JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Nov. 19, 2025

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Nov. 19, 2025

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Eric Hansen

1:58

WRs: Malachi Fields and Will Pauling, TE Eli Raridon, DEs Jordan Botelho and Junior Tuihalamaka, DTs Gabe Rubio and Jared Dawson, S Jalen Stroman, CB Chance Tucker, Nickel DeVonta Smith, K Noah Burnette. DT Jason Onye and P James Rendell will petition for an additional season. TE Kevin Bauman medically retired and is out of eligibility.

1:55

Hi Mike. I think the one of those three who could have benefitted from playing is Billy Schrauth. He was playing his best football o f his career when he got hurt and the chemistry will have to be refreshed when he comes back. As long as Gabe Rubio and Jaden Greathouse are 100 percent and not still bothered by their injuries, once they shake the rust, it could play into their favor. As for the Stanford start, I'll get a workout and a nap in that day. And fire up the Keurig machine. I'll turn it into a fun adventure. As far as scholarship players who are out of eligibility (and there are two who may petition for an extra year), but these will not: (more)

Mike, Phoenix

1:49

Eric, I wouldn’t wish an injury on any player but based upon the most likely return of Gabe, Billy and Jaden for the playoffs do you think having 3 guys that are fresh and not beat up over the long season is a blessing in disguise? Also, can you tell us which players have absolutely no eligibility left after this year? Hope you have time to get a nap in before the late Stanford start. The late start, missing the 4th Q vs Purdue because of the rain delay, another game on Peacock and the missing the 1st 6-7 minutes of the Navy game has been a rough year of TV for the IRISH!☘️. Cheers. 🍻

Eric Hansen

1:48

Hi Bob. You're right about history and perhaps right about the fan base as well. But I think Marcus Freeman has come up with a pretty good formula that has come to serve the Irish well in games like that. Playing to a standard. Playing lots of players in a rotation. so that when they get extended playing time, they don't look at it as "garbage time." And so I feel confident Stanford will get ND's best shot.

Bob (Oxnard CA)

1:46

Even when Stanford is bad, they have often played us tough, and sometimes defeated us. Do you think our fan base appears to be overlooking this game aleady?

Eric Hansen

1:45

Len!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that you're on your exclamation point game today. Well-played. To your questions. What surprises did I see in the CFP rankings this week? Illinois being ranked at all surprised me, let alone at 21. Some of the others in the bottom five of the top 25 were also curious, but I know those bottom slots were very hard to fill for me. Utah continues to be way higher than I have them, but that is no longer a surprise. That's about it. I've got a good feel for what the committee thinks of the top teams. As far as going from 5 champs to 4, no. I think they want to make sure that at least one Group of 6 team is represented in the playoff, and I agree with that.

Len from the Jersey Shore

1:38

Hello Eric!!!!!!!!!!!! The CFP has been a success and the rankings have been as good as can be expected. It's not easy to take everything into consideration. I count 24 teams still with a chance to make the playoff with just two weeks to go. Several are in the scrambles for the ACC title game and the American title game, which still might yield the group of 5 champion. Two questions for you. As an AP voter who has analyzed teams for years are there any surprise teams in the CFP rankings? Is it possible the CFP might decide to drop from 5 conference winners with automatic bids to four for the same reasons the top four conference winners were not the top 4 seeds this year? That would also increase the at large pool by one.

Eric Hansen

1:38

Hi Don. I'm glad you listed your misconceptions about ND this season and not mine! Biggest surprise? Probably how good the run defense is. 13th nationally and likely to finish in the top 10. That's something no ND defense has done in more than two decades. Impressed me beyond expectations? Jordan Faison's jump in production this year and CJ Carr's evolution in being a master chess player at the line of scrimmage. And you may be right about Buchner.

Don in Scottsdale

1:32

Eric, Two games left this year. The season has flown by quickly. So far, I've been wrong about D coordinator Chris Ash. Seems like he's settled in nicely. Questioned Bryce Young's weight gain and he's covering in pass protection. I can go on with all I've gotten wrong!!!! My question, what has surprised you this year? What has impressed you beyond your expectations? Lastly, Buchner will be involved in some crazy play to win a playoff game making up for the missed PAT against TAM.

Eric Hansen

1:31

ND would benefit from the ACC getting stronger from top to bottom, because it is the one Power 4 league that doesn't mind playing ND in November. The Pac-12 used to be open to that, but the Pac-12 is the Little Pac-2 now. So with the commitment of all four Power 4 conferences being committed to nine-game league schedules in the future, anything but Navy, ACC teams or really good Group of 6 teams seems less realistic for that part of the schedule. Now ND can load up early, but there are pluses and minuses to that, as we saw this season.

1:29

Jack, I love this question more than I love my answer to it. ND does have three unimpressive opponents but just ran a Top 25 team off its home field and walloped a Navy team that sits at No. 26 in both the AP and coaches poll and could win its conference. So ND is fighting a couple of fronts: perceived weak opponents and actual ones. No matter how good Navy is, ND is never going to get credit, at least with the vast majority of media/fans, for being a good team. The branding is off. Now what could be done in the future?

Jack, Strongsville, Oh

1:23

Hi Eric. Notre Dame seems to have the perception of a weak schedule in November compared to other CFP contenders. What can be done to even out the schedule so all the better teams are not played in September and October? The series with Clemson should help and keeping the USC rivalry but this seems to be a recurring criticism of the program. Thanks as always for your great work and an early Happy Thanksgiving.

Eric Hansen

1:23

Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Considering Alabama plays Eastern Illinois this week, Notre Dame would really have to look bad against Syracuse to coax the committee into making that change. In subsequent weeks, I don't think beating an Auburn team that's tied for 13th in the SEC with a 1-6 league record is going to give the Tide much fuel for a leap over ND either. I think the only way Alabama jumps ND is if the Tide get to the SEC Championship Game (and there's a good chance they will) and then win that game as well. If Texas Tech loses the Big 12, BYU probably jumps ahead of ND and Tech probably falls behind.

Manny from San Pedro

1:12

Eric!!!!!!!! My brother from another mother!!! I was shocked we were ranked above Bama. Do you think the committee will fold with public pressure and place Bama higher next week? If tech loses big 12. Do they stay ahead of ND? I’m just nervous we will get left out when this is maybe the best ND team I have seen in two decades imo

Eric Hansen

1:12

So without going through Alabama's entire résumé, here are a couple of things to consider that hurts them with the committee. They lost to a lousy Florida State team and badly. They're also a stunning 121st in rushing offense. 46th in stopping the run and 79th in sacks allowed. No one wins national titles with those kinds of numbers. Just for comparison, ND is 23rd, 13th and 16th, respectively, in those 3 categories and has a better national ranking in 15 of the 24 key offense/defense/sp teams rankings over the Crimson Tide.

1:06

Kevin!! Alabama is a pretty big brand name too, don't you think? The committee really looks at so many more things than the average fan or average talking head does. A lot of ranters like to boil down the argument to one isolated facet of a résumé like best win or worst loss, and usually a facet that fits their argument. And you can draw lines in convenient places. I saw one where Texas A&M didn't have a lot of upper-division SEC teams on its schedule, but another who pointed out the Aggies had the most top 40 wins. (more)

Kevin from Calgary

1:02

Eric, happy chat day!! I’m shocked but relieved to see the Irish ahead of Alabama in the playoff rankings. It looks like the committee wanted to limit the chances ND could get squeezed out and are convinced the Irish are one of the true contenders this year. Do you see it that way, or are we simply benefiting from brand name (as the naysayers claim)?

Eric Hansen

1:02

Hi Ced. First of all, you are on point on those late starts in 1991. I'm impressed. No. 2, blame it on Stanford being a lousy team this year. There's a lot of competition that Saturday for eyeballs with games that will be a lot more consequential. but I agree, that's an awful time slot if they are expecting a lot of ND fans to watch it.

ced

12:57

ced walker Saginaw michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw pride espn wrong making us play at stanford 10:30pm last time we played at this time was in 1991 at Stanford and 11pm at Hawaii what time do u think we leave going to Stanford thurs night or friday evening God Bless This Football 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

12:56

Hi Tony. Thanks for the details from Acrisure Stadium. Your question got cut off, but I think you were asking me if Tae Johnson can be a freshman All-American as a redshirt freshman, and the answer is yes. CJ Carr is also eligible as are a number of other Irish players. The FWAA, which is THE freshman All-America team, selects from a pool that includes both redshirt freshmen and true freshmen. So Guerby Lambert would also be eligible for instance.

2581

12:49

Tony from Lexington, KY by way of hometown Somerset, PA, (also the hometown of ND baseball coach Shawn Stiffler) --- I went home last weekend for the ND @ Pitt game. For those who weren't there, Pitt put the ND fans who ordered tickets through ND in the end zone (facing the river ) on the top level, but they were actually great seats with a good view of the entire field! I would estimate that the stadium was 35% Irish fans, and we certainly made a lot more noise than did the Pitt fans. Chants of "Let's go, Irish" rang out frequently during the game, and I don't remember a single Pitt chant from their fans, though they obviously didn't have much to cheer about...

About halfway through the 4th quarter, the stadium was probably 90% Irish fans.

We didn't get any rain during the game, it was 60-63 degrees, a perfect day weather-wise for football ! After that lengthy intro, I do have a question: given that Tae Johnson is a redshirt freshman, is he eligible to be named to the Freshm

Eric Hansen

12:48

Here's what would have to happen: SMU loses twice (Louisville, Cal), because the Mustangs hold the tiebreaker over Miami. Pitt beats Georgia Tech but loses to Miami. And Virginia loses to Va Tech. The could get Miami into a tiebreaker they might win. There are some other questions involving Miami, do I'll dig a little deeper into the head-to-head question in those.

12:47

Hi Mark!! As long as ND doesn't struggle with those teams, I don't think it'll hurt the Irish as far as SOS, since Miami played both of those teams as well and Miami's remaining schedule isn't killer either -- at Va Tech and home against Pitt. Miami beat Syracuse 38-10 and Stanford 42-7. So if the Irish win by similar margins or more, it's a wash. And I'm not sure Miami could be any more impressive against Pitt than ND was. I really think, as remote as it might be, is for Miami to get in as the ACC champ, and there are four teams ahead of them in the standings. (more)

Mark from Boston

12:38

Good Day Eric!! The Irish strength of schedule is going to take a hit the next two games. Assuming they win both games and Miami also wins out, do you see a scenario where Miami jumps over the Irish in the playoff standings (and possibly knock ND out of the playoffs)?

Eric Hansen

12:38

Assuming Christian Gray comes back for his senior year in 2026, I would think Dallas Golden would be the starting nickel next year.

Ocean City

12:37

Do you see Dallas Golden next year moving from the nickel back over to the field or boundary cornerback.

Eric Hansen

12:36

Texas Tech passes both the eye test and the math test. When the Red Raiders' QB plays, they've dominated the other teams in their league. My concern is how good is the Big 12? Notre Dame has played three teams currently in the CFP Top 25 and knocked out a fourth by dominating them (Pitt). The 16 Big 12 teams collectively have played two Top 25 teams out of conference and lost both of those, two Oregon and Missouri. So I am not digging my heels in on Texas Tech. I just want to see more.

12:34

Hi Matt. Indeed the committee placed Notre Dame 9th, and I think that's fair. I actually think the committee and I see Notre Dame similarly. It's two teams I have behind them is where we differ — Oklahoma at 8 and Texas Tech at 9. Oklahoma had a great win at Alabama, but again you have to look at the whole résumé. Without getting into the weeds too much, their 23-6 loss to Texas is troubling and maybe telling. The Sooners defense is elite. Their offense could lose another game for them against Missouri or LSU. They are 97th in rush offense, 87th in total offense, 81st in pass efficiency, 91st in sacks allowed, 87th in turnover margin. Yikes. (more)

Matt from Muscatine

12:26

Hi Eric!!! Thank you for hosting these! On FNS, you mentioned that you thought the committee would rank ND 9 or 10. You voted ND 7, I believe. How do you think you and the committee see ND differently/what accounts for how you think you and the committee perceive ND differently? Also, I’m submitting this question on Tuesday, so the committee’s rankings haven’t come out yet. If they are different from what you expected, please comment on that too. Thank you!

Eric Hansen

12:26

Hi Jeremy! Marcus Freeman talked about it a little bit in his presser and special teams coordinator Marty Biagi met with the media and threw us some bones about it Tuesday night. Two things are important, simplifying the fundamentals, so he doesn't have 18 things to think about before a kick and then spacing out the kicking opportunities in practice and having them come up suddenly like they would in a game, instead of having a carved-out kicking period per se. They also create game-like conditions, with noise, etc. Colleague Jack Soble will give you a deeper dive on that in a story he's writing for Thursday ... if you want to know more.

Jeremy from Goshen

12:23

Hi Eric! happy Wednesday! Any idea what Notre Dame is doing to Help Eric Schmidt in practice to simulate a game-type atmosphere tat hopefully translates to making his field goal kicks in a game?

Eric Hansen

12:22

So what you sometimes see if Traore demanding so much attention with his pass rush, he'll cause the quarterback to spin into pressure coming from the other side or he'll create a gap for the interior guys. In the Pitt game he also dropped into coverage a handful of times, which is the most he's done in a game. Even Pro Football Focus film grades don't always pick up on Traore's effect on a game. But just because he might not be credited with a sack doesn't mean he's not taking care of business and affecting a play.

12:20

Hi Patrick. As you know, Boubacar did not play in the Navy game (Marcus Freeman called it a less than ideal matchup for his skill set), but he did see 39 snaps worth of action against Pitt. Sometimes what Traore is doing is pretty nuanced, so it's not going to get the announcers' attention -- especially that play-by-play guy that did the Pitt game. Really disappointed with that. Jesse Palmer had to carry a lot of water. Former Penn State offensive lineman and current college football analyst Landon Tengwall does a good job of breaking down his film and he does that stuff with Mike Singer and I on some of our YouTube shows. (more)

Patrick, Fort Wayne, IN

12:13

Good afternoon Eric, I haven't heard Boubacar Traore's name called recently by the play-by-play guys on TV. What is going on with him? Josh Burnham is easily noticeable and Bryce Young popped up in the Pittsburgh game.

Eric Hansen

12:13

If Notre Dame takes care of business ... that is winning and continuing to look like a team that has evolved significantly from its late August/early September version, they're in. There are some doomsday scenarios that are valid if all of them hit as there are some which could improve ND's standing. But if ND takes care of what it needs to on its end, I don't think we'll be having a Pop-Tarts Bowl live chat.

12:11

Scott!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for that. Quick personal story ... three of my grandkids (the oldest, second-oldest and fourth-oldest) are sitting in the back seat of my car and they decide to vote on different categories regarding their relatives. One of the votes I won, and to my surprise, was best cook. ... OK to your question. I think you're right to have a modicum of doubt. I think that's healthy. And it's going to be reinforced the next couple of weeks, because Notre Dame, no matter what it does, is going to get some scrutiny/bashing and all that comes in between that. Here's how I see it. (more)

Scott, Greenville, SC

12:06

Happy Turkey Eric!!!!! Or should I call you chef? When gave up your cooking techniques during FNS, that sounded pretty darn good. Does it work with Boones Farm? You dont have to answer that. However, I do have a question regarding ND getting into the playoffs. Is there any scenario that ND will not make the playoff? I'm concerned about the craziness that can happen. All the "what if's". If ND wins out, I suspect they are one of the 12, but I never believe in absolutes. Call me Irish. Or better yet, call me for dinner, especially if your making turkey legs. Thanks for the chats your great insight Eric!

Eric Hansen

And we're off ...

Only the No Fighting and No Spitting rules will be strictly enforced this week.

12:05

Here are the rules: