The beginning of Fall practice marks the end of a long off-season for Notre Dame football. After limping through the second half of the 2008 campaign, questions surfaced about head coach Charlie Weis’ job security. Despite this, the Irish coaching staff hauled in a solid—albeit not great—recruiting class, and subsequently underwent several coaching changes. If […]

Now that the voting is over, it’s time to present the results. First, thanks to all who participated. At the time of this analysis better than 200 people cast votes. For each game on Notre Dame’s 2009 schedule voters were asked to select their confidence in a win. Predicting the outcome of the 2009 season […]

Whether you saw the Blue-Gold game live or followed along with the reviews, the Irish have had a relatively eventful off-season. A solid recruiting class headlined by defensive stalwart Manti Te’o preceded three coaching changes. Rumors emerged from Spring practice sessions highlighting quarterback Jimmy Clausen’s continued development, defensive lineman Ethan Johnson domination of one-on-one drills […]

Notre Dame has concluded their regular season, and a reflection on the Irish offense’s progress (or lack thereof) is warranted. The mid-year numbers are here, and this analysis was performed in similar fashion by benchmarking against the competition. Facing the 73rd toughest AV Ranking strength of schedule, the Irish only managed to go 6-6. But […]

Disclaimer: the following is not intended for betting purposes. As promised here and here, this week the AV ranking will be used to predict the Big 12, ACC, and SEC conference championship games. Forgetting for the moment that the AV Ranking would have put Texas in the Big 12 championship over Oklahoma, these conference championship […]

For the third time this season, and second at home, the Fighting Irish squandered a double-digit lead to lose the game. The first two times this occurred against average competition. Against Syracuse, Notre Dame’s implosion took place against an obviously less talented opponent at home on senior day. Make no mistake about it, Syracuse isn’t […]

This past weekend was a very difficult one for many Irish fans. The frustration and disbelief I felt at the end of Notre Dame’s match up against Boston College was similar to the disbelief a young man feels when he breaks up with his very first girlfriend. In one moment, the young man realizes that […]

The United States Naval Academy always presents a unique challenge for the Fighting Irish. This weekend, with the memory of last year’s win fresh in the Midshipmen’s minds and Notre Dame losing three of their last four, it figures to be an uncharacteristically close affair. The Midshipmen run an unconventional option offense to the tune […]

Boston College had their way with Notre Dame Saturday. The visiting Irish repeatedly turned the ball over, lost the time of possession battle, and converted only 33 percent of their third downs. The red zone offense didn’t even have a chance to continue it’s ineptitude as the floundering Irish failed to cross their opponent’s twenty-yard […]

After a heart-wrenching loss to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame hits the road for the second time in three weeks traveling to the East coast to take on Boston College. The Eagles have owned the series in recent years, but the Irish look to redeem themselves after squandering a two-touchdown lead last week. Entering Saturday’s contest, neither […]