Turns out we are worrying for no reason. ESPN ranks our schedule #46 and picks us as a favorite to go 12-0 and return to the playoffs again.
Can't believe ESPN has more confidence in the Irish than I do for the season. I'm already worried about the first game against FSU!
No imminent verbals/commitments on the horizon for the Irish. They had a reportedly very successful BBQ event recently with a lot of top targets attending, but nobody gave a verbal the next day.
There are rumors that Osita Ekwonu is dealing with an injury that could cause him to miss the 2021 season. He was being counted on to be Isiah Foskey's backup at the Vyper DE position. Some are saying that depth or lack there of at Vype DE might lead to us playing more 3-4 defense.
ND Home Opener vs Toledo is going to be on the Peacock Network. Not surprisingly this has caused a firestorm across the NDNation which is used to all the games being on NBC. This isn't the first time a ND home game hasn't been on NBC but still upsetting to many fans now who don't have the Peacock Network and don't want it. My peanut gallery speculation is that NBC anticipated low ratings for the game since Toledo is a MAC team, albeit a reportedly very good MAC team for 2021. So I would imagine somebody looking at Peacock numbers and wondering how to get them boosted came up with the idea of forcing ND fans to at least take the 7 day freebie, maybe some of them will stick. And voila we have the game on the Peacock Network.
I watch some shows on Peacock but I have the free version. It looks like the live sporting events are on the 4.99/mo. version unless you want to avoid commercials in which case the Premium version is 9.99.
Still a lot of bitterness amongst ND fans about this move to the Peacock Network. Somebody found out that Jack Swarbricks daughter works at Peacock in a role that might have been involved in this deal. Called him out for selling out ND for his daughter. I've also read that some in the media think this is a good move and that all of college football is watching as the way we watch football is changing. Andy Staples said this in an article on The Athletic. But my guess is the Big Ten, Fox and everyone else who will be selling or buying college football media rights in the next few years will be watching the Sept. 11 Toledo-Notre Dame game closely. Why? Because on Wednesday, NBC announced that the only way to watch that game will be with a subscription to the premium tier of NBC’s Peacock streaming service. All of Notre Dame’s other home games will air on NBC and stream on Peacock’s free tier, but this feels like a test to see just how much a college football name brand can drive streaming subscriptions. This isn’t a game most casual fans will seek out. The question is will Notre Dame die-hards pay to see it?
I'm thinking about it. I don't want to subscribe to Peacock Premium, which costs $4.99/month. I'm considering signing up just for the game then cancelling afterward. TBD Re: Swarbrick, I seriously doubt his daughter's employment by Peacock has anything to do with this, but it doesn't surprise me to see the kneejerk reaction of the NDN crowd or people like them. For one thing, this is not a decision even remotely connected to nepotism. ND never has operated that way. Think about it. Swarbrick is very intelligent. Can you envision him going to Fr. Jenkins and saying, my daughter's company has a great plan? I sure can't. Yes, the decision has roots in the close relationship between NBC and ND, but as The Athletic article Terry cites above says, this is an unprecedented, landmark move by NBC which is being watched by all the major sports networks. It clearly involved highest-level planning and negotiation on both sides and could have significant ramifications for future TV contracts. By the way, it potentially could result in a nice increase in revenue for ND, based on the value of new Peacock memberships retained by NBC following the airing of the game. Just my thoughts.
In a continuing effort to rip off ND sports fans, ND announced that tickets for all sports except hockey, basketball and football will be free the next school year. No word of angst at ND Nation.
This time of the year brings out list of best tailgates, best stadiums, best game day traditions, etc. This one is ESPN best uniforms..they rate our Irish uniforms as the best!
Michigan is a matter of opinion (we call them the Uglyhelmets but we're just a tad biased)...but rating Penn State #3 really makes me laugh at the list.