Category: NewsWatch

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “They made it interesting, but Irish survive vs. Miami” – USA Today

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Game Day, Notre Dame Football News
"We're # 1" Moses Sculpture at Notre Dame

What happened Saturday night would’ve been unbelievable if this wasn’t Notre Dame football in 2016.  Notre Dame 30, Miami 27 fit the theme almost perfectly. A chaotic afternoon saw the Fighting Irish dominate its way to an early 20-point lead only to allow 27 straight points. The difference Saturday was the way Notre Dame finally finished, something that’s eluded them all season. ‘They were just happy … it’s finally over, that they got through it in a close game, that they found a way to win,’ a relieved coach Brian Kelly said … ‘That was the feeling more than anything else.’ After losing its previous two games in unsettling fashion, the Irish survived by a 23-yard field goal from Justin Yoon with 30 seconds left. … Notre Dame’s bowl hopes remain alive as Miami lost its fourth straight. It was a white-knuckler before those final moments. …

Click here for USA Today: “They made it interesting, but Irish survive vs. Miami”

, , , , ,

#IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Irish Return From Bye Week, Play Host to Miami; #NotreDame & Miami meet Saturday at 3:40 p.m. on NBC” – und.com

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Game Day, Notre Dame Football News
Saint Joseph's Lake with Golden Dome and Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the Distance

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Miami Hurricanes this Saturday in The House That Rockne Built.

3:40 p.m. ET; Saturday, Oct. 22; Notre Dame Stadium (80,795); Notre Dame Ind. … NBC national telecast … IMG College Sports … Irish football radio broadcasts … broadcast to 117 affiliates … SiriusXM Satellite Radio (channel 129). … preceded by a one hour pre-game show … followed by a national post-game show … All games can be heard in South Bend on WSBT 96.1 FM & 960 AM, and Sunny 101.5 FM.

Notre Dame has a young team, yet Brian Kelly is usually solid off a bye week.

Countdown to Kickoff

55 Fifty-five of the 61 players on Notre Dame’s depth chart this week have eligibility remaining following the 2016 season.
43 Forty-three of the 61 players on Notre Dame’s depth this week have at least two years of eligibility remaining following the 2016 season.
21 Notre Dame has used 21 players in their first year of eligibility this season, including 14 true freshmen (most in the Brian Kelly era).
18 Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is 18-2 over his career coming off a bye week, including a 7-1 mark at Notre Dame.
15 Fifteen of Notre Dame’s 22 starters vs. Stanford have made 11 or fewer starts in their career.
11 The 2016 Notre Dame roster features 11 players from the state of Florida, which ranks as the third most from one state on the Irish roster (Illinois 16, Ohio 12). ….

Click here for und.com: “Irish Return From Bye Week, Play Host Miami; Notre Dame & Miami meet Saturday at 3:40 p.m. on NBC”

, , , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Too many yards missing from #NotreDame offense” – South Bend Tribune ND Insider

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football News, Notre Dame Football Offense, Offensive Line
File Photo of Football on Turf with Yardlines

Fifty-eight fewer yards a game is a big production deficit for the #NotreDame #football team’s rushing attack. … Last season, with an offensive line buoyed by future NFL players Ronnie Stanley … and Nick Martin …. along with Steve Elmer … Mike McGlinchey … and Quenton Nelson … the Irish averaged 208 yards on the ground. … This year … it’s down to 150. “… at the start of (last) season, we had 100-plus starts coming in with only three different guys (Stanley, Martin and Elmer) in our offensive line,’ said McGlinchey …. ‘This year we had 25 or something like that. … it’s one of those things that comes with experience.’ …. lack of experience will make the Miami game that much tougher. The Hurricanes lead the nation with 71 tackles for loss and are among the country’s best with 23 sacks.

Click here for South Bend Tribune ND Insider: “Too many yards missing from Notre Dame offense”

 

, , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: University of #NotreDame #Football Media Conference – #BrianKelly Tuesday Press Conference – Notre Dame vs. Miami Preview 10.25.16

Brian Kelly, NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Game Day, Notre Dame Football News

COACH KELLY: Obviously playing a very talented team in Miami. Outstanding athleticism. Mark Richt, I think we all know the respect for Mark and what he’s accomplished in his career. … another challenge that we’re going to have to face in terms of an offense that has some very productive players. Kaaya leads Miami in a lot of categories. But I think he’s established himself more as a very consistent player for them on offense. … Coley … the top pass catcher in Miami of all time. … Very talented corps of running backs, and definitely playing a lot of young players. … Coach D is well-respected in the fraternity as an outstanding coach that gets his players to play really hard, and play hard for four quarters. … a very athletic team, one that we’re very familiar with. Another exciting challenge for our guys to get better. We made some progress. We just haven’t been able to close out games, which has been obviously the story this year. We’re going to. It’s just a matter of time. We’re all frustrated. But the attitude’s been great. Our kids have worked hard. They want to win. We’ll find a way to win one of these games and we’ll keep battling till we get one, and hopefully it’s this weekend. …

Click here for und.com: “TRANSCRIPT: University of Notre Dame Football Media Conference Oct. 25, 2016”

 

, , , , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Former Notre Dame player sues university, NCAA over concussions” – South Bend Tribune/AP

College Football Lawsuits, Concussions, NCAA, NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football News
Artist's Rendition of Brain and Brain Activity Amidst Profile of Head

Former … Notre Dame football player Gary Gray is suing Notre Dame and the NCAA, claiming he suffered repetitive head injuries while playing football and didn’t receive proper medical care. … the latest in a wave of federal lawsuits filed … on behalf of former football players related to concussions .. Gray … was a cornerback on the Fighting Irish football team from 2007 through 2011. … When Gray suffered concussive or sub-concussive hits, he would ‘shake it off’ and get put back in the game, according to the complaint. … Gray now suffers from mood swings, anxiety, depression and other debilitating issues …. The lawsuit claims that for decades Notre Dame and the NCAA knew about the debilitating long-term dangers of concussions, concussion-related injuries and traumatic brain injuries … from playing college football, but actively concealed that information to protect the business of college football.

Click here for South Bend Tribune/AP: “Former Notre Dame player sues university, NCAA over concussions”

[featured image is file photo, not directly to article subject matter]

, , , , , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame-Stanford 2016: Both Teams Seek Bounce-Back; Each of the last four games has been decided by seven points or less” — und.com/John Heisler

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Game Day, Notre Dame Football News
Golden Dome in Bright Sunlight

… when the Irish and Cardinal have met in each of the last five seasons, both teams have been nationally ranked — with Notre Dame three of the last four seasons ranked ninth or higher. Stanford has played in the Rose Bowl three of the last four years (winning two of those), while Notre Dame appeared in the Bowl Championship Series title game in 2012 and a year ago played in a New Year’s Six contest. In 2016, however, both teams (Stanford at 3-2 and Notre Dame at 2-4) come to Notre Dame Stadium unranked (that hasn’t happened since three straight meetings in 2007-08-09) after both began the year in the Associated Press preseason top 10. … Both teams would like to turn around the turnover totals–with the Irish at minus-five and Stanford at minus-three. … Shaw’s squad will be looking to upgrade an offense that currently averages 19.4 points and 307 yards per game — after the Cardinal a year ago finished at 37.8 and 435.5, respectively. … Kelly’s solution is for he and his team to find ways to close out games. The four Irish losses have come by an average of 5.2 points — and none by more than eight points.

Click here for und.com/John Heisler: “Notre Dame-Stanford 2016: Both Teams Seek Bounce-Back; Each of the last four games has been decided by seven points or less”

, , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame’s bowl hopes in jeopardy after water-logged loss to Wolfpack” – Sporting News

Bowl Games, NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football News
Football on Turf Near Yard Marker

… Notre Dame (2-4) might not make the postseason. The Irish will likely be underdogs in their three remaining home games against Stanford, Miami (Fla.) and Virginia Tech. They have neutral site games against Navy and Army. The regular-season finale at USC could be a battle for bowl eligibility for both teams. We don’t see Notre Dame lowering itself to being a 5-7 bowl team if some spots need to be filled. …

Click here for Sporting News: “Notre Dame’s bowl hopes in jeopardy after water-logged loss to Wolfpack”

, , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Why Notre Dame might not make a bowl this season” – Fox Sports

Bowl Games, NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football News
File Photo of Football on Turf with Yardlines

Notre Dame is now 2-4 on the season after a 10-3 loss to North Carolina State in the middle of a hurricane …. While the game itself was a sloppy mess and the contest probably shouldn’t have been played, the result will still stand. … Now, the Irish need to play to make a bowl game. … Notre Dame has six games remaining … they will have to win four of those contests. (They could get to a bowl game with a 5-7 record if there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams, but that’s unlikely given the amount of parity in college football this year.)

Click here for Fox Sports: “Why Notre Dame might not make a bowl this season”

, , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH Chicago Tribune: “It’s Time for Brian Kelly and Notre Dame to go their separate ways”

Brian Kelly, NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football Coaches, Notre Dame Football News

… every Notre Dame coach has a shelf life. The best and brightest … depart before being pushed. Where does that leave Brian Kelly, coach of the nation’s most underperforming team? It’s doubtful the school would fire him a year after a 10-win season and nine months after he signed an extension through 2021. But perhaps Kelly will realize that it’s just … time. … Given the remaining slate of Stanford, Miami, Navy, Army, Virginia Tech and USC, the Irish will be fortunate to finish 5-7. Will that mark the end of Kelly’s time in South Bend? His departure could be the ‘right thing’ for the program, but he’s not thinking that way. ‘I’m doing everything to build the winning identity for this team for right now and for ’17, ’18 and ’19,’ he said. ‘We want to stop the slide. That means start winning again.’

Chicago Tribune: “It’s Time for Brian Kelly and Notre Dame to go their separate ways”

, , , , ,

IRISH NEWSWATCH: “Notre Dame needs offense to be dependable, clutch” – AP

NewsWatch, Notre Dame Football News, Notre Dame Football Offense, Offensive Line
Notre Dame Stadium Facade

Notre Dame’s offense, when not playing in a hurricane, has been plenty explosive, although not at all dependable. … The offensive line in particular hasn’t met expectations. … expected to be a strength, with McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson returning, but the Irish rank 92nd in the nation in rushing at 149.5 yards a game. That’s 58.1 yards a game worse than last year and on pace for its lowest average since 2011. They also rank 88th in sacks allowed, 2.5 a game. … The Irish need them to get better now … if they are going to turn around one of the worst starts in … school history. The Irish have just two wins against opponents with combined records of 16-17. The only opponent they’ve faced who now has a winning record is North Carolina State (4-1), which also is the only opponent with a win over a Power Five conference opponent. … The coaches have been spending more time on the two-minute drill and other game situations.

Click here for AP: “Notre Dame needs offense to be dependable, clutch”

, , , , ,
1 2 3 4 5 … 8