JotCast | Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Sept. 9, 2026

Notre Dame Football Live Chat | Sept. 9, 2026

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Eric Hansen

3:06

OK on that note, I am going to apologize for my slow brain-to-finger connection today as the question portal has some great questions that are going to ferment without me getting to them. Thanks for all of them, answered and unanswered today. We'll have a little more wiggle room in weeks going forward than we had in the last two in terms of cutoft time. We'll be back next Wednesday at noon ET to do it all over again.

3:04

Hi Lorne. I give Marcus a pass. He was asked a question and gave an honest answer. It wasn't like he was volunteering that notion, and I asked him in the context of the season, not necessarily against Wisconsin. So it did not bother me in the least. Again not sure they'd switch kickoff returners based on such a small sample size in a game. Last year Jadarian Price has 15 yards in kick return yardage in the season opener, so let's hold that thought. But James' ability to cut is something to behold and funny in some instances.

Lorne

2:59

Lorne from Reno. Thanks, as always, for the chats. I apologize for my lack of clarity last week: my concerns with CMF's comment about getting TWO backup QBs in the game were (1) it is disrespectful of your opponent and (2) it sends a message to your team that you expect an easy game. Out of character for CMF. Any chance we see Nolan James as primary returner on kickoffs? The reception on which he put 3 defenders on the ground was beautiful and a little bit funny.

Eric Hansen

2:59

Hi Stanley. Lots of factors the led to the improvement, and I do think Marcus Freeman's words matter. But this is also a team that is very mature, and when presented the adjustments for the second half, they had the confidence to execute them very well.

Stanley B from Glen Allen

2:58

Blessings from the Center of the Universe, Eric. It seems like every year the hype for the IRISH is huge before the season starts and then here comes a Marshall or a Northern Illinois. It looked the same Sunday night for the first half, but then the Irish looked like a team ready for whatever. The running game finally caught fire, which made the passing game far more effective. Do you think it was the half-time pep talk or the insertion of Sullivan Absher that made the difference? AND I hope you had a great Lambeau Field experience!!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:57

Ciao Paul. I need to catch you before lightning round time, so we can chat in our favorite language. I think the biggest challenge from Rice is the unusualness of their offense and having a short week to prep for it. Someone asked for a score prediction and I forgot to provide it. I picked 44-3 in our magazine and probably am too low on ND's side, but I'll stick with that. There is not NCAA stat for which you speak, but I know the coaches note those kinds of things. Thanks for the questions.

Paul from Knoxville

2:55

Ciao Eric: Forza Irlandesi!!! You really predicted the course of the ND-WI game well -- tight first half with ND pulling away in the second. I'm curious which factor(s) influenced your making this accurate prediction? Switching gears, what could be a challenge on offense and/or defense for us against Rice? For example, I read that Rice uses an unusual triple-option attack. Finally, and out of left field, is there an official statistic for tackles for no gain? I presume it is not TFL, since there is no loss of yardage involved, but TFNG seems relevant to how a run defense performs (at least to me). Mi dispiace per le domande eclettice questa settimana.

Eric Hansen

2:55

Chuck, it looks like your hometown got erased. Let me get to your quickies, so I have a hard out at 3 ET. 1) When I asked CJ Carr the discussion was between Faison and Bubba Frazier. 2) I think they planned to play them both before the game. Had Prescod been staggeringly good, they would have had to re-evaluate that at halftime. He was not. They are still listed as co-starters this week.

Chuck from

2:52

Eric, your predictions are always so close to the final! Your score vs Rice? Great win after a sluggish 1H, as usual for the IRISH in early games. 2 quickies: 1) Who is the fastest WR other than Faison? ( any capable of spreading the field?) 2) Your opinion -was it Rudolph's decision solely to change to Absher after misjudging Prescod? O-Line needs some NASTY! Keep up the fine work all the way to LAS VEGAS!

Eric Hansen

2:52

Beth, I would be shocked if you had to issue those reports this week or in subsequent weeks. I think Greathouse's return to form and then some is real. Just give it a little more time. Lambeau Field was really fun. You could feel the history and yet a lot of modern touches. Loved the crowd. Wisconsin people are amazingly nice. Every last one that I met. And yes, they served cheese curds at halftime, and yes I had those for the first time in my life.

Beth from Westfield, IN

2:49

Eric: On Sunday, I wanted to call in a missing person report on Jaden Greathouse. I know he played, but he was nearly invisible in the stat line. What happened? Also, what did you think of Lambeau Field? Did they serve you beer and cheese in the press box?

Eric Hansen

2:48

John, I get your concern. Last year was the first year since 2010 that Clemson didn't win at least nine games, and the Tigers are just two years removed from a CFP berth, just like Notre Dame. However, it's a program that will either need to get Dabo Swinney to reinvent himself or ponder his replacement. But it's a strong brand that could attract an elite coach if it came to that. And the Tigers have certainly done much more in the CFP Era than, say, USC.

John. Villa park ca

2:44

Thanks for providing tour great analysis and hosting these chats. With Clemson’s recent underperformance, do you think the arrangement to play Clemson every year will help our strength of schedule? Is there a way for ND to get out of this arrangement if it does not provide the benefits we were anticipating.

Eric Hansen

2:44

I think Styles Prescod didn't play as well as he has practiced and Sullivan Absher rose to meet the moment. However, I think the whole offense played better and the altered game plan was better in the second half. Absher had something to do with that, but not everything to do with that. I'd like to see another week of both of them in a game. ... And I think ND used multiple tight ends against Wisconsin to counter the Badgers' physicality.

Jim From Springfield, IL

2:42

Did Styles Prescod just have a bad game or did the staff misjudge who are their best five OL? What was Wisconsin doing that made the Irish decide to use two tight ends so often? Thanks.

Eric Hansen

2:41

Hi Dave, very legit observations and questions all the way around. Two reasons to tap the brakes. PFF is a good evaluative tool. It is not the end-all, be-all in that regard, but it is useful. No. 2, way too small of a sample size. The coaches had a much larger look at this team in spring and in the preseason practices. Game peformance does matter, but it's way too soon to make wholesale changes. And this week, being such an outlier offense that Rice has, may not help the bigger picture. But if those trends continue that you pointed out, I do think it will be reflected in playing time.

Dave from Mitchell, GA

2:30

Glad we finally got the season started and good to see we are 1-0. I think everyone crying about the first half just needs to sit down and relax. It was the first game and Wisconsin isn't a pushover. I want to talk about the defensive line. I'm curious what the coaches saw in Mukam during the spring and summer practices that made the coaches so high on him this year. I do not think he played well at all and had a stupid penalty. I understand that some players practice well and others show up on game day. Frankly, I want the guys that show up on game day like Brewu and Tionne Gray. Keeley was another disappointment. I haven't watched a replay of the game but the stats say Brewu had 7 fewer snaps than Mukam but had more tackles, pressures, and a sack. His PFF rating shows how well he played. Onye is a good player but Gray was better and it showed in the second half. Keeley didn't record a tackle. I think there is an argument for Dunham to get more snaps. Your thoughts?

Eric Hansen

2:30

Hi single-exclamation point Len! Both of those things surprised me. Madden Fariamo, as you know, did play on special teams. Bowen led ND in tackles with 9. That doesn't tell the whole story, but it is a surprising grade, given the production.

Len from the Jersey Shore

2:27

Hello Eric! Linebacker questions for today. Short version for a short week. Why did Madden Faraimo get zero defensive snaps at LB, especially with KVA out? Drayk Bowen's PFF grade was low. Were you surprised by that? It seemed like he was all over the field.

Eric Hansen

2:27

Now maybe more ND fans sold their tickets to the opposing side that the Wisconsin fans. But I'll tell you what, the Notre Dame fans were LOUD.

2:26

Hi Jack. I thought Wisconsin was physical in its front seven and Marcus thought their team was by and large. I also thought Notre Dame was physical. In fact, Wisconsin't physicality is one of the reasons why Marcus Freeman pondered not having a physical practice in pads on Tuesday given the short week. He ultimately opted to do so. As far as the 50-50 split, that is what the ticket distribution was. (more)

Jack,Strongsvville, Ohio

2:24

Hi Eric. Two questions for you today.1. The tv commentators kept saying how physical Wisconsin was compared to ND. What is your view on that? 2. Being a Shamrock Series game I thought ND would have a 50/50 ticket split and appropriate representation in the crowd. Didn't seem that way. Can you comment on that. Thanks as always for your great coverage of ND football.

Eric Hansen

2:24

2) Tom, this is where the great Lou Somogyi and I differ the most. I need more runway during a chat to amass a complete list. I can work on that for next week. Lou would not only be able to recite it without omitting anyone, he probably could also tell you their mothers' maiden names, their shoe size and whether they hated broccoli or not. 3) I think they were weary of that, but certainly did it after the game.

2:21

Hi Tom. Congrats on the reunion. Hope you guys have a great time. 1) I thought both tackles played well and so did Pro Football Focus. I think the reason why something like that might not come up is two-fold, he's not one of the players available for interviews this Wednesday night AND because people are typically looking for fixes and/or suprises rather than players they expected to be good and lived up to it. (more)

Tom F, Kennesaw, GA

2:15

Hey Eric. About what we could expect from an opening game against a team that will probably finish 7-5. Will be at ND for our 60 Year Reunion for the 1966 National Championship team this weekend. Really excited. Better increase the beer supply although since most of us are close to 80 we have tamed down a bit. Q1) Thought Will Black played pretty well after giving up the early QB hit for his 1st start. I was surprised no one asked MF about him at his Presser. Your thoughts on our tackles?? Q2 Glad to see Charlie Thom's progress. Who are some of the best TE to OT moves that you can tell us??? Q3 Did no one do the Lambeau Leap because it would have been penalized??? Thanks for all your great coverage. Go Irish Cook Rice!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen

2:15

Hi Fred. Whatever happened in the Wisconsin game, I think it's fair to assume you will start to see freshman WR Bubba Frazier sprinkled int the offense and WR Matt Jeffery expand beyond just his special teams role on Sunday night.

Guest

2:13

Fred PrescottAZ.Eric, do you suppose that we will see Matt Jeffery and/or Bubba Frazier soon. Same with the speedster running backs? I know it’s game 1 this may be an overreaction, but we need some people who can initiate initiate some explosive plays.

Eric Hansen

2:13

Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am totally impressed that anybody remembers my pregame Gibberish, so thank you. Feel free to have amnesia, though, when I am wrong. Marcus Freeman was asked the same question, and he danced around it. Not sure I can get in the weeds with your in this chat format, without doing a thorough film review, but some of it had to do with the backs and their reads. It wasn't all the O-line. As I mentioned earlier, we have a guest Thursday on the Third & Gold podcast, Landon Tengwall, who did do an exhaustive film review and can break it down for you, so please tune in. It's on YouTube as well. I'll provide the link in the transcript.

Mark from Memphis, TN

2:09

Hi Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am totally impressed with your ability to see the future - the Wisconsin game played out just like you called it. Now, my questions: 1) The o-line play and the running game looked MUCH better in the second half. Other than the personnel change (Absher for Prescod), what other changes made that happen? 2). I noticed that 4 of the top 5 PFF offensive ratings for Wisconsin went to o-linemen. How closely do PFF ratings track with what the coaches actually are seeing? As always, thanks for your insights!

Eric Hansen

2:09

Indiana romped through the playoff to a national title last year, yet opened up the season with a "meh" 27-13 win over Old Dominion, against the same QB -- Colton Joseph -- who faced Notre Dame in a Wisconsin uniform on Sunday night. Joseph had 179 yards rushing against the Hoosiers and 3 vs. ND. Ohio State in 2024 had a 21-17 clunker against Nebraska and a 13-10 loss to Michigan (its second loss of the season) on its way to the national title. Invincibility in week 1 isn't the goal. It's find your footing, play to your potential and keep raising the ceiling every week. And in that sense, Sunday night was a good first step.

2:01

Mike, Marcus Freeman had a good quote after the game that kind of puts things in their proper perspective: "Everybody wants the perfect game where you score every possession and on defense you go three-and-out, but that's not realistic. It very seldom happens in a game of football, especially when you're playing an opponent like Wisconsin. But to be faced with adversity week one, early in the season, and to have to respond, that is going to make us better."
(more)

Mike, Phoenix

1:59

Eric, Has HC MF or anyone else mentioned the lacrosse team not make the playoffs and then winning the next 2 titles? Similar goals for the football team. Are expectations a little much right now with pundits complaining about a 28 point win? Do you think any of the next 5 opponents can keep it within 20+ points. Thank you for the excellent coverage and hope you are eating well but keeping your shirts clean. Cheers!🍻

Eric Hansen

1:58

As far as the wide receivers, I'd give them an incomplete. There weren't enough opportunities to really show what they could do. Back to the O-Line national college analyst and former Penn State O-lineman Landon Tengwall did an excellent film breakdown of ND's O-line play vs, Wisconsin. You can see that HERE. He's also going to be our special guest on Thursday's Third & Gold Podcast, so you'll want to tune into that. Already hit the individual surprises. Thanks again for your questions.

1:54

The quarterback and RB they picked up from the transfer portal are really going to help an offense that was one of the worst in the FBS last season. In looking at their schedule, I could see 7-5 as a realistic regular-season record. ... As far as grades, it was a tale of two halves, but when you add it together, the top five spots in Pro Football Focus film grades on offense were occupied by four offensive linemen and QB CJ Carr. So overall, I'd have to give the O-line a B. But there's so much more out there for them and they need to hold themselves to that standard. (more)

1:46

Hi Marie, you the master of the multi-part questions but never quite making it to the banned 17-part threshold. I really did enjoy the opportunity to get the Lambeau Field/Green Bay experience. I'd like to repeat it sometime when I can take in a little bit more of that experience, but Marcus Freeman said it well on Tuesday ... this is what a Shamrock Series game should look like, feel like. I think Wisconsin will be better than their 4-8 mark last year, maybe 7-5. (more)

Marie from Atlanta

1:41

hi Eric, I hope you had a fantastic time at the game and really enjoyed getting to see Lambeau Field. Do you feel like the Irish met your expectations or were below or above your expectations priotr to the game, same question for Wisconsin, do you think Wisconsin may be better than we thought and maybe have some surprise wins this year that Help Notre Dame’s strength of schedule? I won’t ask for a lot of grades, but can you grade the O line and the wide receivers. After watching this game, are you more concerned or less concerned about the wide receiver position? Please name one player on offense and one player on defense that surprised you the most during the game. Thanks so much for hosting the chat. We all appreciate your great insights.

Eric Hansen

1:40

George, love your outlook. See you there!

George from El Segundo

1:40

Hi Eric: Hope you and yours remain safe and well. Want to compliment you for 100 percent accurate preview of the Wisconsin game: tight first half with the Irish putting it away in the second half. You nailed it! Can’t understand all the doom and gloom over the outcome. Did anyone really expect that ND would beat Wisconsin by more than 4 touchdowns, or that this team’s question marks would all be answered on opening night? I guess some folks would prefer we start the season against San Jose State or Utah Tech. Have a great season and I’ll see you in Vegas!

Eric Hansen

1:39

I love the suggestions for the Turkey Leg and the Bonecrusher awards. Let's talk about your royalties fee at The 'Backer if I move ahead with that idea. Really love it. To the point I have one thing to say to you: Gunga galunga… No wait, gunga, — gunga-lagunga.

1:37

Scott!!!!!!! Looking forward to meeting you in person. Maybe we can put you on the air at The Linebacker if one of us gets locked in the bathroom! Thank you for mentioning The Gold Standard Book. We're really proud of it. If anyone wants more info or wants to order one, go to bluegoldonline.com. ... OK to your actual questions ... I think Rice will have to throw more, because they will get behind and Notre Dame will eventually solve the run game. Eventually, maybe not in the first series as some would expect/demand. And given how Navy has modernized its triple-option, Notre Dame has seen that approach. The biggest difference is Rice runs its option out of the pistol formation typically. I do expect Carr to open things up more, even if Rice copycats the Wisconsin approach. I am not sure Rice as the personnel to pull that off. And if they do play a light box (leaning into pass defense) I think ND's run game will make them pay.(more)

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