JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Aug. 6, 2020

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Aug. 6, 2020

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Eric Hansen

1:11

Hi Mike. I answered the Austin part of your question already. so let me jump to the national championship part. ... We're all going to find out together. There's not context, no precedent about how to do this. There's no certainty in any of this, optimistically or pessimistically. Let's say the regular season gets played with some outbreaks/interruptions. The CFP committee has to pick the best four teams based on what data they have in front of them. Jack Swarbrick told me in an interview a while back that he did not see the playoff field expanding. Barring impossible logistics, I don't see it collapsing either. There's too much money at stake.

Mike-quakertown PA

1:07

Hi Eric! Thanks again for taking our questions. I always appreciate you insight, and I hope all is well with you and your family. I just read that Kevin Austin is out for a while with a foot injury. Who do you think steps up in his absence. Also, do you forsee any changes to how a national champ will be crowned? If the season happens, there will probably be players out with covid from almost every team as the season progresses. I don't see how a playoff comitee can pick the four best teams if star players miss games and good teams lose games due to players being held out with positive tests and no or few out of conference games to compare leagues. Do you think the playoff should expand to compensate for these factors or maybe have the AP just vote after bowl season like the good old days. Thanks for taking my questions!

Eric Hansen

1:06

I'm not convinced the season with be canceled ... or will be played, for certain. The Power 5 teams have invested quite a bit in giving it a try.

Bob from Bronxville

1:05

Eric, thanks for persisting in providing us with information in these trying times. As intense fans of college football none of us want to admit that there shouldn’t be a fall season in 2020. Yet, the facts are there whether we choose to see them or not. Covid-19 is more wide spread now than it was in the spring. The recent ACC decision to play football only in states where conference teams are based ignores the fact that only 2 such states, NY and MA, have positivity results below 5%, the rate suggested by the CDC. In addition, MLB with a more manageable problem isn’t having success. When do you think ND with or without the conference will acknowledge the reality and cancel the season?

Eric Hansen

1:04

Thanks, Pat. From what Brian Kelly told me recently, Jordan Johnson has been impressive to date, but I think Austin's absence more directly affects opportunities for grad transfer Ben Skowronek and perhaps grad senior Javon McKinley.

Pat from St Paul

1:02

Thanks for these chats Eric, you are the best! Does the Kevin Austin injury open the door for Jordan Johnson? Do we get Rocco?

Eric Hansen

1:02

Thanks for the kind words. I would be much more confident in my answer if I had seen the team practice since March 5, even once. I'll go with Houston Griffith and Jayson Ademilola on defense, and oddly Chris Tyree on offense. He's not going to be the starting RB, but I think he's more college-ready than a lot of recruiting analysts think he'd be.

Jeremy From Goshen, IN

12:55

Eric, Thanks for all your work on these Chats and keeping us up to date on what's going on with ND football. Can we get a petition together for you to return to Sportsbeat? In your opinion, who is the player that people are sleeping on that you expect to surprise people?

Eric Hansen

12:55

Yes, it will be in the single-copy editions of the South Bend Tribune. Thanks for asking.

Jeff from Schererville, IN

12:54

Hi Eric. Since I asked one of the first ND Insider season preview questions of the year a couple chats ago, I might as well ask one of the last ones. Will it be available in the Sunday South Bend Tribune that is available to purchase on newsstands? If so, I might make the quick trip from NW Indiana to pick one up. If not, I'll order it at the link you provided earlier. Thanks to you and the entire SBT-NDI staff for creating this year's section and please stay healthy!

Eric Hansen

12:53

Smitty, thanks. Notre Dame could make more money as a conference member in football. The other part of your question is difficult to answer succinctly and with a broad brush. For many schools, their particular conference affiliation is part of their branding, their history, their identity. For ND, its independence is part of its branding and identity. There are travel/scheduling advantages for some schools being a conference. ND wants to play a national schedule. It has a national fan base and a national recruiting footprint. There are even academic reasons for being on a conference, in terms of shared resources. That was on aspect ND's faculty round appealing when the school was pondering Big Ten membership years ago.

Smitty, Tempe AZ

12:48

Eric, you're the best. I often get into arguments with non-Irish fans who dislike ND's independence. For sure, there are both advantages and disadvantages for ND to not be in a conference. ND ultimately believes the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. My point in these arguments is that other schools (example OH St or Alabama) ultimately decide that a conference affiliation is in their best interest. In other words, there is nothing stopping an OH St or Alabama from leaving their conference and being an independent (I believe UConn has done this). Can you outline some of the bigger advantages these schools get for being part of a conference? I've heard that the $$ ND receives from their NBC deal is less than conference schools receive from their TV deals. Can you confirm?

Eric Hansen

12:47

Thanks. Perhaps if there had been more time. ... Playing Navy in South Bend this year and then moving the game to Navy next year messes with the desire of having seven "home" games a year for NBC. Since the Wisconsin game in Chicago is technically the Badgers' home game, ND would have been left with just six NBC games by shifting Navy. Also, ND had to work around the dates the ACC wanted the Irish to play ACC teams. And the league didn't want to start the season on Sept. 5. So there were a lot of things working against Navy staying on the schedule.

The Gipper, Mine Hill, NJ

12:43

Surely, ND will find some way to get Navy on the schedule instead of keeping that directional school, W. Michigan. I would think Navy woould find an opening to move the game to ND this year (as per ACC's stipualtion for the plus 1 game) and then play at wherever Navy chooses in 2021. What's your thoughts on this Eric? Keep up the good work covering ND. You are the best (even with Bucknuts roots)!

Eric Hansen

12:40

I've seen only one bowl game drop out so far. Because there's so much money involved, the others won't be quick to follow. The unknown is where will we be as a nation with the virus in December? Will infections be at a lower level? Will there be therapeutics, faster/cheaper testing? Vaccines? My sense is that if the season is played to its completion, we will see a much, much smaller bowl menu.

Dwight from central Arkansas

12:37

If there is indeed a football season, given that it is almost exclusively conference games only, would there be any bowl games this year? Might they go back to the 'mythical' national champ they had decades ago?

Eric Hansen

12:37

Navy has replaced the ND game with a Sept. 7 matchup with BYU. ND and Navy have agreed to extend their rivalry through 2032, resuming next season.

12:36

It was indeed because of the scheduling requirement that Notre Dame's non-conference game must be a home game. To comply, the Irish kept their matchup with Western Michigan.

12:35

Ok let me give a definitive answer on Notre Dame-Navy.

12:28

I'm not sure the pandemic affects teams identity from a scheme standpoint. It likely will affect some positions battles and perhaps how much schematic install you can accomplish before the season starts. Some of that likely will take place during the season. So offensively this is a team that will be more committed to running the ball EFFECTIVELY and committed to balance overall. Defensively, you'll see a team that's determined to improve significantly against the run and will have the personnel to do so.

Ken - Pensacola

12:24

Eric- Hope all is going well for you and yours! If there is a football season, what do you think will be the identity of this year’s team considering the pandemic and a new offensive coordinator calling the plays?
Thanks & GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen

12:24

Jack, thanks. I went straight from two morning assignments straight to this chat, so I haven't had a chance to track that down. My suspicion is the ACC's mandate that all non-conference games be played at home was a big part of the problem in retaining Navy.

Jack Strongsville Ohio

12:22

Hi Eric. Love your work. Why do you think the Navy game was not moved later in the year to South Bend? Seems a shame to have such a tradition broken.

Eric Hansen

12:21

No word yet. Hope to have that soon. But around the country, we are seeing no-tailgating policies at a lot of places.

Jack from Oak Park IL

12:21

Eric, now that the schedule is announced, any word on how or if tailgating will be allowed, or how many fans in the stands? Go Irish.

Eric Hansen

12:21

No I don't think there was the abundance of time or bad intentions to do that. The ACC actually did ND a favor. Clemson originally had an open date the week before the game at Notre Dame. In the new-look schedule, the Tigers play Boston College the week before.

Mike King of Prussia PA

12:14

Noticed that the game against probable #1 Clemson is followed by Boston College. Brings back bad memories of 1993. Do you think the ACC scheduler was thinking that?

Eric Hansen

OK on to the chat.

12:14

If you are not a subscriber, but want to mail order one, here's the link: ndinsider.com/buythemag

Also South Bend Tribune subscribers will get it in their Sunday papers.

12:13

If you are an NDI Premium subscriber, you should get an email today asking you to opt in. When you do, you'll get the publication for free.

It is a 28-page broadsheet special section this year instead of a magazine.

One thing before we start, the Notre Dame annual preview comes out Sunday.

12:12