As well-represented as Notre Dame was among the various preseason All-ACC women’s basketball honors released Tuesday, the omissions were eyebrow-raising as well.

It’s probably more of a math problem than the eye test. Just 10 players from the now 18 ACC teams were selected to the preseason All-ACC team. And the Irish had three of them — preseason Player of the Year and reigning first-team All-American Hannah Hidalgo as well as senior guards Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles.

Notre Dame also had two players, Marquette grad transfer forward Liza Karlen and freshman center Kate Koval, make the ACC newcomer watch list, for a total of five honorees. Only one other school, NC State with three, had more than two players mentioned.

Forward Maddy Westbeld, a grad senior forward who will miss the first couple of months of the season with a leg injury, was a second-team postseason All-ACC selection last March. And Pitt grad transfer forward Liatu King was a first-team selection and ACC Most Improved Player last season.

Karlen, incidentally, was a unanimous All-Big East selection last season at Marquette.

Meanwhile, Hidalgo broke the ACC freshman scoring record, led the country in steals, was named an AP All-American, and won the Dawn Staley Award for nation's best point guard, among other honors.

Hidalgo is just the third player in ACC history to win ACC Rookie of the Year and be the preseason Player of the Year the following season, joining Duke's Alana Beard and Notre Dame's Brianna Turner.

Notre Dame was picked as the preseason winner of the ACC, receiving 70 of 79 first place votes from the Blue Ribbon Panel of coaches and select media members. It’s the first time since 2018 that the Irish have been the preseason favorite.
The Irish play an Oct. 30 exhibition game at home against Davenport, then officially open the season on Nov. 4 at home against Mercyhurst.

The ACC has sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last six seasons, as those 48 teams are the most among all conferences in that span. Current membership has appeared in eight Final Fours in the last six seasons, capped off by NC State’s trip a season ago.

Preseason Player of the Year
Hannah Hidalgo, So., G, Notre Dame

Preseason All-ACC Team (First-place votes – 79 voters)
Hannah Hidalgo So., G, Notre Dame 921 (62 first-place votes)
Ta'Niya Latson, Jr., G, Florida State 734 (9 first-place votes)
Saniya Rivers, Sr., G, NC State 527 (2 first-place votes)
Aziaha James, Sr., G, NC State 473 (1 first-place vote)
Olivia Miles, Jr., G, Notre Dame 457 (4 first-place votes)
Sonia Citron, Jr., G, Notre Dame 331
Makayla Timpson, Sr., F, Florida State 315
Alyssa Ustby, Gr., G/F, North Carolina 308
Reigan Richardson, Sr., G, Duke 202
Kymora Johnson, So., G, Virginia 193 (1 first-place vote)

Newcomer Watch List
Toby Fournier, Fr., F, Duke 222
Imari Berry, Fr., G, Louisville 180
Kate Koval, Fr., F, Notre Dame 177
Zamareya Jones, Fr., G, NC State 116
Liza Karlen, Gr., F, Notre Dame 109

Predicted Order of Finish (79 voters)
1. Notre Dame (70), 1726
2. NC State (8), 1617
3. Duke, 1446
4. Louisville, 1370
5. Florida State, 1335
6. North Carolina, 1279
7. Stanford (1), 1214
8. Miami, 883
9. Virginia, 877
10. Georgia Tech, 855
11. Syracuse, 801
12. Virginia Tech, 786
13. Clemson, 553
14. California, 546
15. Boston College, 533
16. SMU, 274
17. Wake Forest, 259
18. Pitt, 233

Transcript provided by ASAPSports. This has not yet been cleaned for errors.

Opening statement:

MARCUS FREEMAN: It's a rivalry game, so you have to prepare for your opponent's best. You have to be at your best when you want to win a rivalry game. It's so important.

Our guys were prepared. Coaches did a great job getting them prepared, and they went out there and they executed. I was really proud of the way we responded after that first series. Terrible first series on all three phases.

To come out and have a holding where -- we're moving the ball. We have a holding penalty, a bad punt, and they go down and score. I said, Okay, let's see how this group responds.

From the second series on, man, they played lights-out. Really did a great job taking care of the ball. Defensively really stepping up and making good plays in the pass game, the run game, and special teams-wise. Obviously wasn't many opportunities special times-wise, but they capitalized off the opportunities we had.

So really proud of this group. Enjoy tonight. Enjoy earning that Legends Trophy, which is a reflection, as I told them, of team glory. That's what that trophy represents is a bunch of people committing to something bigger than themselves. Proud of them for that.

We'll get back to work on Sunday and start preparing for our next opponent. With that, I'll open it up to questions.

Q. I think you guys finished 9-of-14 on third and fourth downs, held them maybe to 5-of-16. Specifically offensively almost 500 yards of offense. How much more was today reflective of what you have been expecting, and how do you make sure you harness it and build on it moving forward?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah, I thought their performance on both sides of the ball, especially offense. What I challenged them to be, I wanted it to be unrecognizable. I wanted you all to watch and say, Man, that's an offense that we haven't seen.

Our players have seen it. It's just them at their best on every play. That was what a reflection of what you guys saw. That's what you saw today. I thought it was really good, man. They did a really good job... run game, pass game, making good decisions and taking care of the football.

Q. Then maybe when did you know you wouldn't have Jason Onye, and when did you know you would have Gabe Rubio, and what did you think about his play today?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I knew we wouldn't have Jason yesterday. He was out for personal reasons. Then we knew all week we were expecting Gabe to play. I haven't watched it, but I'm just glad he's out there and, you know, he's going to help this football program.

Q. You had nine different guys catch passes from Riley including Pat Coogan. Is this what you envisioned from the passing game? Is this what you envisioned from the passing game going forward, and how do you evaluate Riley's performance?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I think every game is different, and you just have to take advantage of what is in front of you.

There might be a game where somebody catches ten passes, and there might be a game that, as it was tonight, where you have nine different guys catch the ball, including an O-lineman.

What we focus on is, what can we do to have success? That's just not one thing. That's not running the ball, passing the ball, throwing it to one person, or passing it nine people. It's what can we do to help this team win? We'll see what next week presents.

Q. Mitch Jeter didn't play most of that game. Did he suffer an injury? What's his status?

MARCUS FREEMAN: He's had a tight groin, but I think on that kickoff, I don't know if he -- it didn't feel great, so they told me we were going to hold him, and that's all I know right now.

Q. Defensively you had a lot of pressure up front today. What was going so right up front?

MARCUS FREEMAN: I challenged those two seniors, Rylie and Howard. I wanted them to be great because they're great football players, and those two specifically stood out to me just on the field.

I'm sure I'll go back and watch film. They dominated the game. Those two big guys, we needed them to be dominant, and he this played dominant. That helps everybody around them.

So really proud of those two guys.

Q. Then Jadarian Price started the game kind of getting a lot of carries. Jeremiyah Love worked his way in. How do you balance those two in the back field?

MARCUS FREEMAN: It's a reflection of Coach McCullough and the way he leads that room, the unselfishness that they have, selfless. They just capitalize off of opportunities presented in front of them.

As I told the group, there's no guarantees in life. I don't know what next week will entail, but you continue to trust your coaches, trust each other, trust what we're doing, and good things are going to happen.

Those guys are selfless. They're playmakers. They do a lot when we get the ball in our hands, and we have to continue to find ways to do that.

Q. You spoke to the success of the passing offense, but I'm curious when you thought about the intent and Mike Denbrock. There was a big emphasis to throw early and often, and Riley really seemed to settle in because of that. Just the game plan to have it that way.

MARCUS FREEMAN: They're one of the top defenses in the country at stopping the run. That's something that you look at the last two years, they've done a really good job at stopping the run. Their defense is built to stop the run.

We felt like to have some success we're going to have to stretch the field 53 and a third, do some things vertically that try to take advantage of that they do defensively. It was an aggressive game plan that really just attacked what we thought we could exploit because that's their defense. I don't know what next week will present.

We thought that was going to be something that we could be able to do, and we had a line of success doing it.

Q. Three fourth down stops for your side. How big were those? Especially you get the ball at midfield after a couple of them, and then the offense takes advantage of that.

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah, it was huge. It was huge. They were one for four, and we were three for three on fourth down. You have to have confidence on both sides of the ball to make those calls.

Offensively right before half it's fourth and one. Made the decision. Let's run it; let's go for it. Also had a lot of confidence in our defense. You know, I think defense played big. They played and did a really good job in really difficult situations at times. Offense did a great job converting on fourth down.

Q. If you wanted the offense to be unrecognizable to us, I'm sure you saw bits of this in practice sort of building to this. Could you give us some insight of what you have seen from Louisville to today that made you feel like something like this could come?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah, just the consistency. I think we're practicing with more consistency. The execution in practice has been really at a high level. I just challenge them. If we execute in the game the way you guys have been doing it in practice, you know, we'll recognize it, but a lot of people won't.

I think that's what you saw today is that it's still a reflection of preparation. I'm going to say after wins and losses that we're preparing at a higher level. The execution is at a higher level. I think that's helping us out a lot, a lot of confidence, a lot of success.

Q. We've asked you about Bryce Young a lot. He continues to flash in there. What did you sort of sense from him today or see from him today? Where can the second half of the season go for him?

MARCUS FREEMAN: He's a really talented football player. I have to remind myself and the coaches that he's young because at times we can just put so much on his plate in terms of defense, the early downs, third downs, special teams. I had a meeting with our coaching staff. Like, where can we take some stuff off his plate?

Man, he is really performing at a high level. He prepares the right way. He's in there when he has free time. He wants to be the best. Man, he's a special, special individual.

Q. It looked like the three touchdown passes from Riley were RPO plays. Is that a reflection of him seeing the field better and his willingness to pull and throw in those situations?

MARCUS FREEMAN: Yeah, that was just a reflection of, yeah, I think what their defense kind of gave us and also what we felt like Riley could execute well. It's both.

You have to look at where you think you can have success, but also look at what do you think your guys can do well? I think that's a reflection of both of them. Really good decision-making, and put the ball exactly where it needed to be, and had some great catches.

(more)

The great genius as proclaimed by chassball to win multiple titles at USC….is 15 yards away from the game winning FG, with 3 TOs ….and can’t get it done.

They run one play for 3 yards, and let the clock run down until 14 seconds…AT WHICH PSU CALLS A timeout (wtf was Franklin doing?!) …mind you, Riley still has 3 TOs left…

Faced with the need to get 11 more yards to get into FG range, the SC QB forces a pass, it’s high, and intercepted.

16-10 since starting 6-0 in 2022. He needs to beat the Irish or his seat is hot

Drops to 4-4 on the year.....

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It's time for Game 8 of Place Your Bets for the 2024 season. We're making prop bets for No. 12 Notre Dame's game against Navy in New Jersey on Saturday.

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Instructions are included in the thread linked here and in the Google Form linked below.

@Eric Hansen and I share our weekly picks the Friday before every game this season. I will share the results next week in this thread and we’ll have an updated standings thread throughout the season.

Here are the Game 8 prop bets for Notre Dame-Navy. Voting is open now and closes at kickoff on Saturday (12 p.m. EDT on ABC).

• Will the turnover margin wind up in Notre Dame’s favor, Navy’s favor or even?
• Over/Under 8.5 tackles for ND LB Jack Kiser
• Which quarterback will have a longer completion: Riley Leonard of Blake Horvath?
• Over/Under 4.5 receptions for ND TE Mitchell Evans
• Which team will have more rushing touchdowns?

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PSA: THIS IS NOT A GOAT DEBATE OR A POLITICAL THREAD

All im gonna say is how can he still be playing at this level in year fricking 21?
While it's still early in the season the dude is still performing like a legit top 10 player in the league. He defies NBA logic. When he goes off the court the Lakers fall apart when he is on the court their a +21.
I fully expect the haters to come out in full force, but at some point yall owe him atleast a golf clap of respect.

It sure is a crazy year in CFB. I see quite a bit of parity across the board, which is good. I would normally say that ND is not a playoff team at all, and I could be right, but I have to say, it doesn't appear anyone is unbeatable. No one really stands out, with the exception of maybe UGA, who I still feel is the best team in the country.

ND had a solid game on the road. They never let GT in the game really. Just a quality, in control type of game. The defense played very well again, minus a couple blown coverages which happens from time to time. The trash TD late they gave up is no big deal.

I will say it again, I am not impressed with Leonard, think he should be the backup. But the kid surprises me every game with how well he can throw the shorter passes into tight windows. I know we all want to get the deep ball going more and I can't disagree, but I have seen shades of the New England Patriots and Tom Brady in our offensive game plan. I say this as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and how maddening it was to watch them dink and dunk their way down the field at will and punch it in. I'm fine with that.

I don't know if we are a playoff team, time will tell and we just need to keep winning and let the chips fall where they do. But I wouldn't be shocked if we do make it in and if we do win a game post season. Its just that kind of year.

He was highly rated in HS and I know that doesn’t always translate. I figured with his size he would be able to contribute right away. I don’t see any stats for the last two seasons.

I watched game 1, GT.....GT had little issues running the ball. FSU had the X-Clem QB, was inaccurate as heck...

They are loaded with 4 star talent, some 5.......I dont follow them or live near them.....How can that much talent be 1-8? Are they just injury riddled? Are players sitting out now for the draft? Lets hope they dont save their year this weekend but does anyone on the board know what the heck happened to this team after a 12-0 run last year?

Might be starting at left guard today

I can barely watch the Indiana vs msu game.

Shaking like crazy

Looks like a monster recruiting weekend. A lot of our top prospects on the board will be there and could still be adding

As of now these players are scheduled to be there

Madden Faraimo top 100 LB

Nathaniel Owusu Boateng top 100 LB

Andrew Olesh top 100 TE Michigan commit

Derek Meadows top 100 WR LSU commit

Jalen Wiggins top 100 DL Florida commit

Antwuan Parham 3 star WR Tulane commit

Nolan James 3 star RB BC commit

Hope to see maybe another Rb and Wr added or another DL. Keep bringing them in

The four-star Michigan tight end commit from Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh will be at Oregon this weekend followed by a trip to Penn State for the Ohio State game and then he will head to Notre Dame on Nov. 9.

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The Heat Index has been updated with the following changes:

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Not playing today ? Anyone know what the issue is ?