JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 21, 2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Oct. 21, 2026

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Glenn from Santa Monica, CA

2:00

Is it possible that our coaching staff became too comfortable by not having to recruit so much with our adding recruiting staff, their well paid salaries and high end talent on the roster, that they all thought they could roll out to BYU and not a a specific game plan for BYU based on their tape? Prove No Doubt means going the extra mile. They did not put the effort in.

Eric Hansen

1:59

What leads you to believe he doesn't?

KId Rockne

1:59

Why do you think that Coach Freeman doesn't take more control in these games and dictate what he wants or tell his OC/DC to change what they are doing.

Eric Hansen

1:55

Oh wow, I love this reference. Now if only we could get Christopher Walken (AKA Bruce Dickinson to say it). I do agree. This game needed more Walton, because it puts the defensive coordinator in a bigger philosophical dilemma. I thought Nolan James Jr. played well, but Walton needs to play more. Agreed.

ND Rocks Powell OH

1:53

I’ve got a fever and the only prescription is more “WALTON”

Eric Hansen

1:50

Sean ... it is only permissible for you to take your shoes off if you carry that dress code into your BBQ lunch. So in this game the tight ends were targted nine times with five receptions. But I think you are looking for more impactful receptions, not just volume. I think Cooper Flanagan's return frominjury and Ian Premer's emergence from the over should both help.

Sean Greensboro

1:45

Eric, had to take my shoes off first.I thought that Denbrock and Ash were very slow to make adjustments last week. Denbrock for throwing too many fades,Ash for staying in the zone defense too long.Finally, are our tight ends so bad we not longer throw to them? Thanks ,off to a big north Carolina BBQ lunch!

Eric Hansen

1:45

Hi Irish Jim. I understand you're frustrated. And if you're already the smartest guy in the room, what do you need the rest of us for? I think you know better that we all give it our best in assessing the team and its strengths and its weaknesses. If you think it's a big waste of your time to be a part of that, we'll miss you. Not sure what else to say.

Irish Jim from Schererville IN

1:39

Really appreciate the chat and opportunity to share thoughts with ND nation. However I am totally stunned that the media and fans are surprised as to how ND played and to the outcome of the BYU game. The shortcomings we observed in the BYU game were evident all season long. Yes the players did not perform up to expectations but I firmly believe that the OC and the DC strategy/game-plan was not anywhere near standards required to contend for a national championship. BYU attacked each weakness we exhibited during the first half of season and definitely added new wrinkles which ND was not prepared for. ND ran same plays offensively, nothing new schematically and the defense was vanilla and absolutely no pressure on QB. Overall ND was not prepared! BYU plan was superior to the ND scheme on offense and defense and if we are “going to question everything” why doesn’t the media investigate this during the media interviews?

Eric Hansen

1:39

I had reference a story earlier in the chat about a column a wrote about the bye week fixes and putting the pieces back together. Here it is:

No. 4 Notre Dame still has pieces to make a title run, but can the Irish put them back together?

1:34

Hi Jack, and thanks. It's a beautiful day here too. CJ Carr's struggles surprised me the most. Not that there weren't bright moments for him too. No. 2 was just not having more counterpunches on defense, including way to generate pass rush. I had BYU No. 2 on my ballot. Here was my top 10 ...
(the number to the right is where I had those teams the previous week)
1 Miami 3
2 BYU 8
3 Ohio State 6
4 Georgia 1
5 Notre Dame 2
6 Ole Miss 9
7 Tennessee 13
8 Kentucky 10
9 Indiana 7
10 Texas Tech 11

Jack,Strongsville, Ohio

1:27

Hi Eric. Another beautiful day in the Midwest. What surprised you most about the BYU game? Where did you place BYU in the AP poll this week? Thanks as always for your work,

Eric Hansen

1:27

Dave, all is forgiven. 3 a.m. questions are most welcome. At least you included your hometown and name, and I bet you kept your shoes on. ... Very perplexing, and something that needs a quick solution. Those bad snaps reduce Carr's time in the pocket and also force him to take his eyes off downfield. Neither of those are a good thing.

Guest

1:22

Dave from Hillsboro, Or. my error on previous submitted. Center is obviously Ashton Craig and not Absher. That’s what I get for submitting a question at 3:00 AM!!

1:21

Dave from Hillsboro, Or. Hey Eric. Been awhile. Chats are awesome. I am perplexed as game after game Sullivan Absher’s snaps nearly always arrive at knee level to Carr forcing him a slight delay to bend down to field them. It’s not much but it’s not as clean as it could or should be when fractions of a second might delay the timing of the play. Not a question, just a perplexed observation. Go Irish.

Eric Hansen

1:21

3 I think it's fair to start with both coordinators. And I'm not sure anyone can go take a vacation this week in The Bahamas. But I think Aaron Henry (DBs), Brian Jean-Mary (LBs) and Mike Brown (WRs) have the most self-scout work ahead of them.

1:19

Jim, bless you for being here. Has the name calling died down, just checking LOL. To your questions ... 1. Yes, but it had a more pragmatic effect, and one that should have been addressed by the defensive coordinator quickly. 2. I have a weekly assignment of giving out game balls (3) after very game, win or lose, no choice. And of course, people JUST LOVE the concept when ND loses. But the three players I singled out were Luke Talich Nolan James Jr. and Jaden Greathouse. And there were others ... Jayden Sanders, the two OTs, Francis Brewu, so it wasn't a total washout. (more)

Jim in Anthony TX

1:06

Eric, bless you for THIS chat, it could probably run for two days if you let it! Well now that all the hand wringing and name calling has pretty much died down, we need your expert opinion on a multitude of questions. 1. Do you think Trarore's ejection had a psychological effect on the defense in the first half? 2. As bad as we played, do you think there was a bright spot and who or what was it? 3. Of all the assistant coaches, who do you think needs to pick up their game the most (and the answer can't be all of the above)? Thanks as always for shedding light on all the grey areas of ND football.

Eric Hansen

1:05

Hi GG. I wish I understood your question better. I am not sure what "trashing" the team means in your vernacular. Are you expecting no criticism or no analytic search for answers? if you look at the questions in this chat, people want my honest assessment. I don't think I;m trashing the team. I may not be flattering all the time, but I think most people think I'm fair. As to what the rest of the media does, the media isn't monolithic. I don't try to control what other people do. I hold myself to a certain standard and go from there.

GG In Santa Barbara

1:02

Eric: I enjoy ND football. It’s tough when they lose. I suspect every coach and player hates to lose even more. Why does the media that follows ND football trash them for the following week? I realize some trash ND all the time. It’s those that make a living at it I don’t understand. Can you explain?

Eric Hansen

Kevin from Orlando, I got your message, but it got cut off. If you want to email me, it's ehansen@insidendsports.com.

1:01

I think the bye week is a great time to ponder, if not make, personnel tweaks. I don't know that Frazier is the guy yet you want to use, but I think the group that will produce more WR depth will come from Elijah Burress, Jerome Bettis Jr. and/or Devin Fitzgerald. And I am with you on Premer. There's a large enough sample size on all those guys. If Mylan Graham doesn't want to get jumped on the depth chart, he needs to bring it starting today in practice.

12:54

Beth, I laughed so hard coffee came out of my nose, and no that's not normally what I do withg my coffee. That is the post of the century. If you email me your address, I'll send you one of our The Gold Standard books on me. ... Ok not what was your question ... LOL. ... One of the hardest things to explain is different developmental curves and how those fit different places. But I understand the curiosity, and I think there's an answer that makes sense to your question. (more)

Beth from Westfield, IN

12:50

Eric: Can you talk me off of the ledge? I feel like the season is hanging by a turkey leg! Is there a reason why the coaches don’t trust really talented freshmen with special play packages? I’m thinking of Go route for Frazier or end zone package for Premer. Are freshman not allowed to play until they grasp the entire playbook? Is frustrating when I see that freshman wide receiver tearing it up at Oregon State.

Eric Hansen

12:50

Hi James, you asked and answered your own question. And echoed what I've been ranting about. Time to take Premer out of the bubble wrap.

Jhaider_ofallon@yahoo.com

12:47

What will it take to get the TE's more involved in the passing game? Why not give Ian Premer a chance? We need more of a passing threat from the TE position.

Eric Hansen

12:47

Hi Joe. It's not just the secondary, there have been issues with linebacker coverage as well. Adon Shuler is not playing his best football. I'm still not sure the nickel is in a good spot. These are the deep dives the coaching staff needs to be making during the bye week. Brauntae Johnson coming back and being fully healthy will help, but Luke Talich has been outstanding. But you could rotate more and play Johnson and Talich together at times. When the pass rush stinks, none of them are going to look good, and that was a huge problem vs. BYU.

Joe from Baltimore

12:39

Hey Eric. Thanks for hosting these. I never played a down of football in my life. Everything pointed to us having the best secondary in the country, but we have been having issues defending the pass. What are some possible reasons that our excellent players aren't having success on the field? Thanks!

Eric Hansen

12:39

There's not question recalibration is in order. Notre Dame is still No. 1 in the nation in total defense, but it has to play like that in big games too for that number to mean something. Marcus Freeman did a great job last year of collaborating and helping bring needed changes to the defense last year. The head coach should be able to do that. This is not a matter of grounding the DC. It's about working together and finding solutions, whether that's a comfortable process, uncomfortable or something in between.

12:36

Hi Hot Car Nut. I know you are from Florida, so we will add that to get you the hometown requirement. 1) With no pass rush, Notre Dame was going to get cooked by a quarterback like Bear Bachmeier no matter what coverage you were in. I do think you have to be good at both. I do think you have to mix it up. I think ND is a much better man team. 2) It's time to expand that rotation. Actually six games should have been plenty of time to develop more trusted options from a WR room that's 16 deep, with 15 of them healthy and available to play. No argument there. (more)

HotCarNut

12:33

Hi Eric,

My biggest question marks coming out of the BYU game were Chris Ash and his propensity for running zone schemes in big games (trades aggression for "minimizing big plays" theoretically) despite the significantly better stats for the D playing man-to-man and ND getting burned for easy first downs, and the head-scratching situation in the WR room with the lack of rotation at altitude and really the lack of developmental snaps in "normal" game situations. What's your perspective on both? I've read pieces from other B&G members, but would like to hear your take.

As an extension of the D question, given Freeman's background do you see a point where we move on from the Ash experiment and get back to a consistently aggressive scheme?

Eric Hansen

12:32

Hi Packy. I think if CJ were to return, and I don't anticipate that, he would come back to ND rather than transferring.

Packy from Naperville, il

12:30

Eric….if CJ is advised to return to college for another year to improve his draft status, do you think he would return to ND under Denbrock or would he consider transferring somewhere with a more dynamic offense?

Eric Hansen

12:30

I wrote a column that was published after your question came in that will give you more depth on the subject. But I'll give you a shortened version here. It's rare when Notre Dame gets outcoached. It happened on Saturday night. To be the most surprising aspect was CJ Carr not rising to meet the moment, but I agree with analyst Landon Tengwall, who did the film study, losiing Boubacar Traore was huge, and not having a Plan B to generate pass rush was inexcusable. It starts there, and I'm sure as you read the other questions you'll see the litany of other problems, so legit, some coming out of the sky is falling category.

12:23

George first of all, thank you. I am going to take a screenshot of that first sentence and send it to my kids. Voice of reason. Can't wait to share that with them. Seriously, though. I think some of this speaks to the parity in college football, and I'll address that first, and then get into ND's specifics. But 5 of the top 7 teams in the AP poll lost on the same weekend during the regular season for the first time since the AP poll's inception 90 years ago. And it was almost six. Now to Notre Dame ... (more)

George from El Segundo

12:18

Hi Eric: your voice of reason is much in need this week. Can you explain the epidemic of bad ju-ju on Saturday? With the possible exception of Luke T, Jasper S, and Nolen J,J, EVERYONE seemed to be inexplicably lost for the game everyone was anticipating all year. Bad time to mess the bed!

Eric Hansen

12:17

I suspect some of the fade patterns were checks he made and not the best play. So it's not an ego thing, but it's a situation where sometimes making the ordinary play, the easier play is a better path to winning. Not in every instance, but there were several of those that popped up Saturday night.

12:16

Having said that, let me get to the gist of your question. I don't think he's too smart of his own good and I don't think he's overthinking things. But you are very close to what I think is the answer. CJ's biggest growth hurdle as a first-year starter was trying to do to much on his own and not trusting in and letting his teammates be part of the solution. It comes with being ultra-competitive and confident, but it must also come with the right dosing. There were times CJ could have gotten a first down with a check down pass and he opted to go downfield into a very tight window. (more)

12:13

Don, this is a great place to start. CJ Carr had his worst pass-efficiency performance in his 19 career starts, more than 80 points below his season average, and the PE rating doesn't measure things like the botched spike at the end of the first half. You didn't ask this as part of your question, but I'll volunteer it to frame my answer more completely. I think CJ Carr has both the hard wiring and the open mind to learn from this inflection point and make him better moving forward. (more)

Don in Scottsdale, AZ

12:10

Eric, Like all Irish fans BYU was a huge disappointment. Losing was bad but the way the team was exposed made it worse. My question, is CJ Carr too smart for his own good? Is he overthinking things? While concerned with the D I am more concerned with the QB play. Your thoughts?

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