It seems like Notre Dame football is at a major crossroads, with significant changes happening after an impressive 14-2 season. Despite the success, it's clear that the program's staff turnover is creating some big challenges for head coach Marcus Freeman. But it also looks like Freeman is working diligently to navigate these changes by bringing in some strong new hires.
Chris Ash replaces Al Golden
The decision to replace Al Golden with Chris Ash seems strategic, especially considering Ash's background with defensive backs and his leadership beside Luke Fickell. Golden's style was clearly popular, so it'll be interesting to see if Ash’s fiery approach can maintain that same level of success. His expertise should complement the strong defensive talent already present, but the transition could still have its bumps.
Ja’Juan Seider is a big get
With the talented trio of Jerimiyah Love, Jadarian Price, and Aneyas Williams at running back, having someone with Seider’s track record will certainly keep that position as a strength. His experience with developing 1,000-yard rushers at Penn State is a major win for the Irish.
A new GM (Mike Martin)
The search for a new General Manager is definitely an intriguing one. The evolving nature of college football’s rules around recruiting, the transfer portal, and NIL demands a savvy, experienced leader. Mike Martin seems like an excellent choice to help navigate this new era, and building out a robust scouting department could help the Irish gain an edge on the competition, especially with such a complex landscape.
Building for Long-Term Success
All in all, Marcus Freeman is making moves to stay ahead of the curve, and while there are inevitable challenges, these hires could help position Notre Dame for continued success. It's exciting to see how these changes will unfold and if they'll pay off in the long run. What do you think of these moves? Does the future of Notre Dame football look bright to you?
A very good week for college football, which sucks because I was not able to take off work Saturday.
All times are Central Time Zone
Thursday
6:00 - TCU @ Texas Tech - FS1 - Should be a fun game
6:30 - Wake Forest @ Duke - ESPN - Future opponent and previous opponent, Duke's offense is pretty bad without a healthy Leonard
Friday
6:30 - Boston College @ Syracuse - ESPN2 - Honestly, a decent game on Friday evening if you just want something to watch.
Morning Games - Saturday
11:00 - #15 Notre Dame @ Clemson - ABC - Go Irish!
11:00 - #23 Kansas St @ #7 Texas - FOX - Big contest in the Big12, Texas will be starting their backup QB again
11:00 - #1 Ohio State @ Rutgers - CBS - This is the big upset alert for the week (they were right about last week's) Rutger's is the best team that Michigan has faced all year by the way.
11:00 - Texas A&M @ #10 Ole Miss - ESPN - I am just waiting for that Ole Miss upset to be honest. It's gonna happen sooner or later right?
Afternoon Games - Saturday
2:30 - #12 Missouri @ #2 Georgia - CBS - 2nd biggest game of the day nationally. I think Georgia wins this handily though.
2:30 - #9 Oklahoma @ #22 Oklahoma St - ABC - So what Oklahoma team will show up today? OK St has been quietly getting better this year and doing their thing. Another upset maybe?
2:30 - #11 Penn State @ Maryland - FOX - Penn State is overrated, my opinion of course, but Maryland could definitely surprise them.
2:30 - Virginia Tech @ #13 Louisville - ACCN - Mostly putting this on here just in case we want to see how Louisville does because they are ranked above us and beat us.
2:30 - #4 Florida St @ Pittsburgh - ESPN - Fully expect FSU to manhandle this one, but I'll be curious to see how Pitt players respond to their coaches comments after our game.
Evening Games - Saturday
6:00 - #21 Kansas @ Iowa St - ESPN - Something decent to watch until the big games come out. Could be competitive to the end as well.
6:30 - #5 Washington @ #20 USC - ABC - Really interested in this game as a ND fan, Washington has not looked great the last two week. This should be a high scoring shootout until the end.
6:30 - Kentucky @ Miss State - SECN - I'll be watching this only if the other games are blowouts, I think this game will be close, but I dont really care about either team
6:45 - #14 LSU @ #8 Alabama - CBS - Big game of the day and I think the big question of the day is how will LSU's offense fair against a really good defense. Alabama should be able to score on LSU pretty easily, will this also be a shootout?
7:00 - Miami @ NC State - ACCN - previous opponent and could be competitive if the other games are blowouts.
Late Night Games - Satuday
8:00 - Stanford @ Washington St - PAC12 - Future opponent against a quality opponent
9:00 - #16 Oregon St @ Colorado - ESPN - Coach Prime, Oregon St is good, but I think they are a little overrated.
9:30 - #19 UCLA @ Arizona - FS1 - Arizona has been up and down; they have the potential to get the upset