JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Nov. 13, 2024

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Nov. 13, 2024

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Mike, Phoenix

2:01

Eric, I took a look at the top 15 highest paid coaches. Only 2 with a title are Kirby and Dabo. My question is who would you take over Marcus Freeman as of today? I feel he was dealt a bad hand at the beginning of his coaching career due to the QB situation. Handcuffed if you will. He has improved the roster tremendously. The freshman and sophomore class has some big time players and we haven’t seen them all just yet. I’m gonna say it…If he signs another great class next month…I feel this team is about to go on a run similar to 87-93. Is my kool-aid spiked or do you feel they are trending in that direction? Cheers! Go IRISH!☘️

Eric Hansen

2:01

Hi Ryan. Donovan Hinish had to step up with Howard Cross III getting injured against FSU (sprained ankle, not long term), and will be asked to play a lot Saturday against Virginia. He probably played his best game at ND. We had a chance to have him in the interview sessions last night and he feels confident that he'll rise to the occasion on Saturday. Yes, Mitchell Evans looks more and more like his old self each week. Thanks for your prediction.

Ryan Frankfort illinois

1:59

Good afternoon Eric what do you think about the play of Donavan Hinish and Mitchell Evans they both looked good vs Florida state my prediction is Irish 52 Virginia 21 GO IRISH ☘️☘️☘️🏈🏈🏈

Eric Hansen

1:59

Because of existing bowl contracts and geography, that has been recently determined. Big Ten champ goes to the Rose Bowl. SEC to the Sugar Bowl, Big 12 to the Fiesta and ACC to the Peach Bowl. The Orange and Cotton are the semifinals sites this postseason and the finals are in Atlanta.

Guest

1:57

Frank from Fort Lauderdale. Eric, do you know how the top 4 seeds will be assigned to the 4 quarter final sites? Is that predetermined (i.e. the 1 seed goes to Rose, the 2 seed to Orange etc) or will that only be established once it is known who the top 4 seeds are and then determined based on historical conference ties, or possibly on geography?

Eric Hansen

1:57

The Beave, thank you for overinflating my powers. I'll take it all day long. So let's start with some other teams you didn't mention. Root for Texas A&M and Louisville in every game if you want to help ND's perception, and for Army when the Cadets aren't playing the Irish. Root for Alabama and Ole Miss to NOT get into a crazy SEC tiebreaker and make it to the title game. They don't have the schedule strength remaining to jump ND in the coming weeks as long as the Irish take care of business. I think Ohio State beating Indiana helps ND more than the other way around. I think I'd root for Tennessee to eliminate Georgia, because the Vols still could lose the final weekend to Vanderbilt. And root for Minnesota to upset Penn State. As far as two-loss teams and the SEC title game, yes that possibility exists. And the person whose story I read about that admitted getting a headache just trying to explain it. So who am I to spread that kind of pain?

The Beave. Grand Rapids MI

1:51

Eric: I believe my telepathic rooting powers can affect the outcome of the games. Please tell me who to root for in the only CFB ranked vs ranked game left on the schedule? My first thought was to root against any team ahead of ND in the CFB Rankings in hopes of moving up for a better seed and a home game. However, could an upset like Georgia over Tennessee actually work against ND’s seeding by elevating the underdog? Do any of the 2-loss SEC Teams have a path to the SEC Championship Game a shot at the automatic bid for a conference Championship? Any other teams outside the current 12 have a shot at an automatic bid and the ability to bump those in the current ranking down? Help me oh wise one.

Eric Hansen

1:51

Hi Myliah, welcome back! ND actually tracks 3rd- and 4th-down conversions as well as 3rd- and 4th-down stops. So, let me start with those numbers and then I'll add my thoughts. The leaders in 3rd-down conversions are Leonard (9), Greathouse (6), Evans (4), Love (4) and Jayden Harrison (3). $th down it's Leonard (5), Faison (2) and Love (2). On defense, 3rd-down stops -- surprise it's Sneed (8) followed by Bowen (7), Mills (7), Clark (6), Watts (6), Shuler (5) and freshman Leonard Moore (5). 4th down it's Watts (4), Moore (2), Christian Gray (2). I think offensively the numbers line up to the eye test. I'd probably boost Evans higher, because he wasn't healthy early in the year. On defense, it's Watts no question. But it's interesting how much Moore has been involved as a freshman since taking over from Ben Morrison.

Myliah (El Cerrito, CA)

1:42

Hi Eric, it's been a while! (though I often take furtive glances at the chats during work). In recent years, it's seemed as if ND has always had a clutch player for high-pressure situations that could make game altering plays--Avery Davis and Michael Mayer come to mind. I guess Leonard is kind of clutch in his own way, but does ND have any clutch position players that can make the play when it's 4th and long and the game is on the line? Maybe Faison? Whom would you want the ball going to in a situation like that? I feel like we're going to need that special somebody if/when ND makes the championship rounds.

Eric Hansen

1:39

As far as the running back home runs, there's layers and not always the same combination of factors. You named some of them. I'd add to the list play calls ... and the strength and elite speed in Love's case. You are right about Louis Nix III. I miss him. There are a lot of really fun personalities on this team, including some who may surprise you. Ben Morrison is one who's easy to connect to, but for different reasons that Louis. Ben is more serious. Riley Leonard would be a hoot to spend a day with. The long snapper Rino Monteforte is hilarious. Just trying to think off the top of my head. Aamil Wagner is super impressive. A very incomplete list. I'd have to give it more thought. Thanks for asking and for the kudos.

1:34

Hi Tom. Thanks for the compliments. I would say most people sit in similar spots each week. For me, there's always a little strategy involved. I feel like it's easier to get the attention in that spot for the people who are handing out the mikes. I also am on an extremely tight schedule following the PC for hours afterward, so I want to be out the door and not caught in a conversation (because those guys are fun to talk to and I have no self control). I don't know that Love was, because he was not particularly effective, but while he didn't have a ton of carries, he did have 31 snaps, which is almost as much as the other five RBs who played combined (34). (more)

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

1:28

Hi Eric, I really enjoy your PC questions with MF. Good questions that require good answers with insight as to what is happening with the Irish. Are the PC's like church in that everyone always sits in the same seats?? I notice you are always off to his right. Was Love under the weather Saturday? He just seemed to have a low number of snaps?? ND has had long TD runs in almost every game. Scheme? Talent? Good WR blocking? Your thoughts. Finally, you have said that Louis Nix was always one of your favorite players/interviews because of his personality. Have you been able to get any in-depth interviews with any players on this year's team to put anyone in that personality category?? Thanks for keep reaching that standard of excellence! Go Irish!!!

Eric Hansen

1:26

I did get to know Gerry Faust the man, and there were some very admirable qualities about who he was as a person that impressed the heck out of me. And he did make a difference in people's lives, which is awesome. And there was an authenticity about him and a humility that I really liked. He would come to ND games on Saturdays after his coaching days were done, and he'd always come say hello in the pressbox, even though when I landed at the South Bend Tribune in 1988, he was already gone and at Akron. So, I do feel fortunate that I got to know that side of him.

1:22

Hi Jack. My very first time ever setting foot in Notre Dame Stadium was a day after I turned 23 years old and was a rookie reporter at the Columbus (Ind.) Republic. It was 1983 and Gerry Faust was the coach. I was sent up to do a feature on ND's starting quarterback, Blair Kiel, who was from Columbus, Ind. He got benched that day for freshman Steve Beuerlein. The Irish beat a bad USC team that day, in green jerseys no less, 27-6 despite Beuerlein going like 5-of-16 for 44 yards, something like that. I'll look it up later. Anyway, Kiel RIPPED Faust up and down. I had an impression of Faust before that, and it wasn't a good one as a coach. And to this day, I have to say, that's still my impression. BUT (more)

Jack, Strongsville,Ohio

1:17

Hi Eric. Can you give us your thoughts on Gerry Faust. Did you have much contact with him? It is ironic that he and John Robinson passed away on the same day. Thanks as always for your great work.

Eric Hansen

1:16

There are four potential sixth-years: DE Jordan Botelho, TE Kevin Bauman. OT Tosh Baker, S Xavier Watts. Botelho, who is coming back, is the only one of those that makes sense to return to ND unless Bauman is willing to be a depth piece. The fifth-year candidates are DLs Gabe Rubio and Jason Onye, CB Chance Tucker, WRs Deion Colzie and Jayden Thomas and O-lineman Rocco Spindler and Pat Coogan. I think the Irish would love to have both Rubio and Onye back. Tucker would have to accept a deep reserve role to come back. I'd imagine Colzie would like to play more elsewhere, but maybe Thomas would be willing to return. If Spindler isn't guaranteed to be a starter next year, it would make sense for him to go to the NFL or be a starter somewhere else. Ashton Craig's ACL recovery timeline may linger into the season. If I'm Marcus Freeman, I'd want Coogan back no matter what.

1:10

Hey Ced, given there are only 14 players with expiring eligibility and a recruiting class likely to exceed 25, the math doesn't work out to bring back a lot of them ... and there would be attrition in other classes as well via the transfer portal. The increase in scholarships beyond the 85 limit hasn't been formalized, so you can't assume and yet ND has some wiggle room with NIL money. So let's look at the list of who is eligible to return among fifth- and sixth-years. (more)

cederickwalker

1:03

ced walker Saginaw michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw pride who do u see returning back and for a 5th year we already know Jordan botelho coming back god bless this football team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us

Eric Hansen

12:59

Rick, you are forgiven. Every CFP rankings story I do, I explain the concept, including the one I did last night. Here's the link to that. It has the explanation, the rankings, the bracket, the seedings and the remaining schedules for all the playoff contenders all in one place. So a quick summary. Seven at-large teams and the top five rated conference champs are invited to the 12-team playoff. The TOP FOUR conference champs, getting a first-round bye and are seeded 1-4. So this week that is No. 1 Oregon as the top seed, No. 3 Texas as the No. 2 seed, No. 6 BYU as the No. 3 seed and No. 9 Miami as the No. 4 seed. No. 2 Ohio State is the top-ranked at-large team and is seeded 5th. Notre Dame is seeded ninth and not No. 8, where it is ranked, because Miami's seeding knocks ND back a spot since the Hurricanes are ranked behind the Irish.

Rick, Pasadena CA

12:51

Forgive the dumb question but how is ND ranked 8 in the cfp rankings but 9 in the bracket? Please explain. If ND wins out and things fall their way, how far do you think they can rise in the final bracket?

Eric Hansen

12:51

Hi Denny, and thank you. Notre Dame has used Catapult's tracking system for roughly a decade, but there are several others. I'll provide you a LINK so you can read up on it if you'd like more depth on the topic.

Denny from Beaverton

12:49

Hi Eric; When you answered my question in the Chat last week that I asked , you mentioned that the players were tracked by GPS. That surprised me since I had never been aware of that. Can you expand on that as to how and to what extent they are monitored. We appreciate you and the wealth of knowledge you share with us each week.

Eric Hansen

12:46

Hi Sean and thank you. I asked Marcus Freeman about Jason Onye heading into the Florida State game and his response is their priority is being there to support him and that he'd be welcomed back if and when he decided to come back from missing games for "personal reasons." So whether he comes back is anybody's guess, but he's missed considerable time, so getting back up to speed quickly might be a challenge. ... As far as Josh Burnham. I believe he is the best healthy option on the team at either of the end positions, but he's needed more on the Vyper side and Bryce Young is ascending at the field end spot, so Vyper it is this year, with a return to the other side likely in the cards for next season.

Sean from Westwood NJ

12:43

Hi Eric! What's the latest on Jason Onye: do you expect he will return to the field this season? Also, is Josh Burnham more likely to succeed and contribute as a drop end or strongside end? Love the chats, keep up the good work!

Eric Hansen

12:42

As far as punting, James Rendell is averaging 40.4 yards a punt, but doesn't have enough attempts to qualify for the national individual rankings. As a team ND is 85th in net punting after being 83rd last season. They're at 38.43, which is a few 10ths of a yard better. Yes, given James Rendell's talent, it should be better and it has been improving. And here's some important context. Of the 30 punts he's had, 12 have been inside the 20, with ZERO touchbacks. So there has been some good there amongst the meh. Thanks for your questions.

12:35

So for those who don't watch or follow the press conferences, Marcus Freeman was talking about the possible reasons why night game atmospheres at ND were superior to day games. And while he was trying to add to the list, I made a motion that indicated partaking in beverages, and he agreed. As in a longer period of time to fill up on antifreeze, so to speak. ... To your defense question, how much better would they be in scoring defense. Well, considering they're third and less than a point from leading the nation, I guess that's your answer. Two spots. But I'd MUCH MUCH MUCH rather have a DC who responds well to schematic surprises and had an answer and continues to have counterpunches throughout the game than one who anticipates the exact schematic surprise but then count conunterpunch when the opposing offensive coordinator adjusts (more).

Shane from White Deer, Texas

12:28

Hey Eric. What kind of gesture were you making at Coach Freeman’s press conference? Something about being tired? Moving on, without too much math, how much better would the defenses stats be if they could magically erase the first drive each game? I bet points allowed would be in single digits. Also, where does our punting rank nationally? There has to be a reason why the booming punts aren’t there. Going to be important down the road. Thanks for keeping us informed. Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen

12:27

Hi Dan. I think the expectation is the passing game, which has been steadily improving, will continue to do so. In his past two games, Riley Leonard has had one of the top five performances by a QB each of his past two games. Now that does include his running ability. But who has a Power 4QB averaging more than 6.3 yards a carry and almost 70 yards a game rushing? No one but Notre Dame. So when you put those two elements together, I can answer yes to your question about getting to the playoff. And to the second part, tell me who the opponent is, because that matters.

Dan from Vernon Hills, Il

12:24

Eric, do you think Notre Dame can make the playoffs and win a playoff game with the current state of their passing game?

Eric Hansen

12:24

Yes, USC should be a formidable opponent. The Trojans have been competitive in every game, losing to Penn State by 3 and their biggest loss being seven points. Al Golden's defense has adjusted well in every game but Northern Illinois, so I would imagine they'll adjust against USC. If USC had an elite defense, maybe that opening drive thing would be a problem, because they could leverage that early lead. They do not have an elite defense. But again, tough game. ND will have to play well. I have long felt football is not about being perfect, but about being able to adjust on the fly and overcome during a game.

12:19

As far as whether Notre Dame is perceived as a national title contender, I think parity this season has made the pool of contenders deeper than in a lot of years. I think to be skeptical of ND's chances isn't off-base, but it is a team that has room to improve, and some of its viability will depend on playoff matchups. They match up against Oregon better, for instance, than Ohio State, even though Oregon is the better team. ... As far as being a Joe Moore Award semifinalist, when you look at who's judging that, including Harry Hiestand, those guys know a heck of a lot more about offensive line play than the rest of us. If that's a top 10 O-Line, then the improvement has been way ahead of schedule --- not because of a lack of talent, but because of the injuries and inexperience (more).

12:15

Hi Marie. Having a great week here and thanks for asking. Let's unpack your questions. The first one about possibly changing the playoff format in the future, that's on the table for the 2026 season. The grand poohbahs of college football wanted to give it two years in this format to see how things played out. Then the new contract starts in 2026. And a lot could be on the table, including the aborted move to go to 14 teams. I don't think two-loss SEC teams would necessarily drive that or any changes. And there might be none. But I do think awarded a bye and a top four seed to four conference champs might be worth revisiting. Why? Even in the Big Ten and SEC, the paths to getting into the title games are so varied an inequitable, how much does a conference title really mean? Wouldn't it be better to just take what's perceived to be the conference's best team and give them the bye? And if they go to a 14-team format, there's only two byes in that configuration.(more)

Marie from Atlanta

They have really improved. is there level of improvement at this point in the season about what you expected, more or less than you expected? One final question, I know the defense usually has a rough first drive and that settles down and normally that’s fine, are you at all concerned that this could be a problem at USC ? They are avery talented team and they would have some motivation with ND being their rival, and the possibility to spoil ND’s playoff chances. It just feels like they could get some momentum going if the defense has a bad first drive, thoughts? As always, thanks for hosting the chat and all the great insights.

12:08

Hi Eric, I hope you’re having a great week. The college football playoff rankings are starting to get pretty complicated, it looks like there may be some good two loss SEC teams that get left out. I’m sure Greg Sankey won’t like that. Do you think this will lead to eventually getting rid of the automatic bids and just taking the top 12 teams across-the-board, or do you think they won’t do this because the conference championships make so much money and in order to keep them around they have to have some type of meaning? If they were to get rid of automatic bids, what do you think the timeframe would be? I feel like it’s wide-open this year, I’ve heard several people say Notre Dame is playoff worthy, but not a contender for the championship, if the improvement continues at the rated it has been going for the remaining three games, Do you think that that would make them a contender? Great that the O line made the Joe Moore semi finals, however, while watching Florida State it’s very hard to tell how much

Eric Hansen

OK, off we go ...

12:05

I say typically, because I'm rescinding all of those, except for the "no spitting" rule this week and just politely asking for no 17-part questions, no manifestos and no whining.

Here are the rules ... typically

12:04