Al Golden : Clarity = Velocity. I like it. After TSU’s first drive, our speed to the ball is showing. Keep playing fast.
I thought I would miss the game, but I am on JetBlue heading home from my week in New Hampshire watching the game live. Sam Hartman looks like the real deal. Team really buckled down after they had that first drive for a FG. I bet Hartman plays in the 3rd qtr for a series. I do hope when they give Angeli a shot it's at least one series with the 1st Team OL
Finally, how many times over the last who knows many years have we said we hope that we could get a lead in a game and get our backups in for some descent amounts of playing time especially the QB and at last we did. This is the way you are supposed to beat lesser teams. Go Irish!!
Everyone wanted to see the TEs get some catches well… there you go. Hartman just gets it to the open man.
I want to share something leading to an interesting observation. Yesterday, my son took his twin sons and their close friend and teammate, a 4-star safety and teammate of OT Styles Prescod, who is committed to ND, to his unofficial visit to ND (by invitation) for the game.The twins were allowed to be with their friend (recruit + 2) for the entire day, including being on the field before the game, but perhaps more important, unlimited Chik fil A, including nuggets, sandwiches, chocolate chunk cookies, etc. (Is this heaven?). My son paid the required $20 per head ($15 for the lunch and $5 for the "snack" table). One of my twin grandsons is a HS TB, 5'10"+ and about 190 lbs. Here's his observation upon standing next to Audrick Estime, who is "only" 1 1/2" taller and 227 lbs.: "He's a grown-ass man!"
Finally got to watch the whole Navy game along with watching the Tenn State game on the flight home from Boston. Team looked very good in both games, as they should against Navy and a FCS team. They also played a lot of guys. Everybody likes what Sam Hartman has done so far at QB. But I think most expected him to do well after his career at Wake Forrest. I think most expected good things out of the OL against these two teams to open the season, and the same for the RB's. What I was most impressed with was the WR's, again tempered with the competition, but they made a lot of good catches where they dropped balls last year. Thomas especially made some good catches where he had to reach for the ball. So I'm very encouraged by the young guys and the returning guys like Thomas, Tyree and Mitchell Evans our TE. Defense looks improved, but then how would we know given it was a FCS team. Overall I'm happy with the performance so far, it was what it should be against teams we have so much more talent than they have. But I'm tempering it with the knowledge of the level of competition. Most importantly we're doing pretty well with injuries. Matt Salerno is going to miss a few weeks, Devyn Ford is in concussion protocol and Gabe Rubio had some arthroscopic procedure and is expected to be back in a few weeks A couple of notes on the targeting. ND fans were outraged by the hit on Ford not being called targeting and the targeting call on Carter. But Freeman said he thinks both calls were correct. ON WHETHER HE THOUGHT THE TARGETING CALL ON ANTONIO CARTER II WAS WARRANTED… It was. He hit with a crown of his head. He's got to keep his head up and not launch. And so, I often tell our coaches the same things I tell our players. We can complain about it and disagree, but we have to, within the rules of the game, make sure that we're not getting thrown out of the game. So, you coach them by saying don't launch, keep your head up. And the one on Devyn Ford, the explanation I got was it was with the forehead and not the crown of the head. So those type of plays, I'm sure they're really hard to call as a referee. But we have to coach, hey, where's the strike zone, don't launch, and make sure you're not hitting with the crown of your head. So those games are in the can, solid wins and now we get a real opponent in NC State on the road.
ESPN Power Poll. No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0) Playing just a week after a game in Ireland, Notre Dame got through a predictably sluggish first quarter to pull away from Tennessee State. Quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Steve Angeli combined for 324 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Irish had 221 rushing yards, led by Audric Estime's 116, and continued to receive stifling play from their defense. Notre Dame has held its first two opponents without a touchdown for the first time since 1975. The Irish had 28 points in the second quarter, the team's highest total in a quarter since tallying 31 in the fourth against Wisconsin in 2021. Notre Dame's scoring margin of 98-6 marks its highest point differential (92) through the first two games of a season since 1932, when it outscored Haskell and Drake by 135. -- Rittenberga One more thing about the Tenn State game. I liked that Freeman made the decision to put in Angeli in the 3rd qtr and put him with the 1's. Then ran the offense, that's the kind of experience he needs to get. Kelly would have waited much longer and then he'd be in with the backups and just handing the ball off and running out the clock.
Listened to Marcus Freeman's press conference on the NC State game. He said the Irish are going into one of them most hostile environments in the ACC, didn't know that. He complemented QB Brennan Armstrong who before he was injured vs BYU in 2021 was having an All-American type campaign. Now he's at a new school and 100% healthy he said we have to be aware that we have to pressure him but we can't end up behind him ( over run with the pass rush) as he'll take off and really hurt you with his legs. He has a strong and accurate arm. He's a danger. We should be healthy for the game. It's our first real solid opponent of the season. So we'll see if all the good things we've done so far mean anything. He also mentioned our ACC record and aknowledged that he wasn't the coach for most of the wins. What is Notre Dame's record against the ACC teams Notre Dame is 41-7 versus the ACC in the regular season since 2014, and if you think the current 28-game winning streak is improbable, consider this: No ACC team has ever defeated a ranked Irish squad on their home turf in South Bend, Indiana. Not No. 1 Florida State in 1993 or No. 1 Clemson in a 2020 overtime epic.Aug 1, 2023 Looking forward to seeing what the Irish can do vs the Wolfpack on the road.
Interesting news today. We now have an official Irish Whiskey of Notre Dame Athletics. I wonder how much $$$ that put in the coffers? I actually have never heard of it to tell you the truth. I usually drink Redbreast and Jameson. Mostly Jameson when I'm out as that seems to be all most bars have in stock. Actually its the official whiskey of Notre Dame Global Partners. Who are they? Teeling® Whiskey Named the Official Irish Whiskey Partner of Notre Dame Fans DUBLIN, IRELAND (September 6, 2023) — TEELING Whiskey Company, the brand committed to bringing small batch, big flavour to Irish Whiskey, is delighted to announce its partnership with Notre Dame Global Partners as the Official Irish Whiskey Partner of Notre Dame Fans in the US. This ground-breaking, long-term partnership kicks off on the heels of TEELING’s sponsorship of the Notre Dame vs. Navy football game in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin on August 26th, marking the 96th game played between the Fighting Irish and Navy’s Midshipmen. Amplifying their shared Irish heritage and values, TEELING and Notre Dame’s partnership – the first spirit partnership for the Fighting Irish – combines their daring innovation and independent spirit, as well as the brands’ progressive approaches and commitments to excellence.
Brian Kelly just can’t keep his mouth shut. Now he’s talking about the different priorities between ND and LSU. Basically that ND’s priorities are academic while LSU is sports. I can’t believe I actually liked the guy at one time. Lou Holtz called it, Kelly just never bought in 100% to Notre Dame.
Key things about NC State. From ISD. I don't think this is paywalled. NC State is certainly nowhere close to being a perfect team, but they have a quarterback who can make plays with his legs and they have legitimate NFL talent on their defense. It will be a different kind of evaluation this week compared to the first two. If Notre Dame’s guards do well against NC State defensive lineman Davin Vann, that means a lot more than what they showed in the first two weeks. He’s an explosive athlete who is a plus pass rusher and has proven to be a disruptive player against the run. If he has a quiet game, that speaks volumes for where Notre Dame’s offensive line is at the current moment. The Wolfpack have two quality corners in Aydin White (All-ACC, 17 Havoc plays in 2022) and Shyheim Battle (three-year starter, 30 career Havoc plays). If Jayden Thomas is having a day against them, that’s a pretty good indication that he’s more than just a default WR1 for Notre Dame. 6 Thoughts on a Thursday
I wish I could feel comfortable that ND will beat NC St but I can’t. Should we win based on what I’ve see from both teams so far? Yes but neither team has played what I consider to be a good team thus far. If it was in SB I would be pretty confident but it’s on NC St’s home field and that’s probably worth a TD for them at least. We need to play with no turnovers to win.