To Alabama. Supposedly a heavy Oklahoma lean all year.
Alabama has an unbelievable class.

May your home, hearth, and heart be filled with the peace love enjoy of this blessed season. And to correctly quote Clement Clarke Moore: “Happy Christmas to all “

How so many folks who call themselves fans of Notre Dame can turn on this 2020 team and coaching staff so quickly. I assume most are not alumni, or are simply the definition of fair weather fans. As an alum, class of 93, so I get the whole “I lived thru the glory days,” I could not be more proud of this team. And, think they absolutely are a top 4 team, as Coach Kelly said “without question.”

What this team and staff had to go through this year and season, and for the players to balance an accelerated and virtual class schedule at ND should be nothing but praised by anyone calling themselves a fan. I wanted them to win as much as the next guy, and was as thoroughly disappointed in the performance last night as anyone, but how can you turn on these guys now? Not after the full season they had and the sacrifices they made, personally, athletically, academically, physically and spiritually.

I have a son who finished up two degrees at Virginia Tech this year and had both graduations canceled. I have a daughter who graduated from high school in the spring and had her prom, graduation and most everything from her final year of high school canceled; to then go through a freshman year at William & Mary devoid almost any social interaction. I think we have too many fans who do not get that these players and coaches have managed a season unlike any other, and represented Our Lady in a way that should be applauded regardless the outcome of this game. We have 18 - 22 year olds who have lived in an unrecognizable world for nearly a year, with so much taken away from them, and they have continued to conduct themselves in a way well beyond their years, and balanced a schedule that many of us will ever be able to fully appreciate. Anyone on here who has kids in this age bracket knows exactly the toll this year has taken on this age group.

And please don’t give me any garbage about ND needs to lessen standards or have players focus more on football. As an alum, this is the last thing I want to see ND become. I would never trade football wins and championships for players who are not real ND students or coaches who do not represent the true mission of ND. Football may be the first thing folks think about when they learn I am an ND alum, but I will forever be more proud that my alma mater is a top university that plays football, not a football team simply named after a university.

I meant to post this last night but wasn't able to get around to it. Here are some Lucky Charms for your Christmas Eve afternoon...

*** Notre Dame signed Audric Estime in December but will get to two running backs signed in this class barring a complete change of mind by the Fighting Irish staff. By all accounts, things are looking good on the Logan Diggs front. He's been committed to Notre Dame since the summer, but unless he's pulling a fast one, Diggs did not sign in December, and I'm told LSU and Notre Dame are still recruiting him. But LSU's program is a bit of a mess right now with coaching changes, although running backs coach Kevin Faulk remains with the team. I'm told that Diggs hopes to take another self-guided tour visit of Notre Dame in January. LSU also has already signed two backs, and I think the "high" of landing the offer from the Tigers back in early December may be wearing off. Right now, I expect Diggs to stick with the Irish.

*** Notre Dame has cooled its pursuit of San Diego Morse running back Byron Cardwell, which may be an indication of where the staff feels it stands in the Diggs' recruitment. Cardwell's plan all along was to skip the early signing period, and a few other schools are in the mix here. It does not appear that Notre Dame is one of those programs.

*** A couple of receivers who position coach Del Alexander is keeping his eye on... One of my favorite recruits in the Midwest is Indianapolis (Ind.) Lawrence North's Omar Cooper Jr. He had an exceptional junior season, catching 38 passes for 1,101 yards and 13 touchdowns (29 yards per reception). Notre Dame hasn't had much contact with the class of 2022 recruit recently, but I believe it will pick up here in the near future.

*** In the 2023 class, Las Vegas Desert Pine's Deandre Moore will likely receive an offer from the Irish as long as he checks out academically. He's already emerged as an elite recruit in the rising junior class. The 6-0, 168-pounder has already earned offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and Oregon. Moore has already been invited to the All-American Bowl.

If im BK and Tommy Reese I make a call to Charlie Weis for some insight on running screens. I know the board gone go crazy but talking to Weis would be great.

What’s the word on him? I don’t think I’ve seen anything about his status.

Same goes for Zeke. Will they both be ready to go on 1/1/21?

ESPN had a story for Bowl teams


The data was from the 2019-20 Season. The numbers below are Total percentage football players graduating followed by African American rates. For example:

ND - 92 (82)

Last year's Semifinal Teams

LSU - 71 (59)
Oklahoma - 73 (52)
tOSU - 63 (56)
Clemson - 82 (74)

Not an excuse. Just a reality.

Curious to see what folks think of this offense/Rees...Anything you would like to see moving forward?

22nd in scoring at 35.2
57th in passing offense
9th in 3rd down conversions
51st in Passing yard per completion
21st in Rushing offense
94th in red zone offense....
38th in team passing efficiency

From Todd Burlage

I think Kelly's tenure has by and large proven that Notre Dame can live in that top 5-10 program range, year after year. The struggle at this point isn't the same as it was in 2012. We walked away from the last Bama meeting thinking that we need to develop our lines to be ass-kickers in the trenches. Kelly went on making the necessary changes and Notre Dame has churned out big time offensive lineman as well as some good pros on the defensive line.

The problem is that while we were focusing on developing our physicality in the trenches, the top teams have changed the way they play. Now, the top teams have made the transition to an explosive passing game, that routinely scores 45+ points a game. Bama won't be handing the ball off to Eddie Lacy 35 times in our next meeting. They will be looking to turn the game into a track meet via the passing game.

The next evolution for Notre Dame will be into a team that plays the same physical defense, boasts a bullying run offense, but adds a dynamic passing game that can put points on the board quickly. My criticism of the coaching staff isn't that they can't recruit the top players. They have, including at receiver. My criticism is that other top programs find ways to get those kids on the field earlier than Notre Dame. Jordan Johnson and Kevin Austin are as naturally gifted as most receivers at those other big time programs. Yet Notre Dame prefers big-bodied upper-class men who seem to always garner the same comment, "Irish receivers unable to get separation."

With prospects for a playoff win looking slim, I hope that Notre Dame walks away from this season with a resolution moving forward to get the most dynamic players on the field.

Hear from Gee on his flip from LSU to the Irish

I know I'm a few hours early, but I do pray for a Merry Christmas for you and your families. Celebrate the Child who is the light! (Michael Card).
2020 will stand out in memory for as long as I have one as a great year. God has given me much in the way of faith, hope and charity. Without these, I would not be still standing. Peace! Joy! Hope! Love!

Theres been lots of discussion recently about how ND needs to close the recruiting gap. So I ask:

If you were a sure fire NFL talent (like Camar Wheaton) that is very likely a first round draft pick that will make millions and millions of dollars - where would you go?

keep watching the Montana Guinness commercial:

1) what was the pre game hype vs expectations for that game?

2) any good game watch stories?

New look Hawks have 100 pts halfway through the third quarter. Sheesh.

On und.com it shows the hockey schedule to be over. Is there no hockey in spring semester?

Obviously he's freed up now and will be at our game vs bama with his son on the team. Didnt have a lot of time to work at LSU but still a great defensive mind. If I'm BK and Clark I call him up to help gameplan. Has first hand experience. Just my thoughts

Can Notre Dame recapture its glory again from past New Year's Day versus the nation's best?
https://notredame.rivals.com/news/notre-dame-vs-no-1-in-bowls-just-like-ol-times

I know a lot has been stated about freshmen seeing the field under the coaching staff and we have seen great success with Mayer and Tyree. This year should be treated as an exception due to the Pandemic where we could play any freshmen and it not count against us. I was going to ask the moderators as its been stated many times but what is holding Jordan Johnson back from playing? Was he on the travel roster for ACC Championship game? Maybe we get a surprise and he will show up in this game.

I feel different about this game vs Alabama. The feeling is more like our Clemson home game where defense dominanted and there was that fight we know this team has. I really think them losing their center as we have seen will be something we target and feel we have a chance if playing mistake free, cause Bama some turnovers, and finally see some passing like we did against Clemson with Avery Davis deep cross-route (thing of beauty) that we get the win we all hope for.

I really think this is a special team and if we do get beat in this game, hope we make it a fight like we saw on November 7th. We have great recruiting class coming in and I don't know why but just have a feeling Book shows us the same level of play he did the first time we faced Clemson.

The Athletic named their All-American team today. Notre Dame had two players on the first team - Liam Eichenberg at offensive tackle and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at linebacker. Kyle Hamilton was a 2nd team safety.

Alabama had 3 players on the first team offense, 1 player on the first team defense and 2 players on the second team offense. Mac Jones was the first team quarterback over Trevor Lawrence who was on the second team.

Brother of Matt Salerno, who has been fielding Notre Dame's punts all season long. Chris Salerno is a kicker.

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Und.com showing no baseball schedule right now. What’s the plan for the spring?