Showing mild symptoms--hoarse and runny nose.

Date: Nov. 27, 2020

Site: Kenan Memorial Stadium at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET

Television: ABC

Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame’s IMG affiliates.

Series Facts: Notre Dame leads 18-2 and won the last meeting 33-10 in 2017 at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Head coaches: North Carolina — Mack Brown (13‑8, second season of second tenure); Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (100‑37, 11th season).

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In a matchup featuring two offenses that have found their stride, especially at quarterback, Notre Dame's veteran and sound defense is expected to be the difference.
https://notredame.rivals.com/news/notre-dame-vs-north-carolina-on-paper

The biggest question in the ACC is will the Clemson v FSU game be rescheduled for Dec 12th thus forcing Clemson to travel to Tallahassee the week before the ACC Championship game. It makes no sense that ND rescheduled the Wake Forest game to Dec 12th and this game has not been. You can bet Dabo and Clemson are jawboning to not get this rescheduled.

Mike Brey likes his team. He wants to test them. He's hopeful most of those tests can actually occur, but whatever the virus-related obstacles, Notre Dame will keep pushing forward after already making it this far.

Hurt my fantasy team but I’ll take it! Happy to still see him in the league!

First! Ha, you knew some dirty bird was going to do it...

Among the many blessings I've received in this life, are the friendships I've made with so many on this board..and I'm so thankful for that. I do hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving Turkey Day with your loved ones and dear friends. Peace, love, and much happiness to you all...

I can't remember his name nor would I be able to spell it. I probably missed it somewhere, but have we moved in from him or did he choose someone else?

Touchdowns for Texans.

Any news on Kelvin Gilliam? I know a zoom meeting with the staff was supposed to happen this week. Any news how it went?

Here are some Tuesday morning breakfast nuggets...

*** The Notre Dame staff had a good Zoom call last night with West Bloomfield (Mich.) High running back Donovan Edwards, who ranks as the No. 65 player in the nation per Rivals. The gist here is that there’s reason to be optimistic with Notre Dame’s chances here, but there’s also reason to think the opposite. Some folks close to Edwards are also saying that they’re also having a tough time gauging where he’s leaning. The feeling after Monday night’s call is that we’re no closer to figuring out where Edwards is leaning, but there is some new information to discuss.

*** Here are the positives... I’m told that Edwards has been intently watching Notre Dame’s season, loves how the Irish are featuring Chris Tyree and Kyren Williams and can see himself playing with these two guys and in the Irish offense. Notre Dame’s Lance Taylor and Co. presented some good information to Edwards on Monday night and my sources feel that the Irish did a good job with it. The staff is doing its part; it’s up to Edwards to make the plunge or not. Edwards is telling Notre Dame that they’re still in it, but the Irish are in a tricky spot moving forward with running back recruiting, which we’ll get into shortly.

*** Here is a negative... Edwards is closely considering Michigan and Penn State, and those schools are a combined 2-8 this fall, but I’m told that Edwards is not going to make his decision based on a coaching staff and results this season. He’s watching these games, taking notes and looking to see if staff changes are made, but his school of choice won’t be made on coaches. That’s at least what Edwards is telling some folks right now. Obviously, you would like to hear if you’re Notre Dame that coaching changes and on the field success this season would play a bigger factor as the Irish are rolling right now, but if staff changes do occur at U-M and PSU, then we’ll see how Edwards reacts when it actually happens.

*** Something very interesting to watch moving forward is whether or not Edwards takes any self-guided visits before making a decision in December (he’s enrolling early so he must sign next month). Notre Dame would love to have Edwards on campus for its home finale against Syracuse, but of course, the staff can’t see him because of the dead period. The idea of Edwards taking a trip down to Georgia has been floated around, but I’m also hearing that he’s telling people that he’s done taking trips. It might be a situation where Edwards’ dad wants to take trips, but Donovan doesn’t.

*** Notre Dame has Logan Diggs committed at running back, and I expect him to sign in December as of now. Taking a second back in this class is a need now with the departures of Jahmir Smith and Jafar Armstrong from the running back room. Landing Edwards is obviously the most ideal situation, but Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma and Penn State are all very much in play too, and he’s been very difficult to read.

*** Notre Dame has an offer out to California running back Byron Cardwell, but despite it being late November, his recruiting process is still in its early stages as he wants to take trips in December and January before signing in February. There’s also Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph’s Audric Estime, who is committed to Michigan State, but I don’t expect him to sign with the Spartans. I’m told that Notre Dame has had productive contact with him recently including some Zoom calls, but no offer has been extended yet. Back to the whole “tricky spot” thing – I don’t think Notre Dame wants to make a move on Estime until it has a better feel on whether or not Edwards will pick the Irish.

*** It’s a tough call to make if you’re Notre Dame because you don’t want to move off Edwards if you still have a good shot, but you don’t want to lose out on Estime either. All of the words they’re hearing from the Edwards’ camp is positive, but actions are more important. So, whether or not Edwards visits Notre Dame for the Syracuse game weekend may give the staff a better indication of where they stand.

*** Some encouraging news on the Los Angeles Loyola cornerback Ceyair Wright front... I’m told that his plane tickets were purchased to come to Notre Dame for the weekend of the Syracuse game. When I previously reported that Wright was looking to get to South Bend that weekend, I was leery that it’d come to fruition, but it looks like my suspicions were wrong. From what I’ve gathered, Michigan, Notre Dame and USC are the top contenders for Wright, and Oregon may still have a shot as well. Be on the lookout for Wright to announce a top schools list in December, and he plans to announce his decision Jan. 2. USC is still considered the favorite here.

*** Notre Dame’s Zoom call with Highland Springs (Va.) High defensive lineman and Oklahoma commit Kelvin Gilliam did not occur last night like previously planned. It will be rescheduled. I don’t have any further details on it at this time. I don’t think this news necessarily hurts Notre Dame’s chances to pull off the flip, but as a fan, you’d like to hear that the call took place.

*** Nothing new this morning on the Merrillville (Ind.) High cornerback JoJo Johnson front. I’m still expecting him to commit to Notre Dame sooner than later, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint anything specific.

*** Notre Dame was keeping in contact with Bellevue (Neb.) West wide receiver and Iowa commit Keagan Johnson over the summer. I’m told that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and recruiting coordinator Brian Polian re-engaged with Johnson last Friday. Their pitch to him is that he’s a player they want on their team but have to figure out how the rest of the class will finish out. If Notre Dame does offer, then I think there’s a strong chance that a flip would occur. Notre Dame doesn’t necessarily need another receiver in this class, but if it has an open spot, and the staff feels that Johnson is one of the best players available, then don’t be surprised to see them go after him.

We rank all the Power Five teams:

The idea of Ben Skowronek as a "safety blanket" was floated after his first two Notre Dame catches. He has been so much more since that mundane afternoon against Louisville. He's not surprised. This is the same player who once ran the fastest sprint speed on Northwestern's roster. My feature on him:

I’m at a loss of words. Can you imagine this explanation for why Clemson should be ranked ahead of ND at number 2?!!! I mean saying “not taking away anything from ND” is like saying, no offense, but offend you.

You know it’s bad when Dumbo is speechless here.

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The Athletic had an article on Tyler Buchner this morning. It confirmed what many of us thought, that Buchner was going to skip the spring high school football season in California, and will enroll early at Notre Dame.

A few excerpts from the article follow. Note that the Owens quoted a couple of times is Robbie Owens, who would have been Buchner's head coach at Helix Charter high school. Will Hewlett is a quarterback coach at the Elite-11 camp.

Owens said...“ one thing that pops off the chart right away, he’s as good an athlete as anyone we’ve had. People ask me what he needs to work on. He’s as well-rounded a high school player as you can get.”

Owens can’t make the case for Buchner to stay, either, even if he could guarantee the spring season would happen on time. “If he was my son, he would be leaving early,” Owens said. “I’d love to talk him out of it because I want to coach him and want him to be part of our program, but that’s not who I am. Notre Dame is an elite program and that’s what he needs, that first spring practice there.”

Hewlett said. “Tyler’s athleticism stands out, it really does. He’s as good as anyone out there, and (five-star) Caleb Williams was at the event. Tyler’s very explosive, there’s suddenness to all of his movements.”

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IN before lets get there first....

Not that this is surprising news if you've been reading Mike's updates on the situation for the last couple months, but David Abiara formally announced he is no longer a Notre Dame commit.

im drawing a blank here. too much booze last night

The Irish are 11-4-1, with the most recent a 45-27 loss at USC in 2016 to finish 4-8. My, how fortunes can change:

Bronze Medal, 1927: In what is still believed to be the largest crowd ever to attend a football game (unofficially listed at 120,000 at Chicago's Soldier Field, and 99,573 officially paid), Notre Dame edges USC 7-6 in their second ever meeting. Per The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia, Bucky Dahman scores the lone Irish TD on a 25-yard pass, kicks the extra point as well, pins USC at its two-yard line with a 65-yard punt and then intercepts the pass to clinch the game.
Slight edge over 2005 Stanford, where the Irish rallied for a 38-31 win to conclude Charlie Weis' first year with a 9-2 regular season.

Silver Medal, 1988: At the Los Angeles Coliseum, No. 1 Notre Dame (10-0) and No. 2 USC (10-0) have their first showdown ever as the nation's top 2 teams. Although the Irish are "out-statisticed," by the Trojans, including 21-8 in first downs, it uses a 65-yard touchdown run by QB Tony Rice in the first quarter and a 64-yard pick six by Stan Smagala right before halftime to build a 20-7 lead at the intermission. The Irish also win despite head coach Lou Holtz sending leading rusher Tony Brooks and leading receiver Ricky Watters home for repeated tardiness.
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Gold Medal, 1966: The reason we have this ahead of 1988 is this 51-0 demolition of Pac-8 champ and No. 10 USC actually clinched the national title. Starting in place of the injured Terry Hanratty at QB, Coley O'Brien completes 21 of 31 passes for 255 yards and three scores, two to Jim Seymour. The defense also tallies on two interception returns by safety Tom Schoen and LB Dave Martin. It is ND's first consensus national title in 17 years. (Until 1968, the AP final vote came at the end of the regular season, part of why Notre Dame didn't go to bowl games until 1969.)
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You can see how 3+ years of consistent winning has changed the perception of His program. We're finally being mentioned in the same breath as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State... and even ND teams from the past. He has rebuilt the program. I hope he wants to stay another 5 years to really experience all the fruits of his labor.

We're just getting warmed up!

• All thoughts on COVID, statistics, speculation, updates, etc. should be posted in the daily thread.

• COVID threads that pop up separately on the board will be merged into our daily thread — with the exception of sports news items that are related to COVID (school testing updates, announcements, etc.). These can have their own threads but our staff has final discretion.

• As always, political posts – whether in the COVID thread or not – will be deleted.

Through this past Sunday, 191 tests were administered that all came up negative for the Notre Dame team. One member was in isolation from a previous positive test, and no one in quarantine through contact tracing.

• All thoughts on COVID, statistics, speculation, updates, etc. should be posted in the daily thread.

• COVID threads that pop up separately on the board will be merged into our daily thread — with the exception of sports news items that are related to COVID (school testing updates, announcements, etc.). These can have their own threads but our staff has final discretion.

• As always, political posts – whether in the COVID thread or not – will be deleted.

Through this past Sunday, 191 tests were administered that all came up negative for the Notre Dame team. One member is in isolation from a previous positive test, and no one in quarantine through contact tracing.