Irish sit at #15 and 6-2. So we are bowl eligible, yippeee!! Duke is a team that has had it's ups and downs this year. They have currently lost 3 of their last 4 games, beating only Ga.Tech. Their best win is 45-10 over the Va.Tech team at Blacksburg. We do know that David Cutcliffe is an excellent college football coach who has done a lot to make Duke football respectable. They lost in the last minute at Chapel Hill to Mack Brown and UNC. Irish should have a big talent advantage over Duke, but expect that the Irish will need to show up motivated and ready to play if they want to avoid the upset. Biggest issue for the Irish will be the loss of both the RG and RT starters. We'll have Tony Jones Jr back for this game and that should help the running game. None of the RB's did much vs Va.Tech, although i must say Jafar Armstrong did have several good runs where he showed some physical style. But we need Jones to be 100%. We are only a 7 point favorite so that tells you that Vegas doesn't think much of our talent advantage over Duke, even if Duke has lost 3 out of their last 4. The Irish have a lot to prove, last week was a gut check game and with the defense getting a needed stop and the offense getting that long drive to close out the win I'd say that they sort of passed the test. But mistakes and turnovers kept Va.Tech in the game that should have been over pretty much at half time. So this weekend is another gut check game. They are favored, they have even with injuries better talent than Duke. They should win handily, whether the offense will continue to sputter I don't know, if it does we might get beat or we might have a win that is a win but not a win that satisfies the fans. I think everybody would like to see us get out fast and put them away so that Phil Jurkovec can get more than just a mop up few series in the 4th qtr. We'll See. The Irish fans are full on hoping that FSU and the Sunshine State look very good to Brian Kelly. We are in the midst of debating who to approach taking the job. I see Dan Mullen, I see of course Urban Meyer, I see Matt Rhule of Baylor, I see Matt Campbell of Iowa State, I see some hoping we can get John Harbaugh to leave the Ravens. Nobody is talking about Gruden though!
The Irish fans are off the chain at this point in time. In one aspect, I can understand why. Still, I don't like that they can't enjoy success. Virginia Tech wasn't Bowling Green (who won again if I am not mistaken lol). They are the favorites to win their division in the ACC and have excellent coaches to go with some NFL talent. ND made some errors in that game that, in previous years, would have killed the team dead on the spot. Instead, they came back to find a way to win the game. I liked that. I'm not a big fan of Kelly and even less of a fan of Long's offense, but I liked the way the team responded to in-game adversity especially following a total ass kicking in prime time.
Well I seriously doubt Kelly is going to leave for the NFL or the FSU job. I've read that he's building a new house not far from the Campus. Doesn't sound like a guy who's planning on leaving. Even if we finish 8-4 while fans will be crying for his head and all that, I doubt if he'd be fired. He now has the cover of losing the whole right side of his OL to excuse a limp to the finish.
Irish Women's Basketball kicks off tonight with a road game to the Bronx to play Fordham. Much different outlook for the Irish Women this year, they have almost most an entire new team. Lost all 5 starters to the WNBA, and had a couple of transfers. They also lost a player to a medical condition just the other day, Abby Prohaska has blood clots in her lungs. They are very low on scholarship players only 7 or 8. The players we do have are good players, they are just either freshman or haven't played much yet. Making the NCAA's is the goal, where as in the past it was the Final Four. Irish Men kickoff against UNC. Tough game right out of the box.
Kelly might leave on his own but ND won't fire him. Meyer is absolutely in the running. He has ND ties. He took Florida over ND the last time because he felt recruiting was easier there. Not so much Now. Who knows?
For you Hockey Fans, the Irish host Ohio State this weekend. Both squads are ranked in the top 10. ND, Penn State and Ohio State are all currently in the top 10.
Irish Women got their 1000th win v Fordham on Tues, and the Men lost to UNC last night. Cole Anthony the son of former UNLV star Greg Anthony was the reason. He scored 30 points and was unstoppable in the 2nd half. You might say he single handedly beat the Irish. If he keeps this up he'll be freshman of the year in the ACC
I think this is a free article...it's on Trevor Ruhland. This guy really has my respect. He's a Notre Dame man, loves the Irish, loves his team mates and is playing through physical issues. From what I've read it's unlikely that he can be an ironman at RG, he's going to need some relief from a younger player. We are definitely going to miss Tommy Kraemer and Robert Hainsey, but Trevor is going to give it his all and he's a leader as well. Pain, Perseverance Keep Ruhland Rolling
Not that many people care, but the Irish Men's Golf team is currently ranked #8 in the GolfStat rankings. They were not a pre-season top 30 team, but have had a really great fall winning 4 out of the 5 Tournaments that they have played this fall. Golf is done for now, will start back up in Late Feb. That's when things get real and NCAA tournament bones are made. Hopefully these guys can continue to do well. John Handrigan the Men's coach came to ND from the University of Florida in 2017.
No TV for this game. We called the cable company and they generously offered to allow us to watch the game if they DOUBLE our cable bill...
A couple things for JOCO: 1. Don't you have Charter? The ACC Network is supposed to be added with the basic sports package. If you have ESPN and the FoxSports channels (The B1G Network, the SEC Network etc), then you should have the ACC Network. It's in a really funky location for me, but I have it and didn't pay extra for it. 2. There's some solid advice in Bobda's link, for you, I would recommend going to Youtube and signing up for YoutubeTV. It comes with a free 1 week or 2 week trial. Sign up for it today, watch the game, and if you don't like YoutubeTV (which you won't), then just cancel it Sunday morning.
Irish out fast tonight. Defense getting stops and offense is moving the ball. Book to Claypool for the TD and Irish up 14-0