The BlueandGold.com staff discusses Notre Dame's path to the college football playoff rankings No. 1 seed, but if the Irish lose to Clemson, is Brian Kelly's team still a lock for the playoff?

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Two games into the season, we don't have a lot of believers in this team, but I think tonight is our first statement win that we have a good team this year. Expect us to get dominated on the boards, but at home our shooters can win us ball games, and tonight will be the first example.

He was on with Mike Golic Jr., Jason Fritz and Christine Williamson yesterday. Fun listen here.

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Press release just sent in from the ACC

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Based on current North Carolina state and local regulations, capacity for the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Championship Game has been set at seven percent (5,240) of Bank America Stadium.

As was previously communicated at the point of sale, all tickets would be fully refunded if local and state guidelines reduced the capacity for the game. An automatic refund will be applied to the same method of payment used to purchase tickets. Should state and local guidelines change between now and Dec. 19, the ACC will adjust accordingly.

Tickets for the 2020 game will only be available through the two participating institutions.

This year’s ACC Football Championship Game will be played at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19, between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson. The game will be televised nationally by ABC.

Seat locations are similar to those currently in place for Carolina Panthers’ football games and comply with Bank of America Stadium policies. Game tickets in the outside seating bowl are distributed in "pods" to support physical distancing between each group of ticket holders at the game, with the expectation that fans will be attending games with family members they have been sheltering with and/or with trusted acquaintances. Seating pods are assigned every other row with at least two seats between groups. Fans are asked not to move to other seats or join other groups.

Face coverings are mandatory for every person in the stadium (fans and staff) and must be worn at all times, except while actively eating and drinking in your seat. Fans are required to follow all physical distancing markers displayed throughout the stadium. These markers will help everyone line up for security screenings, restrooms and concessions. Click here for more information on ACC Football Championship Game Fan Policies.

Bank of America Stadium is entirely cashless in 2020. All purchases will need to be made via credit card, debit card, or touch-free payment . Pre-paid debit cards are accepted.

Here are tonight's Lucky Charms...

*** Folks, just go ahead and accept that every day until early signing day will have some sort of news or drama happening. Today there were a couple of items regarding Notre Dame's top two remaining targets in the 2021 class. One was Michigan Rivals writer EJ Holland switching his FutureCast pick from USC to Notre Dame for Los Angeles Loyola cornerback Ceyair Wright. He also noted that "there is a feeling that Notre Dame now holds the edge in this recruitment" from what he's gathered.

*** At this point, I'm not at a point of putting in a FutureCast pick in for Notre Dame. Do I feel that Notre Dame has closed some of the gap on USC after a great self-guided tour visit last weekend? Yes. His mom really enjoyed Notre Dame from what I'm told, and his dad loved their trip last December. Ceyair feels strongly about Notre Dame too. Optimism is growing, but Wright has not made a decision yet, and it's too early for me to put in a pick. Like I mentioned in our podcast today, the feeling is that Michigan is fading and is a clear No. 3 in the recruitment, while Notre Dame and USC are at the top.

*** Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt wrote an article today predicting the destinations of the top uncommitted recruits in his region. He picked Georgia for West Bloomfield (Mich.) High running back Donovan Edwards, a school very much in play. The vibe here is that Georgia, Michigan and Notre Dame are the three lead schools. I don't think Oklahoma and Penn State are worth mentioning much. Michigan may still lead here, but it's anyone's guess at this point between the three schools.

*** Moving to a 2022 note, Notre Dame offered 2022 safety Landon Hullaby from Arlington (Texas) Timberview on Sept. 1, and I'm told the contact between him and the Irish staff has been going very well. He's in contact with safeties coach Terry Joseph and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian via text message and phone call fairly consistent this fall. Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Texas, USC and some other schools have offered Hullaby.

He‘s really long and looks to be adding great weight. If Banks doesn’t return and move out to LT (Lugg feels like a better fit at RT) I’d love to have that kind of length on the left side for the next 3-4 years. Interesting that they had Kristovic lined up at LG which may tell us Baker is making a move up the depth chart.

Big deal to make this list. Here's the release from Notre Dame:

---Notre Dame graduate student offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg has been selected as one of six national semifinalists for the 2020 Outland Trophy, honoring the nation’s top interior lineman.

Eichenberg owns 36-career starts (all consecutive) as part of an offensive line that has produced the second-ranked rushing attack in the ACC (235.0 yards/game).

Anchoring an offense that ranks third in the ACC in total offense (474.4 yards/game), Eichenberg and the Irish boast the best third-down conversion rate in the ACC at 51.8 percent, which ranks 10th in the FBS. Notre Dame boasts the second-highest first down total in the ACC (249), which ranks seventh among all FBS teams.

Behind its powerful offensive line, the Irish lead the conference (and rank sixth nationally) in time of possession, averaging 34:09 per game, more than two minutes ahead of the next ACC mark. The Irish have won the time of possession battle in nine of 10 games this season, and have controlled the ball for at least 36 minutes in three games.

Notre Dame is one of just six Power 5 teams to post three or more performances of at least 36:15 or more possession time this season.

Notre Dame’s starting offensive line boasts 153-career starts between the five veterans (Eichenberg, Banks, Patterson, Kraemer, Hainsey), the fourth-most in the FBS.

Eichenberg was tabbed the ACC Offensive LIneman of the Week twice in 2020 (at Pitt, at North Carolina), and was named to the Pro Football Focus Team of the Week vs. Louisville. He has been named to the Outland Trophy watch list, the Reese’s Senior Bowl Top 250 and tabbed as Pro Football Focus Preseason All-ACC First Team.

The six semifinalists will be pared to three finalists on Dec. 22. The recipient of the 75th Outland Trophy will be announced during ESPN's The Home Depot College Football Awards on Jan. 7, 2021. The official presentation to the winner by the Greater Omaha Sports Committee is still to be determined.

Dear Santa, I want for Ian Book to finish his career at Notre Dame with three of a kind, 33-3.... And a JagWah

Seriously who would've thunk it? Ian Book winning the most games in ND history as the starting QB, and going undefeated at home. The 2020 senior class only losing 1 game in Notre Dame Stadium. And that by a single solitary point to National Championship runner up UGA.

For all these things in this the craziest of years. Hoping for a Three of a Kind in all Trey's 33-3 for number 12.

Notre Dame: “They have a hell of an offensive line. It’s the best in the country. They have Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree. Us three, well, that s**t would be something (laughs).”“

Chris Fowler made some semi-news on the Clemson vs VaTech game by claiming that there was a chance that Justyn Ross might be ready for the Notre Dame game. This appears to be without any basis based on this info supplied by the free board Tigernet.com editor David Hood:

I know a lot of people are wanting there to be some breaking news after Justyn's checkup in Pittsburgh today (which I understand is already over). I have been told that Justyn's wishes - even before the checkup - were to kind of keep this quiet for a bit and let him digest the news and be with his family. So the fact that he doesn't really want anything released has nothing to do with good news or bad news, it's just that this family has a lot of decisions to make.

There will be no official Clemson release on this, at least right now, and the next time we have any availability with anyone on the football staff is Sunday when we talk to Coach Swinney. If there is news to come out of this, it might be from Justyn himself on Twitter or through the school.

And just to reiterate - Chris Fowler was WAY off base in his comments Saturday. If Justyn is cleared to resume football activities, the plan is to let him continue to run routes on air and then participate in spring practice with NO contact. And then contact in the fall if everything goes well. The whole "he can play against Notre Dame" stuff was just nowhere close to being right.

So sorry there isn't news to report on this. Hopefully, we all hear some good news soon. And again, the lack of news doesn't reflect anything bad. This was the plan BEFORE the trip. His family was bombarded with stuff after the Fowler comments.

They need to move this game to another venue. I see no logical reason to play a playoff game with zero fans. It's not as if economically it makes sense. It would be a major disservice to CFB. I haven't seen any clamoring of making this happen either, so I figured I would blurt it out today. California deserves nothing of the CFB world right now.

Respect.

Tip in 40. Nik Djogo is out again

Steve "Kritter" Heimkreiter, Irish linebacker in the late 70s, passed away last week after a battle with cancer.

Plus, an update on how every former Notre Dame player performed in week 13 of the NFL Season.

Story: https://notredame.rivals.com/news/irish-in-the-nfl-equanimeous-st-brown-s-late-season-emergence

Mike and I dish on the final stages on the latest Pod Like A Champion

About 40 minutes ago, EJ Holland changed his future cast from USC to ND! Something to monitor for sure.

Damn you Old!

because Michigan didn’t have enough room for OSU on the 2021 Revenge Tour?

Story on Sebastian Cheeks..

Job.

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