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Photo Credit: NDinsider Thirty years ago, on senior day, Notre Dame played in one of the most memorable games of their storied history. It was highlighted by a late touchdown pass from Rick Mirer to Jerome Bettis with 25 seconds remaining to make the score 16-15. Trailing by a point to Penn State, who was ranked # 8 at the time, then head coach Lou Holtz decided to go for the win and the 2 point conversion instead of kicking the extra point for the tie. In very dramatic fashion Mirer found Reggie Brooks who made a miraculous diving catch in the corner of the end zone that sealed the victory for the Irish in what has become known in Notre Dame lore as the Snow Bowl. It was also snowing on Saturday as the Irish defeated Boston College 44-0 in the final home game of the 2022 season. Though the results of both senior days were similar, Notre Dame earning the wins, the elements were a little harsher for the Snow Bowl II. Visibility was severely limited due to a second half snow storm, and the only thing colder than the temperature is my ex when I have to pass her in the hallway at work. The game was over soon after the opening kickoff as Boston College’s Emmett Morehead was picked on his third play from scrimmage by the freshman phenom Benjamin Morrison. Morrison, who has the maturity of a 10 year NFL vet, is quickly becoming a fan favorite. He would end the game with 3 interceptions, a feat not accomplished since 2010 when Harrison Smith did it in Notre Dame’s victory over Miami in the Sun Bowl. If Irish fans need help remembering who led them at quarterback that day, they need look no further than their own offensive coordinator, Tommy Rees. Oh, and it snowed that day also. Speaking of offense, the Irish were led on Saturday by a dominating offensive line. Dominating might not actually be a strong enough word to describe them as they were opening up holes so large, Irish fans suspected all of time and matter was about to be sucked through to a different dimension. It seems puzzling now to think this offensive line was not even nominated for the Joe Moore award this year. Reaping the benefits of Jarrett Patterson and company’s domination were the “Trinity on the Turf” Diggs, Estimae, and Tyree who combined between the three of them for 281 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. Defensively the Irish surrendered 173 total yards, including only 56 rushing. A stark contrast to the 255 rushing yards Notre Dame gave up to Navy the week prior. JD Bertrand, 5 tackles, returned to the field after missing last week’s game due to a groin injury. Jack Kiser also had a solid game with 3 tackles and a sack. The Irish defense would finish the frigid day creating 5 turnovers on their way to pitching the shutout. History was made right before half as senior Isiah Foskey’s sack of Morehead would earn him the all-time sack leading record at Notre Dame with 25, surpassing the old record of 24.5 held by Justin Tuck. History was also made, once again, by the, already a legend, Michael Mayer as he would go on to surpass the 2,000 receiving yards mark for his career. The only thing Irish fans might be a little upset about, other than having to endure another week of Jack Collinsworth and Jason Garrett calling games, was although the kicking game was perfect going 3 for 3 in field goals by Blake Grupe for the day, there was no punt blocked by Brian Mason’s heralded group. A feat many Irish fans of come to expect. Boston College appeared sluggish from the start. The only life they showed was from a certain former Notre Dame quarterback who chose to look rather petty on social media before kickoff. BC looked about as interested in Saturday’s game as I look whenever my neighbor starts talking about his garden. A man should not be able to talk that much about fertilizer in one lifetime. Although both Snow Bowls resulted in victories, there was something oddly familiar about Saturday’s game that Irish fans haven’t seen since… well, maybe the last Snow Bowl 30 years ago. It was something seemingly insignificant, and the play wouldn’t result in any yards gained, but in the 4th quarter with Notre Dame already up 44-0, Drew Pyne threw a pass to little used TE Davis Sherwood in the end zone. Pyne would overthrow Sherwood on the play, but the Irish were actually trying to score again, already with an insurmountable lead. This was a change in the philosophy of old where Notre Dame just wanted to play conservatively and run out the clock with a lead. This play, while ultimately unsuccessful, was a kill shot from a team that hasn’t flexed its muscles or pounded its chest in a very long time. Was this an attempt not to blow a second half lead like the Irish have done so frequently this season? Was this part of the new culture Marcus Freeman is creating to let his players know they are turning the page on the Notre Dame ways of the past? Or was Freeman sending a message to the college football world that the Irish are working their way back to being the toughest kids on the block? Freeman and his coaches looked prepared and back in sync after last week’s second half collapse against Navy. They will need to be as they head to Los Angeles on Saturday to take on 7th ranked USC in the season finale. Early weather forecasts are predicting a high of 75 degrees. No need for the Irish to pack the heavy snow coats they wore today, but they will most certainly need to bring their newly discovered killer mindset. Thirty years ago Holtz’s teams had it, maybe Freeman and his team found it against Boston College on Saturday. Photo Credit: WSBT

The #18 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-3) will host the Boston College Eagles (3-7) on Saturday, as Notre Dame looks to keep their winning streak alive. The Irish are coming into this game after putting together one of the best halves of football we have seen this year but also ending with one of the worst halves of football against Navy. The Eagles, as well as it is a senior day at Notre Dame, present an incredible opportunity for this football team on Saturday. Hopefully, they will come away with a win and give these seniors many memories for years to come. Coach Freeman had this to say on Monday about facing Boston College… “I've seen the Moorhead guy at quarterback. From what I hear, just talking to some of the defensive coaches and even some of the offensive coaches, there are some similarities between Phil Jurkovec and Moorhead. I don't think defensively you'll change depending on who's going to be at quarterback, but the Moorhead kid does a really good job of extending plays with his legs, and the ability to not get rattled. It's a good offense and he's a good player. As far as Zay Flowers, if not the best, he’s one of the best we have seen all year. He brings an element of speed that I don't know if we've seen in a while, in terms of being able to be a deep threat and run by defenders. He's quick, but I think the speed that he brings to Boston College's offense is going to be a huge challenge for us to match up with so we're gonna have to have some different plans, change-ups coverage-wise for him. He's a good player." Game Details Date: Saturday, November 19 Time: 2:30 PM ET Where to Watch: NBC/Peacock Series History Notre Dame Leads Overall 17-9 2020- Notre Dame 45-31 2019- Notre Dame 40-7 2017- Notre Dame 49-20 2015- Notre Dame 19-16 2012- Notre Dame 21-6 2011- Notre Dame 16-14 2010- Notre Dame 31-13 2009- Notre Dame 20-16 2008- Boston College 17-0 2007- Boston College 27-14 2004- Boston College 24-23 2003- Boston College 27-25 2002- Boston College 14-7 2001- Boston College 21-17 2000- Notre Dame 28-16 Breaking Down Boston College The Eagles are led by Jeff Hafley, who enters his third season at Boston College but owns a 15-18 overall record. Hafley came to Boston College after being a premier defensive coordinator at Ohio State. Things have not gone as planned for Hafley as his team ranks near the bottom in every ACC category. Despite all of this, Boston College will be ready to play Notre Dame on Saturday, and the Irish should not underestimate them. This is an Eagles team that has NFL talent on it and has a history of producing NFL talent as well: Matt Ryan, AJ Dillon, Justin Simmons, Zach Allen, Harold Landry, Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Colombo, Luke Kuechly, BJ Raji, Chris Lindstrom, Anthony Castonzo, and Doug Flutie. Make no mistake, there will be more to enter the NFL off of this current Boston College team, so the Irish must be ready for the challenge ahead on Saturday. Stacking Up Notre Dame vs Boston College Offensive Players to Know Phil Jurkovec/Emmett Morehead— QB #5/#14 2022 Stats: 1711 passing yards, 11 TD; 1 rushing TD 2022 Stats: 885 passing yards, 8 TD Zay Flowers— WR #4 2022 Stats: 921 receiving yards, 10 TD; 36 rushing yards Joseph Griffin Jr.— WR #2 2022 Stats: 234 receiving yards, 5 TD Defensive Players to Know Vinny Depalma— LB #42 2022 Stats: 71 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble Kam Arnold— LB #5 2022 Stats: 62 tackles, 1 pass defended, .5 sack, 2 interceptions Donovan Ezeiruaku— DE #6 2022 Stats: 50 tackles, 1 pass defended, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles 📷 credit: @bcfootball on Instagram Keys to Victory 1. Attack the Offensive Line Boston College has one of the worst offensive lines in college football this year. The Irish defensive line must attack that line and make either Jurkovec or Morehead uncomfortable all day. This is the type of game that Foskey, Mills, Ademilola, Cross, and others must have a dominant performance. 2. Notre Dame Must Establish the Run Game Estime, Diggs, and Tyree were used effectively during the first half of football against Navy last week, but that ended in the second half. Notre Dame must re-establish their identity in the running game this week in order to be effective against the Eagles. This game presents an incredible opportunity for the offensive line to exert its will on this lackluster defense. 3. Embrace the Weather As the weather looks to be cold and nasty for Saturday’s game, Notre Dame must prepare to take advantage of it. At his Thursday press conference, Marcus Freeman had this to say… “You embrace it. The first thing I told them Tuesday was we’re practicing outside and prepare your mind for it. We’re going outside. It’s just understanding we're going to practice outside and we’re going to play outside. Dress warm and go play. If you dress appropriately, it won’t be an issue. If you try to be a tough guy, there is no such thing as cold tough guys and you better be a warm tough guy. Make sure you dress appropriately, go practice and go play.” Final Take On paper, this is a game that Notre Dame should dominate, but there are a few challenges that stand in the way. For whatever reason, the Irish tend to play down to their opponent, but that must change this week. Another challenge the Irish must overcome is that it is senior day on Saturday. This team must find ways to overcome the emotions of playing your last game in South Bend and use that energy to send the seniors off with a dominating performance. Coach Freeman added this on Thursday… “I think I addressed it on Monday in terms of this group has truly laid the foundation of where I see this football program going forward. It hasn’t been a smooth road. It’s been a bumpy one that has had some ups and downs. What they’ve done is preserved and helped us really understand how to get through those tough times. I think the culture of your program is truly defined through some of the toughest times. What this group has done is really taking this team and propelling us forward. Without the leadership, they’ve provided, without the work ethic and the example they set, we wouldn’t have been able to truly improve through those ups and downs. Your leaders are coming in here every day trying to improve and trying to get better. There’s no other option for those young guys. The greatest example they see is our leaders and our seniors.” Go Irish! 📷 credit: Irish Tribune Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Follow “God Country Irish” on Twitter Contact God Country Irish

Behind an incredibly efficient first half of football, Notre Dame defeated the Navy Midshipmen 35-32 last Saturday. During the first half, Notre Dame’s offense looked to be the best Irish fans have seen all season. Drew Pyne threw four touchdown passes to Jayden Thomas, Braden Lenzy, Audric Estime, and Chris Tyree. Despite the incredible first half, this Irish team looked completely different in the second half, after a Drew Pyne interception and four punts. The offense could not get anything going, but the defense held on for the victory. Coach Freeman had this to say at his press conference on Monday… “Anytime you win, there are reasons to celebrate. I'm extremely proud of the team and the coaching staff for a hard-fought win and for finding a way to win. We knew going into that game, it wasn't going to be easy, but we found a way to get it done. That's what matters. It's a tale of two halves. The ability to learn from a win is something that as a coach, you love to be able to do. It was really good to be able to address some of those situations in the game that happened yesterday in the meeting and in practice and continue to enjoy a victory Sunday.” Players of the Game Braden Lenzy 67 receiving yards, 1 TD Coach Freeman had this to say about Lenzy on Monday… “Resilient. A guy that didn't complain, continued to come to work and continued to work his tail off. For Braden, the ability to just continue to work tirelessly throughout the season, and then all of a sudden you have a game where you're called upon and the ball comes your way and you're able to make some huge catches and one of the most impressive catches I've seen. It's a great reminder for guys, to continue to work, don't complain, your time is coming if you do the right things, and when the opportunity presents itself, you're ready to go, and you'll make those plays. It's a great example of what we want our guys to understand. Sometimes you don't control the opportunities that come your way. You control how prepared you are and how hard you work. Braden Lenzy, on Saturday, was a great example of that.” Jayden Thomas 80 receiving yards, 1 TD Xavier Watts 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss Prince Kollie 7 tackles, .5 sack, .5 tackle for loss Coach Freeman said this on Monday… “It’s really difficult on your first time facing the triple option. You can't simulate it in practice. It's really hard. Prince has played some meaningful action at linebacker, but Junior, this was his first meaningful time at linebacker. Were they exactly where you need them to be? No. But I think they showed that they can help us. They played good and there's always room for improvement. But those other two guys who stepped in and they did a good job.” Jon Sot 4 punts for 162 yards, 40.5 avg Special Teams Coordinator Brian Mason Concerning Brian Mason, Coach Freeman said this… “The more time you spend around Brian Mason, the more you'll appreciate his personality. I think if you spend just a little amount of time with him, you might have a perception one way or the other of whom you think he is. He is extremely intelligent, extremely hardworking, he's a great motivator. The beauty of a coach is that coaches are evaluated on how they get their players to play and execute what they want. Brian Mason could be the smartest guy in the room, but if his players aren't playing at a high level then it's a waste. What he's doing is he's using his talents, his individual gifts, and he's able to get this unit, not just one point block unit, which is getting the most notoriety right now, but all four special teams units including the field goal and field goal block unit, he's getting them to really perform at a high level. He's unique, I don't want to say quirky, he'll get mad at me, but he's a unique individual, he's awesome, I love spending time with him and I love to see the growth he's continuing to have as a football coach.” 📷 credit: @ndfootball on Instagram Bright Spots Senior Day is Coming Coach Freeman said this on Monday about the upcoming Senior Day at Notre Dame… “What I will tell those seniors is they built the foundation of what I believe is the future of the Notre Dame football program under me. That's different from previous head coaches. Notre Dame football has been successful for a really long time, but the leadership has changed and you have to rebuild that foundation to fit the new leader. That's what I'll credit this group for, really building the foundation for what I believe is going to be an extremely bright future for Notre Dame football. I'll be forever in debt to them. This will be a special group forever, forever to me, because they had blind faith. They didn't choose me to be their head coach and they came to Notre Dame for other reasons. Well, you know what, I was named head coach, no matter if they chose me or not, and they committed to the vision I had for this football program. They work tirelessly. They really built the bond. They implemented the culture that I put on the walls. I can put whatever you want on the walls. I can say this is what I want our program to do, but until it's implemented and until it's carried out by the players and the leaders throughout the football players and the team, that is just words on the wall. This group of seniors has really done that. They've taken those words off the wall and said this is what our program is going to be built around. They have truly built the foundation of what this program is." Areas of Concern The Second Half Collapse Concerning the second half collapse… “It wasn't as much running a different play as much as really executing. Drew's got to get the ball out of his hands. But then we got to help him get the ball out of his hands. We got to eliminate some options and just say, hey, man, if you get all out pressure, throw the ball here, don't go one to two, just go to one. That can help him too. So there were a couple of different things that we kind of addressed as a staff yesterday. Where was the lack of execution? It really wasn't the play-calling. That was no different in the second half than in the first half. We were just able to hit them. We were able to protect better. We were able to get the ball out of our hands. We were able to make sure that our guys knew exactly where they were supposed to be. The lack of execution, you got to look at yourself as the head coach and why if the play calls were similar, what they were doing in terms of bringing all out the pressure was similar in the second half, why didn't we execute the way we did in the first half. We knew Navy wasn't going to lay down." Final Take In light of Saturday’s game against Boston College also being Senior day, the Irish need to be ready to execute for an entire game. This appears to have been a problem for most of the year and Irish fans hope that Marcus Freeman can change that in future years. Let us hope some of the injured players will be back and Drew Pyne can play more consistently for four quarters. In light of it being Senior day, coach Freeman said this in preparation for the week ahead… “As we look forward to Saturday, it starts off with it being Senior Day here. We have 25 guys that will be recognized for their last game in Notre Dame Stadium. That's where a lot of the motivation and focus will be in terms of making sure we finish this home regular season off the right way for these seniors. We're playing a really good BC team that is coming off a huge win. They do some really good things on film. We'll have to prepare and look forward to another battle here on Saturday afternoon." Go Irish! 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Photo Credit: und.edu This weekend South Bend welcomed the first snowfall of the year and with it a host of victories on the playing field. While yes, some of the teams’ performances were not as immaculate as the freshly fallen snow (particularly the second half of the Notre Dame-Navy game), Irish nation should be in high spirits heading toward the holiday season. Photo credit: und.com The women’s basketball team is off to a 2-0 start in the regular season and 3-0 including an exhibition match. Most recently the Irish defeated California 90-79 in the Citi Shamrock Classic. This team has come out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The offense is looking strong, and the defense is even better. The Irish held their first two opponents, Truman State (exhibition) and Northern Illinois, to less than 50 points. This bodes well for the team to gain more confidence before getting into ACC regular season play. The Irish’s next game will be this Wednesday, Nov 16th at 9:00 pm versus Northwestern on the Big Ten Network. The Irish will return home on Sunday, Nov 20th to face Ball State at 4:00 pm on the ACC Network. Do not miss out on the action! The men’s basketball team has not started the season out as dominant as fans would prefer after a solid showing in last year’s March Madness tournament, but the team does sit at 2-0. The Irish opened the season with two home games against Radford and Youngstown St. The offense is looking to find an identity after losing standout freshman, Blake Wesley, to the NBA in the first round of last year’s draft. Thru the first two games, Nate Laszewski has stepped up to the role of enforcer on the court. Posting 42 points and 22 rebounds in the first matchups of the season. While both games were close heading into the final minutes, the Irish were able to show their defensive resolve and a spark on offense to hold out for the wins. Look for this team to continue to build its chemistry and cohesion as the season progresses. The Irish continue their home stand to start the season against Southern Indiana on Wednesday night, Nov 16th at 8:00 pm on the ACC Network and again on Nov 18th against Lipscomb at 7:00 pm. Photo Credit: und.com Fans of the Irish hockey team had a week of mixed results. The Irish played two games against bitter rival Michigan this past week. Splitting the series is not the worst result for the Irish but players and fans alike were looking for a sweep of the Wolverines since both games were at the Irish stronghold of Compton Family Ice Arena where they have posted a record of 5-1-1 this season. The first game of the two was a major disappointment with the Irish falling 5-1. The Irish would rebound with a stronger defensive showing and beat the loathed Wolverines 3-2 in OT. The team returns to action Friday, Nov 18th, and Saturday, Nov 19th traveling to the home of a formidable Big Ten foe, Ohio State. Notre Dame's volleyball team has not quite had the luck of the Irish with them the past month as their losing streak slid to seven. However, this past match-up versus Florida State was promising, going down 3-2. The team will look to build on that against a beatable NC State this Saturday. Turning toward one of the Fighting Irish's most dominant performances this past weekend, we look toward the women’s soccer team. While my prediction for the Irish was a 3-0 victory the team put such a solid performance together, they had reached that score line by the end of the first half. In the opening 45 minutes of play, the Irish dominated Omaha on both ends of the field. Notre Dame out-shot the Mavericks 16-1 in the first half and walked into the locker room with a well-deserved lead. The Irish took the gas off just a little in the second half but were still able to add two more goals late to cap off an impressive victory. Santa Clara comes into town Friday night for the second round of the tournament. After a 1-0 victory over California, Santa Clara will be looking to play an upset card against the number one-seeded Irish. Expect this game to be closer than last weekend. Since we'll be playing at home the same weekend as Senior Day for the football team expect Alumni Stadium to be loud and rowdy with Irish fans. My prediction is a 2-1 victory for the Irish! If you’ve made plans to see the football Irish play Saturday versus Boston College, consider heading on campus Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm and the game will be on ESPN+. Photo Credit: und.com The soccer team was not the only Irish team to put in a solid first half. But unlike the soccer team, ND’s football team could not maintain the same energy and performance into the second half against Navy. While the Irish were in the end, able to hold onto and claim a 35-32 victory this team once again left Irish fans puzzled. All props to the Navy Midshipmen for making a tremendous comeback but this Irish team is too talented and too physical to gain less than 10 yards the entirety of the second half. The Irish will need to force the ground game against the Eagles of Boston College this coming Saturday. Kickoff is this Saturday at 2:30 pm on NBC for the final home game of the season and for many of our favorite Notre Dame players. The past three years we've been treated to the tremendous Micheal Mayer, Isaiah Foskey, and several other standouts. While we still have a few more games to watch in awe and wonder, let us in this holiday season also be grateful for all they have done for Notre Dame. Make sure to check back this week for further analysis and breakdown of the games against Navy and Boston College. Go Irish!

Written by Chris Studer Photo Credit: UND.com This Saturday the Fighting Irish Football team is not the only Irish team taking the field. The other football team will be squaring off as well. And no, Notre Dame does not have a junior varsity football team that is playing in some alternate sports universe, we’re talking about European football (futbol)! Notre Dame’s women’s soccer team will be facing off against the Omaha Mavericks in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. After falling short of hoisting the ACC tournament trophy the Irish look ahead to the NCAA Tournament to claim some hardware for the team. The team comes into the tournament with a target on its back after earning the #1 seed. This Irish team has numerous personal achievements and honors bestowed upon several of its members. The Irish has several players picked for All ACC honors; with Eva Gaetino, Korbin Albert, and Olivia Wingate all being selected for the First Team; Maddie Mercado and Mackenzie Wood were picked for the Third Team; and Leah Klenke was selected for the Freshman Team of the Year. And finally, Nate Norman was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year in only his fifth year at the helm. This team is stacked with talent from the backline all the way up to the strikers. This is a team that could take the Irish back to the quarter finals (which they have not reached since 2012) and even further. Coming off two ties in the ACC Tournament and falling in the second penalty kick shootout the Irish will be looking for a statement win against the Mavericks. Photo Credit: UND.com This will be no small feat, however. While the Mavericks record (7-8-6) does not jump out at you as quite the powerhouse, the team will be coming into the game with high emotions and a string of positive results. The Mavericks played last weekend in the Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, defeating a quality Oral Roberts team on penalty kicks to claim the title. Playing as an underdog always helps, just ask the Irish football team about their game last weekend. But if we know anything about the Irish is that they will come ready to play and will not be resting on their laurels. This is a team that has scored 22 goals in the last 9 games while only conceding 6. Look for the Irish to get on the board early, stifle the Mavericks attack and add a couple insurance goals in the second half. Go IRISH! Prediction: Irish 3- Mavericks 0 When: Saturday, Nov. 12 | 2 p.m. ET Where: South Bend, IN | Alumni Stadium Watch: ESPN+

Written by Liam Gaudet, Senior Editor Photo by ON3 I couldn’t be happier to look like a complete idiot this week after I criticized Notre Dame and its staff for its inability to develop a killer instinct. Although we are far from where we want this program to be, it feels like leaps and bounds were made last Saturday after a display of utter dominance for four quarters against the nation's fourth ranked team. You could even argue that Notre Dame could have made this game even uglier, but nevertheless, this was the showing that we have all been patiently waiting for, and have come to expect under this new regime. There are definitely some factors about this game that would be terrific to see moving forward, so let's get into it. What can be said about an offensive line that ran the ball for over 260 yards against one of the best run defenses in the country? For a while, I was worried we were never going to be able to figure out how to move the ball, let alone dominate a defensive line studded with 5-star talent. Credit to the boys up front, as well as Harry Hiestand for bringing prominence and strength back into the running game. We haven’t seen a rushing performance like this since North Carolina, and I can’t get enough of it. When a team knows exactly what you’re going to do and can’t stop it, there’s absolutely no way you don’t win. Blake Fisher and Joe Alt are bonafide superstars and will continue to be at the forefront of what Notre Dame can do on the ground for a few more seasons. The interior can’t be ignored either, as Zeke Correll and Jarret Patterson have turned around slow starts to the season and are looking more and more like the leaders of this group we expected them to be initially. Defensively, Benjamin Morrison should be a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award at the end of the season barring a monumental falloff. The secondary has been the biggest crutch for this team since the departure of Julian Love, and man does it feel incredible to have some ballhawks back there again. I was initially skeptical of the change that put Morrison ahead of Lewis on the depth chart a few weeks ago, but I guess that’s why I’m not a coach. After being picked on consistently in prior games, Morrison made two game-defining interceptions in the second half, the latter of which he returned for a touchdown. Incredibly, Morrison is only a freshman, and has the spatial awareness and body control of an NFL veteran. What an incredible night for that young man, who will no doubt have teams thinking twice before targeting his side of the field. Al Golden seemed to have the perfect game plan to expose a Tiger’s offense that was in massive flux due to quarterback struggles, and was able to mix up the pressures to confuse D.J. Uiagalelei, whose most recent trip to South Bend was a far cry from the young gunslinger we saw back in 2020. Uiagalelei was sacked four times. Courtesy of J.D. Bertrand, Howard Cross, Tariq Bracy and of course, Isaiah Foskey. Golden kept the heat coming all night long, which kept the Tigers in third and long situations where they were unable to convert. It looks like Golden has been one of the most consistent offseason hires this season, and I’m excited to see him develop this dynamic system even further. Brian Mason has me ready to run through a brick wall after reviving an Irish special teams unit that was poisoned by fair catch enthusiast and Kelly lapdog Brian Polian. Mason has led an Irish unit to six punt blocks this season, which leads the country. What an incredible hire by Marcus Freeman, and with the amount of points that Mason has accounted for, he’s essentially co-offensive coordinator. I think an underappreciated performance in this game was that of Drew Pyne. As sad as it may sound, he did not do anything to hurt the team this week, and that’s all that I could have asked from him. Coming into this game, I expected Drew Pyne would need to have the game of his life in order for us to have a fighting chance against a defensive juggernaut. Instead, Pyne went a modest 9/17 with 85 yards and a touchdown pass to Michael Mayer (who now holds the record for career receiving touchdowns at Notre Dame). It's not his counting stats, but his reliability that impressed me this week. He also did well when called upon to run, as he scampered into the endzone on a read option, as well as improvised a few times to make forward progress. All in all, this was a performance for the ages for the Irish, who have finally earned their signature win. This is what we’ve all been waiting for, so let's elevate, not stagnate. The Irish are trending in all the right directions to end the season, and are poised to turn around what initially felt like a disaster. It’s time to ride this momentum into Navy!

The #20 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-3) will host the Navy Midshipmen (3-4) on Saturday, as Notre Dame strives to keep their winning streak alive. This is a familiar opponent as these two teams have faced each other almost every year since the 1920s. Even though there have been some excellent games between these two teams, Navy appears to be on the downward swing of college football. However, Navy presents a unique challenge to any team because of the triple-option attack that is rarely seen in college football today. Coach Marcus Freeman had this to say on Thursday on facing Navy… "I think there is a whole bunch of different things that go into this game. The history of the rivalry and the meaning behind it and how it came about, but also its Veterans Weekend. It's personal to me with my father serving and being a veteran. It's a great reminder of the bigger picture. We're fortunate enough to play and coach this game that we love. We're fortunate to live in this country because of the many people that fight for our freedom. There's a lot of meaning behind this game.” Game Details Date: Saturday, November 12 Time: 12:00 PM ET Where to Watch: ABC Series History 2021- Notre Dame 34-6 2019- Notre Dame 52-20 2018- Notre Dame 44-22 2017- Notre Dame 24-17 2016- Navy 28-27 2015- Notre Dame 41-24 2014- Notre Dame 49-39 2013- Notre Dame 38-34 2012- Notre Dame 50-10 2011- Notre Dame 56-14 2010- Navy 35-17 Notre Dame Leads 80-13-1 Breaking Down Navy Since 2008, Navy has been led by head coach Ken Niumatalolo. Niumatalolo is the all-time winningest coach at Navy, but owns a 3-10 record against Notre Dame. Irish fans may recognize names like Roger Staubach, Malcolm Perry, and Keenan Reynolds, but this Navy team does not currently have players like that. Navy implores the triple option style of offense which can present a problem for many teams, but Notre Dame should be ready for whatever the Midshipmen throw at them. Stacking Up Notre Dame vs Navy Offensive Players to Know Xavier Arline— QB/RB #7 2022 Stats: 191 rushing yards, 1 TD Daba Fofana— FB #45 2022 Stats: 502 rushing yards, 5 TD Anton Hall Jr.— FB #34 2022 Stats: 222 rushing yards, 2 TD; 62 receiving yards, 1 TD Defensive Players to Know John Marshall— LB #1 2022 Stats: 72 tackles, 7 passes defended, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble Colin Ramos— LB #44 2022 Stats: 57 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception Jacob Busic— DE #95 2022 Stats: 29 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles 📷 credit: @navyfb on Instagram Keys to Victory 1. Attack the Triple Option that Navy Implores Most coaches agree that the best way to shut down the triple option system is to attack it. Notre Dame must be aggressive in order to put Navy away early. If not, Navy is known for running the clock down and limiting offensive possessions. Marcus Freeman had this to say on Thursday… “They're not just running the triple-option. They do a lot of different things and the offense has expanded. The ability to understand a little bit more on the offensive side of the ball in terms of what they're looking for and it, in turn, helps us defensively to find better ways to defend it.” 2. Notre Dame Must Score Points on their limited possessions. The Irish have been better in recent weeks, but this offense has not been great at generating points when they need to on a regular basis. That must change against a Navy team that likes to limit possessions and drain the clock. If Notre Dame can come out and score points on multiple drives, then they should be able to win rather easily. Final Take This is not the same Navy team that many Irish fans remember from years past, but if the Irish are not prepared mentally and physically, they can lose to the Midshipmen. This will be the game that tells Irish fans whether or not this team has begun to turn the corner and execute at a high level no matter the opponent. This is the type of game that can continue to propel you into next season on a high note. Coach Freeman discussed this on Thursday… “Wins are short-lived around here, especially during the middle of the season. It's the same thing after a loss. You have to move forward. You have to learn from every opportunity you can from the game, but understand the next opponent is on the horizon. Defensively, it's pretty easy to move forward because it's a totally different offense you have to prepare for. Offensively, it's the ability to turn on the film and say ‘this defense does some different things. They're really good at stopping the run and it's another challenge.’ I think our team understands we're on a destination for improvement. We have to continue to find ways to get better. That has been the challenge. Continue to stay focused and not let the praise or criticism really sway them one way or another in how they work, but continue to understand how hard and intentional we have to work to improve. We had a really good week of practice and we'll hopefully go out and have another good day today. We have a tough opponent on Saturday and we have to be ready to roll." Go Irish! Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Follow “God Country Irish” on Twitter Contact God Country Irish

Notre Dame dominated the number 4 team in the country last Saturday behind a solid rushing attack and aggressive defense, as the Irish defeated Clemson 35-14. Many think this was the most dominant victory by a Notre Dame team since the Lou Holtz coaching days. Despite playing in games like this under former coach Brian Kelly, those teams never seemed ready to compete or win these types of games. Current head coach Marcus Freeman is beginning to change that narrative as he now has as many top-five wins in his first season as Kelly did in his entire tenure at Notre Dame. After a disappointing start to the season, it is exciting to see this team form an identity and show why they are the fighting Irish. Coach Freeman had this to say at his press conference on Monday… “Obviously, Saturday was a special night, one that you kind of go back and reflect on. At the moment it is kind of chaotic, but you go back and reflect on it and it's so good. The atmosphere was unreal. I challenged our guys on Friday. I said, 'Listen, we create the advantage here. Our fans will always support us, but we make it a home-field advantage by the way we play and they did a really good job.’ But the fans were unreal. The students were great. This is a special place. I think everybody saw that on Saturday. It was really good to see all three phases really come together and execute at a high level. I love the physicality of our team. We really played probably our most physical game on all three phases on Saturday night. To see the effort they played with, the physicality they played with, it was really, really good to see. It's important. That's a part of our culture. That's a part of the things that are going to make us successful. I think you see trust and belief in what we're doing and what's going to give us a chance at this current moment to have success." Players of the Game Benjamin Morrison 7 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 1 touchdown Coach Freeman said this about the secondary and Morrison’s big night against Clemson… “Part of tackling is confidence. It's two things I talk to them all the time about. Great tacklers are confident and great talkers are aggressive. He's confident and he's aggressive and that is what makes him a really great player. Coach Golden did a great job in calling the game, but also our guys did a great job of executing." JD Bertrand 12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack Isaiah Foskey 4 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss Audric Estime 104 rushing yards, 1 touchdown Michael Mayer 44 receiving yards, 1 touchdown Offensive Line 263 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns; 85 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 sack (Pyne Scramble) Coach Freeman had this to say on Monday about the way the offensive line is playing… “Our offense ran for 263 yards against an extremely talented Clemson defense. I think our O-Line took it as a challenge. They've got NFL guys across the board up front and our guys really did a good job of getting their heads where they needed to be. You're not going to be able to push those defensive linemen 5 of 10 yards downfield but you have to get your placement exactly where it needs to be so your back can cut off them. It's a belief in what we're doing. If you have asked me before the game if I thought we could rush the ball for 263 vs. that defense, I wouldn't say that with 100% confidence. Do I think we can run the ball? Yeah, we can run the ball. But 263 yards is a lot of rushing yards. Run the ball and don't give up the big plays and we'll have success." Bright Spots Huge Recruiting Night Coach Freeman said this on Monday about how big of an impact this game would have on recruiting… “It was electric. You couldn't ask for a better environment or better ending, a crowd rushing the field, for those recruits that were here. I remind our staff, recruiting is so important. The relationships we develop, the ability to sell this university and football program, but the most important thing that happened on Saturday is the ability to win. Those kids that were here, to see themselves as a part of that, that's your future. As we tell them, you're going to be a part of this and this is just the start of something special. When you come here, this can be what you expect, to play in big games. That is why you come to Notre Dame." Areas of Concern Facing Navy’s Triple Option At Monday’s press conference, coach Freeman said this about facing Navy and the triple option… “We have to turn the page and get ready for a Navy opponent that's tough and that is a unique style offense that will present some issues if you're not ready to go. Actually, it's been an interesting day because yesterday I spent some time with him (Al Golden) and there are a lot of really good ideas he has had from previously facing triple option teams. We'll enhance and obviously, there are some things we did last year that we had some success with, but there's a lot of good enhancements I think that the defense will have because of his expertise in defending the triple option." Final Take The Irish are coming off their best victory in years, but the time for celebration is over. If Notre Dame is prepared for Navy on Saturday, the triple option presents a few unique challenges that can cause a team to stumble. Let us hope that the Clemson game was the start of something amazing, and the Irish will finish this season on a winning streak. In light of the recent win, coach Freeman said this in preparation for the week ahead… “It's one thing to say turn the page, let's move on to Navy, but another thing is your actions. Are you coaching with the same intensity that you have after a loss? Everything you do, they are going to look and compare. Is he the same coach after a win and a loss? They hope you are consistent in terms of your actions. It's the constant reminders that you put in their head about how important it is to prepare for your next opponent. We have to prepare. The only thing they are mandated to do is the things we see when we're around them and the expectations we have when we can physically see them. But we have to continue to put it in their minds that when we aren't around them, the preparation will give us a chance to have success and remind them of the feeling we get after victories." Go Irish! 📷 credit: @ndfootball on Instagram Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Follow “God Country Irish” on Twitter Contact God Country Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-3) will host the Clemson Tigers (8-0) on Saturday, as Notre Dame seeks to defeat the 5th-ranked team in college football. This will be Notre Dame’s toughest test since they played Ohio State to begin the year. Irish fans are hoping Notre Dame can come out with a victory over the heavily favored Tigers. The task is great, but Notre Dame appears to be ready for the challenge. They have experienced their fair share of ups and down this year, but this game should have been circled for quite some time. This game presents the Irish with an opportunity to make a statement win and confidence to finish out the regular season on a strong note. Another priority for Notre Dame this weekend will be hosting over 60 recruits from 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 classes. The group will be led by current 2023 commits: Drayk Bowen, Jaden Greathouse, Braylon James, Christian Gray, and Peyton Bowen, as well as several other 2023 commits. Needless to say, this game will go a long way in recruiting this class and future classes to Notre Dame. Coach Marcus Freeman had this to say on Thursday about the big recruiting weekend… "It's going to be a great environment. I tell them you come to Notre Dame to be part of games like this. The best thing we can do is put on a good performance, but for them to understand this is what Notre Dame is about. You got a chance to be a part of this and the future. It's a big weekend for us. Any time you get these kids on campus, it's important for them to experience this game-day atmosphere. A lot of recruits now take official visits during the summer before they ever get a chance to experience what a game day is like here, especially in South Bend. We want all the kids that come here on campus to really have a great experience, but also understand this is what takes place at Notre Dame. Again, the other part of that is making sure we put on a good performance for them and we execute on the game field." Game Details Date: Saturday, November 5 Time: 7:30 PM ET Where to Watch: NBC/Peacock Series History 1977 Notre Dame 21-17 1979 Clemson 16-10 2015 Clemson 24-22 2018 Clemson 30-3 2020 Notre Dame 47-40 2020 Clemson 34-10 Breaking Down Clemson The Tigers are led by head coach Dabo Swinney, as he enters his 15th season at Clemson. Swinney has turned a mediocre Clemson into a perennial title contender during his tenure. After producing players like Trevor Lawrence, Clelin Ferrell, DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins, Deshaun Watson, Hunter Renfrow, Dexter Lawrence, Tee Higgins, Mike Williams, C.J. Spiller, Vic Beasley, and others, Swinney has established himself as being someone who produces NFL talent. Notre Dame will face one of the best, if not the best, defensive lines in the country on Saturday, as many of those players also have a future in the NFL. This is the type of game that could propel either team into the national spotlight. Stacking Up Notre Dame vs Clemson Offensive Players to Know DJ Uiagalelei— QB #5 2022 Stats: 1803 passing yards, 17 touchdowns; 350 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns Will Shipley— RB #1 2022 Stats: 739 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns; 153 receiving yards Antonio Williams— WR #0 2022 Stats: 364 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns Joseph Ngata— WR #10 2022 Stats: 324 receiving yards, 1 touchdown Defensive Players to Know Trenton Simpson— LB #22 2022 Stats: 47 tackles, 2 passes defended, .5 sacks, 1 forced fumble Jeremiah Trotter Jr.— LB #54 2022 Stats: 35 tackles, 3 passes defended, .5 sacks, 1 interception Bryan Bresee — DT #11 2022 Stats: 9 tackles, 1.5 sacks Tyler Davis — DT #13 2022 Stats: 21 tackles, 1 pass defended, 4 sacks Myles Murphy — DE #98 2022 Stats: 26 tackles, 2 passes defended, 5.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble K.J. Henry — DE #5 2022 Stats: 28 tackles, 4 passed defended, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble 📷 credit: @clemsonfb on Instagram Keys to Victory Shut Down Clemson Running Back Will Shipley In order for Notre Dame to make Clemson one-dimensional, the defensive line and linebacker must stop Clemson running back Will Shipley. Coach Freeman had this to say about Shipley on Thursday… “He's an ultra-competitive individual. I think he runs the ball hard. I think he's fast. I think he has good ball security. He's a wide receiver threat. He looks extremely smart. He has great yards after contact. I could go on and on. I think he's a heck of a football player…He’s an extremely talented football player." The Offensive Line Must Have Their Best Game of the Year Because the Clemson defensive line is one of, if not the best, lines in the country, the Notre Dame offensive line must play its best game of the season. This will not be an easy task, but the way these players are starting to play as a unit, Irish fans hope they are ready for the challenge. They need to be excellent at creating running lanes and giving Drew Pyne enough time to throw. Final Take If Notre Dame can stop the run game, force DJ into making bad throws, and control the time of possession, they will have a chance to come out victoriously. However, this will not be easy and will require Drew Pyne to play much better than he has in the last couple of weeks. As Irish fans, let us hope that Marcus Freeman has pushed the right buttons this week and will lead his football to victory. Despite winning many games at Notre Dame, these are the types of games that Brian Kelly never seemed to be able to win. Can Freeman change that narrative? Only time will tell, but this Saturday gives him the first opportunity to change that. It’s time to put the fight back in the Fighting Irish! Go Irish! 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Written by Liam Gaudet, Senior Editor In a season chock full of emotional turmoil, it was incredibly refreshing for fans to see Notre Dame play their best football this past Saturday against a top 25 Syracuse program on the road - but allow me to play devil's advocate. Although Notre Dame won this game by an impressive margin at first glance, I couldn't help but notice an overarching theme that has been commonplace throughout the entirety of the season. And before jumping to conclusions, no, it has nothing to do with the play calling or the quarterback play as a whole. This theme is all encompassing, and perhaps causes more frustration for the average fan than most of the obvious flaws we have observed. What I'm referring to in this instance is pacifism - or more bluntly, the lack of a killer instinct. And even after what feels like an impressive win, Notre Dame still found a way to make it more stressful than it needed to be. Notre Dame had a stranglehold on the Orange early in the third quarter, up 24-7 with a little more than half the quarter to play. Then in the blink of an eye, Syracuse stormed back into the game scoring 10 points to cut the lead to just seven. Notre Dame's defense, which had been stingy all day, was suddenly being gashed in every facet, whether it be through the air or on the ground courtesy of true freshman quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson. Credit to the Orange for making the necessary adjustments to mount what felt like an Oklahoma State level comeback, but for Notre Dame, what was happening? In every game so far this year, Notre Dame has had opportunities to put the game away on their own terms, and haven't managed to pull through. Thankfully, they were able to grab some momentum back after a Marist Liufau interception and ran with it the rest of the game to close off what could have been an ugly finish for the Irish. I would have been able to look past this short spurt of misfortune for the Irish if this were the first time it had happened this season, but it isn't, and it needs to be a focus going forward. In Las Vegas, the Irish were off to the races and held a three possession lead in the third quarter. They proceeded to let BYU score two touchdowns in a 5 minute span to cut the lead down to just five. The offense stagnated, and the defense couldn't stop anything. After a horrendous start in Stanford, all of the momentum the Irish had after a Tobias Merriweather touchdown was erased and they essentially conceded the game. In last week's game against UNLV, at least three or four touchdowns were left on the board, and the defense gave up multiple big plays leading to scores. I could go on, but the idea is all of these stretches of bad play, whether the Irish were victorious or not, are connected. So what is the problem? Marcus Freeman often cites execution as the cornerstone of all Notre Dame woes, but it might actually be deeper than that. The majority of Irish fans may agree that this passive approach to the game has existed in this program long before Freeman’s tenure. Coasting by on mediocre play, and barely doing enough to win games where the Irish were heavy favorites was not uncommon during Notre Dame’s impressive stretch of five consecutive ten win seasons dating back to 2017. In fact, this was often pointed out in discussions on why the Irish shouldn’t be considered for the college football playoff, as they lacked any ability to consistently dominate against lesser opponents. Scraping by against teams like Vanderbilt and Ball State in the 2018 playoff campaign had a lot of analysts conflicted when it came to determining whether the Irish were legitimate contenders, and rightfully so. It did eventually come to fruition that the upper echelon of college football was more than a stone's throw aways for the Irish, after being completely dismantled by Clemson in the playoff later that season. Still, the Irish were winning, but doing almost everything possible to get in their own way until the final whistle. That brings us to today, where we have seen this scenario play out time and time again. Big leads diminished, and either a tight victory or crushing defeat. After weighing my thoughts, I believe that there might be a need for a small culture shift at the university. I think hiring Coach Freeman was a terrific start, as he’s proven to be more aggressive, both in his first year as defensive coordinator and as a head coach. Maybe in time, we will see the Irish develop the ability to smell blood in the water and finish a game, or at the very least, not stoop to the level of competition of an inferior opponent. I would like to see Coach Freeman and his staff take a less conservative approach when leading in games, and not fall asleep at the wheel when leading by a few scores. We saw the results of that against Oklahoma State, and it has almost played out twice this season against BYU and Syracuse. It is absolutely imperative for the success of this program long term to win a game before it’s over. It might not be an easy fix, as I see this issue extending from the staff downward to the players, but I have faith that in time we might see something different. I hate to nitpick after a tremendous win, but to be fair, there is always something worth improving. Whether the issue is big or small, it is possible for progress to be made on a week to week basis. I would absolutely love to see Notre Dame maintain the momentum in a football game from start to finish, and that starts next week against a top five team at home.

Stock Up/Stock Down ☘️ Written by Nick Kremer, Editor for The Irish Tribune The Notre Dame Fighting Irish made the trip to the JMA Dome to take on #16 Syracuse on Saturday. Syracuse came into the game with momentum coming off their close loss to Clemson. The Irish excelled in all three phases of the game to beat the Orange 41-24. Stock Up 📈 ☘️ Offensive Line/Running Game The Notre Dame offense has officially found its identity. The game plan in this one was clear from the start; run the ball down their throat until they stop it. Audric Estime had 20 carries for 123 yards (6.2 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns. Logan Diggs had 20 carries for 85 yards (4.3 YPC) and 1 touchdown. Many times throughout the game Syracuse had better numbers in the box, but it was not enough to stop this rushing attack. Harry Heistand’s offensive line is playing some phenomenal football. We are seeing the OL come off the ball well, get a great push, and finish their blocks. The group is working well together, knowing when to leave double teams, working to the second level, and knowing their pass protection assignments. Add in the excellent blocking by the TE group, and it's clear why the Irish running game has been dominant. Look for this group to continue to excel in the coming weeks. ☘️ Defensive Gameplan Al Golden and the Notre Dame defense led the way for this victory over the Orange. Garret Shrader and Sean Tucker were playing impressive football and putting up good numbers coming into this game. Al Golden and the defense minimized their impact throughout the entire game. The Irish defense played with a different energy and swagger in this game, and when your game plan is right, it is much easier to do that. Golden took a more aggressive approach in this game; well-timed blitzes, stunting/slanting up front, and disguised coverages. This led to Shrader going 5/14 for 35 yards (Shrader left the game at the half). Sean Tucker, arguably their best player, was held to 60 yards rushing (3.8 YPC). Golden’s game plan was highlighted by Isaiah Foskey, Jordan Botelho, JD Bertrand, and Brandon Joseph. Isaiah Foskey finished the day with 2 tackles for loss and a sack. Jordan Botelho, who has not seen much action on defense, found himself getting some snaps and didn’t disappoint as he finished the day with 2 sacks. Bertrand has received a lot of criticism from Irish Nation throughout this year, but he was outstanding in this game. Bertrand finished with 5 total tackles and one of those being a tackle for loss. Bertrand, and the rest of the linebackers looked extremely improved in this game, and it paved the way for the defense in this game. Brandon Joseph started off this game the right way with a pick six. Joseph finished with 2 total tackles, 1 interception, and 3 punt returns for 23 yards. ‘This was a coming out party for Joseph, who played his best game of the year so far.” (God Country Irish) ☘️ Special Teams Brian Mason has been an outstanding addition to this coaching staff. With all the Special Teams success Mason had at Cincinnati, it was likely that Notre Dame’s Special Teams was going to look improved, but nobody predicted it would be improved this much. For the second week in a row, Notre Dame was able to block a punt. This brings their total to 5 blocked punts this season which is tied (South Carolina) for most in the country. God Country Irish has also been impressed with this unit “ This continues to be the most exciting and impactful unit on the team.” ☘️ Deion Colzie The Wide Receiver unit has struggled all year, and that starts with a lack of quality depth. Deion Colzie finally made an appearance in this game, and made his first significant impact in his Notre Dame career. Deion Colzie finished the day with 3 catches for 44 yards. The emergence of Colzie could be huge for this receiver room for a variety of reasons. First, at 6’4 210 pounds, Colzie adds a combination of size and speed that is missing on the depth chart. Additionally, having more players in the rotation will help to keep the receivers fresh throughout the game and season. The Wide Receiver group is slowly starting to come together, and we just need to hope that Pyne can continue to get them the ball. Stock Down 📉 ☘️ Passing Game Drew Pyne finished the day 9/19 for 116 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Pyne does not seem to be improving much from game to game, and this forced the Irish to run the ball on almost 75% of the snaps against Syracuse. While the run game should be a focus against Clemson, they will not be able to control the game by just running the ball against the Tigers like they did the Orange. If we want to beat a team like Clemson or USC, we are going to have to throw the ball more effectively. Clemson’s defensive coordinator had this to say about the upcoming game against the Irish : “You know what you have to stop. You have to stop the run game and the ball is going to No. 87” (Wes Goodwin) Tommy Rees and Drew Pyne are going to have to be better this week. Rees has to find a way to get Pyne to calm down, build some confidence, and find open receivers. If our offense is forced to be one dimensional on offense against the Tigers, the Irish may be in for a long night. All in all this was a big win for Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame football team. The Irish showed that they have the ability and talent to win any game that they play. For the Irish to pull off the win against #5 Clemson, Tommy Rees and the offense are going to have to find a way to get the pass game going to compliment their running game. Either way, this is setting up to be a classic, heavyweight battle at Notre Dame Stadium.

Notre Dame dominated the number sixteen team in the country last Saturday behind a solid rushing attack and improved defense, as the Irish defeated Syracuse 41-24. The Irish opened the game with a Brandon Joseph pick-six, but little did Irish fans know that this would seem the tone for the rest of the game. The Notre Dame defense played one of its best games of the defense behind strong performances from JD Bertrand, Isaiah Foskey, and the rest of the defensive line. The offense relied on a strong comeback game from Audric Estime. Despite impressive performances from the Irish offense and defense, the best unit on this team was special teams, who had another blocked punt on Saturday. Coach Freeman had this to say at his press conference on Monday… "It wasn't perfect and that's the game of football, but in all three phases, you saw some really good things and that's what you want to be able to do and truly play complementary football and control the clock. We won the turnover margin. Those are some of the challenges that each week you try to present to your team and it was good to see us accomplish that. The message to our guys is to continue to embrace who we are, embrace our identity, enhance the things that we're doing, and truly try to work at the deficiencies that we're having. That's a challenge every single week. As we move forward to this week, we obviously know we have a huge challenge ahead of us. A well-respected football program and coach, and a great football team that's coming into Notre Dame Stadium. Our team will be ready to roll. We're excited for the opportunity to play Clemson.” Players of the Game Brandon Joseph 2 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 touchdown JD Bertrand 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 quarterback hurries Coach Freeman had this to say on Monday… “I would say JD Bertrand probably sets the standard. He probably doesn't want to hear me say it, but I don't know if he has as much ability as everybody in that room, the linebacker room, but he maximizes what he can be because of the way he prepares, the way he takes care of his body, the preparation, he's a guy that is on a timer and times when he goes to sleep, how many hours he goes to sleep, and what he puts in his body. A guy I remember similar to that was probably AJ Hawk. I'm not saying JD Bertrand is AJ Hawk, but he maximizes his god-given abilities and you're seeing the rewards of it in the game." Audric Estime 123 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns Coach Freeman had this to say on Audric’s bounce-back game… “I think it's really important as a coach to make sure players know you believe in them. That's the one thing that never wavered with Audric, the belief in him being productive and the things he can do as a running back. Belief and work in practice are two different things. We had to be very intentional about the things we did with ball security with him in practice. This week in practice we did some different things in terms of ball security with Audric, and with all the running backs, and coach McCullough brought some different ideas. It was really good.” Offensive Line Coach Freeman had this to say about the challenge that lies ahead for the offensive line against Clemson… “You're gonna go against the best. There are a few schools that have elite defensive lines, and this is one of them. Across the board, they are so deep and talented, and disruptive. It's not just one guy. It's gonna be a big challenge. Our offensive line is playing at a high level and they are getting better, but let's measure ourselves against the best. Across the board, I can name every single one and they got NFL defensive linemen across the board that's going to be a huge challenge. But I know our guys are ready. They're excited.” Bright Spots Young Players Receiving Snaps Specifically, coach Freeman singled out Jordan Botelho on Monday… “Jordan Botelho got the opportunity to play in the game and with that opportunity, he was productive. But that doesn't have anything to do with this week. The message will be the same thing. Your playing time will be determined by how you practice. I think what he sees is, well, if I practice, I'm going to get an opportunity, with an opportunity to show them how good I can be, but there is no room, as I've said this before, there's no room for gamers. We need great practice players. That's what our team needs them to be.” Special Teams Has Become the Best Unit of the Team Coach Freeman had impressive comments to make about his special team's coordinator, Brian Mason… “Mason has those qualities in terms of work ethic, intelligence, and the ability to connect with players that you see here 10 or 11 years later that to me in my mind, he's one of the best. He does a great job because of his work ethic, his intelligence, and of his ability to teach and relate to players. You can have all these thoughts in your head, but if your players can't go out and execute it and have a belief in what you're presenting, you're not a great coach. You might be really smart, but coaches are as good as their players can perform. That's what really continues to make my belief in Brian Mason so strong. He's continuing to get better." Areas of Concern Red Zone Defense This continues to be an area that presents problems for the Notre Dame defense. Despite not allowing a lot of trips to the red zone, they continue to have issues defending against it. Irish fans have to hope defensive coordinator Al Golden can figure this problem out soon in order for this to be a more well-rounded unit. Quarterback Play Coach Freeman said this about Drew Pyne’s recent quarterback struggles… “He’s got to improve. He's got to improve his accuracy. But there's a whole bunch more that goes into that. We got to continue to improve our protection. It is not just the offensive line. Protection can be with running backs. People are in the throwing lane. I wrote down a couple of notes as we were watching the film as an offensive staff and just saying, okay, we gotta get the running back here to step up or step out of his way so the quarterback has a lane. Then the other thing is we got to, at some point, if we're not running the ball, we're going to throw it more. Right now we are running the ball pretty well. If we don't run the ball well, I think it will force us to take more opportunities in the passing game." Final Take Notre Dame is coming off one of its best games of the season, but there will not be much time to celebrate. The Irish will need to play even better this coming Saturday as they face Clemson. Let us hope they can improve on their weaknesses and continue to maximize their strengths. In light of the recent win, coach Freeman said this in preparation for the week ahead… “Victories do two things for you. One, they give you a great feeling. Anybody in this room that has been victorious, no matter what you've done, you get a feeling, an emotional feeling of being victorious. The other thing is it builds confidence. Those two things are important. That's the chase that we all have, to chase that feeling of being victorious, but also that confidence. That's what losing sometimes does, is it takes away confidence. You obviously don't get the feeling, but you take away confidence. But there are a lot of lessons you learned from failures. That's what I told our team. The challenge is to, within a win, we know we're going to get that great feeling of being victorious, you're going to gain confidence, but can you take some of those lessons that you learned from failures, the ability to be selfless, the ability to be urgent in fixing our mistakes, the ability to be really intentional in our work, all those things really come to fruition when you lose, so the challenge for us is to continue to be able to have victories and to get that reward, but also continue to have that sense of urgency that you have during the failures. What would a win like this do for our program? It's going to continue to help us gain confidence in what we're doing, and who we are, but it's also that emotional feeling that you get when you're victorious. I have a belief in what we're doing. I think what I have learned in these eight games is that it's never as you plan. You have those bumps in the road that you have to kind of figure out and really learn as a leader. This is what you thought you should do, now how do you adjust? It's not just trusting the process. How do you fix it to get the results that you want? Yeah, would a win vs. Clemson help me build confidence in the things we do? Absolutely! That's what the victories do.” Go Irish! Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Follow “God Country Irish” on Twitter Contact God Country Irish