JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat Sept. 24, 2025

Notre Dame Football Live Chat Sept. 24, 2025

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Marie from Atlanta

12:23

Hi Eric, I hope you’re having a fantastic week. Based on the press conference, it seems like Freeman wants to stick with the plan and try yo rush only 4. So far this has been unsuccessful, what does the Line need to do to become successful at the rush. It seems like the line does the same thing repeatedly and as with any sport if you know what’s coming it’s pretty easy to defend.
What should the line do to confuse the opposing offensive line so they actually have a chance to be successful with a rush? Looking at Green’s stats he does not do well against the rush, so it will be important this weekend. Do you see the defense using a spy this weekend? If so, who do you think it would be? Finally, addressing Freeman’s comment from the presser where he said they were throwing everything they could think of at the end of the first half and trying to see what worked, shouldn’t a defensive coordinator whose has coached much as Ash and who scouted the Purdue team know what to call and what will likely work? As alw

Eric Hansen

12:21

George, this is a tough question from the standpoint I've seen a lot of times over my career a storyline completely flip during a season. Could this be one of those? I'd love a bigger sample size, but based on the fact that Chris Ash isn't more involved in the recruiting process on top of the problems on the field, I'll give a very slight edge to no. But I don't think that evaluation will or should be made until after the season has concluded.

12:17

And thanks for the compliments, Jeff.... Now to George.

George, Seattle WA

12:17

True or false: Chris Ash will be ND's DC 1 year from today?

Eric Hansen

12:16

But beyond that, I am confident Marcus will find a way to make the preseason a better litmus test for what's ahead in the season and what can be fixed in August. Maybe getting more sets of eyes from former coaches he can trust on practices? Just a thought. But again, knowing Marcus Freeman, this is a scenario he is determined not to repeat and will find a way.

12:15

That is, you can make suppositions and assumptions, but until you're in the fire, you don't know how some players are going to react in THAT environment. Even tested players, playing in a new scheme. But I think there's more. There may have been too much of an assumption of a smooth transition from Al Golden to Chris Ash. And so the defense and Marcus Freeman focused a lot of time and energy creating chaos for the benefit of finding the right QB. Great for the offense, but not necessarily great for a new defense?

12:12

Marcus is a "question everything" kind of guy, and I think he'll put this high on the agenda of why the spring and fall camp didn't do a better job of exposing flaws that could have been addressed before the Miami game. I am not dismissing missing personnel, but we're talking an entire spring and fall camp. too. I think there are some baked-in elements of camp that contribute to a possible mirage. OC Mike Denbrock kind of touched on it from the offensive side a bit Tuesday night. (more)

12:10

Hi Jeff. Great leadoff question, and not just because it was a question I asked in the press conference. Let me preface my answer with this. I loved the passion and the authenticity Marcus Freeman brought to the presser Monday, especially when talking about the defense. For this answer only, it started out kind of word salad-y. But then it got great. But this specific part, I'd like to add my own two-cents and then some. (more)

Jeff from Phoenix

12:07

Hey Eric! Hope you guys are doing well. I know we are only 3 games in, but I am curious about what you think was missing with the defense during fall camp and why high preseason expectations have fallen short so far. On Monday, MF said something to the effect of not enough of the 1s were working together and/or available in camp. Was there too much focus on competition at certain positions rather than repping plays? Correct me on the paraphrase please, and I look forward to your insights.

Eric Hansen

OK, off we go ...

We're going to rescind all but "no fighting" and "no spitting" this week for good behavior last week.

Here are the rules:

12:06

Still, PLEASE include your name and hometown along with your question(s).

12:05

We've tried to make it easier on everyone by embedding the chat in a story on our webpage instead of you having to hunt for it off platform. If you have feedback on the change, send my a note on the Lou Somogyi message board or email me. Thanks.

As far as this week's chat ...

► Finally at WSBT Sports Radio 960, I’m part of the Notre Dame Football pregame shows with Tim Grauel, Jim Irizarry and Blue & Gold teammate Tyler Horka. The new expanded show kicks off with three hours of news, analysis and special guests live on Saturday ahead of the Arkansas game. We’ll start our coverage at 8 a.m. ET. 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.

12:03

► The Inside ND Sports Podcast has been rebranded as the Third & Gold Podcast. Going forward the pod will be available on all the podcast places you found us before as well as our YouTube Channel. On our most recent episode, we caught up with former Irish wide receiver Bobby Brown, who broke down Notre Dame’s defensive back play and offered a scouting report on Notre Dame elite wide receiver recruiting target Julius Jones Jr. This week’s podcast drops Thursday with special guest and former ND All-America nose guard Chris Zorich.

► 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 YouTube channel. We’ll be back next week and every week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. We’ll also have our Postgame Takeaways show for you to have with your Sunday morning coffee. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well.

12:02

► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. And we’ve got a special limited-time offer for new subscribers. Sign up for blueandgold.com now for a year and get it for $1 a week. That’s $52 for an entire year of our Notre Dame sports coverage, plus all the value you get from a national team of writers and content creators, as well as access to every team site in the On3 network.

Some quick programming notes:

12:01

Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, Arkansas week.

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