JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Nov. 22, 2023

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Nov. 22, 2023

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Tim Ozark, Mo

1:27

1. Who are your top theoretical, yet realistic, replacements for Golden and Mickens (assuming both leave for promotion opportunities).

Eric Hansen

1:24

Happy Thanksgiving, Roger. In your hypothetical all these games weigh equally with the CFP selection committee, as I understand it. With that said, I'd take Clemson. Even though Notre Dame came the closest to beating Ohio State, Clemson is the most flawed team among those three.

Roger from Peoria

1:20

Eric: Happy Thanksgiving 2023 to you and yours. One game remains in the Irish regular season which has seen 3 losses by the Irish. Let's assume the schedule was different and the one game remaining to be played was against OSU, Louisville, or Clemson, and an Irish win would send them to the 4-team playoff. Which of those teams, if any, would you pick for the Irish to play in that final game and why?

Eric Hansen

1:18

Given that Tennessee (No. 27 offense, No. 44 defense) has scored a total of 17 points the past two weeks against Missouri and Georgia, I probably think Tennessee is the team ND matches up better against. Ole Miss is 13th offensively and 65th defensively. ... As far as recruiting, it's looking less and less like there may be 11th-hour additions or subtractions for the 2024 class.

1:16

Tom. Happy Thanksgiving to you too. And it was great to have at least a virtual meeting during the Atlanta club's get-together earlier this year. Hope and plan to get to Atlanta in person next year. ... I think LSU and Tennessee are the most likely opponents I'm hearing for the ReliaQuest Bowl. If it's the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando (actual name, not a euphemism), it'll be a Big 12 team .. Oklahoma, Iowa State, Okie State .. a team like that. But I'll throw in Ole Miss to answer your question. ... If you have a chance, please listen to our podcast. We asked our guest, Ryan Fowler, who covers Alabama, about LSU and Tennessee vs. ND. The Tide played both of those teams and Ole Miss. His pick was that Tennessee is the better matchup for ND. I'm torn. LSU is resoundingly the best offense in the nation .., in total offense, in scoring offense, in pass efficiency. They're 5th in rushing offense, second in third-down efficiency ... and 103rd in total defense. So it's the most intriguing. (more)

Tom Kennesaw, GA

1:05

Hi Eric, first let me say Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the Hansen family. Also, I will say on behalf of all of the other Chatters that we are thankful for these chats and your insight, information and great questions at the press conferences. Question: it seems that usually ND's bowl opponent is ranked higher than we are. Given the likely opponents of Ole Miss or LSU how do you think we would match up against them?? Early signing day is about a month away. Are you or Tyler keeping your eyes on any particular surprises, good or bad, that may happen between now and then? Go Irish!!!!

Eric Hansen

1:03

I think QBs coach Gino Guidugli and O-Line coach Joe Rudolph are harder to separate for an evaluation because that eval is so dependent on offensive coordinator/TEs coach Gerad Parker. Their late arrivals (February) and having to learn the offense on the fly lends me to believe we'll have a cleaner eval in 2024 and both will project better in year 2. As for Parker, he had some personnel aspects work against him like his more experienced receivers getting injured and losing TD Mitchell Evans a few weeks ago. But I don't think he met the standard. Special teams coach Marty Biagi didn't have the success or his predecessor, Brian Mason, but there are things he did that I really like.

12:58

I'd say the assistant coaches who met or exceeded expectations with their position groups are CBs Mike Mickens, safeties Chris O'Leary, D-Line Al Washington, RBs Deland McCullough and I'd argue Chansi Stuckey given his circumstances. And certainly DC Al Golden. I think you could also make a case for LB grad assistant Max Bullough. (more)

12:55

Don, Happy Thanksgiving to you and thanks so much for being a subscriber and a thoughtful chat-head (that's a compliment). Let's start with identifiable growth with Marcus Freeman. I think he definitely has more confidence in how he structures practices, has stronger visions of what he wants to do on offense and how to get there, manages the NIL factor well in recruiting and continues to push hard for transfer policy reforms for incoming transfers. I think two areas of needed growth that come to mind are improved gameday operations and less reliance on analytics for critical head coaching decisions in games. It's nice to know the analytics numbers, but sometimes you have to go against them. (more)

Don in Scottsdale

12:51

Eric, Can't believe this is the twelve guaranteed opportunity for the Irish in 2023. Went fast. You and the Inside ND sports has done a great in season job and made the long off season bearable with your content. I'm hoping the team gets over the away game slow start syndrome and makes this a walk over. We get the PAC 2 network as part of our plan and will record the game and get to the golf course. Looking back, I guess this season shaped up as expected. Very good defense with some surprises on the DL, OK, for the most part O, with inconsistent line play and an obvious lack of receiver talent/experience. That said which coaches exceeded expectations with their position groups, which coaches didn't maximize talent and lastly what identifiable growth did you see in Coach Freeman. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and best to Tyler and Charleston.

Eric Hansen

12:50

Hi Joe. He might not be able to make that second transfer without either sitting out a year, missing spring practice here or both, based on when he graduates. If he has his degree, it's no problem, but he's a junior and I don't know how his credits from Alabama would transfer. As far as what ND would get, it feels like this was more of a lost year for him, with one start, in which he was pulled and is now third or fourth string. Had he stayed at ND, I think he'd be well-positioned to compete to start in 2024.

Guest

12:47

Joe H from Williams Bay Wi Hey Eric one quick question after reading a story on another message board.Is there any chance or interest in Tyler Buchner returning to South Bend I for one would welcome it

Eric Hansen

12:47

Hi Terry. There is a normal home/road split that most college teams fall into, but you're right, this exceeds that. In watching Brian Kelly over 12 years, there was definitely an evolution in his approach, one in which Marcus Freeman needs to microwave this offseason in terms of how to improve that. I think the cadence/offensive signals problem at Duke was the most shocking to me that hadn't been dealt with ahead of time. But I give Freeman credit. He does not stand pat. He restructured practices this week to have more competitive team periods early with the thought of carrying that over to the game for a faster start. They're also leaving on Friday afternoon instead of Thursday, because the sports science folks who made the Navy trip and re-entry over multiple time zones recommended this amended schedule.

Terry from Ithaca

12:42

Why does team performance vary so much from week to week? This is a hardworking team. It's hard to believe their practice habits change that much from one week to the next. It seems more likely related to what is emphasized in the game plan or something about the game day routine while on the road. What do you think?

Eric Hansen

12:42

Hi Mike. I'd imagine your more-pressing question isn't why hasn't there been more chatter, but why wasn't this more strongly considered and actually implemented? I think it's a great idea and something for which I've advocated. Not just to have a backstop, but to be a resource for both Gerad Parker and Marcus Freeman ... the latter in game-day operations and decisions. Whoever the OC is next year, whether it's Parker or someone with a lot of experience, I still think that move makes sense. And as far as chatter, I'm pretty sure Marie from Atlanta has suggested this, so you may want to make nice with her.

Mike - Phoenix, AZ

12:37

...heck, even Garrett would be an ex-NFL OC/HC with the added bonus of getting him OFF NBC! What about Skip Holtz...get him back in CFB after 2 USFL Championships!

12:36

Eric - Frequent reader / infrequent questioner here. I missed asking this question during the fall-out of the abysmal offensive performance displayed vs. Clemson. Despite the Wake result, I'm still a believer that changes are warranted. Last year there seemed to be persistent questioning/opining related to an OFFENSE ANALYST to assist Rees in his first season without the BK safety net. A common theme about the lack of that position seemed to be Rees reticence to the idea and his "Golden Boy" status. With the Parker promotion, all the reasons FOR an analyst seem to be amplified, and the reasons AGAINST diminished. So 2 part question: a) Why has there been so much less "chatter" about this topic this year? b) Why didn't MF go get a top-notch analyst to support Parker? I look to Alabama as an example--I see no reason why MF can't begin to position his program as a "former-coach-reclamation-center" a la Saban. Some recent offensive-minds that have flamed-out as HCs come to mind: Harsin, Taggert, Frost,...

Eric Hansen

12:36

It is my understanding that Notre Dame will play Army in the game that's not officially on the schedule and that it will be a Shamrock Series game, likely at Yankee Stadium. The date figures to be Nov. 23 ... so game 11 ... as to not possibly conflict with a possible New York Yankees postseason run. That would leave the bye week Saturdays as Oct. 5 and Nov. 2.

Brian B - Plymouth MI

12:29

Hi Eric. Thanks for all of your great ND coverage this season. Any update on an opponent for a 12th game next year? When will it be finalized? Are there 2 bye weeks again in ‘24?

Eric Hansen

12:29

If you haven't already, you should figure out if your TV provider has access to Pac-12 Network. You can do that by searching for your provider at this link:

Get Pac-12 Networks

pac-12.com

The most common options appear to be CenturyLink, Charter Spectrum, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, DISH, Frontier, fuboTV and Sling TV. You may still need to make sure you have the right package for Pac-12 Network if any of those are your TV providers. There are more regional providers listed as well.

Some of the popular TV providers that don't have it include DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV.

The best deal out there seems to be a free trial of fuboTV. Just make sure you cancel it ASAP if you don't want to eventually get charged.

12:28

This comes from my colleague, Tyler James:

Boston_irish_Fan

12:27

How to watch the ND - Stanford game on Pac - TV network? What are the options, if any?

Eric Hansen

12:27

There's been speculation about Hartman and an injury since September and he, Marcus Freeman and Gerad Parker continue to shoot that down. But I do think the loaded boxes, the injuries in the WR group and the growth curve of the young ones and lack of in-game adjustments in key games have been very real factors.

12:24

The 2019 class before that was Kendall Abdur-Rahman, who transferred without making an impact, and Cam Hart, who has been outstanding after moving to CB ... but again the Irish got nothing out of him before he changed positions. The 2021 class was a good one -- Jayden Thomas, Deion Colzie and Lorenzo Styles ... Bad luck here in that Thomas and Colzie have been injured most of the year and Styles transferred and is now a CB. ... That was followed by 2022, where Tobias Merriweather was the only high school signee, with two 11th-hour WR defections before signing day. (more)

12:21

Hi Dave ... thanks .. and great question. It's poor recruiting and retention and you could argue average development pre-Chansi Stuckey. Here's the class of 2020, which would be seniors: Xavier Watts, Jay Brunelle, Jordan Johnson. Watts has moved to safety and is stellar there this year, but you got nothing out of him as a WR, Brunelle transferred to Yale without ever having caught a pass at ND. Five-star Johnson also was catch-less ND, transferred to UCF, where he was a bust with no career catches. He's now playing at the junior college level at Iowa Western, where he is far from dominant. (more)

Dave Childers

12:11

Dave from Jacksonville - LOVE to read the chat transcripts, usually late at night - Question - seems to me that the combination of poor WR recruiting for past 5 years continues to be the gift that keeps on giving? Is SH accuracy problems in the middle of the season related at all to a possible unannounced injury? Or just the stacking of the box, limited WR openings and in face pressure? Thanks.

Eric Hansen

Off we go ...

Here are the rules. No burping either.

12:10

12:09

Please include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your question(s). Optional ... is you favorite Thanksgiving side dish and your 40 time after you've eaten it.

As far as this week's chat.

12:08

► Finally, thanks to all who have been listening to WSBT radio this season, as I have rejoined Darin Pritchett as a co-host on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com) on Wednesdays and Thursdays during the 2023 Notre Dame Football season and during bowl prep, though there will not be a Thursday show this week. I'm also co-hosting the pregame shows with Darin and Tyler Horka (which is not a clever stage name for Tyler James). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. This week’s pregame show starts at 4 p.m. ET. You can download episodes as podcasts.

► On this week’s Inside ND Sports Podcast, Ryan Fowler, radio host of The Game on Tide 100.9 in Tuscaloosa, Ala., joined Tyler James and me to share his knowledge on the SEC, which will likely provide the opponent for Notre Dame’s bowl game, should the Irish win at Stanford on Saturday night. He also discussed the progress of former Irish head coach Brian Kelly at LSU, the strengths and flaws of the Tigers this season, if Tennessee would be a better bowl opponent for ND, the job Tommy Rees has done in his first year as Alabama's offensive coordinator, why former ND quarterback Tyler Buchner didn't gain traction with the Crimson Tide, an outside perspective of Notre Dame and more. The podcast can be listened to via SoundCloud or on your preferred podcast platform including: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podbean and Pocket Casts.

12:07

https://bit.ly/jandr

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, it keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, which is Monday nights at 7 ET. Remember, if you miss the live show, you can catch up anytime on YouTube. Tyler James and I are also doing a live postgame show of our takeaways after every game. Here’s what last week’s show looked like. We’re also partnering with WSBT-TV this season, including collaborating on highlights and analysis. Here’s sports director Pete Byrne and me doing a quick run-through of this week’s game.

12:06

Some quick programming notes:

12:05

Welcome to the pre-Thanksgiving/pre-Black Friday/pre-Stanford game version of Notre Dame Football Live Chat, brought to you by J&R Solutions.

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