1. Notre Dame Football: Things That Scare Fighting Irish Fans

    While every college football fan can be subject to the occasional freakout, the most paranoid fanbases tend to be those who have seen their teams grasp defeat from the jaws of victory...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 5,309 reads 15 comments

  2. Notre Dame Football: What Each Prospective QB Brings to the Table

    No, I don't know who's going to be Notre Dame's starting quarterback on Sept. 1 against Navy in Dublin ( although it became slightly clearer on Tuesday )...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 2,395 reads 12 comments

  3. Notre Dame Football: Tommy Rees Suspended for Season Opener

    Notre Dame's biggest question mark heading into the 2012 season received a bit of clarity on Tuesday afternoon when Director of Football Media Relations Brian Hardin announced that ...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 7,519 reads 22 comments

  4. Notre Dame Football: RB Jamel James Commits to the Irish

    Anytime a team receives a verbal commitment from a recruit, the question becomes, who's next to commit? After Notre Dame landed Alex Anzalone earlier this month, the thought was that perhaps a running back would be that guy...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 10,549 reads 43 comments

  5. Notre Dame Football: Analyzing the 5-Star Recruits Considering Notre Dame

    While recruiting is far from an exact science, attracting the attention of the most elite high school players in the nation should be a difficult task when you win just 32 of 63 games over the past five season...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 10,596 reads 19 comments

  6. Notre Dame Football: Is Manti Te'o One of the Top 25 Irish Players of All Time?

    As Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o prepares for his final season under the Golden Dome, it's appropriate to assess his place in the storied history of Fighting Irish football. In a program ranked the No...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 4,422 reads 18 comments

  7. Notre Dame Football: Breaking Down the Vegas Odds on Every Game

    As we pass the remaining few weeks until the start of fall camp, it’s always fun to take a look at the recently-released point spreads for some notable games during the 2012 season...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 9,126 reads 22 comments

  8. Notre Dame Football: 5 Players Who Will Be Household Names in 2012

    Many Notre Dame fans have already declared the likes of George Atkinson III, DaVaris Daniels and Davonte Neal to be the Irish's future stars. Given their ability, those declarations seem likely to come to fruition...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 11,576 reads 19 comments

  9. Notre Dame Football: Is DaVaris Daniels Poised for a Breakout Season?

    For the first fall since 2007, there won’t be a shiny golden helmet on Michael Floyd’s head. Rather, a beady-eyed cardinal will be gracing the helmet of Notre Dame’s all-time leading receiver when toe once again meets leather...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 11 months ago 6,907 reads 22 comments

  10. Notre Dame Football: Irish Reel in Alex Anzalone

    Last month, Notre Dame received a verbal commitment from Rivals 5-star linebacker Jaylon Smith following a football camp in Indiana. Sunday evening, history repeated itself at the Nike-sponsored The Opening camp in Beaverton, Ore...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 1 reads 30 comments

  11. Notre Dame Football: Irish Land First 2014 Commitment

    A key part of recruiting in major college football is establishing relationships with high school programs and coaching staffs. Notre Dame has done so of late with programs such as Cretin-Durham Hall in St...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 4 reads 3 comments

  12. Notre Dame Football: The Effect of a Four-Team Playoff on Past Irish Teams

    Last week’s landmark announcement that college football would move to a four-team playoff beginning in 2014 was impactful to Notre Dame in multiple aspects of its program...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 1,384 reads 6 comments

  13. Notre Dame Football: Breaking Down the Irish's Chances of Landing Alex Anzalone

    Despite an impressive haul of 15 commitments to this point, Notre Dame is still searching for more in its 2013 class – not just in quantity, but in quality...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 9,051 reads 9 comments

  14. Notre Dame Football: Why Tyler Eifert Is College Football's Best Tight End

    Few positions have evolved over the years in the game of football more so than tight end. The classic tight end was primarily an in-line blocker who could occasionally catch a short pass and break a few tackles...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 4,684 reads 9 comments

  15. 20 College Football Teams That Won't Be National Title Contenders Until 2013

    One of the most commonly used phrases to describe the year-in, year-out national title contenders in college football is that they "don't rebuild, they reload." For the Alabamas and Oregons of the world, that is generally the case...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 10,064 reads 25 comments

  16. Notre Dame Football: How the Irish Can Pass Michigan in 2013 Recruiting

    For most of the initial decade of the 21st century, the biggest thorn in Notre Dame’s side resided in Los Angeles in the form of Pete Carroll, the always exuberant mastermind of the USC dynasty...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 6,530 reads 21 comments

  17. Notre Dame Football: 10 Things to Know About Jaylon Smith

    Between the start of the 2011 season and national singing day in February, with Notre Dame football, when it rained, it poured. A turnover led to more turnovers. A blown coverage led to more blown coverages...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 12 months ago 5,131 reads 7 comments

  18. Notre Dame Football: 5 Players Who Will Outperform Their 2011 Seasons

    Every season, at least one player on every team outperforms his expectations and becomes one of the most important players on the roster. Last year, that player for Notre Dame was Jonas Gray...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 7,029 reads 11 comments

  19. Notre Dame Football: Why the Irish Will Be Better Than You Think in 2012

    I predicted Notre Dame to go 10-2 in each of Brian Kelly ’s first two seasons. Was I that far off? Well, a 15-9 regular season record would probably tell you that I was...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 8,861 reads 37 comments

  20. College Football 2012: 10 Quarterbacks Doomed to Underachieve

    If your friend would've told you at this time last year that the quarterback from Baylor was going to win the Heisman Trophy in the fall, what would you have said? Other than the ...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 4,516 reads 15 comments

  21. Notre Dame Football: Why the Tough Schedule Shouldn't Worry Irish Fans

    When Notre Dame announced in 2007 that it would play a two-game series with Oklahoma in 2012 and 2013, it was assumed the Sooners would replace Michigan on the Irish schedule for ...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 6,016 reads 27 comments

  22. Notre Dame Football: Ranking the Irish's Opposing Quarterbacks for 2012

    Not every college football team will experience the quarterback drama that is likely to ensue at Notre Dame during fall camp...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 1,711 reads 4 comments

  23. Notre Dame Football: Jaylon Smith Commits to the Irish

    Notre Dame has not been lacking for recruiting drama lately. First it was Deontay Greenberry's last-minute switch from the Irish to Houston on National Signing Day...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 8,113 reads 43 comments

  24. Notre Dame Football's Biggest Recruiting Needs in 2013 and 2014

    By most accounts, National Signing Day was a disappointment for Notre Dame in 2012. To paraphrase Bill Parcells, they got enough groceries to cook a dinner but forgot some key ingredients...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 4,637 reads 31 comments

  25. Notre Dame Football: Are Recent Legal Troubles a Cause for Concern?

    It’s rare when a Notre Dame quarterback is not in the spotlight, but when the Blue-Gold Game on Apr...

    Matt Smith Written by Matt Smith about 1 year ago 3,530 reads 15 comments