by Leprechaun Express & Steve Welsh
“… NOTRE DAME: Though Brian Kelly said unequivocally that he would be back … and has publicly had the support of athletics director Jack Swarbrick, school officials were furious about reports over the weekend that his representatives are exploring coaching options for Kelly outside of Notre Dame. … The tension between Notre Dame, Kelly and his agent Trace Armstrong dates
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“During one of several embarrassments in a 4-8 season full of them, #NotreDame coach #BrianKelly defended his style by referring to himself in the third person. ‘I’m being Brian Kelly, so if people have a problem with that, then they’re not going to be friends or fans of Notre Dame football,’ Kelly said in mid-October. ‘I’m just going to be
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“In three words, Brian Kelly expressed his desire to return as Notre Dame’s football coach …. ‘I’ll be back,’ he said with … Jack Swarbrick, nodding and smiling in the audience at the … Coliseum after a 45-27 loss against USC. But when all was said and done with the Irish’s forgettable 4-8 season … more was said than done.
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As of late Tuesday night, tickets are still available for Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal in the Los Angeles Coliseum, Saturday afternoon of Thanksgiving Weekend. Kick-off is at 12:30 p.m. PT/local time (3:30 p.m. ET). Click here for USC online ticket sales, Notre Dame vs. Southern California, Saturday, Nov. 26 in the L.A. Coliseum … [or click here for alternative
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BrianKelly meets with reporters on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016, as Notre Dame prepares for their road game at Southern Cal. Notre Dame also is reacting to the NCAA’s announcement of wide-ranging sanctions against Notre Dame in connection with an academic cheating scandal. If the sanctions hold, Notre Dame will vacate their wins from their 2012 run to the BCS title
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“Brian Kelly’s worst season at Notre Dame took an embarrassing turn … the NCAA announced that academic misconduct orchestrated by a student athletic trainer will cost the storied program all 21 victories from the 2012-13 seasons, including the 12-0 run that vaulted the Fighting Irish into the national championship game against Alabama. … just the fourth time the NCAA has
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“Notre Dame will be forced to vacate victories in the 2012 and 2013 football season due to NCAA violations by a student-trainer. The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions panel ruled the trainer violated ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football players by completing their coursework. The two players and another also committed individual academic misconduct,
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“A former University of #NotreDame student athletic trainer violated #NCAA ethical conduct rules when she committed academic misconduct for two football student-athletes and provided six other #football student-athletes with impermissible academic extra benefits, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel. One additional football student-athlete committed academic misconduct on his own. The panel prescribed one year of probation, a
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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Virginia Tech Hokies, Saturday Nov. 19 at 3:30 pm ET in The House That Rockne Built, televised nationally on NBC.
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“After two weeks away from home … Notre Dame … returns to Notre Dame Stadium … for its final home game of the year against Virginia Tech. … the last of five Atlantic Coast clashes … the last of six home contests … the first time the Hokies and Irish have met. … five things to watch … 1. The
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“… while Brian Kelly will greet and appreciate 28 seniors who’ll run out of the tunnel in the season’s final home game, he’s hopeful that this won’t be goodbye for most. … while Jarron Jones, James Onwualu, Isaac Rochell, Cole Luke, Mark Harrell, Scott Daly and Avery Sebastian are saying goodbye, there’s plenty of eligibility remaining. … ‘We don’t have
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“… just eight ND players who will run out of the tunnel … are exhausting their eligibility …. Only six of them came to Notre Dame as recruited high school prospects. … Increasingly, a share of the elite seniors on a five-year track and true juniors are going to cannonball into the NFL Draft pool early. … of the 13
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“In the nine seasons from 2007-15, Notre Dame has consistently gone through what has been referred to as ‘The Navy Hangover.’ …”
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“THREE KEYS TO VICTORY FOR VIRGINIA TECH 1 Get going early … easy for outsiders to say this game means nothing. … a nonconference game … next week, Tech takes on its rival, Virginia, with a chance to clinch the ACC’s Coastal Division …. The Hokies say they’re focused on this game, but minds will wander if Notre Dame jumps
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“Today, Notre Dame is 4-6 — and yet there were inquiries during head coach Brian Kelly’s weekly press conference about whether the team would be receptive to going to a bowl game, even with a possible 5-7 record. … ‘I haven’t given it much thought, to be honest with you,’ replied Kelly when asked if the school would play in
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Inside #NotreDame #Football covers some of the latest news, featuring Brian Kelly, Jack Nolan and some Notre Dame players, including a Notre Dame vs. Army recap and Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech preview.
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“Virginia Tech has a very good football team. Justin Fuente, head football coach and Bud Foster, the defensive coordinator, put together a very good year, some really good wins; North Carolina I really thought probably as complete a game as they played all year. Turned the ball over a few times, but a really good football team. Defensively it’s what
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#NotreDame and Army met in the latest Shamrock Series outing Saturday in San Antonio—with the Irish roaring to a 38-6 halftime lead on their way to a 44-6 victory. … 1.The Irish have regained some confidence. … 2. There has been measurable progress on defense. … 3. The Irish had a great day on offense. … 4. Freshman wide receiver
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ND’s 44-6 victory over Army on Saturday … broadcast in the 3:30 p.m. ET time slot, earned a 1.0 overnight rating, according to SportsMediaWatch.com. That’s lower than last year’s Shamrock Series game (1.3) on NBCSN that ended in a sloppy 19-16 ND win over Boston College and aired on [cable’s] NBCSN in primetime. Two late November games broadcast on NBC
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“Someone forgot to tell all these folks Notre Dame’s football team is struggling …. More than 45,000 fans amped up the energy of the Alamodome – and the rest of the city of San Antonio … – as the Irish (4-6) celebrated their Shamrock Series event Texas style, with a bigger-than-life 44-6 victory over Army (5-5) …. The Irish exploded
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1. Notre Dame Defensive Adjustments to Defend the Option … 2. Army Pass Defense vs. DeShone Kizer and the Notre Dame Receivers … 3. Waiting for the Notre Dame Special Teams Mistake … This season has a chance to be one to remember for Army and already is a season to forget for Notre Dame. But there is still a
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“Notre Dame heads to San Antonio, needing a win …. in the Black Knights, the Irish have a foe that’s fitting—a double-digit underdog, but one who presents some of the same challenges that made Navy so difficult. Jeff Monken’s third Army team has shown considerable improvements. They’ve won big games, beating Wake Forest and Temple while hanging tight with Duke.
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“The mission is clear, and it is critical. Win a football game, or stare a school record for futility straight in the eyes.”
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#NOTREDAME #FOOTBALL: “… when it comes to having profound and lasting impact on an entire sport, it’s tough to argue that any rivalry matched the Notre Dame-Army rivalry of the 20th century. The two teams met for the first time 103 years ago, when the upstart Notre Dame team traveled east to play the powerful Cadets at West Point. To
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“… immersed in … the worst of his 27 seasons as a … head coach, it would be easy for … Brian Kelly to make wholesale changes within his program. He did so last month by firing … Brian VanGorder, but from a personnel standpoint, Kelly has decided to stay the course even after losing for the sixth time in
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#NOTREDAME #FOOTBALL: “The vision Brian Kelly is selling to recruits of how Notre Dame’s defense will evolve … ‘Quite frankly, we’re going to be in both (3-4 and 4-3 fronts), because I’m not going anywhere,’ he said. ‘So it’s going to be a three-down, four-down defense, and they’re going to have to be somebody that can do both.’ They are
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#NOTREDAME #FOOTBALL #NotreDamevsArmy: 1. Expect minimal possessions (again). … 2. Quarterback play will be critical. … 3. Another Notre Dame-Army connection. … 4. Notre Dame might be one of the better opponents Army has faced. … 5. Check out the military angles. Anytime Notre Dame plays one of the service academies, the military connections are front and center … Joining
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#NOTREDAME #FOOTBALL: Notre Dame vs. Army, 3:30 p.m. ET; Saturday, Nov. 12; Alamodome (72,000); San Antonio, Texas.
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#NOTREDAME #FOOTBALL: The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel’s Tom Davis comments: “Notre Dame is a bad football team. That is the problem. Poor coaching, poor coaching decisions, and poor execution by its players (which is certainly related to the poor coaching) are merely the symptoms. ‘I love the way we compete and play hard,’ Kelly said. ‘We’ve lost six close games that
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#NOTREDAME #FOOTBALL: “Navy, with the second-most inexperienced offensive line in the 128-team FBS and with a quarterback in Will Worth originally scripted to be an understudy to injured QB Tago Smith, surged and domineered an Irish defensive front on a fourth-and-1 play to perpetuate a drive that led to the eventual go-ahead score.”
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“… [special teams] miscues have played a major role in why the Fighting Irish (3-5) have struggled. A blocked punt was the only touchdown scored in a 10-3 loss at North Carolina State. The Irish were leading 20-0 against Miami … when the Hurricanes recovered a bouncing punt that ricocheted off Tony Pride Jr., igniting a 27-0 run that included
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… When Bob Elliott was hired as a special assistant to the head coach at Notre Dame, one of his first tasks was to conduct an in-depth study on option football. Notre Dame plays Navy every year and also had Georgia Tech and Army on the 2015 and 2016 schedules. Elliott, who had previously coached the safeties and linebackers for
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So how is Navy this good? … More depth means injuries are less devastating. … particularly … when a team loses a quarterback …. Luckily for Navy, Will Worth was ready to step in. In his limited work, the senior has won four games and amassed 1,187 total yards and 15 touchdowns. … more of a power rusher, while Reynolds
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Nothing has gone according to plan for Notre Dame (3-5) this season, but they managed to find themselves celebrating a win despite blowing a 20-0 lead at home …. Notre Dame saw a 20-0 lead turn into a 27-20 deficit against Miami (4-4, 1-3 ACC) in the fourth quarter, but … responded with a 10-point run to come away with
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Notre Dame blew a 20-point lead but recovered to beat Miami 30-27 on kicker Justin Yoon’s third field goal of the game, a 23-yarder with 31 seconds left … DeShone Kizer passed for 263 yards and two touchdowns as the Fighting Irish (3-5) overcame two muffed punts, a successful onside kick by Miami and a partially blocked punt to win
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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
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… #DeShoneKizer remains one of college #football’s most highly regarded prospects in scouting circles. … an NFC executive views the redshirt sophomore as a top-10 draft choice. ‘Pocket passer with a very good arm, has the athletic ability to get out and make plays with his feet,” the executive [said] …’All the tools are there. He’s struggled a little bit
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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
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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 …
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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
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Running back Christian McCaffrey will not play on Saturday night against Notre Dame, coach David Shaw confirmed … Last year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up did not play most of the second half of last Saturday’s 42-16 loss to Washington State. … After rushing for 436 yards over his first three games, all victories, the junior has been limited to 84 total rushing yards
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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
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… 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
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… 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
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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
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… Brian Kelly [on Thursday said] … ‘They’re ready. They just have to break through. They’re doing all the things I’m asking them to do, they just have to go win. It’s going to happen. I would’ve liked that it happened a few weeks ago, and they would’ve as well, but they’re ready to win. … I believe this group
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… 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
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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
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Notre Dame players on Wednesday disagreed with the notion their head coach was blaming players or throwing them under the bus in a way that was unfair or negatively impacted the locker room. ‘Blame is definitely not the word,’ quarterback DeShone Kizer said. ‘In this game there are 11 guys who are required to do their job … in order
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“… After the game, head coach Brian Kelly was highly critical of his junior center. ‘I’m just extremely disappointed in the offensive execution and lack of ability to manage the snapping of the football,’ Kelly said, ‘which was atrocious.’”
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#HurricaneMatthew — which made landfall in South Carolina about 200 miles south of Raleigh — brought torrential, driving rain and winds gusting up to about 50 miles per hour to central North Carolina on Saturday. … as of 8 p.m. E.T., 4.84 inches of rain had fallen in the Raleigh area …. But in spite of those miserable, wretched conditions,
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After a 33-16 victory over previously unbeaten Wake Forest last Saturday, NC State is now 3-1. The Week 2 loss to East Carolina is in the past and the Wolfpack have built some momentum. … Three Things to Watch … 1. Turnovers … 2. … Boise State graduate transfer Ryan Finley has taken hold of the [quarterback] position … complet[ing]
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7 points on special teams …. Notre Dame is now one of 20 teams in the country to have a kickoff return for a touchdown …. Notre Dame allowed Syracuse to convert just 20 percent of its third downs …. 5 touchdowns of 50-plus yards …. 4.5 yards per play allowed on first down in the second half …. 1
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1. The Notre Dame defense made progress … 2. Back to work. … Kelly made good on his promise to play more people, as an amazing 27 players were credited with tackles …. forcing nine Syracuse punts — four times on three-and-out …. 3. What a wild start. … five consecutive touchdowns to open the contest — and Notre Dame’s
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…. Kizer, who has ascended to the top of most NFL draft analysts’ lists of the top draft-eligible quarterbacks next spring, went 23-for-35 and threw three touchdown passes in the win. His 465 passing yards was the third-highest single-game mark in program history —J oe Theismann holds the record of 524—and the 6-foot-5, 235-pound signal-caller rushed for another score too.
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Fox Sports noted improvement and a greater sense of urgency in Notre Dame’s defense in the Irish victory over Syracuse. … It wasn’t a perfect performance … that’s OK. Saturday proved Notre Dame is still a work in progress, and there’s nothing wrong with that. … the Irish’s much maligned defense looked, well, better on Saturday. … after giving up
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… Notre Dame defensive players, bullied on the field and bashed off it for the first four weeks of the season, single-mindedly pushed for new defensive coordinator Greg Hudson to sing the Fight Song in the jubilant postgame aftermath of Saturday’s 50-33 subduing of Syracuse …. ‘He brought an energy to the team, a new type of leadership,’ Notre Dame
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Blue and Gold Illustrated reports on Notre Dame’s defensive improvement against Syracuse, following a change in defensive coordinators. … though the 50-33 #NotreDame win over Syracuse … featured plenty of room for improvement on defense, it was a step in the right direction. Syracuse’s high-powered offense started fast …. But some halftime adjustments proved crucial, and the Irish limited the
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… Brian Kelly somewhat simplif[ied] Notre Dame’s defense since he dismissed defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder … [he also played] a lot of freshmen. … Troy Pride Jr. became the 13th freshman to play for Notre Dame this season, a high for Kelly since he joined the Irish in 2010. Pride was one of four freshmen in Notre Dame’s secondary at
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The Raleigh News & Observer reports on ABC’s decision to have Notre Dame’s game at North Carolina State kick off at 12 noon, for national broadcast on ABC itself (rather than, for example, ABC Sports’ cable affiliate, ESPN). N.C. State’s home game with Notre Dame on Saturday will kick off at noon and be televised nationally on ABC …. Predictably,
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St. Brown padded his team-leading totals with four more catches, 182 more yards and two long touchdowns in a 50-33 squashing of Syracuse Saturday at MetLife Stadium. … with 25 for 541 and six scores on the season, the owner of one career catch coming into this season is ahead of [Will] Fuller’s All-America pace of last season. … The
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Notre Dame will count this as progress after a week of upheaval and adjustments for a beleaguered defense. … Notre Dame tightened up its tackling and held Syracuse to seven points in the second half, and DeShone Kizer made up for most of the Irish’s ills with one of the best passing games in school history. … a career-best 471
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… Michigan State … gashed the Irish for 260 rushing yards and 501 yards in total offense. … The statistical snapshot, one fourth of the way into the regular season, features a high-water mark of 89th nationally out of 128 in any significant defensive category. … 103rd in pass-efficiency defense, 102nd in total defense, 94th in scoring defense, 100th in
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As for whether he is confident in VanGorder, whose unit ranks 104th in total defense through three games — after finishing 37th and 69th in 2015 and 2014, respectively — Kelly is standing behind his [Defensive Coordinator]. … ‘Oh, absolutely. Yeah, without question. That’s not even part of the conversation’ …. ‘It’s really about the fundamentals of defense. … I
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Michigan State opened the season with an uninspiring performance against Furman, an FCS team that finished with a losing record last year. The Spartans didn’t dominate the time of possession, the turnover battle or line of scrimmage, and as a result, they didn’t dominate on the scoreboard. … Mark Dantonio … [has] seen Michigan State play down to its competition
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Ara Parseghian still bristles 50 years later at the notion No. 1 Notre Dame played for a tie against No. 2 Michigan State …. ‘The only play that we ran that would be suggestive of going for a tie was the last play of the game’ …. * * * That 1966 game has been described as the Game of
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… The Irish rank 38th in the country in rushing offense through two weeks, averaging 222.5 yards per game. But on 18 rushing attempts inside the red zone, the Irish have just 31 yards, an average of 1.72 yards per carry, which ranks 109th in the country. … that McGlinchey and Nelson haven’t met expecations speaks to their potential. Nelson
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#IRISH VIDEO NEWSLINK: Live Stream: Brian Kelly Tuesday Press Conference – Notre Dame vs. Michigan State Preview
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Breaking in new starters and dealing with the on-field growing pains of relying on less-experienced players is reality these days for Michigan State. … the Spartans spent their bye week trying to clean up some of the mistakes – 10 penalties being chief among them – and getting ready to jump onto the big stage with Saturday’s trip to Notre
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DeShone Kizer threw two touchdown passes and ran for another … Josh Adams rushed for 106 yards and Notre Dame’s defense rebounded … to help the 18th-ranked Fighting Irish beat Nevada 39-10 …. After being held scoreless in the first quarter by Nevada (1-1), the Irish (1-1) took control with a 25-point second quarter — the most points in the
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Not only can there be a dramatic change in a team’s personality/demeanor after just one year, it can happen in just one week …. Adding to the degree of difficulty is the home field. … the Longhorns, who finished 5-7 last year, are only 3.5-point underdogs at home after losing by 35 at Notre Dame in 2015 …. other factors
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Neither program plans to reveal its starting quarterback until their respective units take the field …. The Fighting Irish also will be debuting a new receiving corps and rebuilt offensive line. … How will three new Irish starters in the secondary, and a new middle linebacker, hold up against the fast-break [Texas] attack? … For the Longhorns, how motivated are
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The individual on Texas’ offense who could trouble Notre Dame the most … may not be one of its quarterbacks or either of its 250-pound running backs. … [but rather] first-year offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert’s up-tempo system. Gilbert, a co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa last season, helped direct a Golden Hurricane offense that averaged 36 points, more than 500 yards of
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7:30 p.m. ET; Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (100,119); Austin, Texas … ABC national telecast … SERIES INFO Notre Dame leads the series with Texas, 9-2, including a 4-0 record in Austin. This is the first meeting between the #Irish and #Longhorns in Texas since a 27-24 Notre Dame victory on Sept. 21, 1996, in Austin,
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