JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Sept. 23, 2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Sept. 23, 2026

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Eric Hansen

3:05

Ok, that's going to have to do it for today. I have a hard out for my next assignment. Thanks for all the great questions and for putting up with my slow thinking and typing. We'll be back to do it all over again next Wednesday at noon ET.

3:04

In 2024, Riley Leonard missing spring screwed up his developmental timeline. But Denbrock was willing to bet he could win that race against time. And it bit them against Northern Illinois, but it paid off down the road and to a run to the title game. So, A+++++ for your nsight into decoding what we're seeing on offense so far this season.

3:02

Man, that was a GREAT QUESTION, and you kind of answered it yourself. Now I know who to call if I violate the "no drinking" rule. Excellent analysis. You do have to toggle between the short term and long term. It's a delicate balance, but one Denbrock has shown he can achieve. Injuries play a factor in that timeline. Let me give you an example. (more)

2:59

OK Dave, I'll admit once I saw the words "turkey leg" in your question, I stopped reading and posted immediately without checking if there were any naughy words that followed. So let me gather by bearings as I ramp down the adrenaline. Welll--played ... (more)

Dave from Dallas, TX

2:58

Eric! I’d be interested in your and Coach Denbrock’s (based on media availability) perspective on the following:
It sometimes feels like the offense will run a play to get more live reps of a concept instead of maximizing their offensive output in the moment. It seemed like the MSU gameplan was centered around working on the run game and selectively looking for explosives in the passing game, even through there was probably a lot more meat left on the turkey leg based on MSU’s scheme and Carr’s elite play. Agree?
More philosophically, how does Denbrock weigh short-term goals (high yds/play, high success rate, scoring) against long-term goals (peaking in Nov/Dec/Jan, player development, keeping the powder dry)? While you want to achieve both kinds of goals, you have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Is the fan frustration about the offense a result of the staff’s focus on the long-term instead of the short-term or is it justified foreboding of the issues that could lead to an early ending of the season?

Eric Hansen

2:55

Rush defense: 6
Total defense: 3
Rush offense: 107
Pass efficiency: 22
Turnover margin: 2
As I mentioned in my Behind The Ballot column, the four teams that are ranked in one poll or the other who really have some flashing red lights in those categories are Texas Tech, Michigan, USC and Oklahoma.

2:53

When you look at five metrics I always talk about, you want to be in the top 25 in all five if possible, Teams that do that hold up well in both playoff pushed and playoff runs. Notre Dame checked all five boxes last season -- run defense, total defense, rush offense, pass efficiency and turnover margin. But they didn't check them early in the season.They grew and evolved. So where are they now in those 5? (more)

JJ - Bushwood CC (New Jersey)

2:51

Ahoy Eric!!! Great start to the season so far; it's made my in-game fresca so much more enjoyable. Hopefully injuries can be managed and the run game continues to improve. The defense looks great, and largely the passing game does too. What are the keys to making a serious run at a natty?

Eric Hansen

2:51

Hi Roger. I think Greathouse is next. As far as new guys, I think you'll see more flashes that long stretches of brilliance. That's because it's hard to get enough reps beyond the top four right now. But Burress, Bettis and Bubba -- the killer Bs -- will have their moments. I think O'Brien is going to fare better than expected. But they're going to have to rotate Ethan Long in too, and I feel good about him as well. Talich is playing at such a high level, though. You are right the Purdue QB is no slouch.

Roger from Peoria

2:44

Hello Eric: Count me among the few not off the Aneyas Williams bandwagon. James Jr. is certainly ahead in statistics. Aneyas' block on Carr's TD was awesome. Nonetheless, I want James, Jr and all the RBs to perform well. Micah's emergence at WR was great, but the absence of Greathouse and Mylan Graham was puzzling, especially Graham. Who do you think will be the next WR to step up? If Talich is out, what do you expect from Joey O'Brien? The Purdue QB is no slouch, so Joey needs to be ready. Thanks for all you do for ND fans!! GO IRISH!!

Eric Hansen

2:44

Jordan!!!!!!!!!!!! 1) I've hit this pretty hard, so I'll get to your off-the-ledge question. First, let take five deep breaths. Second, enjoy this season first before you think about 2027. Third, tuck this away for after the season. The way Notre Dame develops its talent, the way it's recruiting, the way it's using the portal smartly, the way it's attracting top assistant coaches, the dropoff isn't as going to be as dramatic as you imagine. So, have a maple bar, a nice cup of coffee (or Irish coffee) and come back nside.

Jordan from Seattle

2:40

Eric!!!!!! Hoping you were able to catch a few Zzzzzs and glimpses of your grandkids this past week. Two questions: 1. Do we have a running back problem, an offensive line problem, or both? 2. Please talk me off the cliffside - we could lose 13-14 starters/2-deep players on D this offseason (5 DBs, 4 LBs, 4-5 DLs) - how does our 2027 D stay great? Thanks for your objective, humorous reporting and coverage of ND foosball!

Eric Hansen

2:40

Sorry got these out of order. James, thanks for sending in your hometown of LaPorte, which is the city where both of my kids were born. Now to your question. ... How the defense plays Notre Dame definitely factors in big time with q QB like Carr who is playing chess at the line if scrimmage. I think it's smart for most teams to take that approach.

2:39

Hi Frank. You were not hallucinating. Tough day at the offense for Will Black, particularly when it came to his pass blocking.

James

2:38

Hey Eric, I've noticed defense's have been playing mostly zone against Notre Dame, which seems to pack the middle of the field. Could this be a reason we haven't seen a lot of targets go to Greathouse or Graham? Seems Carr is taking what the defense gives him.

Frank A., Wayne IL

2:37

I rewatched the game last night and thought our left tackle was beat in pass protection way too often. Was I hallucinating?

Eric Hansen

2:35

Hi Mike. Marcus Freeman and the coaches agree with you that Rodney Dunham is earning more trust and more playing time. ... As far as the vanilla aspect, there's a pragmatic side to it and a strategic side. With the latter, would you pull out your best plays and show them to BYU now or wait until Oct. 17?

Mike, Phoenix

2:33

Eric, can we discuss coaching malpractice? Rodney needs to play more than Kelley or #10. Durham gets to the QB and runs to the sideline on the very next play? Ridiculous!! Do you think there is any chance that ND is specifically running a vanilla offense because they know they can line up and easily win the 1st 6 games and save plays for BYU and Miami? The playing calling hasn't been good from Denbrock. Way too vanilla. Hope you are doing well. Cheers!🍻

Eric Hansen

2:33

2) I wouldn't worry about ND's strength of schedule if they take care of buisness and go 12-0. At 10-2, we would need to talk. I actually think Miami has a bigger problem if they lose to ND and don't win the ACC. Sometimes ND does not want to kick it out of the end zone. Sometimes there is strategy on either forcing a fair catch or wanting a team to try a return. He is definitely No. 1 at this juncture.

2:30

Hi Tom, glad you made the JumoTron appearance. They have not shown me yet, and that's probably a good thing from a scaring small chiildren and farm animals standpoint. 1) Landon is an outstanding analyst. He helps us out with content at Blue & Gold, and we really appreciate him. When it comes to O-line play, I think he's very much on target with his film studies. Plus, what isn't apparent on film, he's proactive and asks questions of insiders. Can't say enough good about him. (more)

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

2:28

Hi Eric, hope life is treating you well!! Can't believe we are 25% thru the regular season. Hopefully these questions will be a little different from the rest of the Chatters. 1) I really enjoyed Landon Tengwall's analysis of the OL and the overall run game. He went into scheme plus RB's not making the proper cuts that could have led to better plays. What was your take on his analysis and what would you add or differ?? It seems in the latest RPI rankings ND has several teams in the mid-range of rankings. Outside of BYU and SMU, what teams on our schedule do you see making the most progress and helping ND's strength of schedule?? Finally, I thought that Drescher's KOs vs Rice were great, but against MSU not so much. Was that a result of the weather or something else???? Thanks so much for your consistent strong info about ND's athletics. Great job!!!!!! I had a great time at the Reunion for the Rice game and even made the jumbotron which my grandson thought was pretty cool. Go Irish!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:27

Hi Lorne, thanks for the compliment. Now the pressure is on to give you an elite answer. We'll give it a try. I have not seen a mock draft by a reputable source that has CJ Carr falling out of the first round. In even in the days of rev share/NIL, if you are a first-rounder, it's an easy decision to go to the NFL. If you're a day 3 pick (rounds 4-7) and can build equity, going back to school makes sense. But I don't see ND playing itself out of a playoff berth, despite some growing pains early.

Lorne

2:19

Lorne from Reno. Thank you, Eric, for this wonderful feature. First, I have not been violating the "no drinking" rule. If Notre Dame falls short of the national championship, given the outstanding crop of QB's going pro and the fact that CJ could make more in NIL thank he could as a rookie QB (especially if that crop of QB's pushes him out of the top of the draft), is it crazy to think he could come back for "unfinished business"? Yes, I'd rather have the natty and wish CJ a great career (please, not with the Jets), but it does make some sense, doesn't it?

Eric Hansen

2:18

Hi Ryan. I thought enough of both of them to award them our Blue & Gold game balls last week and we only give out three of those per game. My prediction is similar to yours, Ryan. I have Notre Dame 45-6.

Ryan Frankfort Illinois

2:16

Good afternoon Eric what do you think about the play of Luke Talich and Micah Gilbert i think both looked good against Michigan State my score prediction for this week is 49-10 Irish GO IRISH ☘️☘️🏈🏈

Eric Hansen

2:16

Ok to your questions ... 1) I do think the O-line will improve before Augustine is back and will continue to do so when he is back. The question will be how soon can he get up to speed to be competitive enough to win the job? 2) I think Mylan Graham has a world of talent and his next step is bringing the fire with that talent. I think he is making progress, but needs to make more. 3) Don't give up on Greathouse. 4) I think James doing so well was a flow-of-the-game thing. Walton will play at some point and I believe he will do well when given multiple carries to show himself. As far as your final question/suggestion ...

2:09

Scott!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not going to bury the lead here. In the more than four decades of me covering college football, I have never seen turkey legs served in the press box. Ever. Until Saturday.

Scott, Greenville SC

More: Walton looks like a hame breaker. Maybe not Love, but i bet if he can get a crease, he can go a long way. To finish, if you meet any of the Purdue fans wearing their hat, please dont say, "Oh, this is the worst looking hat I ever saw. You buy a hat like this i bet you get a free bowl of soup. Oh it looks good on you though!" Please be nice!

2:07

ERIC!!!! Another week another win and another set of critiques from the week. The team is playing well enough to beat their opponents by three scores or more, and they have left points on the field. Are there areas to improve, oh yeah! MF is not ready to say, "This could be gravy!" But, we found another weapon at receiver, James looks like a really good RB1, and the defense is deep and playing as good as any in college. CJ knows how to lead the offense and we have the best coaching staff. All that said, for areas that need to improve, do you see the oline improving before Augustine comes back? Granted, we don't see any top teams over the next few weeks, but the line struggled against Rice. I'm hoping he is healthy and ready to play by the time we meet BYU. At the least, to spell Absher or the tackles. As far as receivers, I'm surprised that Graham isn't a featured receiver yet, and either Greathouse is not getting open, or CJ isn't looking his way very. Finally, do we start seeing Walton run the ball more? He

Eric Hansen

2:06

Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kind of going back to an earlier question. People are expecting the November version of Notre Dame in September. What they got was a better September version than what they usually get. So, don't cancel your playoff hopes and plans yet. Let this play out, Manny. Ryan Browne to me is by far Purdue's best player on either side of the ball.

Manny from San Pedro

2:04

Eric!!!!!!! 3-0!!!! But man. Why do I feel less confident in a national title than I did in August. Usually Purdue gives us a game where offense gets right but this team is improved. Which offensive player for Purdue will be a thorn to our defense

Eric Hansen

2:04

The Spartans, for the game, rushed for 44 yards on 27 carries. That's a 1.6 yards-per-carry average. In the second half, they had ZERO rushing yards. I repeat ... Nel secondo tempo hanno totalizzato ZERO yard su corsa! Ciao!

2:02

I think athletically Joey O'Brien can hang with anyone. And he's really put in the work to put himself in position to help the team in 2026. You might play less man against Purdue, but they can attack him in zone. The best way to protect him is to get Purdue in a lot of third and long and also make sure you're getting a good pass rush with your front four. Purdue has not been good at protecting Ryan Browne, who is actually pretty mobile. As far as overpursuit and rush defense, I think ND adjusted better than maybe our memories let us believe. (more)

1:55

Hey Paul. Come cavolo stai? We will get a status update on Thursday from Notre Dame. Now, it likely won't be any more detailed than whether he's still listed as questionable, downgraded to out, or upgraded to available. We get those every Monday and Thursday, so those are the days to check. There's also one last update 45 minutes before kickoff. Tyler James does a great job of pregame observations and updates, so check out his gameday info. (more)

Paul from Knoxville

1:51

Ciao Eric: Is there any update on whether Luke Talich will play this Sat? I'm mildly concerned about Joey O'Brien having to play a full game against Purdue's pass attack. If he does, what do you think could be done scheme- or personnel-wise to mitigate Purdue's going after him? I also noticed during the MSU game that ND's defensive line, in particular, was really aggressive in pursuing the apparent direction of the ball (which I recognize is generally a good thing), but it seemed to make them a bit vulnerable to misdirection, especially the naked bootleg. Did you notice this too, and if so were our DEs overly aggressive in pursuit, and might Purdue try to take more advantage of this than MSU did? Grazie ancora per la chiacchierata!

Eric Hansen

1:51

Hi Bob, thanks for taking the question plunge. I am not sure how accurate the quote is or if the kid is making things up. But I do know that players can be tipping plays. My oldest son was very good at picking up those cues when he played high school football. For it going on in college would seem unlikely, but it's happened. And ND would take a look at that and try to fix it if it's true. I don't think they are scouring media and social media for these things, but there are support people who do those things who could bring it to their attention. As far as Granger, whether it's a concept or a place, it's out of my price range when it comes to real estate.

Bob from Granger

1:45

Long time reader, first time question. An MSU player was quoted after the game saying they "100 percent" knew whether the next ND play was a run or pass based on Anthonie Knapp's stance. How likely is this and do you think the ND coaches read coverage and social media for information like this? P.s. Monk Malloy says Granger is more a concept than a place. Agree?

Eric Hansen

1:41

Mark!!!!! I'm not a big benchmark numbers guy, but in this case I will throw out 5 yards a carry and hitting the 200-yard mark in rushing yards as two reasonable goals to achieve both within the flow of the game and the structure of the ND offense. And I think Nolan James Jr., deserves to start on Saturday.

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