JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Oct. 28, 2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Oct. 28, 2026

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The Beave. Grand Rapids

1:24

Prediction Day for Eric the Great! 1. Who leads ND defense in tackles against Navy? 2. How many receivers other than Faison/Gilbert/Greathouse catch passes this week and who is the leading receiver other than the 3 traditional starters?

Eric Hansen

1:24

Hi Jeff, I got asked something similar a little earlier in that chat, and answered it. I assume your question has to do with Miami and not Navy, though? I think the cornerback depth chart is very different for Miami if the same pieces are missing, and yes Gray could slide outside if McKinney is not back. My sense is that will happen anway with Leonard Moore likely playing a lot of nickel against the Hurricanes.

Jeff - Cape Coral, FL

1:22

With McKinney out long term and Zachary still questionable coming back from the concussion, who do you think is really the next man in at corner? If Sanders or Moore were dinged do you think Gray slides back to corner and Golden into the Nickel spot? Or do you think the staff really has confidence in someone like Pouncey to step in and play meaningful minutes if needed?

Eric Hansen

1:21

I actually think the RB usage in the passing game has been good. No complaints there. I would agree with the secondary and linebackers. These to position groups were thought to be the nation's best or at least deep into that conversation. I'd like to evalute Aaron Henry and Brian Jean-Mary after a full season instead of seven games in, so I can get a better handle on how they actually did. Thanks for the challenging questions.

1:18

Marie, I am so relieved that handing out grades isn't part of my assignment, I am going to celebrate! I kid. I kid. I don't necessarily think there are statistical benchmarks that would increase my confidence. What I would look for is am Irish team that has a better game plan on both sides of the ball and that it was well-executed with lots of effort on both sides of the ball. I'd like to see what the receivers beyond the top three do, as well as TE Ian Premer, even if Navy has the worst pass defense nationally -- and it does. (more)

Marie from Atlanta

1:15

Hi Eric, I hope you’re doing great and had a fantastic bye week. Is there anything you could say see in the Navy Game that would increase your confidence level in the team for the upcoming Miami game? There’s a lot of concern about not playing enough receivers I know you have talked about getting Ian Premer involvefd more as receiver, but do you think ND will also start using all three running backs as receivers more? The secondary, and the linebackers are extremely talented and there were high expectations for both groups this year. I think both groups have played fine, but have underperformed based on the preseason expectations. Do you think this team misses Mickens and Bullough more than we realize? As always, thanks for hosting the chat and all the great insights.

Eric Hansen

1:14

Do I think some schematic wrinkles on both sides of the ball are in order? Yes. Not wholesale changes. Not making on living on playing left-handed, but yes, maximizing the talent with better personnel usage and some innovation makes sense to me. That's where we agree.

1:12

Joe, I am going to dispute the universal notion that there's a trend here. What were the other games this season against top competition? And what constitutes conservative vs. sound decision-making? A quick count -- and I'll check my math when I do the transcript -- ND has played 24 ranked opponents since the start of the 2022 season, Marcus Freeman's first regular-season game as head coach and have gone 16-8 in those games. And I don't think being too conservative was a throughline in the eight losses. Now, did ND get outcoached in the BYU game, you betcha. And did the Irish look like the No. 1 team in total defense and No. 6 in scoring offense in that game? No. So there needs to be carryover of those strengths in the remaining games this season, big and small. (more)

Joe from Baltimore

1:06

Hey Eric. Thanks for doing this. Given how aggressive Freeman is and how they like to attack, why have we seen a trend of conservative offensive and defensive calls against top competition? For a team that praises attacking with "best on best," it seems like we tend to play to avoid mistakes on the big stage. Why wouldn't we just play our game and attack on both sides of the ball?

Eric Hansen

1:06

Hi Paul. I never like to comment on somone else's supposed comments that I didn't hear firsthand. So let's take Mike Gooslby out of this and frame it as your curiosity. No, I don't think the culprit was a lack of effort. I see no evidence for that.

Paul from Arlington VA

12:59

Several commentators, including former ND player Bob Goolsby, insinuated there was a lack of effort by ND against BYU. I hope this is not true but not being an expert, I can't tell. What do you think?

Eric Hansen

12:59

I think it's Mark Zackery if he's healthy, and he had been upgraded on Monday to questionable after missing the BYU game in concussion protocol. My sense is he'll play Saturday. Again it's a little different with Navy's offense. They don't pass often (6 completions per game), but they lead the nation in yards per completion at over 20 yads a pop, so they are good at catching teams knapping. My sense is Ayden Pouncey will get some play too in a relief role.

Bob Oxnard

12:57

With DJ McKinney out, whom do you think steps up as the next corner in after Sanders and the Truth?

Eric Hansen

12:57

To be fair to Chris Ash, comparing him to Brian VanGorder is like comparing Bobby Flay to Chef Boyardee. So c'mon, Charlie. He had a bad day at the office, not a bad 2 1/3 years. Not it's on him and Marcus Freeman to show marked improvement this Saturday and throughout November, so let's let that play out. Notre Dame is the No. 1 team nationally in total defense still.

Charlie Haddix

12:53

Chris Ash is supposed to be super smart about defense and so was Brian VanGorder. Are we going to have to wasting another year with top talent. I'm 83 and don't have that much time left to see another National Championship.

Eric Hansen

12:53

Thank you, Rich, and a really good observation on your part. First, BYU has a lot of those things too in its program and on its staff and had a better plan for that game. The only way it makes sense to me, and this is a theory and not a fact, that six games of being a heavy favorite lulled the Irish into a false sense of how effortless winning had become and would remain. BYU was a wakeup call, but one ND shouldn't have needed.

Rich '69, Phoenixville PA

12:50

Eric, Thanks so much for your tireless efforts to provide us with the best coverage of ND football available! Not so much a question as a request for insights and reassurance. That game seemed to be a repudiation of most everything CMF has seemed to build. Top talent at key positions, leadership, culture, discipline on the part of players, elite, insightful coaching/game-planing, with the ability to make in-game adjustments on both sides of the ball. What happened? As I watched the game unfold, I couldn't get a recurring thought out of my mind: "Who are these guys?" Thanks!

Eric Hansen

12:50

I think, particularly on offense, the coordinator needs more say in who's in the field and that process needs to be streamlined so those decisions can be made without causing delays or confusion.

12:49

Mike/Mo !!!^^^!!!* So in general, how it works is there are meetings during the week in which personnel usage is discussed. However, the flow of the game should override some of those decisions. The position coaches are the hands-on guys on game days with regard to personnel, though some packages dictate, for instance, two tight ends instead of one, etc. Where my sense ND had to revisit that system during the bye week are two of the issues you mentioned -- Walton getting only 5 snaps and three receivers getting 152 and the other 11 getting a combined 2. (more)

Mike AKA Mo from Maumee OH

12:45

Hi Eric !!!^^^!!! Simple enough question, but the lack of WR rotation in the BYU game, as well as the limited carries by RB Walton makes me wonder: who decides which player goes in for a series or an individual play? The Position Coach? The Coordinator? The comparison between the number of defensive players who played in that game vs. the number of offensive players was stark. I realize that the depth of our defensive line accounts for some of that, and rotating out offensive linemen really isn't done by any team with a good offensive line, but GEEZ...... Thanks!!!

Eric Hansen

12:45

For Marcus Freeman in particular, authenticity is his super power. It serves him in recruiting, in retention, in media relations, in hiring and retaining top assistant coaches — even though I know some of your want to purge those assistant coaches.

12:44

The second question is harder, because it covers so much ground. And I don't have the time or brain cells to do it justice in this forum. But here are some qualities that I think are universal, and then one I think Marcus has a leg up on over most coaches. The universal ones are being a great leader, finding the right fit in a school (very overlooked) and being adaptable and willing and able to evolve, because football evolves on and off the field. (more)

12:39

12:37

Hi Beth. Let me start with the easy part of your question. It must be rhetorical, because you know I'm no rookie. I've been at this grandpa game for a while and have 8 of them, so here are the receipts:

Beth from Westfield, IN

12:34

Eric: I hope you have your house stocked with Halloween candy or you are going to have some unhappy grandkids! My question is about head coaching. In a week when many of the ND faithful were ready to throw out the coordinators, Marcus took a reasoned and measured approach. However, this year we have also seen the Colorado State coach fire a coordinator mid-game. This is just one example of different leadership styles. In your opinion what are the three most important qualities that are needed to be a successful head coach? Do you think Marcus has these qualities or is growing towards them? Thanks

Eric Hansen

12:33

Navy's defense is awful against the pass, the worst in the FBS, but it's run defense is actually pretty good and it does present a lot of exotic fronts and pressures that will help the Irish O-line think on its feet. The outlier nature of the Navy offense is harder to draw benefits from, especially when you have to switch back to not only a pass-heavy traditional offense but maybe the best of its kind in the FBS 7 days later, in Miami. For me, the best place to put Navy on the schedule is in week one, honor the commitment and then move on to opponents who help you build your team over the course of the season.

12:30

Patrick, I think there are benefits from playing a team like Stanford at home before a tough road game at BYU, in terms of developing your depth, keeping key players healthy, working on weaknesses with somewhat of a safety net and maybe not having too physical games in a row. I do think there's a downside to having six games to start the season in which the opponent was a 20-plus-point underdog in every one of those. But you have to make the best of it. At the time some of those teams were scheduled, they looked like more competitive games and only Rice was not a Power 4 opponent. Now to your specific question. (more)

Patrick from Los Angeles

12:26

Thank you for doing these chats. It did not appear that the level of competition provided by the Cardinal in the Stanford game did much to prepare ND for a tough opponent in BYU. Navy likewise is not a particularly formidable opponent and runs an offensive scheme that the Irish will not see next week. How, if at all, can ND use the Navy game to aid in its preparation for Miami?

Eric Hansen

12:26

Not an elite SOS, but certainly competitive with a lot of the other teams in the top 20 and nowhere near the bottom. Now does the schedule need better balance? Does ND need to figure out an escape hatch to get out of the ACC commitment early? Would ND be better off in the Big Ten or SEC? I think all of those are questions that need continual deep study as the world around ND continues to morph at breakneck speed.

12:23

When you say top teams from other conferences don't want to play ND, have you looked at ND's future schedules beyond 2027? Now what you can't predict is how good or bad some of those teams will be at that juncture. Auburn, for instance, isn't ranked. But the Tigers too out Georgia earlier this month. Clemson would resurface as a national power if it either retools its business model and pushes coach Dabo Swinney to reinvent himself. Is ND's schedule in 2026 and 2027 a gauntlet? I don't think that's accurate, but it's more competitive than you might think. Take a look at the Sagarin SOS rankings:

12:19

Hi ND Rocks. I think strength of schedule is a great topic to dig into, and I'm glad you asked the question. I don't agree with some of the premises that you used to frame the question. So let's start there. Would joining a conference actually automatically improved ND's schedule? Miami, the No. 1 team in the nation, plays one ranked team from its conference during the regular season -- No. 14 Wake Forest. That's three fewer than what's on ND's schedule -- Miami, SMU, BYU and Wisconsin. Defending national champ Indiana has one ranked team on its schedule this season — Ohio State, which it lost to. And ND until 2036 would have to join the ACC if it didn't want significant legal hurdles. (more)

ND Rocks Powell OH

12:09

Maybe there is something to this easy schedule that needs to be addressed. This year you can point to Miami as a tough game. BYU, WI, & SMU are games we should win but be challenged at least. Next year is even easier on paper, Auburn maybe Clemson. Of course we lost BYU. I see how our critics can make an easy point. Any sense how they plan to address this moving forward. We won’t join a conference and better teams in conferences have nothing to gain by playing us.

Eric Hansen

Let's get rolling ...

12:06

We survived our scariest week ever since rescinding the "no drinking" rule last week, so we will press forward with that modification, but all the others will be strictly enforced.

12:05

As far as this weeks chat, here are the rules:

► Finally at WSBT Sports Radio 960, I’m part of the Notre Dame Football pregame show with Tim Grauel, Jim Irizarry and Blue & Gold teammate Jack Soble. The GameDay show kicks off with three hours of news, analysis and special guests live on Saturday ahead of the ND-Navy game. We’ll start our coverage at 8 a.m. ET, so caffeine up! You can listen locally at WSBT-AM 960, Sunny 101.5 FM, and 106.1 FM in Southwest Michigan. And it will be live streaming on wsbtradio.com and on the WSBT Radio app. For the away games, we also have a YouTube feed.

► The Third & Gold Podcast is available at all the places where you find podcasts, as well as our YouTube Channel. The next episode drops on Friday. On our most recent episode, Blue & Gold beat writer Jack Soble joined us as our special guest.

12:04

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our new home on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel. The last three shows have been our most-watched episodes ever. We’ll be back next Monday at 7 ET for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps. Check out some other great shows and content on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well, including the live Notre Dame Football Show, on Tuesday nights at 8 ET.

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