushing game as the O-line could not protect Sam Hartman in the pass game either as the Cardinals recorded five sacks of the Irish quarterback. Mitchell Evans continued his strong play as he caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown leading all Irish receivers for the game. Quarterback/Running backs: Grade F To say that Sam Hartman had a bad game would be putting it nicely. Hartman was intercepted three times and fumbled twice accounting for all five of the Irish turnovers on the night. The Irish running backs were not much better in a game that saw the Irish all but abandon the running game in the second half. Jeremiyah Love led the Irish in rushing with 37 yards on only five carries. Leading rusher Audric Estime was held to 20 yards on 10 carries as the Irish were never able to get the running game going. Wide Receivers: Grade F The Notre Dame Wide Receivers continue to struggle to make any contribution to the Irish offense. The Irish receiving corps caught 11 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown but most of the contribution came in garbage time with the Irish trailing by 20 points and Louisville playing a soft zone defense. The best wide receiver on the field for the Irish was walk-on Jordan Faison who caught two passes for 48 yards including hauling in a 36-yard touchdown pass from Hartman that tied the score at 7-7 late in the second quarter. Tobias Merriweather continues to struggle as he was held without a catch until late in the fourth quarter. Photo By: Timothy D Easley/ AP Defense: Defensive Line: Grade B- The Notre Dame defensive line put in a strong effort for three quarters before wearing down in the fourth as the Cardinals pulled away for the victory. Howard Cross turned in another strong effort once again leading the Irish front in tackles with seven and being credited with making 1.5 tackles for loss. Javontae Jean Baptiste and Rylie Mills each recorded five tackles on the night for the Irish. Linebackers: Grade C Much the same as the defensive line the Notre Dame linebackers turned in a solid effort for three quarters before getting caught out of position on Jawhar Jordan's two touchdown runs. JD Bertrand led the Irish linebackers in tackles with nine five of which were solo tackles Bertrand also added a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Marist Liufau and Jack Kiser each added 6 tackles for the Notre Dame defense. Liufau was also on the wrong end of what may have been the biggest play of the night as he was flagged for a face mask penalty well away from the play to keep a Louisville drive alive that led to Jordan's second touchdown that put Louisville ahead 24-13. Secondary: Grade B The Notre Dame secondary had another solid game holding Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer to only 145 yards passing. DJ Brown had nine tackles to lead the secondary and tie Bertrand for the team high. Benjamin Morrison had five tackles on the night and continues to provide lockdown pass coverage. Special Teams: Grade B Spencer Shrader was one of the few bright spots on the evening for Notre Dame, making both of his field goal attempts on the evening. Jadarian Price made an impact in the kick return game ripping off a 37-yard kickoff return to give the Irish good field position. Bryce McFerson had another solid punting game kicking four times for a 42.5-yard average. Overall: The Irish picked a very bad time to produce their worst effort of the season, as they were soundly beaten by a Louisville team that was clearly out to show that their 5-0 record was no fluke. The Cardinals defense dominated the Irish offensive line all night on the way to the blow-out victory. Notre Dame has little time to get their offensive woes figured out as they return home to face undefeated USC, and their Heisman contender quarterback Caleb Williams.

By Liam Farrell｜Senior Staff Writer｜Twitter @LiamFarrell_IT Via Louisville Football Notre Dame drops their second loss of the season against #25 ranked Louisville. The Irish failed to convert on a multitude of 3rd downs, along with having two costly turnovers, which killed Notre Dame's college football playoff hopes. The Cardinals did a great job burning clock all night long, and stopping all of Notre Dame's offensive attempts. A Marist Liufau penalty on 3rd and 15 when the Irish had the Cardinals off the field was the final straw. Notre Dame did not deserve to win this game. This is a poorly managed, undisciplined team that simply has had their soul taken away. It is truly sad to see. Offense Early Drive Woes. The first couple drives of the game, the Irish offense looked extremely stagnant. Hartman threw his first interception of the season, and then the running game showed promise, but to no big avail. The offense line also shifted early, with Billy Schrauth getting some in game reps at left guard. The Walk-On. Jordan Faison, welcome to college football. The walk-on wide receiver shined in the light of a thin wide receiver room tonight in Louisville. He is quite shifty and displayed great speed downfield. With his much needed contribution, the Notre Dame offense finally found a spark play for a touchdown. Pass Blocking. The pass blocking was abysmal. Hartman was on his back plenty of times tonight, and it makes you wonder what was the final factor that had the coaching staff put Schrauth in the game. Third and Short. The Irish had a tremendously tough time capitalizing on third and short all throughout this game. The offensive line couldn't get any push in the run game, and the Notre Dame offense looked like a high school team in the short yardage game. Turnovers. If you want to win Top 25 games, you cannot be negative in the turnover game. The Hartman interception was an ill-advised shot while the offense had momentum on the first drive, and on first down. The second fumble was Gerad Parker trying to get too cute, and resulted in the bad turnover in Louisville territory. Defense Pass Pressure. The Notre Dame defensive line is continuing to do a good job getting pass pressure as the season progresses. Howard Cross continues to get pressure in the middle, and Javonte Jean-Baptiste got pressure during the game, as well. With Jordan Botehlo out during the first half of the game due to last weeks targeting penalty, it was good to see young players in Josh Burnham and Junior T uihalamaka get meaningful reps. Lack of Linebacker Speed . This is a topic that has come up multiple times this season. Marist Liufau continues to not be able to make tackles in space, and Bertrand and Kizer cannot keep up with Top 25 speed. This makes me worry, especially for next week, when the Irish have to deal with legitimate game-changing speed. Game of Adjustments . After Notre Dame couldn't tackle anything that was in front of them in the first drive of the game, the Irish really did a great job adapting to the RPO natured Louisville offense. The tackling got better throughout the affair in the first half, and Notre Dame was able to get the Louisville offense in multiple 3rd and long attempts. Penalties . Penalties continue to kill this team. The Marist Liufau penalty on 3rd and 15 absolutely killed the Irish, in an event that led to a Louisville touchdown. Penalties ruined Notre Dame this entire season, and it was no different tonight.

By: Connor D'Aquila ⏐ Writer ⏐ Twitter: @ConnorDaquilaIT Photo via Rob Kinnan | USA Today Sports Louisville enters this weekend with a 5-0 record and a number 25 ranking, making this game far from a tune-up and far from what we might have thought entering the season. After three years together at Purdue, new head coach Jeff Brohm and transfer quarterback Jack Plummer are reunited, and the team is firing on all cylinders. Brohm is known for an explosive offense and took Purdue to a Big Ten championship in his final season there. A Louisville alum, this was the obvious move following Scott Satterfield’s departure, and it appears the team has bought in. For a Notre Dame team coming off two straight ranked games and primetime environments, they will have their work cut out for them. While the Irish are currently favored by about a touchdown, the fatigue factor and Louisville's talent cannot be overlooked. See the breakdown below: Offense The Cardinal offense has been explosive early. Led by Jack Plummer, the passing attack has been potent, which is no surprise given Coach Brohm’s history as an offensive mastermind. Plummer currently sits at 1,406 yards, 11 touchdowns, and six interceptions on a 65% completion rate. A year ago, we got to see the ND defense hold Plummer (playing for Cal) to only 184 yards and one touchdown, but the difference in systems and weapons between then and now is night and day. So far, the favorite target has been Jamari Thrash, a transfer averaging 20.2 yards per catch with a total of 444 yards. Pair that with five touchdowns, and it is obvious the DBs will have their hands full. Three other receivers have over 100 yards, all with a touchdown, and the top two running backs add another 100 each. Their tight ends are not much of a factor and Plummer doesn’t have much running ability, so it isn’t the most versatile attack, but Brohm’s offense will always keep teams on their toes. Running back Jawhar Jordan has also looked elite with 510 yards at a 7.7 YPC average. In his fifth year in college football, look for the experienced back to give the defense a lot of trouble. Photo via Karl B DeBlaker | AP Photos Defense As for the defense, they have some talented players, but production has been mixed. They come in ranked 37th in yards per game at 327.8, but aside from the season opener against Georgia Tech, they have held some solid teams to poor offensive showings. NC State last weekend is a perfect example, as they kept them to only 10 points and 201 total yards. Compare this to ND allowing 24 points and 344 yards when they played the Wolfpack. The offensive performances were very different, but we cannot overlook this defense. They are led in tackles by linebacker TJ Quinn, but have some talented defensive backs right behind him. Quincy Riley has had five passes defended already and sealed their win last week with a pick. Devin Neal and Cam’Ron Kelly lead the safeties and have been very productive thus far. As for the line, look for Ashton Gillotte, who has five sacks this year and had seven last year. The explosive defensive end has Dezmond Tell beside him on the interior. Tell has two sacks and a forced fumble, and at 6-foot-1, 290 pounds, will be a force to watch in the run game. The Matchup The Irish boasting one of the best cornerback duos in all of college football is very fortunate in this game, as they look to shut down the passing game. The safeties, however, have had an up-and-down season, and they will need to continue recent weeks' performance if there is any chance of stopping the big plays. The emergence of Xavier Watts and Ramon Henderson adds elite athletic talent deep in the defense, and that will be key against this offense. More importantly, they must also stay disciplined as Brohm flashes different looks in his versatile scheme. This goes for the entire defense, especially the linebackers, who will need to keep Jawhar Jordan in check. Finally, if the defensive line can play how they did against Duke and get pressure on Plummer, it would go a long way in limiting the big plays. On the offensive side, look for the passing attack to get hot. Louisville ranks 86th nationally in pass yards allowed per game at 254.8, so it could be a great opportunity to get the receivers active. Mitchell Evans and Holden Staes should also be able to make an impact with a solid but young linebacker and strong safety group. While the running defense has been far better thus far, they have not seen an offensive line like Notre Dame’s, and their relatively small size should allow the ND o-line to get some push. I would not be surprised to see Estime have a big day. Notre Dame has the chance to have a big win in Louisville, but they also cannot overlook the talented team Coach Brohm has put together. They have an explosive offense and their defense has looked very solid in recent weeks. Ultimately, ND’s biggest advantage should come in the trenches, and if they can win that battle, fans should feel confident. If not, it could be a rough night. No matter what, be ready for an exciting game under the lights at L&N Stadium.

Written by Liam Gaudet｜Senior Editor｜Twitter/X: @LiamGaudet.IT Photo by 247 Sports It wasn't too long ago that Shaun Crawford, former Notre Dame defensive back, dawned the blue and gold for the last time in his Irish career against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2021 Rose Bowl Playoff Semi-Final. At the time, Shaun was a 6th-year senior and a captain on the defensive side of the football for an 11-1 Notre Dame program, an extremely impressive accomplishment in it's own right. What impresses me most, however, is how he was able to achieve these accolades through unrivaled perseverance, and how he has used his experience to excel even further in life after football. Shaun sustained multiple serious injuries throughout his time on the football field, but refused to let them define his career. When the odds were seemingly insurmountable, Shaun proved time and time again that his passion for the game would always prevail, coming back stronger each time, eventually making it to the NFL where he would sign with the Raiders. At the conclusion of his playing career, Shaun founded Varsity House, a multi-disciplined media company featuring a flagship podcast of the same name. Using his vast network, Shaun has seen incredible success in this field and features a wide range of guests on his podcast that a lot of Irish fans would be familiar with, and plenty of others in the world of sports and media. Recently, Varsity House was able to organize a football camp in June, expanding it's reach even further. I encourage you to check out his podcast if you haven't already, and it will be linked below. I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with Shaun this past Thursday, where we covered everything from Notre Dame football to life in the entrepreneurial space. The interview begins below. Check out the Varsity House Podcast here: https://hoo.be/varsityhousepodcast Check out The Varsity House Store here: https://varsityhouseshop.media/?utm_source=hoobe&utm_medium=social The Interview It’s been a little while since Irish fans have seen you in the blue and gold. How has life been treating you, and what are you up to these days? "Yeah, it's been a minute. Life's definitely been different because, you know, you've had an identity and you've been known to play college sports for so long and you grew up playing it and fans and friends have known that's who you are. Now, being outside of Notre Dame and being removed from Notre Dame, it is something that I've struggled with in the past and trying to find that new passion because - I say this all the time - from the age of six when I woke up, I've always done something that I loved. I got to play football, and I got to hang out with my brothers in the locker room. So now, one thing that I've focused on is finding a passion and turning it into a business, so it's still that same feeling every time I wake up, I love what I'm doing, I'm excited with what I'm doing. Recently I started a multimedia company called "Varsity House" focusing on community with a mission to give the public a new found perspective through unparalleled access to organizations, communities, athletes and public figures through different mediums. There's digital media, podcasting, fan experiences, signings, meet and greets, watch parties or even just community events like camps or golf outings. That's been the journey so far this past year, being able to connect with athletes that I played with, played against or any coaches that I know and just figure out ways to bridge the gap between athletes and community, like I said, through different mediums." That's awesome. Getting into Varsity House a little more, do you have any other entrepreneurial projects within Varsity House that you're looking to expand a little more, or something planned for the future? "Yeah, so like I mentioned with podcasting, I'm still reaching out to different athletes whether it be collegiate or professional, getting them on to promote their story or individual brand. But also this year, I really started focusing on these fan experiences, these live events and establishing a way to put the athletes and fans face to face. Creating a real genuine connection - a unique connection. In the near future we're hoping to plan a meet and greet signing with the entire women's basketball team under the Varsity House brand. I'm also looking to do some more camps and watch parties as well. I'm from Cleveland so we kind of focus on Browns games, but I would love to expand into different regions." It’s readily apparent that you’ve used your Notre Dame education and experience to build a foundation to be successful in the entrepreneurial space. What advice would you give to an individual looking to start an independent business similar to the way you did, and can you pinpoint anything specific that was able to help you along the way? "One thing is don't be afraid to use your network and use your resources. I feel like for me, even while I was at Notre Dame I didn't take full advantage of the network that was there because I was so focused on football and my dreams of going to the NFL that I just fully didn't take advantage of what was there. So I would just honestly say to anyone who's looking to start their own business, or for the entrepreneurs out there: Do a deep dive into your network and the resources you do have and start from there. Figure out a way to turn your passion into a business. For me, it was obviously football and sports, but something I didn't know at the time was that my adversity would help me start a multimedia company. When I first started Varsity House the whole mission was to provide a platform for athletes or public figures like myself who have experienced adversity, and to give them a safe space to share their stories, their adversity, their journey. I didn't think that all the injuries that I sustained in college would help me start that platform, but it ended up doing so in the long run." We’ll move into some football questions now. I want to start at the beginning of your career, specifically when you were first being recruited. You were originally committed to Michigan, but you took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame in May of 2014 and decommitted from the Wolverines six days later. What did you see, or what was pitched to you on that visit that caused you to reconsider your decision? "Maybe some people know this story, some people don't but I actually took a visit to Notre Dame before I committed to Michigan, and Bob Diaco was the D.C. at the time. That was my first time ever going on campus at Notre Dame and I fell in love pretty much like any recruit or any fan that visits Notre Dame for the first time. It's very hard to not fall in love with the place, with the atmosphere, and the people and community. Also coming from St. Edward high school in Lakewood, Ohio, it was a brother of Holy Cross. It had a very similar background of network and community, I just felt like it was the next step up. I had interest in Notre Dame then, it was just after that visit I didn't get offered. It seemed like I wasn't going to get offered just because I wasn't the style of player that Bob Diaco recruited, so I couldn't commit to Notre Dame, I didn't have an opportunity to commit to Notre Dame. Michigan was my number one school, I was a fan of Michigan growing up, my dad was a fan - The Mike Hart days, the Mario Manningham days - those were all legends to me when I was growing up, so it was just that opportunity where I thought "this is the time". It wasn't Notre Dame, so I'm going to Michigan. Late in my junior season I committed to Michigan. And then following that season, Bob Diaco left for Uconn and coach Van Gorder was hired. Coach Kelly ended up calling me and explained the situation of having the new D.C., and he wasn't aware of the conversations that we had with [Bob] Diaco. Coach Van Gorder called me, just to like, rebuild the relationship honestly. It was something we talked about over a time, and I did two visits that weekend. I went to Michigan on Friday or Saturday, and then I took a visit the next day to Notre Dame on the same weekend. It was the same thing that it was the first time. The decision to decommit was very tough, I had been a fan of Michigan my entire life, and it was a hard conversation to have for any 16 or 17 year old kid. I decided to make that decision and just knew that Notre Dame was the school that I wanted to go to. I'm glad I made that decision, it's the best decision I ever made in my life." Staying on the subject of recruiting, you and I can both agree that the recruiting landscape has changed drastically since you made the decision to attend Notre Dame. I’m curious to know what your thoughts are on NIL, and do you think Notre Dame is maximizing it’s potential with NIL and it’s student athletes? "First of all, I think NIL is a great thing, you can obviously check the numbers and see how much students and athletic programs do for universities and the money that they bring in to universities. I think finding a way to provide payment for the student athletes is great. As far as it being used - and not to talk specifically for Notre Dame - but you know, I think Notre Dame could do more. Luckily, I've been able to get in some rooms and have some conversations with some people at Notre Dame and try to help out in any way that I can with the NIL, just try to add more to the plate. I think being Notre Dame, we want to protect the brand and do everything the right way and that's who Notre Dame is. I don't think you can fault Notre Dame for that safety and being true to who they are and true to the brand. I'm reaching out and trying to do my best to figure out a way that Varsity House and Notre Dame can do something to where we can provide a platform, areas, or different avenues to allow student athletes to grow their brand through content, through experience with media, anything like that, that can live on but also provide opportunity for them once they're done playing the game." I wanted to talk about that infamous 2016 season and the impressive turnaround which lead to five straight 10 or more win seasons. In that offseason, was there a massive change in the philosophy of the program, and in your opinion, what was the catalyst to the success that followed? "After that 4-8 season I feel like we had a lot of buy in. Obviously some guys left for the league and we had tremendous talent on that 4-8 team. We made some changes as far as coaches and the strength staff as well. I think everyone just bought in, it was funny because my freshman year we went to the Fiesta Bowl and we didn't have much of a winter break and things like that, but that 4-8 year we had that entire winter break, we were going home with our classmates and we came back with our classmates. I just remember texting friends and talking to friends when we got back and was like "let's never do that again" it was the longest break that I've ever had playing football, it just didn't feel normal. We were away from training, we were away from the game that we loved and we had to watch everyone else go to bowl games and receive gifts and doing all those things. It was a tough season, it was tough around campus so I think just having those feelings and being the ultra-competitors that everyone is in the locker room, it was just something that we never wanted to experience again. With the new staff members coming in, whether it be coaches, new players coming in and our new strength staff - they didn't allow us to revert back to our old ways or to be complacent. Coach Balis pushed us harder than we've ever been pushed, and I credit our success a lot to him as well because when I say no one allowed us to be complacent, no one allowed us to just be satisfied, it was because of him. He pushed our best players, he pushed everyone in the locker room so I credit a lot to him, and when we got on the field, we were in shape, we were tough, we were strong. We already had the talent, but now that we really bonded over the offseason, we knew the feeling that we had last season and that we had to come out and really dominate to get the Notre Dame brand back to where it needed to be." You’ve played in and been around a lot of big games over your career. Playoff appearances, top 10 matchups and rivalry games come to mind, and I was wondering what atmosphere still sticks out to you to this day whether it be a home, away or neutral site game? "To be honest, the most recent Ohio State game. It was the best Notre Dame environment that I've been a part of during my tenure and a little bit after. From 9AM, with college gameday, all the way up until one second left on the clock. The fans, the energy, South Bend, the campus, it was just... unlike anything before. I love the direction that we're headed, I love the buy in from the campus, I love the buy in from the team, the university... I love the light show. I love being able to open up campus to ESPN, even the away fans they were great. As far as playing, for me it was either at Georgia or at Texas. I think both of those environments were ridiculous, both were night games, both were prime time games. Georgia was the first light show that I've ever seen, the stadium went dark, they played music and it was like a concert in there. And it was a close game throughout that entire time so, I would most definitely say playing in Georgia, and then most recently being able to watch [Ohio State] as a fan." I’ll end things off here with a question about this year’s team and specifically where they find themselves right now, in the middle of a tough four game stretch. I was hoping you could comment a little bit on coming off of back to back high emotion games as you have before, and what process or mindset you would adapt in order to maintain that composure moving forward? "I think coming off of Ohio State, it's tough... Obviously you want to win that one in front of your home crowd as well. One great thing about that game is they had another opportunity the next week. Another [college] gameday experience, another night game. I loved prime time games, especially on the road because you knew everyone was going to be watching on TV, but you had an opportunity to put on in front of the away fans. You had an opportunity to send their crowd home disappointed, sad, and so I love that approach. Being able to go on the road and play those tough games is why you come to Notre Dame. I don't think anyone chose Notre Dame to play Central Michigan or play Tennessee State or play, you know, a down Duke or a down NC State. We want to get everyone's best - we are going to get everyone's best. When we're fortunate enough to get them at night, I personally love those opportunities and I know those guys love those opportunities as well, because we all have the dream of going to the NFL, we all want to play the best and perform the best, so what greater stage to have than a night game on ESPN, or whatever station it is? Those are the moments you look forward to, the reason why you come to Notre Dame. Now that they're coming off of a win, and they have another night game against Louisville I think it'll be special. You just have to continue to start fast, you can't afford to start slow. That was Duke's season, you know, that was Duke's national championship. They had college gameday for the first time, it was a night game, the fans were rocking, so they came out ready to play. As a team, we have to match that energy because we're getting everyone's best. We're going to get Louisville's best. Fans are flying in, alumni are coming in, so we're going to have to start fast and be physical. As far as USC as well, like they have the reigning Heisman trophy winner who dominated the game last year against us, so it's the same thing - start fast and be physical. As we continue to play these tough games, we're going to have to let our traits and let our characteristics show, because we have the talent, there's no doubt about it, everyone saw that when we matched up against Ohio State. We have to be sound, we can't be undisciplined, can't be taking penalties - and again start fast and be physical." A big thank you to Shaun for taking the time to talk with me this week. Please remember to check out Varsity House to support an outstanding former Notre Dame athlete as he continues his 4 for 40 journey. The Irish Tribune is proud to continue giving Notre Dame athletes of the past and future a platform to voice their opinions. - As always, Go Irish!

Written by Mike Stacey｜Writer｜Twitter (X): @MikeStaceyIT IG: @mikestaceyit Photo via Sporting News "When are you going to join a conference? You playing Navy again this year? When will you play a real team?" These are some of the nauseatingly overused comments that ND fans hear all the time. "Soft schedule" and "irrelevant" are other terms antagonist like to toss out there. Well, this Saturday against Louisville will be the 3rd straight game, in primetime, against a ranked opponent for the Irish. That streak will continue the following week when ND faces off against rival and top 10 opponent USC under the lights in South Bend. So much for the "easy schedule" that the ND haters like to manifest out of lazy narratives driven by under researched assumptions. According to TeamRankings, the Irish SOS rankings over the past 5 seasons including this year are 8th, 33rd, 21st, 7th, and 16th in the country. That is out of a total of 130 teams. So yes, the Irish play Navy every season, and if you did the research you would realize that is because Navy is the reason Notre Dame is still a school thanks to their assistance during WWII. This season was the first time in Notre Dame history that they played an FCS school, and that was more for it's historic value, playing a predominately black college for the first time, than for a competitive breather. So simply put, the "Irish play a soft schedule" argument is played out and inaccurate. Notre Dame plays a national schedule that includes trips to other countries at times, and always have strong opponents each year. If you want to argue about their performance in big games, COMPLETELY fair, that is an argument I will stay out of.... Now let's discuss relevance. Another argument that has me scratching my head when I hear it. Notre Dame fans are all over the country, and regardless of how their season is going, fans and haters alike tune in to either root for or against the Irish. Notre Dame is the New York Yankees of college football. To claim they are "irrelevant" is an absolutely wild argument. According to a study conducted by strategy consultant Tony Altimore at Altimore Collins & Company, the Irish had the second largest fanbase in the country. Not bad for a small catholic college that is "irrelevant" in college football. One of the biggest arguments I hear from the "irrelevant" side is that Notre Dame is simply not good anymore. An argument, that by their logic, would only make 5 teams qualify as relevant or good. That is the number of teams in the entire country that have more college playoff appearances than Notre Dame. "But Notre Dame never won a playoff game!" Well, only 7 teams have won a playoff game since this format started in 2014. Again, you want to argue big game performances, fine, it's a very fair argument and one I would agree with. However, to claim they are not relevant is completely inaccurate. This year's game against Ohio State had 10.5 million viewers, making it the most viewed football game in 30 years. You don't get those numbers without nation wide interest. So this Saturday, once again, the Irish will be playing in a marquee matchup under the bright lights. (Sorry Deion, the Irish are taking over Prime Time status) Another matchup with a team that is ranked and undefeated going into the game. Another game where the Irish will have to bring their A game, on the road, to secure a win. And sadly, another game that will probably be ignored by the naysayers who won't come back out of their shadows until Notre Dame plays an unranked team. "Oh you're playing Pitt off of a bye week? Must be nice!" I can already hear it...

Written by Cade Harper | Contributor | Twitter/X: @CadeHarperIT Anybody down to cash some parlays or straights for this weekends game? Well, you've come to the right place. We're going to be breaking down the best picks for you to bet on across different sports books for Notre Dame - Louisville. We will have a ton of options to choose from, and we hope that you find something else to root and cheer on for besides a win from the Irish! Always remember to please bet responsibly. Spread And Over/Under First pick on our board is taking the favored spread at Notre Dame -6. (-110 per DraftKings). The Irish have covered 5 times out of 6 this season, only loss being not covering -35 vs Central Michigan in week 4. Louisville is currently 2-2 with a push against the spread this season. I like the chances covering that 6, even if it means scoring in the last 30 seconds again, although we hope it doesn't come to that. The second pick I feel somewhat confident in is the Over 54 points (-110 per DraftKings). The offense has lacked that explosiveness since starting out putting up 40+ points in 4 straight games to begin the season. Since then, the Irish have put up a team total of 35 points from the last 2 weeks. I'm wholeheartedly relying on the offense here to carry this over. The Cardinal defense is ranked within the top 30 in just about all categories of defense including yards per game, rushing yards per game, total defense, and passing yards per game. The Irish, who on paper, had the best offense across all FBS teams to start out those first four games have fallen a decent margin. I like the chances of rejuvenating that spark on offense this Saturday. The third and final pick of this parlay, if you choose to do so, is the first quarter and first half moneyline - also for Notre Dame. First half ML is currently at -192 per DraftKings and first quarter ML is set at -180 per DraftKings. Now these may not be your average bets that you would place, but thanks to some research, you might change your mind. Notre Dame has not trailed in the first quarter nor first half at all this season, except for trailing 3-0 vs Ohio St in the first half in the final 30 seconds. Matter of fact, the Irish have been up at least a touchdown or even more in all of these games so far this season. They hit this line just last week at Duke when they led 10-0 at the half as well as 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. You can choose to put these as straights or parlay on DraftKings for some decent odds at +345. Favorite Player Props I have a lot of player props that I love this week. Some I feel a little lopsided on, and some that I flat out would avoid at all costs. We have a total of 5 to choose from so bear with me as we go through these to break them down so it's the best option for you. Starting out, we have Audric Estime being an anytime touchdown scorer at a whopping -400 per FanDuel. Estime has scored at least once in all games this season except for Ohio State in week 4. This touchdown can come from rushing or even receiving. The amount of carries he gets in the red zone is exactly why I love this pick. Just a matter if Notre Dame can manage to establish the ground and pound early unlike last week. My first bold pick of the week, is Mitchell Evans with an anytime touchdown score listed at -115 per FanDuel. He has not scored yet this season, however I want to hope he earns his first here this weekend. I've been rooting for him and Staes ever since the Irish lost Mayer, and this is his moment after his career game last week at Duke putting up a team high 6 catches, 134 yards. Another prop I like this week but am a little skeptical on, is Hartman over 1.5 passing touchdowns at -182 per FanDuel. Hartman, like a lot of others, hasn't hit his line since the Central Michigan game. However, he has been consistent throwing the ball a certain amount all season long at a good range of 25-30 attempts per game, and having a completion rating of 66.2% all season. Again, I like the chances of backing up the over here and reigniting that offensive spark. Mitchell Evans over 50.5 receiving yards is a line I would be going all in on. Over the course of these last few weeks, Evans has established himself as the Irish's top leading receiver in catches and yards despite other stars at the WR position being out due to injury in Jaden Greathouse and Jayden Thomas. I'm expecting Evans to keep his hot streak alive this weekend as we have him on two player props for this week as the bold picks of the week. These are all of the Notre Dame player props I would recommend for this weekend's game. Now I wouldn't parlay all of these personally, but out of these I recommend choosing your 2-3 favorites and put them together with our spread/ML pick(s). Final Game Predictions I always hated doing predictions because I didn't want to end up on a Twitter/X post being kept for "receipts". With that being said, we're doing it anyway. I think the offense shows up finally and gets their groove back having Thomas and Greathouse possibly returning. Nolan Ziegler is also expected to return, so it looks like we may see the Irish at a 90% healthy status rating coming into this weekend if these final practices go according to plan. We've discussed the odds of the spread and player props, but now let's talk final score. I think Estime and Love have a solid day in the backfield as well as Hartman feeling comfortable in the pocket as he looks to continue his turnover-less streak. The defense will definitely make some plays and force some turnovers as NC State did last week forcing three on Jack Plummer. Hopefully we see some pressure from the defensive line as they improved last week getting to Riley Leonard. Thankfully, Plummer is not as mobile as Leonard. However, they may make some mistakes dealing with the nation's 7th leading rusher in all purpose yards in Jawhar Jordan, who has had an exceptional year. Then again, I have the Irish winning their 31st consecutive ACC game and their second consecutive ranked game under the lights on primetime. I believe Hartman gets his revenge from traveling to Louisville from last season, give me the Irish in a fun 34 - 21 win. Again, please bet responsibly!

Written by Cade Harper｜Contributor｜Twitter/X: @CadeHarperIT Photo by Yahoo Sports This past weekend was an emotional roller coaster to say the least. Controversial penalties, confusing offensive play calls, blown coverages, we saw it all. Until 2:33 left in the 4th quarter, the Irish had other plans. Today we're going to take an in depth look into some notable Irish players that had extremely impressive stat lines that led to the 30th straight win over an ACC opponent with a 21-14 victory over the #19 ranked Blue Devils on the road, as well as looking ahead into a sneak peek for Notre Dame's third consecutive ranked primetime matchup, again on the road - this time against #25 Louisville. Photo by Athlon Sports I think majority of the Irish fans, and maybe some college football fans around the world expected one thing, except for the College Gameday hosts: Notre Dame would blow Duke out of the water. This obviously did not happen. Credit to Duke for putting up a heck of a fight, they definitely proved to be one of the leagues top defenses. The offense obviously struggled all game converting just 3/15 on 3rd Down, the lowest all season, however, converting on all three of their attempted 4th Down Conversions including Hartman's run on the final drive. The offense seemed as if they couldn't get a first down all night in the second half of that game except for the opening drive, as they punted on three consecutive drives until the final drive. The final drive alone consisted of an offensive pass interference, defensive pass interference, two dropped interceptions, the gutsy 4th down conversion by Hartman, and the final stab in the heart, the 30 yard run from, in my personal opinion, Heisman Candidate Audric Estime. The Irish defense held one of the NFL's top 15 QB prospects to just 134 yards through the air, but he was also the Blue Devils' leading rusher (88 yards) putting up more yards than Notre Dame's leading rusher, Estime (81 Yards). Notre Dame finally capitalized on turnovers as they forced two including the game sealing sack/fumble from Howard Cross who played absolutely out of his mind with his first career double digit tackle performance. However, Cross wasn't the only Irish defender who hit double digit tackle numbers as Captain LB J.D. Bertrand put up his season high of 11 total tackles. One of the biggest takeaways from this weekend was that this was definitely the most hostile environment Notre Dame has played on the road all season. The amount of false starts was extremely frustrating for all fans, especially considering the seniority of the offensive line. Notre Dame managed to notch 12 total penalties for 70 yards, and walked out with a win... somehow. Photo by ON3 Going more in-depth into some stat lines from key players on Saturday, the most noticeable line is either Howard Cross or Mitchell Evans. If you watched the game, it felt like you saw these two guys on both sides of the ball just about every other play. Starting with Evans, Hartman was already without his top 2 targets being Jayden Thomas (Hamstring) and true freshman Jaden Greathouse (Hamstring), that didn't stop the connection of Hartman to Evans. Duke had not let up a pass gain for 10 or more yards until they played Notre Dame, and sure enough the Irish attacked with a 28 yard gain to - you guessed it - Mitchell Evans, for the first passing play of the game. A few guys in that thin WR core stepped up to the challenge but none more than Evans did as a tight end. Evans was the only pass catcher on the Irish roster that recorded more than 4 receptions - Evans had 6. He was also the only one who recorded more than 30 receiving yards. Evans managed to amass a career high 134 yards and is now the team's receiving leader in terms of receptions and yardage. Although he didn't get in the end zone, he got the Irish down the field when it mattered most, including another incredible one handed tip drill catch early in the game. Another guy people may have missed, but had a very impressive outing was Jeremiyah Love despite his small workload. On five carries, Love rushed for 44 yards. As if I need to mention again, if you don't agree with the Heisman comment on Audric Estime, then you haven't been watching the same games as I have. Estime currently leads all FBS running backs with 672 total yards rushing as well as sharing the third highest amount of rushing touchdowns on the board with 7 total so far, and many more to follow, along with being in the top 10 for yards per carry with 7.07 on average. Proving again, that Notre Dame might just have the best Running Back core in the NCAA. Photo by USA Today Onto Howard Cross, who is the team's new leading tackler with 35 total. Cross had an incredibly impressive performance putting up a team-high 13 tackles, 3.5 being TFL's, and the game-sealing forced fumble. It seemed like Notre Dame had lacked a little on the defensive line to start the year as they couldn't find a way to put pressure on any quarterback they faced. This week that changed, the only problem was playing against one of the league's most mobile quarterbacks in Riley Leonard. The Irish managed to still sack him just twice and pressure him enough to only complete 12/27 of his passes with help from the secondary who also played very well. Leonard finished with a QBR of 47, which was a season low, as well as an interception from Xavier Watts for his second on the year. Photo by Jaylynn Nash The Irish are 5-1, and now halfway through the season. Just when you thought the boys get a break, here comes undefeated #25 Louisville. Now in week six of the college football season, Notre Dame will play not only their third consecutive primetime matchup, but they will play their third consecutive undefeated and ranked opponent. So hopefully the stigma of, "Notre Dame plays nobody!" is over. The Cardinals are coming off a win on the road just down the street from where the Irish were this past weekend in Raleigh, as they knocked off North Carolina State, who Notre Dame had no problem with earlier this season. I watched this game as well and it was an interesting one as I could not tell who wanted to lose this game more: Jack Plummer or Brennan Armstrong. In the end, it was Armstrong. Plummer threw for a heavy amount of passes being 32 total for 286 yards, a single touchdown, and two INTs along with a lost fumble. Louisville also ran the ball 20 times for a light 44 yards. Something this Irish front seven has struggled with is containing running backs and stopping the run, this game I'm hoping changes that. The Cardinal's offensive line allowed the Wolfpack to record 8 TFL's with 4 sacks. Again, something Notre Dame has struggled with that they look to correct this week. As for the Cardinal defense, not really sure what to expect. Currently they are ranked 37th in total defense allowing 327 yards per game. They have allowed 548 rushing yards this season and are ranked at 33rd in rushing defense, and 56th in passing defense allowing 218 passing yards per game on average from opposing quarterbacks. Sam Hartman's past with this Louisville defense isn't the best, as last season he had a whopping total of 8 turnovers, 4 fumbles and 4 interceptions to be exact. However, the critics said the same thing about North Carolina State. I'm confident our defense will show out against Louisville as well as the offense hopefully putting up more than 21 points in this game. However, we all said the same thing about Duke so let's pump the brakes and just win and get to the game we all care about next week. The Irish opened up as 6.5 point favorites on the Cardinals with an over/under set at 54. As for the fans who are attending, it's looking like a projected 60-40 ratio of Cardinal to Irish fans in L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, so expect it to look quite like Christmas. Show up, show out, and enjoy yourselves. As always, go Irish, and beat Louisville!

By Liam Farrell｜Senior Staff Writer｜Twitter @LiamFarrell_IT Via NBC Sports With half the season in the books, Notre Dame fans have been on quite the rollercoaster. From early season dominance to a couple of heart attack filled games, the ride for Fighting Irish has sure hasn't been easy. This piece will look on whether or not Notre Dame is in a good enough position to make a playoff birth, and commentate on how the year has gone so far. Let's take a deep dive, and be retrospective about what has happened to the 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Early Season Dominance Via Notre Dame Athletics Notre Dame started off the year hot with blowout wins against Navy, Tennessee State, NC State, and Central Michigan to start out the year. Sam Hartman had the offense rolling, and I even wrote an article about whether Hartman is the best Irish QB of the 21st century. While this may have led to overreactions, the Fighting Irish found themselves in an unusual position: they were being nationally liked. Typically, within major media outlets like ESPN, Notre Dame is not explicitly liked and or portrayed in a good light. College Football commentators, such as Paul Finebaum or Rece Davis, often drag the Irish in any possible opportunity they have. However, with Sam Hartman at the realm, Notre Dame was actually liked by the media. Going into the biggest game of the season so far, most people were pulling for the Fighting Irish to upset the Buckeyes. While this may not have happened, it was the first time, in a long time, that Notre Dame was being painted in a positive way. Back-to-Back Thrillers Via Notre Dame Athletics Let's face it: the Ohio State loss was a Mike Tyson knockout punch to the morale of the team, and especially the fans. In a game that Notre Dame dominates, they still manage to lose in the big, primetime national spotlighted game. This team could've easily gone downhill and crawled their way to the end of the season. Some Twitter analysts already said that Notre Dame is out of playoff contention with one loss (which is completely wrong and irrelevant, but I will come back to this topic). How does Notre Dame respond? Well, down by 1 and having to go 97-yards downfield, the Irish gave a Buster Douglas uppercut to finish the Blue Devils. Hartman has his 4th and 16 run that will be played for centuries on end, and then Audric Estime puts the nail in the coffin with a 30-yard dagger. Under the bright lights and their season on the line, Notre Dame came back from the dead to get the job done. So What Now? Via Notre Dame Athletics Notre Dame is in a very weird position right now. As a fan, I am obviously still dejected after the Ohio State game, but am optimistic about the future that the season possesses. In my head and on Saturdays, I am trying to map out the path for Notre Dame to make the playoff in my head; hoping and praying that a top seeded team will slip up in conference play. Nonetheless, I come back to this realization: we need to handle business. Louisville will be no cakewalk under the lights of a program that is back on the way up. Then, the next week, we face our arch rivals in a should be Top 10 game under the lights in your own home. By losing to Ohio State, the Irish can no longer control their own destiny, but it would be absolutely foolish to say the Irish have no shot at making the playoff. Just go back to 2017 where Notre Dame lost a painfully close game to Georgia at home, on the last drive of the game. For the first three weeks of the college football playoff committee rankings, the Irish were ranked 3rd even with one loss. Then, the Irish got trounced later by Miami, but that is not the point. The point is, the season is nowhere close to being over. Notre Dame can definitely, without a doubt, make the playoff with one-loss. The Irish just need to be careful, take each game with the utmost concentration, and finish their season a near perfect 11-1.