@Eric Hansen and I make prop bets and predictions ahead of Saturday's road game for No. 15 Notre Dame (7-2) against Clemson (4-4) in South Carolina (12 p.m. EDT on ABC).

Inside ND Sports subscribers can submit their votes prop bet predictions all season long for a chance at a free year-long subscription. Voting for ND-Clemson is open here.

On this week's list:

• Over/Under 131.5 Clemson rushing yards
• Who will lead Notre Dame in receptions?
• Over/Under 250.5 ND QB Sam Hartman passing yards
• More sacks: Notre Dame or Clemson?
• Over/Under 1.5 Clemson turnovers

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The first look at Micah Shrewsberry’s version of Notre Dame men’s basketball came as advertised on Wednesday night — though with no TV coverage, it was a limited peek
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Warming up for Monday’s regular-season opener and the era opener for the first-year Irish head coach, ND flexed its athleticism, depth, penchant for strong shot selection and a commitment to excelling on defense in a 96-62 exhibition romp over Shrewsberry’s alma mater, Hanover, Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.

A crowd of 4,628 looked on as all 11 scholarship players, including recent walk-on conversion Alex Wade, and five new walk-ons logged playing time. The Irish shot 57% from the field and 43% from the 3-point arc.

Nine players logged at least 17 minutes, with freshman point guard Markus Burton’s and freshmen forward Carey Booth’s 21 minutes representing the high-water mark. Burton also led five Irish in double figures with 18 points. Four others reached double figures — freshman Braeden Shrewsberry — the coach’s son — and freshman Logan Imes with 14 apiece, and senior Matt Zona and junior JR Konieczny with 12 apiece.

Northwestern transfer Julian Roper II, a junior, spearheaded the Irish defensive effort with a game-high five steals. Booth was Notre Dame’s leading rebounder, with seven.
The Irish sent out guards Burton, Shrewsberry and Roper, and forwards Tae Davis and Kebba Njie as their starting five.

Notre Dame hosts Niagara on Monday night in the official season opener at 7 EST. The game will be carried on ACC Network Extra.

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It's still early for Notre Dame 2027 quarterback prospect Trae Taylor but the Irish have impressed the Mundelein (Ill.) Carmel Catholic thus far.

Taylor, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound quarterback, visited Notre Dame last Saturday for its win against Pittsburgh. He also camped and threw for quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli in June.

Taylor has eight total offers from Central Michigan, Colorado, Eastern Illinois, Marshall, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, UNLV and Vanderbilt. He's also drawing interest from Notre Dame, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Inside ND Sports spoke with Taylor this week to discuss his visit, interest in the Irish and more.

On his trip:

"It was really cool," Taylor said. "It was more than I was expecting. Just the atmosphere and not only [the] students but other fans that were there. It was a very exciting and upbeat atmosphere. I also felt like everybody was together. It felt like it was a family."

On his takeaways from Sam Hartman and the offense:

"I thought it was really neat the way they are able to not only cover them all but also run the ball efficiently. Even those drives, seeing them have an interception, they still just moved the ball crazy good [and] without any issues. You know, the ball getting tipped up in the air, there's nothing you can do about that."

On wanting to visit Notre Dame in the future:

"From when I've been there, I've had a really good vibe from them [and] their coaches. I would love to get back on campus and get to do more work there."

Taylor met up with Guidugli pregame and the two spoke about school, football and more. Taylor said the more time he's spent around Guidugli, the more he's liked him as a potential position coach to play under.

Link to full story:

2027 QB prospect Trae Taylor raves about recent Notre Dame visit

Notre Dame 2027 quarterback prospect Trae Taylor is building an early connection with the Irish coaching staff.

notredame.rivals.com

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Breaking down Clemson with the help of Grayson Mann from our Clemson site, key stats and PFF grades.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports discusses the biggest debates in the first release of the College Football Playoff rankings, if Michigan should be impacted by the sign-stealing investigation, if it's feasible for Notre Dame to make the top 10 by the end of the regular season, his Pop-Tarts Bowl projection for the Irish, ND's résumé of wins and losses, what should be expected from a 12-team playoff, if Louisville or USC is more likely to finish strong and more.

Then @Eric Hansen and I answer questions from Twitter and The Insider Lounge (19:41).

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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman will speak with reporters at 12 p.m. EDT today via Zoom for his weekly Thursday press conference.

I'll use this thread to provide updates from it.

On Tuesday, 2024 linebacker Tommy Powlus announced his commitment to Notre Dame football as a preferred walk-on.

The Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn defender was a visitor at the Pittsburgh game on Saturday and was observed spending a lot of time around Notre Dame commits and targets.

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Notre Dame 2025 offensive tackle target Easton Ware has announced his plans to commit on Nov. 1.

In his announcement, the 6-foot-5, 285-pound offensive tackle also released a top 10 list of schools. Notre Dame joins Auburn, Baylor, Clemson, Cincinnati, Duke, Michigan, Oklahoma, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.

Ware visited Notre Dame for its game against USC last Saturday. He also camped with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph last summer.

Per Rivals, Ware is a three-star recruit. He is ranked as the No. 37 offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class.

Ware attends Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian Academy. According to his X (Twitter) profile, Ware has visited Auburn and Clemson for games this season.

Inside ND Sports spoke extensively with Ware in September after he received his offer.

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I'm looking forward to someone sharing the audio of this one.

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Notre Dame is No. 15 in the first of six College Football Playoff rankings for the 2023 season.

Three Notre Dame opponents are also in the Top 25: No. 1 Ohio State (8-0), No. 13 Louisville (7-1) and No. 20 USC (7-2)

The only way to watch the Notre Dame men's basketball exhibition tonight is in person, but we wanted to open up a thread just in case folks want to discuss it. We don't staff exhibition games, but @Eric Hansen will have a postgame writeup later tonight.

New head coach Micah Shrewsberry will lead the Irish in Purcell Pavilion against a competitor for the first time. There are a lot more questions than answers about Notre Dame heading into the 2023-24 season.

The Irish will take on Division III Hanover (Ind.) College at 7 p.m. EDT. The Panthers finished last season 17-11 with a HCAC Tournament semifinal exit and are projected to finish third in the conference this season. Shrewsberry and associate head coach Kyle Getter both graduated from Hanover.

Hanover head coach Jon Miller was a college teammate of Shrewsberry, who started three seasons for the Panthers before graduating in 1999.

If you'd like to follow along with the exhibition, you can listen on the Notre Dame Radio Network or watch the stats update here.

It's time for round 9 of Place Your Bets for the 2023 season with Saturday's home game against Pittsburgh (3:30 p.m. EDT on NBC).

I detailed the results of the USC prop bets here and updated the standings for the season.

@Scottclarisey remains in first place in the season standings with 23. @jbm19 and @CURTVI95 are tied for second with 22.

@Eric Hansen and I are close behind with 21.

We'll share our predictions for the Pitt game Friday on YouTube, but you can start submitting your predictions through the Google Form now.


Here are the five prop bets for Notre Dame-Pitt:

• Over/Under 325.5 offensive yards for Notre Dame
• Will ND score more rushing touchdowns or passing touchdowns?
• Over/Under 7.5 wide receiver catches for Notre Dame
• More rushing yards: Pitt RB C’Bo Flemister or ND RB Jeremiyah Love
• Over/Under 16.5 first downs for Pitt

Remember the top two subscribers in the Place Your Bets standings at the end of the 2023 season will get one year (first place) and six months (second place) of a free subscription.

Get your picks in before voting closes prior to kickoff on Saturday. Make sure you include the same email address with your submission as you did last week. And if you haven't shared the username associated with your entry, please email it to insidendsports@gmail.com.

Thanks to all who submitted questions for me and @Eric Hansen on our latest podcast. These are the questions we answered with timestamps.

19:52 • @CharlesWWolfe: Has there been any reporting on the mood in the Clemson locker room? I believe they have the talent (especially on defense) to challenge ND, but I am wondering if they may mentally check out after last week’s loss (and a noon kick may not bring a lot of juice).

22:57 • Babaganoush - @PLACT_ITFDB: What’s your take on Jaden Thomas’ health? It was great to see him play a role Saturday but the commentator noted it looked like he pulled up on the long pass route. Do u think hammy is reaggravated? Also, is Greathouse still considered healthy after his hamstring issues?

25:50 • Babaganoush - @PLACT_ITFDB: Early drives looked like Parker did nice job with playcalling by attacking perimeter w/ run & pass. Once Pitt adjusted, what’s your opinion on how quickly Parker countered by going away from perimeter stuff…did he go to the well a few times too many? Thx

28:40 • Chris Scheiber - @scheib43: It feels like there is a discernible difference in the amount of freshman and sophomores on the two deep under Freeman. Is it a real thought or just more underclassmen making a difference at skill positions?

32:06 • Ryan - @RyChand12: Defensive depth going forward?

35:00 • @henrybeede: Who do you think will be the starting five offensive linemen in 2024 and at which positions will they play?

37:24 • Marie Biafore - @biafore_marie: Let’s assume Notre Dame decides to get a QB from the portal and they are going to go after a potential starter. Portal names are starting to surface a little bit right now. For each of you, of the names that you have heard surfacing, who would be definite takes? I’ll get you started with Reilly Leonard and Michael Pratt. Would either or both be definite takes? What about others you have heard that might enter portal?

41:54 • Mr Nev - @mririshred: Do we have 12 games for next year? Why does the ncaa count bowl games for the 4-game limit? Transfer portal positions besides Qb ? I saw some people complaining about ND throwing late vs Pitt, what are they supposed to do when Pitt is Blitzing?

48:59 • @goldendomer281: 2024 booth announcers? For the love of the Lord they need a change.

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker spoke with local writers Tuesday night ahead of Saturday's road game at Clemson.

Below is a transcript of that conversation. Questions may be paraprashed.

GERAD PARKER

What kind of example is Chris Tyree for everyone on the offense?

“I think it’s an example too as coaches, because you saw something there. The thing he’s doing a great job of is like anything when you’re learning something new. I don’t think he carried himself in a way that was like — I think sometimes when you do that it’s hard in front of your peers because there’s moments of embarrassment. All he did was he was so eager to learn, wanted to throw himself in it, wanted to figure it out, handled a little bit of failures at times — not too much of it but failures at times, and then just kept on stacking days together. It’s so rewarding to see a guy do that and then when a teammate sees that it kind of puts in some perspective maybe of how you had to stay the course, because it’s hard to do in this day and age, or any day. That example and then of course, fortunately or unfortunately, when you have some success and play at the level he’s starting to play it, it sure helps him stack even more to it and teammates to it. You have to have the success of it to see the ray of light.”

He’s always had the speed, has he become stronger?

“I would say that’s a new piece. I would agree with that. Even the way he steps up to catch that football to start getting it vertical and the way he’s cutting the ball vertically, and how he’s starting to push routes even the same way, that’s a new piece to it. It’s fun to watch, because he’s starting to play that way.”

What did you see early on in Cooper Flanagan that he could play in so many games?

“Zero anxieties about going on the field, and then very quickly after learning what to do, there was an inside period in fall camp where he really was physical and you could tell that’s where he grew up in. You could tell that program he came from and all those things. When that moment of inside happened where you saw this guy fit stuff and really not care about his body, you knew he was going to have a chance to play at some point and just say ‘forget the four games’ as it progresses and that’s kind of where it is. Probably thrust into it differently than we can all imagine as things happen during a year but excited to see him get to a point of preparation where it’s now going to be in a spot where he’s going to have to do things.”

How do you grow what you ask of Chris Tyree or how do you become more intentional in getting him those opportunities?

“That’s the better way I see it and we see it. There’s nothing you can do to fix things when you’re able to fix them with speed. We’re learning that as we go. That’s the thing I hope we continue to do and with his sidekick in [Jordan] Faison. Those guys, those are two live sets of legs that can come at you. And we want to make sure we put that on tape as opponents start to prepare for us. So with CT, it’s that. We have to continue to find ways to use his speed, and that’s vertical and laterally. Easier said than done when you’re preparing for game plans against great opponents like this week, but that’s the beauty of it. Just finding ways to put the ball to those guys in space, both vertically deep and laterally fast. I hope we just continue to grow and find better ways to do that in our offense.”

Can you take more and more of those shots because of the way your defense is playing?

“What those guys have done all year and especially the last two weeks, it does, it breeds confidence to our guys. Certainly, we felt really good about those first two drives and didn’t finish the way we wanted to finish them. But it doesn’t give you that sensation of, ‘Ohhh.’ You just settle down. Everybody, settle down. Let’s go keep doing what we’re doing and now go finish a drive. When you’re able to do that because of a great defense it gives you a confidence to do that.”

Can you remember a time in back-to-back games on a team you’ve been part of where you’ve been playing as much complementary football as you have these last two games?

“Not like this. No. No. Not in my career. Not the way we’ve done it and how we do it for each other. It’s remarkable.”

What do you mean for each other?

“That’s it. There is a difference. Everybody has their own set of problems, but this group, I believe, across our team, because of our leadership from head coach down, there’s a sensation that we’re playing just that. Everybody is coaching and playing for each other, and I mean that. The staff feels that way. The players feel that way. Our response to negative things that happen feels that way. That’s what kind of permeates through this building right now. That’s how I feel.”

Going on the road hasn’t been clean so far this season. What have you learned to show Saturday?

“One, having a commitment to our process of preparing for a road game. With that comes experience for our players and for us to make sure we commit to some things that maybe we had to clean up or even change at times. So, a commitment to what we’ve already been through, and then a commitment to who we are to make sure we are for each other and going on the road. You all have been there. You know it’s going to be a hostile environment with very great players and a football team. So, how do you do that? You better go down there together and go be ready to fight just like we fought over here last weekend and what it’s going to take and that kind of effort to finish it.”

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In the 10 Notre Dame drives before mostly backups entered the game, Notre Dame averaged 5.7 yards per carry on designed runs.

Here's how the Irish found ground game success against Pitt.

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I joined Pete Byrne of WSBT to discuss No. 15 Notre Dame's defensive success, if the Irish can keep forcing turnovers and what ND needs to do defensively against Clemson (4-4) on Saturday.

Inside ND Sports is partnering with WSBT to provide even more coverage of the Notre Dame football season. Our segment will air every Monday on WSBT22 News at 5.

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With the snow flying in South Bend on Halloween, the Notre Dame football team practiced indoors Tuesday afternoon in preparation for Saturday's road test at Clemson. Here's everything defensive coordinator Al Golden had to say in his meeting with the media after practice:

Mike Mickens’ name came up this week, and Marcus Freeman said he’s ready to be a defensive coordinator?

“Doing a great job. The big thing in coaching is to take the next step, like you have to master your position group, and he's doing that. He's committed to those kids. I mean, he's working all the time on their development. If you could be in my office, I'm doing like game-plan stuff, and those guys are popping around the office. And I see those guys in there all the time. I go to get something to eat, and I see Cam [Hart] and Ben [Morrison] in there or [Jaden Mickey] in there or whoever it is, but he’s constantly working with those guys. And he teaches them how to know the personnel, how to look at the different routes and who's running double moves, what split indicates a certain route. That's the finite details of that. And the other thing is the ability to recruit those kids here. A lot of those guys are making a difference. So, I think all of that lends itself to success, which I'm happy for him. He's doing a great job.”

What about schematically, because coach Freeman talked about that as well? Is he ready to be a defensive coordinator?

“Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, everything that we do, he and CO [safeties coach Chris O’Leary] get together on the pass game. Al [Washington] gets together on the run game and in the pass-rush scheme. Max [Bullough] kind of spearheads the run in the red zone. So, again, those guys, they're all doing it. Coach Freeman's philosophy is empowerment, and I'm no different. Those guys come to us, come to me with, ‘Hey, these are the ideas, and this is the direction we want to go.’ So, he's definitely established that part of it, which is awesome.”

Christian Gray, you see him walk up the stairs. I don't know that we necessarily realized the length until you see him up close. Did he pop out at you immediately when you saw him in the spring? I know he ended up having a knee issue.

“Yeah, he did a great job, and he does have length — and reach. I mean, length without the reach is just you're tall. But you have the reach and his ability, the catch radius to make the play the other day [an interception against Pittsburgh]. I think that's great. And what's maybe under the radar is just how Mick has brought him along. Coach [Joe] Paterno used to always say, ‘You're better off three games late than a game early. [It can] kill somebody's confidence.’ And I think Mick has done a great job of bringing that kid along to when his opportunity hit, he was ready.

“And I think that's the message there for all the younger guys on our team. Like, are you ready when your opportunity comes? And I think he and [Mickey] both showed and they both capitalized on the opportunity that presented itself through hard work, through preparation, through sacrifice, through not getting down. You know what I mean? All those things are really important.”

He came out aggressively, and that tells you right there he was ready to play?

“It was a challenge, because they were a ‘shot’ team going in, meaning there's a lot of vertical routes from Pitt. So, you lose both your corners, I’m like ‘Oh, boy, this could be ... there's a lot of shots here.’ So, great job.”

Jaden Mickey, obviously, has so much on his plate and has for a while off the field. What can you say about the way that he stepped up?

“Again, tremendous. A tremendous young man. Team guy. Unselfish. When he wasn't playing as much as he played Saturday, he was always supporting the guys that played. He was always on the track or the quest to improve. And sometimes that's just the way it shakes out. You know, how you start is not how you finish. And there's a lot of bumps in between. And I think for him, just to keep grinding and getting better and then to come through when his opportunity presented [itself], I thought, was awesome. In terms of the young man, just an incredible, incredible person, and we're blessed to have him here. And he makes us all better. Every one of us.”

You had mentioned how pleased you were during the bye week to get a lot of reps for your younger players. And then in the game, a lot of them got in — beyond the two that we just talked about. Why is game experience so much more valuable?

“Yeah, because it's different. I had the good fortune to coach in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, and there are very few things that move coaches, players, like the beginning of a Notre Dame football game. There are very few things emotionally that rise to that level. And it's different. You can say whatever you want, but it's different when you're the guy. You're out there now. And, I think, exposing a lot of guys to that the other day was important. We haven't had many of those. So, obviously, we've had a tough schedule, but we haven't had many of those.

“So, to be able to do that and really assess where everybody's at — and for them to assess. You know, if I'm in row three, I want to sit in row one. I want to sit where JD [Bertrand] is. I want to sit where Cam [Hart] is. Well, there's a journey between row three and row one. There's a journey, and it's not always fun. And then sometimes there's kind of a looking glass, if you will. You say, ‘I want to be there,’ and all sudden, it’s ‘OK, let's go. You're up.’ And sometimes it goes as expected. And other times it's like, ‘Oh, I missed that. I missed that. I missed that.’ And now there's a chance to assess, take a deep breath and then get back on the journey in the direction you want to go. So, that's why I think it's important for them to be out there in that setting. I saw it in the spring with some of the freshmen that were mid-year guys. All of a sudden, they go out there, and there's 50,000 people or 40,000 people, and it's a little different.”

I’m sorry if you've already been asked this, but do you agree with coach Freeman’s assessment that Mike Mickens is ready to become a defensive coordinator?

“I do. I absolutely do. He’s doing a great job.”

And what are his new responsibilities this year as the defensive passing-game coordinator and how has he been helpful?

"I think you're seeing it. He's doing a great job of spearheading that. Again, he works really closely — and that's like, we’ve got a great staff. And I think Mick brings a lot to the table. So, whether it's early downs, he spearheads the early-down stuff. He works with CO [Chris O’Leary] on the third-down things. Those two work together on the nickel and dime packages, and personnelling it and all that. I just think he's really grown as a coach, and he wants to learn. He wants to get better. And he's fun to work with.That's the one thing, like if you could be on the headset in the game, everybody's included. Everybody's in it. ‘Hey Mick, where do you want to go the next first-and-10?’ ‘CO, what do you think in the next third-and-3 to 6?’ ‘Al, next time we call this. What game do you want with it?’ That kind of thing. And I think that's a credit to coach Freeman first, and then obviously our ability as a staff to work together.”

Did you know Mickens and O’Leary before you came here?

“No, I didn't know anybody.”

When did you realize he'd be valuable?

“All those guys, man. Again, you're asking about Mick, so I’m answering about Mick, but I also want to make sure — like all those guys, man. They're all great. I think Max has made a great impact on us. There's guys behind the scenes, like [senior defensive analyst] Ronnie [Regula] and [defensive analyst] Mike Moon and like C-Bass [defensive assistant Nick Sebastian]. Those guys, I mean, they work tirelessly, and you guys don't know this, but Ronnie gives me the personnel and things like that. And sometimes the tempo is so fast, he's got to be on it. He does an amazing job. Those little things behind the scenes, there's a lot that goes into that.”

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Re-watching the game, I think Parker did a good job. There are always some individual plays with which to quibble or legitimately criticize. But the re-watch was mostly easy on the eyes.

I’m not talking about prior games. But Parker was pretty good against Pitt.

Clemson will be a much tougher test.

Release from the FWAA:

DALLAS (FWAA) – Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts ascended to the top spot among FBS interceptions leaders with two picks during last week’s 58-7 win over Pitt. Now with six interceptions on the season and for maintaining a high standard in the Irish defensive backfield, Watts has earned the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honor for games during the weekend of Oct. 28, as selected by the Football Writers Association of America.

Watts was also the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for games the weekend of Oct. 14 following another two-interception game against USC. He is the only FBS player to have two multi-interception games this season.

Each week during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce finalists for the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 15. The national defensive player of the year will be chosen from those finalists who are part of the 2023 FWAA All-America Team and presented with the trophy at the Bronko Nagurski Awards Banquet on Dec. 4 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Players may be added or removed from the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list during the season. Watts was already a member from his Oct. 17 selection. Each week’s honored player is added at that time. Already on the watch list from Notre Dame are linebacker JD Bertrand and cornerback Benjamin Morrison.

Watts, a 5-11, 200-pound senior safety but with junior eligibility from Omaha, Neb., has been a point-producer for Notre Dame (7-2) despite playing defense. His six interceptions have led to 30 points for the Irish – including a pick-six by Watts – just short of 10 percent of Notre Dame’s (345) scoring this season. Watts gained 31 yards on his two interception returns against Pitt and also had three tackles, one of them a TFL.

Notre Dame held Pitt’s passing game in check due in part to Watts’ efforts. Pitt entered the game averaging 320.9 yards of total offense per game, but the Irish held them to just 255 yards. The Irish snagged four interceptions against Pitt quarterbacks who had only thrown five coming into the game. Irish teammates Christian Gray and Jaden Mickey also had interceptions.

Watts’ six interceptions account for almost half of Notre Dame’s 13 total interceptions, a team figure that ranks third among all FBS teams. Watts has 39 tackles this season to lead the Notre Dame defensive backs and list fourth on the team. Notre Dame’s four defensive touchdowns

Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 2012. He is Notre Dame’s lone previous winner. Fellow linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was a finalist for the award in 2020, as was cornerback Shane Walton in 2002. The Fighting Irish have had a defensive back earn FWAA All-America status in three of the past five seasons – two-time first-team All-America safety Kyle Hamilton did it in 2020 and 2021, and cornerback Julian Love earned it in 2018, also on the first team.

The Irish play one of the country’s feature games on Saturday, traveling to Clemson for a Noon ET kickoff on ABC.

The FWAA All-America Committee, after voting input from the association’s full membership, selects a 26-man All-America Team and eventually the Nagurski Trophy finalists. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner will be chosen from the five finalists named in November. Committee members, by individual ballot, select the winner they regard as the best defensive player in college football.

The FWAA has chosen a National Defensive Player of the Year since 1993. In 1995, the FWAA named the award in honor of the legendary two-way player from the University of Minnesota. Nagurski dominated college football, then became a star for professional football’s Chicago Bears in the 1930s. Bronislaw "Bronko" Nagurski is a charter member of both the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

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