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Even though the 2023 recruiting has not signed yet, the 2024 class is off to an amazing start. Now that coach Marcus Freeman has placed a priority on recruiting, this coaching staff is putting in the work to bring in the type of recruits that will bring Notre Dame another Championship. Will it be easy? Absolutely not, but this staff is proving that they are willing to at least take a shot on highly ranked recruits. This is something Notre Dame fans have been begging for in recent seasons. Under Brian Kelly, Notre Dame brought in their fair share of good recruits, including but not limited to: Jaylon Smith, Aaron Lynch, Ishaq Williams, Max Redfield, Gunner Kiel, Tommy Kraemer, Michael Mayer, Stephon Tuitt, and Jordan Johnson. Not all of these players panned out, but they were ranked incredibly high according to multiple recruiting services. Despite these highly ranked recruits, Irish fans have been begging for more. In order to change the narrative, Marcus Freeman and his coaching staff must make this 2024 class a great one. For now, Notre Dame fans should be encouraged because of the players they have already landed. Brandon Davis-Swain DL — 6’4, 240 lbs West Bloomfield High School (West Bloomfield, MI) Consensus: 4 Star Hudl Film Owen Wafle DL — 6’3, 270 lbs Hun School (Princeton, NJ) Consensus: 4 Star Hudl Film C.J. Carr QB — 6’2.5, 195 lbs Saline High School (Saline, MI) Consensus: 4 Star Hudl Film Jack Larsen TE — 6’3, 220 lbs Charlotte Catholic High School (Charlotte, NC) Consensus: 4 Star Hudl Film Cam Williams WR — 6’2, 185 lbs Glenbard South High School (Glen Ellyn, IL) Consensus: 4 Star Hudl Film Peter Jones OL — 6’5, 289 lbs Malvern Preparatory School (Malvern, PA) Consensus: 4 Star Hudl Film Final Take- With the recent success of recruiting on defense, the 2024 class is catching up on offense. C.J. Carr looks like the type of quarterback who could lead Notre Dame to a championship. As Notre Dame continues to add more players to this recruiting class, time will tell if they can get Notre Dame over that playoff hump. This group of recruits has the potential to do just that, but this group of coaches must continue to find and land great players to accomplish that goal. Marcus Freeman is slowly changing the narrative at Notre Dame and fans should be excited to see who commits next. Go Irish! Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Contact God Country Irish Photo Credit: @ndfootball on Instagram

Notre Dame will host BYU on Saturday, as Notre Dame seeks to build off of its two-game winning streak before the bye week. Notre Dame is coming off its best offensive performance of the season against North Carolina. The bye week gave this coaching staff a much-needed break for self-evaluation. Coach Freeman had this to say about evaluating his team over the bye week… “I think as a leader, you got to start by looking at yourself. So all of the sudden, you sit here and you talk about finishing, but then you go back and evaluate and there's plays in the first quarter that we weren't executing the way we were supposed to. That's kind of where me as the leader said, hold on, take all the emphasis off of finishing and really look at every play of the game and focus on execution and execution in our preparation and really take a deep dive into the way we prepare and the point of emphasis in being are we executing in practice the way we need to to help us execute in the game. I kind of just took the focus and it's not about finishing, it’s about finishing every play. You got to make sure you execute on play one, no matter if you're up or down, as you do in the fourth quarter. I wanted to make sure that our focus is on every play of this game and not just finishing in fourth." Will the defense finish games by eliminating late-game touchdowns? Can Notre Dame build off that momentum moving forward? Irish fans will get an opportunity to find out on Saturday for the annual Shamrock Series game. As most Irish fans know, the Shamrock Series began in 2009 as a recruiting tool for Notre Dame, but it has evolved into playing at unique locations and wearing alternative jerseys. Even though some of the games have come down to the wire, the Irish have never lost a Shamrock Series game to date. Coach Freeman has this to say in preparation for Saturday’s matchup… “Obviously, coming off the bye week and hope everybody is feeling refreshed. I think our players, our coaches are, we're ready to roll. We know we have an extremely difficult opponent coming up and we're looking forward to it. Obviously, the Shamrock series is what makes Notre Dame unique. It's one of our distinctions and the chance to go and play a home game in Las Vegas is an extremely exciting opportunity vs. a really good opponent. We're looking forward to it.” 📷 Credit: @ndfootball and @byufootball on Instagram Game Details Date: Saturday, October 8 Time: 7:30 PM ET Where to Watch: NBC/Peacock Breaking Down BYU The Cougars (4-1) are led by head coach Kilani Sitake, who finds himself in his seventh season at BYU. Sitake is very familiar with the BYU program as he played for the Cougars back in the 1990s as well. After a few rough years, Kilani has this football program rolling and should be a tough matchup for the Irish. Stacking Up Notre Dame vs North Carolina 3 Offensive Players to Know Jaren Hall— QB #3 2022 Stats: 1438 passing yards, 12 touchdowns; 64 rushing yards; 28 receiving yards, 1 touchdown Christopher Brooks — RB #2 2022 Stats: 294 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns; 46 receiving yards Keanu Hill— WR #1 2022 Stats: 329 receiving yards, 4 touchdowns; 1 punt return touchdown 3 Defensive Players to Know Ben Bywater — LB #2 2022 Stats: 37 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions Max Tooley — LB #31 2022 Stats: 29 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 2 touchdowns John Nelson — DL #94 2022 Stats: 13 tackles, 2 sacks 📷 Credit: @byufootball on Instagram Final Take If the Fighting Irish is to win their third game of the season this coming Saturday, they must continue to dominate both lines and put together more scoring drives likes they did against North Carolina. Coach Freeman had this to say in preparation for Saturday’s Shamrock Series game… “Well, I think for me probably more than anything I was looking back at last year's Shamrock Series game vs. Wisconsin. At a neutral site but it's technically a home game for us in Vegas, but I'm sure there's gonna be a lot of BYU fans there too. Enjoy the experience. That's what makes Notre Dame unique. It's the distinction that we have a home game in Las Vegas, but don't distract from what it takes to get the desired outcome. I'll say it again, it's just your preparation and the execution. The approach is still the same and the preparation and taking that field and taking it all in. Just focus on the things that really matter and that's the execution.” Go Irish! Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Contact God Country Irish

Written by Nick Kremer, Editor for the Irish Tribune Notre Dame traveled to Las Vegas to take on BYU for it's annual Shamrock Series game. The game had everything you would imagine for a game in Las Vegas; new uniforms, a nightclub in the end zone, green Vegas sign, an incredible stadium and a game that came down to the very end. In the city of lights, Notre Dame shined bright on Saturday beating BYU 28-20. ☘️ Stock Up 📈 Drew Pyne/Michael Mayer Pyne continues to build on his confidence from the previous game against UNC. Pyne finished 22 of 28 for 262 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His connection with Michael Mayer continues to grow, as Mayer finished the day catching half of Pyne's completions. "Drew Pyne has found a special connection with tight end Michael Mayer. Mayer continues the tradition that Notre Dame is Tight End U." (God Country Irish) Pyne is starting to get that swagger back that he had last year when he came in the game against Wisconsin, and when Pyne has that swagger, look out. The accuracy, decision making, and leadership that he showed against BYU was a game changer. Drew Pyne seems to have "it" when he is playing with confidence, so look for his game to continue to get better and better. OL The legend of Harry Hiestand continues at Notre Dame. After a slow start to the season, the Irish offensive line has continued to improve each week. The Irish were able to rush for 234 yards and pass for 262 yards behind the Oline. Pass protection was elite as Pyne had all day to make his reads. Atmosphere/Vegas As I walked down the strip of Las Vegas the day before the game, I swear it seemed like every other person was wearing their Notre Dame gear and hitting me with a "go Irish" as they walked by. There was a different energy in the air in the desert this weekend as Notre Dame nation seemed to take over the town. This game set the college football attendance record at Allegiant Stadium with a sellout attendance of 62,742; the previous record at 56,511 for the 2021 Pac 12 championship game. I have been in quite a few venues for football games through the years, and this was the loudest I have ever heard a crowd. Luciano Antonini, the creator of The Irish Tribune, got to experience the game on the sidelines, and here is what he had to say about the atmosphere at Allegiant Stadium. "I've never felt so immersed in a game before. You could hear fans pounding on the cushioned walls behind you, chants roaring across the stadium. I've never seen so many fans screaming at the top of their lungs before. We had communication set up between me and the guys in the press box, and we struggled to hear each other the entire time; headphones in, covering our ears to block out the sound, but it was just too loud. My apple watch kept buzzing me, warning me about the noise level. My watch said the noise level peaked at 105 decibels at one point, and consistently stayed between the high 90's and 100's the entire game." ☘️ Stock Down📉 Tackling Watching the game from the press box, and then re-watching the game, one major concern for me is our tackling on defense. The Irish defense is littered with veterans, but missed tackles continue to be a problem. The main example is when the Irish had BYU at 3rd and long, missed tackles allowed them to rush for the first down. If this team wants to continue to improve and be an elite defense, their tackling has to improve across the board. Brandon Joseph led the team in tackles with 6, followed by Justin Ademiola and JD Bertrand with 5. Big Plays The Irish defense continue to give up big plays at inopportune times. We saw another busted coverage where Jaden Mickey was expecting help over the top that was not there, resulting in a big pass play for a touchdown for the Cougars. The bigger concern for me was the BYU running game. Multiple times throughout the game BYU showed the ability to run the ball almost at will. It is a relief that BYU did not stick to that run game even more in the second half because it could have ended negatively for the Irish. Linebackers Unfortunately, this has become a trend from week to week. What was expected to be a strength for this team has turned into one of its biggest weaknesses. The veterans who have played well in years past seem to be regressing. God Country Irish, a writer for the Irish Tribune, had this to say about the linebacker play. "Despite the defense playing better this year, linebacker play has not been a bright spot. Specifically, Bertrand and Kiser have been liabilities and it might be time for some younger players to get some playing time." I would add Marist Liufau in their as well as he seems lost at times with his reads. It is clear that the linebacker play has to improve, and it would not surprise me if we start to see some younger players getting involved over Bertrand, Kiser, and Liufau. ☘️ All in all, the Irish came into the city of bright lights and shined. Marcus Freeman got his first win over a ranked opponent, and got his third win in a row since the disaster against Marshall. The Irish cashed out in Vegas, and look to continue their winning trend as they head back to South Bend to take on Stanford.

Written By Liam Gaudet, Senior Editor I let out quite the sigh of relief from the press box at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, as Notre Dame held on late to take care of business against the BYU Cougars 28-20. There was plenty to love about this game, and on the other hand, plenty to be desired. With that said, let's not waste any more time and take a look at what we learned about this Irish team on Saturday. First, lets talk about the emergence of some of the younger players. Ben Morrison got his first start at corner this weekend after jumping Clarence Lewis on the depth chart. Personally, I thought Morrison had a terrific game, as he wasn't picked on very much which is always a great sign for a defensive back. I expect Morrison to be the anchor of an emerging secondary for years to come. Jaden Mickey also saw the field at points, but a miscommunication appeared to have him torched on a long BYU passing touchdown in the later stages of the game. Nevertheless, I still have the utmost confidence in the future of our secondary, and I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that Mickey isn't ready to play. Secondly, how about Jayden Thomas? I mean wow. The emergence from a young wide receiver was desperately needed, and almost felt like a defibrillator shot to a wide receiver room on life support. Thomas hauled in three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown on a catch that would have made Randy Moss raise his eyebrows. Look for Thomas to play a bigger role in the games to come, especially heading toward the easier end of the schedule. Eli Raridon and Holden Staes also saw snaps on Saturday, with Staes recording his first Notre Dame reception on a crucial third down. It is becoming more obvious that Marcus Freeman is looking for diamonds in the rough by letting younger guys see the field more often, which is something that is definitely welcomed. What can be said about Michael Mayer that hasn't already been said. His beaming grin during the press conference was all I needed to see to know how he felt about holding the Notre Dame all time record for career receptions. Mayer caught 11 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, and made it look incredibly easy. His absurd catch radius is something that really stood out to me, and if you run back the tape on both of his touchdowns, it doesn't take much to understand why. Although he may have missed a block or two, it's negligible when comparing the absurd statistics he put up. Not to mention that 11 receptions is the most by an FBS tight end this season. I would not be able to forgive myself if I didn't mention the tremendous growth that Drew Pyne has shown under center. He has shown terrific upside, and has seemed to increase in confidence and comfortability through each of his three starts this season. Credit to the offensive line for protecting Pyne all game long, as this is another positional group that has shown exponential growth since the beginning of the season. Pyne was extremely efficient outside of an interception that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. With the way his play has been trending, there is reason to believe that the best is yet to come for the signal caller. All in all, I was impressed with the resolve of the team, despite making the game a lot closer than it needed to be toward the end. Lots of questions fans had about this offense after the first two weeks are slowly being answered, and it will be fun to see how open the playbook becomes now that a lot of fundamentals are being done correctly. This is a young team in a lot of areas, but the main thing to notice is the positive trend in all aspects of play. More takeaways are being forced from the defense, and the offense is looking more capable of maintaining drives on a consistent basis. I'm starting to believe that we are seeing the true potential that this team possesses, and it is genuinely exciting.

Notre Dame defeated BYU last Saturday for the annual Shamrock Series game in Las Vegas. After a dominating first half by the Irish, BYU took advantage and narrowed the lead early in the second half. Despite a valiant effort, the Irish came away victorious with a final score of 28-0. Coach Freeman had this to say after the game on Saturday… “As I told our program, that's what makes us special and that's what makes this place unique. Special shout out to our fans that showed up there and that unbelievable stadium. That was really, really cool. It's obviously even better to come out with a win." By no means did Notre Dame play a perfect game, but they did what they needed to do to come away with the win. This also marks the first time Marcus Freeman’s team has beaten a ranked opponent, but Irish fans hope it’s not the last. Coach Marcus Freeman had this to say at his press conference on Monday… “It was a great experience. You almost had a bowl game feel, but it was a majority home crowd. It was a home environment and a home game but at a neutral sight. It was a great stadium. Again, I was honored to be the head coach of the shamrock series game versus a great opponent and came out with a great victory." 📷 Credit: @ndfootball on Instagram Players of the Game Michael Mayer Michael Mayer had an amazing game last Saturday against BYU. In addition to ending the night with 11 receptions for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns, he also broke Notre Dame’s record for most receptions by a tight end. Coach Freeman had this to say about his All-American tight end… “He's a great practice player. He's got God-given ability. That's where it starts. He's been blessed with unbelievable talent. But he's a great practice player that wants coach Parker and coach Rees to make him improve. Coach Parker told me last night, Michael Mayer texted him early in the morning, I'm sure when he woke up, saying, ‘hey, what points do you have from the game that I need to improve at?’ Not saying, ‘Hey, coach, I broke the record, did you see this catch?’ But rather where can I get better at? The great ones do that. The great ones want to be told how to get better. Michael Mayer is a great example of that.” Drew Pyne After a rough start to him being named the starting quarterback, Drew Pyne has quickly become one of the clear leaders of this team. Pyne finished the night going 22/28 with 262 passing yards and 3 touchdowns, as he led this Irish team to victory. Coach Freeman had this to say about his quarterback… “He's starting to make some plays where he's improvising a little bit. I know the one where he's falling down and throws the ball to Audric, we kind of were like, 'Whoa, okay.' That is one we thought he was probably gonna take a sack. But that comes with confidence. I think when you start making the right decisions, you take care of the football, now you're seeing him start to make plays.” Jayden Thomas After a lackluster start to the season, Jayden Thomas finished the night with an impressive performance. Despite finishing with only 3 receptions for 74 yards and 1 touchdown, Thomas proved to be clutch during key moments of the game. Irish fans hope he can continue this trend for the rest of the season. Coach Freemans said this about Thomas… "He is probably one of our best route runners and can be one of our best receivers and playmakers on offense. We just got to continue to improve. But he's got to continue to do it in a game because he's practicing at a high level. He's one of those guys that are practicing at a high level. When you see a guy that's playing a lot, maybe doesn't have a production in the games, but is still playing a lot, that means he's earning that trust in practice. Jayden has been a guy that's practicing at a high level. I think what you're seeing now is the results of that in the game." Areas of Concern Linebacker Play Despite returning two starters and a plethora of talent, Notre Dame’s defense has left a lot to be desired this season. The linebackers appear to continually fill the wrong gap, play timidly, and fail to finish plays. As a causal onlooker, it’s difficult to determine whether or not this is a scheme problem or if the coaches are asking their players to do too much problem. If Marist, JD, and Jack can not play at a higher level then it may be time to get younger players on the field. One of those players who has impressed is Prince Kollie. Coach Freeman had this to say about Prince… “I challenged him last week: “Prince, you continue to build trust in practice. There is no such thing as a gamer. Your team needs you to be a great practice player.” That's my challenge to Prince and that's my challenge to many other players in our football program. For Prince to go and make a big play like that man, it was good to see. He's a talented football player. He had a really good week of practice. He played more this past game than he probably ever has. Continue to put the work in during practice to gain the confidence of your coaches to make you a better football player. I think he can be really special.” Final Take Notre Dame learned some things about themselves and the leadership that this team continues to show on Saturdays. Hopefully, the Irish can continue to build on their offensive momentum and clean up their deficiencies on defense. Despite coming away with an incredible victory last Saturday, all eyes are now on their rival: Stanford. Coach Freeman had this to say about facing the Cardinals… “Going into this week and moving forward, it's a rivalry game. It's going to be a talented football team that is going to come in here and present a huge challenge for our football team. As I told the guys, enjoy the win for a day and we have to move forward. Today we'll practice. We didn't practice yesterday because of the late arrival. But today we'll meet, put the BYU game to rest and we gotta get ready for Stanford.” Go Irish! Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Contact God Country Irish

Written by Irish Trending Photo by NBC Sports Notre Dame is four games into the 2022 season, and there are still a lot of questions and concerns about this offense. Notre Dame’s offense was extremely underwhelming in their first three matchups, only amassing a total of 55 points combined against Ohio State, Marshall, and Cal. However, week 4 was a different story, as the Irish were able to muster 576 total yards of offense (289 passing and 287 rushing) totalling 45 points, leaving a lot of Irish fans in a much better mood going into the bye week. Many Irish fans are questioning how much of that offensive success was on North Carolina’s poor defense, and how much of it was on the offense turning things around. Now, I personally believe the offensive play calling and the execution did improve, not 45 points per game improved, but improved nonetheless from the Cal to the North Carolina game. I really enjoyed seeing the running backs average nearly 6 yards per carry on North Carolina's home turf, seeing Drew Pyne’s increased confidence through the game, the OL creating big holes for the RBs and giving Pyne more time, and the different ways we got our players involved. BYU should answer a lot of still lingering questions about this offense and what to expect moving forward, but I expect 30-40 points scored by Notre Dame this weekend in Vegas.

Tommy Cullen - 9/3/2022 Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer adjusts his helmet during the Notre Dame Spring game. Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images As we inch closer and closer to kickoff the anticipation grows and grows. This is the match up every single College Football fan has waited for. It is not often that we are gifted with a week 1 top 5 game. This is the case this year as number 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and number 2 The Ohio State Buckeyes face off at 7:30 PM at "The Shoe" in Columbus, Ohio. Traveling to Ohio State will obviously be a challenge for the Irish. Notre Dame opens has 17.5 point underdogs. The question is, are they being disrespected. The Irish will be starting Sophomore Tyler Buchner at quarterback. Many are saying the Irish can exploit Ohio States run defense in maybe a triple option type offense. It will all come down to the performance on the field tonight. Notre Dame Prime - ND 36, OSU 34 I think the reason we’re going to win is mentality, and it may sound corny but I believe we have the advantage over OSU. Freeman has brought in a new culture, attitude, and mindset to this program that we didn’t have under Kelly. We have a top 10, even top 5 coaching staff in my opinion. I think our O-line is going to play like the number 1 O-line in the country, our running backs are going to keep hitting their defense in the mouth. Tyler Buchner will over perform. And Lorenzo Styles and Mayer are going to ball out as well. Haven’t even talked about the defense yet. Our biggest question is going to be at cornerback but I think we will not be giving up huge plays as we have an elite safety run lead by Brandon Joseph, we didn’t downgrade at safety. I think we may give up a lot of 10+ yard catches but I don’t think we’re giving up bigger plays. Our D-line is going to overpower OSU’s O-line and I think we minimize their run. Irish HQ - ND 31, OSU 41 I think it’ll be close throughout but I think Ohio State will have the lead for most of the game. Ohio State has the huge weapon in C.J. Stroud who will have late game heroics with deep passes to Smith-Njigba. Notre Dame's defense will be able to stop the OSU run game and TreyVeyon Henderson. It just all comes down to the late game plays. ND Insider - ND 34, OSU 45 lets keep is short and sweet; I think it’ll be a close game going into the 4th quarter but OSU’s offensive firepower will just be too much in the final 15 mins God, Country, Irish - ND 38, OSU 45 As much as I believe Marcus Freeman has this Notre Dame program on the right path moving forward, this is a tall task for a first time head coach. Could they win? Sure, but Ryan Day has more experience playing in these types of games and it is at Ohio State. If Notre Dame is going to win this game, 1. Tyler Buchner has to be the dynamic playmaker we think he can be; 2. The Defense has to get pressure on CJ Stroud; 3. The Offensive Line has to control the line of scrimmage and assert its dominance over Ohio State. They will be the tone setters for this game. Either way, I think we are going to see a much more dynamic Irish offense and it will be fun to watch this team grow this year. Go Irish! Irish Culture - ND 38, Osu 31 I'm not going to bore you with stats explaining why Notre Dame will have the upper hand, I'm going to keep this short. Marcus Freeman. Go Irish!

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will host the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, as Notre Dame seeks its second victory of the 2022 college football season. Notre Dame is coming off a rough game against Cal, but many believe that game provided the launch pad for the Irish to find their identity and desire to win. The defense will need to be prepared for North Carolina’s high-powered offense this coming Saturday and the Irish offense will need to find ways to score more points if it hopes to compete with the Tar Heels. Game Details Date: Saturday, September 24 Time: 3:30 PM ET Where to Watch: ABC Breaking Down North Carolina The Tar Heels (3-0) are led by hall of fame head coach Mack Brown, who previously coached at Tulane, Texas, and North Carolina. With quarterback Vince Young, Brown defeated USC in 2005, for one of the most memorable national championships at Texas. After retiring in 2013, Brown returned to coach the Tar Heels in 2019 and has led them to a bowl game each season. Coach Marcus Freeman had this to say about Brown at his press conference on Monday: “As we prepare for North Carolina, I have the utmost respect for coach Brown, who I've gone against as a player three times and then last year was my first time going against him as a coach. Always respected the way his teams have played and I know this North Carolina team will be no different." Later, he commented: “I don't know if I can make up for that lack of experience. But again, coach Brown has been through a lot of different scenarios and situations that I haven't been through or are just starting to go through. I really just got to focus on our team and the preparation in terms of trying to give our team a chance to have success. But you're gonna go against a well-coached team.” North Carolina has produced many NFL players through the years, including Natrone Means (Chargers), Dre Bly (Rams/Lions/Broncos/49ers), Jeff Saturday (Colts), Julius Peppers (Panthers/Bears), and Lawrence Taylor (Giants). The Tar Heels continue to produce NFL-caliber talent and have multiple players drafted every year. After watching this team play, North Carolina is very talented on offense but needs a lot of work on defense. The Tar Heels can score a lot of points, but also give up a lot of points. They rank at the top of every offensive category in the ACC but rank at the bottom defensively. Stacking Up Notre Dame vs North Carolina Offensive Players to Know Drake Maye— QB #10 2022 Stats: 930 passing yards, 11 touchdowns; 146 rushing yards, 1 touchdown Omarion Hampton — RB #28 2022 Stats: 228 rushing yards, 5 touchdowns Josh Downs— WR #11 2022 Stats: 78 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns Defensive Players to Know Cedric Gray — LB #33 2022 Stats: 33 tackles, 1 interception Myles Murphy — DT #8 2022 Stats: 9 tackles Cam’Ron Kelly — S #9 2022 Stats: 14 tackles Photo Credit: @uncfootball on Instagram Keys to an Irish Victory 1. The defensive line must dominate Irish fans saw major improvements from the defensive line on Saturday against Cal. They will need to continue dominating in the trenches if they hope to be effective against a high-powered North Carolina offense. The best way to disrupt an effective offense is to pressure, sack, and make the opposing quarterback uncomfortable. If the Irish defense is successful at making Drake Maye uncomfortable on Saturday, they will put the Notre Dame offense in a position to win the game. 2. The offense needs to score quickly The Irish offense has looked appalling at times in the first half of the first three games, and last week was no different. They must find ways to generate points quickly and often if they are going to keep up with the Tar Heel’s offense. One bright spot from last week was how this offense seems to be finding an identity under quarterback Drew Pyne. Pyne did not play well in the first half, but found a rhythm in the second half and played much better. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees had this to say about his quarterback: “I think Drew is motivated. He didn't get off to the start he wanted. It was probably not how he envisioned it starting. He certainly rallied and bounced back. There are a lot of areas he wants to improve on and he's got the right demeanor." 3. The wide receivers must play better Despite coming into the season with high expectations, the wide receivers have not played well through the first three games of the season. Many appear to be playing at positions they should not be playing, but others do not seem to be playing with the effort, intensity, or competitive drive that is required to play wide receiver at Notre Dame. This is one area that must improve against North Carolina this week and must improve quickly. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees had this to say: “We're gonna continue to try to put our players in the right spot and try to give them opportunities. But we have a very selfless group right now, very motivated group, that they understand through shared success we have the ability to create plays on offense. Yeah, Chris Tyree scored on the seam route, but if JT is not doing his job to the field and the other back's not doing his job then the play doesn't happen. We preach shared success to make sure those guys buy in as one of 11 and continue to own their role." Final Take If the Fighting Irish are to win their second game of the season this coming Saturday, they must dominate on the defensive line, score quickly, and the wide receivers must play better. Irish fans should expect this to be a very competitive game, but hopefully, Notre Dame will come out on top. It is time for this football team to build on last week’s performance and go to battle against the Tar Heels on Saturday. Go Irish! Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Contact God Country Irish

The Notre Dame football team earned their first win of the season last Saturday, defeating the California Golden Bears. This was not a dominating performance, but the team came out in the second half with the intensity and enthusiasm fans have been waiting for under Coach Marcus Freeman. Hopefully, this can be something the team builds on moving forward. Coach Marcus Freeman had this to say at his Monday press conference: “It's really good to see, not just the overall outcome of being victorious, but guys that are graded out at winning performances. We got to continue to focus on execution, we got to continue to practice better, continue to clean up the mistakes, and build off of the momentum after one game. We have to build off of this.” During the first half of Saturday’s game, fans witnessed what they have seen all season: poor execution, foolish penalties, and a lackluster offense. Drew Pyne, the wide receivers, and the offensive line were not getting the job done during the first half of the game. However, after halftime, this team came out with the energy, enthusiasm, and competitive spirit needed to win football games. The offensive line, Pyne, and the running backs looked to get something going on offense, and they did. As a fan, it was exciting to see the offensive line push the defensive players backward as they sought to establish a running game. This offense appears to be showing glimpses of what it can be moving forward. Players of the Game Jacob Lacey Lacey played his best football in a Notre Dame uniform last Saturday. He was responsible for 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and 5 tackles for loss, and sparked the Irish defense in the second half. Lacey has earned more playing time moving forward and fans hope the defensive line can build off this performance. Chris Tyree Last week, fans and the media were wanting to see Tyree have more of an impact on the game, and he delivered against the Golden Bears. Tyree ended with 17 carries for 64yards, 5 receptions for 44 yards and 1 touchdown, 2 kick returns for 34 yards, and gave this Irish offense a spark when they needed it most. Tyree must be a central part of this offense moving forward. Audric Estime Like his counterpart, Estime provided the Irish offense with the perfect “bulldozing” complement to the “speedy” Chris Tyree. Estime ended the day with 18 carries for 76 yards and 1 touchdown, 3 receptions for 43 yards, and was able to drain the clock to close out the fourth quarter on Saturday. Estime and Tyree gave this Irish offense an identity they can build off of moving forward. Areas of Concern Wide Receivers For the third week in a row, the wide receivers did not play well on Saturday. They did not appear to block well, fight for the catch, or play with any sense of urgency that fans desperately want to see. It also appears that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees may be asking some of the receivers to play positions that they are not best suited for. The logical answer would be to get some of your taller and younger receivers more playing time. When asked about this, Coach Freeman had this to say at his Monday press conference: "Deion Colzie is still fighting his way back from the injury. I would foresee him getting more and more opportunities. Tobias Merriweather was a guy that we wanted to play even more than we did. All of a sudden, when the game is as close and the game's on the line, you're gonna play the people right now you trust the most. What does that mean? Guess what, our coaches have to earn more trust in Tobias. We got to be better coaches so that we can have more trust in Tobias and Tobias has to meet the coaches halfway and make sure he's doing the exact things he needs to do in practice, there is a trust factor that we know Tobias is in there and he's gonna get the job done. He's playing some plays and I know he'll continue to play more and more. But I think both sets of coaches and players have to find a way to continue to gain trust in each other." Linebackers For whatever reason, the linebacker play has been less than ideal for Notre Dame through the first three weeks of the season. It is possible that fans put too high of pressure on this group going into the season, but it is puzzling as to why experienced veterans are not playing well. In particular, Jack Kizer and JD Bertrand both played much better last season, so why are they showing signs of regression? Is it possible that they are being asked to do too much? Are they not allowed to just go play? Fans are left wondering and the call for younger players to see playing time is already happening. In response, Coach Freeman had this to say about his young linebackers: "Sneed and Ziegler are probably still a little bit away right now. Junior played a little bit on Saturday. I can see him getting more and more reps. Prince Kollie is another guy that will continue to get more and more reps as we move forward. Those opportunities come from practice. That's been my challenge to those guys that might not be playing as much as they want. What are you doing in practice? Those guys have to continue to gain that trust in practice. They're extremely talented players that I know will help us. How soon? We'll see.” Final Take Notre Dame fans can take a sigh of relief as the Irish captured their first victory last week, but a lot of work is needed to make this a better football program. Let us hope that the coaches will take these issues seriously and address them in the coming weeks. Despite these issues, perhaps Irish players have found that competitiveness and identity that has been missing, and we will see this team keep battling and improving for the rest of the season. I would like to end with something that continues to come up and readers might find interesting. In response to a question about making it easier for students to transfer to Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman said: "It's a process that we're in constant communication with our admissions, faculty here at Notre Dame, and with multiple head coaches of athletic programs. It's not just football. Right now, it's a period in college sports where transfers and transfer portals are a big part of roster enhancements. Our people here at Notre Dame want us to be in a position to be successful, but at the same time, we want to make sure we protect the integrity of the education here at our university. Nobody is going to just win this. We have to work together to do what's best for both parties. It's a process that we continue to have discussions about and look to enhance it." Go Irish! Photo Credit: @ndfootball on Instagram Follow “God Country Irish” on Instagram Contact God Country Irish

ND Legends: A Series by Chris Studer Photo Credit: und.com As Notre Dame fans we should consider our fan base one of the luckiest. The heroes and legends that have graced the sideline and the field for the Fighting Irish are not lacking in quantity and quality. Maybe since I grew up reading and watching everything Notre Dame, the list is longer than I can easily recite. With that being said I wanted to take a deeper dive into some of these individuals and honor each of them with their own Tribune article. The first legend I thought that need to be covered is Knute Rockne. Not only was he a player and a coach at the University he is also one of the earliest legends that the school has. Growing up I watched the Hollywood rendition of his life titled Knute Rockne, All American, numerous times. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend the film. While it is an older film it and might be hard to find, I feel it captures the story of the Irish legend very well. From his early years as a young immigrant from Norway growing up in Chicago, all the way up to his final days, we get to know Knute on many levels. But I do not want to bore you with my movie reviews. Knute Rockne and the Fighting Irish are typically given credit for popularizing the forward pass, it was legal in football since 1906 but had not been widely adopted. Versus a heavily favored Army in 1913 Gus Dorais and Rockne led the Irish to upset victory over the cadets by deploying the strategy to great effect. This alone would have been enough to enshrine Rockne as a Notre Dame Legend. He was just getting started though. Following his graduation in 1914, Rockne taught chemistry and served as assistant football coach at Notre Dame under Jess Harper, until becoming the head coach in 1918. Rockne's first team went 3-1-2 in a season shortened by World War I, and he began upgrading the schedule and roster the next year. The following two year the Irish went undefeated, being led by George Gipp, an Irish legend who was an electric all-purpose back; to be featured later in our series. Rockne then began to garner national attention and pursued opportunities that would put the Irish in the spotlight from week to week. He knew that Notre Dame had the potential to become a real powerhouse in college football. But at the time Notre Dame played its home games at Cartier Field which only held 3,000 fans, this would not suffice. With higher aspirations, he worked to create bigger and better brand for the University. He wanted his team to play anyone, anywhere. Traveling across the country to play the stalwarts of thee day, Nebraska, Army, Georgia Tech and Princeton. In 1924 The Fighting Irish would deploy a new shift on offense, its key elements were none other than "The Four Horseman." More specifically Jim Crowley, Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller and Elmer Layden. These four were unstoppable force tearing through opposing defenses and drawing more and more fans to games. The dynamic backfield was supported by a offensive line dubbed “The Seven Mules.” Behind this new look team Notre Dame won its first national championship that season, capped by a 27-10 victory over Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl. Photo Credit: und.com While the origins of the new shift have been discussed and disputed, it is widely believed to have come from a football team visit to the Rockettes in New York City, where Rockne drew inspiration from their dance routine to later implement his own version on the gridiron. All the while Rockne continued to grind out success on and off the field for Notre Dame. On the heels of second national title in 1929 the University would break ground on what is today one of the cathedrals of college football:Notre Dame Stadium. It would be completed the next year with a capacity for over 50,000 fans. For the stadium to stay packed Rockne knew that the Irish had to deliver on the football field. He was constantly working in the off season to schedule the best opponents and fine tune his offensive schemes to make sure the team was ready for the upcoming season. In the late 1920's Rockne was able to secure a match up against one of the west coast powers, USC. That game allowed the Irish to play their last game of the season in a warmer climate and also in one of the biggest markets of the day, Los Angeles. This rivalry has continued till today, to the benefit of both schools and with the Irish leading the series 48-36-5. During his Notre Dame Rockne would go on to win 105 games, with only 12 losses and 5 ties. Though there were seasons that were tougher than others the coach never stop working. The Irish claimed three national titles during Rockne's tenure; 1924 and 1929 and another in 1930. Unfortunately, the legendary coach would meet an untimely end. While traveling to Los Angeles on March 31, 1931, he was killed when his plane crashed in a pasture near Bazaar, Kan. Knute Rockne was only 43 years old. In an era when teams are now playing a minimum of 12 games a season and coaches stay on the sidelines well into their 70’s we can only wonder what might have been if Knute Rockne had been able to grace the sideline for several more years. What we do know is that this man worked tirelessly to create a winning program and program that had a national identity. The Irish have gone on to win hundreds of more games, recruit top talent, and continue to build brand, but this was all grounded in the work done by Knute Rockne. Notre Dame Stadium is often called “The House That Rockne Built” and he rightly deserves that credit, but this University owes more than just the stadium to Rocke. He placed Notre Dame on the front page of college football for more than decade with exciting players, big time games, and innovative football, here’s to the current Irish coach doing the same. Go Irish!

Written by Nick Kremer, Editor for The Irish Tribune ☘️ Marcus Freeman was able to secure his first victory as the head coach of Notre Dame. The Irish defeated Cal on Saturday 24-17, and were finally able to exhale as they got their first win of the season. It was an ugly game, but there are plenty who improved their stock, and some that had their stock drop. Photo from uhnd.com Stock Up 📈 Offensive Line Harry Hiestand knows that his unit has been struggling to start the year. He heard the message loud and clear, and we saw a big difference this week up front. The OLine finally looked as advertised in this game, looking excellent in pass protection, and getting movement in the run game. Part of this success seemed to be from the emphasis on gap-scheme running plays called by Tommy Rees. This unit still has a lot to improve on to fully live up to where they should be, but this was a big step in their development as a unit. If Notre Dame is going to turn this season around, it is all going to start up front with the offensive line. Tyree/Estime/Lacy Notre Dame fans have been wondering where the touches for Chris Tyree have been over the first two weeks of the season. Tyree got his chance, and he did not disappoint. Tyree rushed for 64 yards on 17 attempts, and also added 5 catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Look for Tyree to be a huge part of the game plan going forward. Audric Estime continues to impress out of the backfield for Notre Dame. Audric had 76 rushing yards on 18 attempts with a touchdown, and added 3 receptions for 43 yards. You can see a 1-2 punch developing in the Notre Dame backfield; a thunder and lightning combo. Jacob Lacey had himself A DAY. Lacey had 3 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks in the game. He was the player of the game on defense in my opinion. Green Jerseys I LOVE the green jerseys and the idea of the fans wearing green. The green sticks out in the crowd, and it follows the Irish theme. However, the blue numbers on the green jerseys are so hard to see, and it just doesn’t look great. If Under Armour were to make the numbers white or gold, then these jerseys would be perfect. Manti Teo It was great to see Manti Teo come home to South Bend for the game. He got a huge round of applause more than once when he was shown on the video board. Let's hope Manti makes it back to campus again soon. Photo from cbssports.com Stock Down 📉 Linebackers It is hard to understand how a veteran group that has been a strength the last couple of years has somehow regressed this much. The linebackers do NOT trigger and attack. They seem hesitant, and catch ball carriers instead of being the aggressor. With the head coach being a former linebacker, Al Golden, and James Laurinitis all having an influence on this group, it is inexcusable that they are playing this way. Pass Game Yes, it was Drew Pyne’s first career start. Yes, we have limited numbers at the WR position. Yes, we have a brand new WR coach. This performance though? At the University of Notre Dame? Absolutely unacceptable. Easy passes dropped at crucial times. Jogging off the line. Average to below average effort on blocking. This unit has been VERY underwhelming so far this year, even with the low expectations. I’m not sure if some receivers have given up or what, but the performance of this group is not acceptable at this level. Discipline 8 penalties for 66 yards. 3 false starts on 3rd and short. Bobbled snaps. Careless penalties on defense. The discipline on this team seems to be lacking. Most of these errors seem to come at crucial times for this team. I don’t know if the team is playing tight and scared to make a mistake, or if these mistakes are just piling on at inopportune times, but they need to be fixed and fixed soon. ☘️

When talking about Notre Dame's strengths heading into the season the offensive and defensive lines were the groups expected to lead this team in overall production. With an experienced crew leading the charge on the and longtime coach and former Irish talent builder Harry Hiestand returning to coach the o-line, it seemed in order for both sides of the line to build off of a successful second half of the season. It seemed like nearly a given that the running attack would be the driving force of this offense because of the production up front and the defensive front would be the tone setters on an equally dominant defense. So far from what we've seen, that's been far from the case. Offensive Line Harry Hiestand's guys haven't exactly lived up to the high expectations held throughout the offseason. Since Matt Salerno's circus catch in the second quarter we really haven't seen much firepower from the offense and a lot of that falls on the offensive line. With a depleted wide receiver group, the running attack was going to have to be the leading part of this offense but instead has been rendered useless by the ineffectiveness from the offensive line. Taking a look at the Ohio State game, Notre Dame had a total of 30 rushing attempts from four different guys (Buchner 11, Estime 9, Tyree 6, Diggs 4) with only 76 yards to show from it. On average that's 2.5 yards per rush. Now plenty of this comes at the blame of Tommy Rees, whose play calling has proven to be very questionable, but there's clearly some disconnect here that just hasn't been fixed. Moving onto Week 2 against Marshall, Captain Jarrett Patterson returned to the line where the Irish only mustered 130 yards on 37 carries against a Marshall team that finished 105th in rushing defense last year. Sure the offensive line took a little while to get up to speed but with the returning production along with Hiestand it's simply puzzling to watch. Cal's front has looked relatively average against the run thus far. Let's see how things play out this week in terms of performance on the run. I feel that I don't know what my Keys to the Game can be anymore after I emphasized heavily on the run game before the Ohio State game. Defensive Line The other side of the line has been one that's struggled as the game progresses. Well, apart from last week I guess. During the first 3 quarters of the Ohio State game the middle of the line was able to make CJ Stroud uncomfortable which forced him to make some difficult throws in tough situations. But that final drive against the Buckeyes still looms. 95 yards that took off a massive chunk of time and what sealed it for Ohio State. It’s tough to blame the defense for that after not being able to get off the field all game, but they haven’t seemed right since. The following week against Marshall saw the Irish giving up 163 yards to one man (Rasheen Ali) and over 200 rushing overall. There was a lot left to be desired after that game for both sides but the defensive line’s ability to make that initial stop at the line proved to be costly in the late stretch of the game. People may forget as it was overshadowed by the pick six, but Marshall marched right down the field after starting with the ball inside their own 10 to take the lead. Maybe the defensive line isn’t the biggest issue out there right now(because it isn’t). But it’s worth noting these inconsistencies. Any improvement can always go a long way-especially with this talent.