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In the latest batch of testing released Monday, none of the 189 tests administered had a positive for the coronavirus.

Per Notre Dame's website, 16.5 percent of Notre Dame's undergraduate students (1,438 out of 8,731) tested positive during the fall semester that ended No. 20. The spring semester does not begin until the first week of February, and the school plans to continue in-person learning.

Notre Dame’s top target remaining on the board released his Top 7 this evening. Mike Singer broke down Wright’s recruitment, here:


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I think our chances of winning are about 15 to 20%.

I'm not trying to be negative. I'll definitely watch the game and hold out hope for a win, which can happen (though unlikely).

Question for @Lou Somogyi or anyone else who knows...

I was thinking about how much BK's teams seem to struggle once things go bad. It feels like to me that if they get down by multiple scores in a game (especially against major opponents), they never seem to be able to turn things around. Am I wrong on this? Are there any examples of ND being down by 14-21 points and coming back for the win with Brian Kelly? Surely there has to be some, I just can't immediately think of any.

Thanks in advance.

I guess they wanted to keep those early signings and fire him a week after.

An update from Ceyair Wright..

Generally speaking, I think the chances of us losing by 14 points or less are about 30%.

I'll post a separate poll about chances of winning (I think that's more in the 15% - 20% range).

Can't say I've ever seen this at ND before, but we've added a defenseman for the second half of the season. Jake Boltmann was committed to Minnesota, but backed out of that pledge about a month ago. So instead, he's jumping on board after Jan. 1 and since this year's a freebie for everyone, his eligibility clock doesn't start ticking until next season. 3rd round selection by Calgary in the 2020 NHL Draft.

What would have happened in your opinion? Weis could recruit, we all know that, but I was looking at the 06 and 07 classes and we looked damn good on paper. I forgot we had top 100 corners in Darren Wall and Raschan McNeill. Could Venerables been the fix to what was Charlie's main issue.

Hear from Brian Kelly and Brian Polian as they discuss a weird cycle and how Notre Dame navigated it.

I was watching the KC vs Saints game this past Sunday and Romo made a comment about a slow death when it came to defending the Chiefs. Like KC, I feel Bama relies on explosive plays through the pass game and I'm curious to see what you guys think of dropping 8 in coverage and relying on the DL to provide pressure and let Harris run a bit loose while chewing up the clock.

Jones isn't Mahomes and I feel that dropping in coverage when he's used to getting things out on rhythm will make it difficult for him to hit those long explosive plays they really want to do.

With Dickerson out, I believe this would be a good option. ND strength is their run D and DL, the weakness is the secondary. This seems to help cover the inefficiencies ND may have in the secondary.

Thoughts?

Any chance ND gets involved here? Big time athlete from last years class he’s just buried on depth chart at OSU:
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1. Styles I think he will be a playmaker day one as Punt Returner. As a Soph he will be starting WR.
2. Prince Kollie he will play on ST as a true freshman then start at Rover or Buck as a soph.
3. Blake Fisher I always said he starts as a true freshman even with a loaded offensive line.
4. Gabriel Rubio would be shocked if he wasn’t a multi year start. He plays as a true freshman like Mills did or maybe more.
5 Tyler Buchner If he is that good then he plays as a true freshman.
6 Rocco Spindler kids going be a mauler, hes a starter as a redshirt freshman.
7 Deion Colzie him and Thomas are high on my list because of there Versatility.
8 Cane Berrong 4.53 40 all I gotta say. Playmaker Tight end.
9 Audric Estime we don’t have a RB on the roster like him.
10 Khari Gee rangy safety and very athletic. He’s a playmaker at a position of need.
11 Philip Riley
12 Ryan Barnes
13 Jayden Thomas
14 tie Caleb Johnson/ Joe Alt
16 Devin Aupui give him two years with Balis.


If we get Wright then he shoots all the way up to top 5. Kids a playmaker.

I had no idea that's who we are. I understand that ND is at a disadvantage, and will likely lose. But holy cow, 55-17 or 45-3 or whatever other predictions I've seen on this site. Is ND Missouri, or Tennessee, or A&M, or Ole Miss? No, we are waaay better than those teams....right? If we aren't, than we as fans certainly shouldn't expect top 5 wins, ever, unless it's luck. Begs the question. Have we narrowed the gap, at all? If ND is a realistic 40 point dog to Alabama, than sheesh, them ever saying we graduate players and want to win championships is a lie. Yes, I'm ranting. But, how do we get excited about seasons when it's a forgone conclusion that we won't be competitive when it matters most? Fu*$ it! 42-38 ND.

Listening to ESPNU today on XM radio. There was a big push for Texas A&M getting the #4 spot because they looked so much better than ND at the end.

So I got to thinking, what if in the game SB, TL et al played and we got stomped 34-10. Then in the ACC Championship those guys are out for Clemson and we beat them 47-40 in 2OT. Would that win be disregarded like some have done now? Would it matter that it was in the ACC Championship? How high would have been our ranking going into the game?

The other thing that I though that was interesting is A&Ms "brutal" SEC schedule included two wins over teams with 6+ wins (Florida and Auburn). Of course a 3-win Mississippi State team would have 6+ wins in every other Power 5 conference, right?

The ncaa is the problem, and this my opinion. They punish the teams that are doing the right thing , and are actual ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS. The sec “SECOND EDUCATION CONFERENCE “AIN’T ONE OF THEM”.We are talking about ATHLETICS. It’s a joke bama, florida etc most of the sec aren’t academic institutions, they are football factories.Most of the players are going to these schools to play football not get an education. When you think about it allot of people get degrees but they don’t actually get an education.I am tired of people overlooking the truth. The truth is saban isn’t a great coach in every situation, MSU proves that and leaving one sec school lsu due to a cheating scandal and ending up in the biggest FF made his job easier. He can prove me wrong,let’s see him head to NOTRE DAME, Stanford, Duke, Army, Navy or Air Force , and win like he is at bama.I could go to bama at the beginning of next year and win 9 games not knowing anything, because it’s a factory/ assembly line. Recruiting proves it. It’s like trying to get into Harvard or Oxford. The best of the best send in their resumes not transcripts and wait for the call, unless your a legacy or pay to erect a new building you ain’t getting in no matter how good your grades are, how much community serve you have done or how poor you are with a 4.00 +.It’s not recruiting unless you’re in a power 5 school where most recruits want to go.It’s like Amazon not paying taxes and just getting richer.

Bryan Harsin of Boise... Eh?

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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 commentary, "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 their most dynamic players on the field.

Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams has been voted the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Football Rookie of the Year by the league’s 15 head coaches and a 49-member select media panel.

Clemson tackle Bryan Bresee received the nod as the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year.

A five-time weekly award winner in 2020, Williams has totaled six 100-yard rushing performances while helping the No. 4 Fighting Irish to a 10-1 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff. The St. Louis native leads all FBS freshmen in rushing yards (1,061), rushing touchdowns (12) and total touchdowns (13). He also has 27 receptions on the season for 282 yards.

A second-team All-ACC selection, Williams’ efforts are a huge reason Notre Dame (10-1) will compete in the CFP for the second time in three seasons. The redshirt freshman is one of just four ACC players to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing mark, and his 27 receptions rank third among Notre Dame players. The complete voting for ACC Rookie of the Year honors was as follows:

ACC Rookie of the Year
Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame, 37
Jordan Addison, WR, Pitt, 10
Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson, 7
Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson, 6
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB/KR Georgia Tech, 3
Lavel Davis, Jr., WR, Virginia, 1

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame, 42
Jordan Addison, WR, Pitt, 15
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB/KR, Georgia Tech, 4
Lavel Davis, Jr., WR, Virginia, 1
Donavon Greene, WR/KR, Wake Forest, 1
Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse, 1

Defensive Rookie of the Year
Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson, 36
Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson, 18
Garrett Williams, DB, Syracuse, 6
Nick Andersen, S, Wake Forest, 2
Tony Grimes, DB, North Carolina, 1
Isaiah Foskey, DE, Notre Dame, 1

1 year probation


LSU 2 coaches "retire" and will become analyst

Larry Fedora canned at Baylor as OC

I'm not in the building for this one, and it's not on TV, so this will be pretty light in updates, but I'll chime in every now and again.

Would be a big time transfer and is exactly the person ND needs to get out of the rut they are currently in.

Does the 'potential' of the Alabama game 'heal all wounds?'

I read an article on The Athletic today where they discussed the fact that the cancellation of some of the minor bowls this year will cost ESPN an estimated $21 million in ad revenue. However that $21 million is a drop in the bucket compared to the $792 million in ad revenue that ESPN/ABC collects per year from College Football according to the Sportico website.

But the real money according to The Athletic for ESPN:

Bowls are a nice payday under normal circumstances for ESPN, but they’re far from the network’s primary revenue driver.

Bowl money is dwarfed by the $9 monthly affiliate fees that ESPN collects from every household that subscribes to the network via cable and satellite providers......ESPN is generating approximately $8.4 billion annually before they sell a single ad.

No wonder that ESPN can afford to hand out the big contracts to sports leagues.