JIM SMALL'S NOTRE DAME GO IRISH BLOG -- www.NDGOIRISH.com -- A NOTRE DAME BLOG

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Domer Mark Baldwin Earns Back His Tour Card

The former Fighting Irish golf star -- shot a fifteen under (-15) score over the final four rounds of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying event in Winter Gardens, FL. Mark's score was good for a 13th place finish -- earning him starts in eight Korn Ferry Tour events in 2020.

Congrats Mark!!!

Here's a video of Mark making an eagle, earlier this year at the PGA Tour's 3M Open.

LINK: GREAT SHOT

Notre Dame's Advent Series: December 17

Monday, December 16, 2019

The "Un-Talked About" Story on Recruiting...

It's a term called "over-signing" and some college football programs are willing to do more of it, than others...

Remember -- the NCAA limits FBS teams to 85 full scholarships on their football roster.

Here's a look at the last four signing classes (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) for the teams going into this year's College Football Playoff -- compared to Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, Michigan and USC.

I've also added in a comparison of total wins over the last three football seasons (including bowls / playoffs):

LSU:

2016: 27 -- 2nd ranked class
2017: 24 -- 7th ranked class
2018: 22 -- 15th ranked class
2019: 25 -- 5th ranked class
Total / Avg: 98 signed -- 7.25 average class rank
Total wins -- last three seasons: 32

OHIO STATE:

2016: 25 -- 4th ranked class
2017: 21 -- 2nd ranked class
2018: 28 -- 2nd ranked class
2019: 17 -- 14th ranked class
Total / Avg: 91 signed -- 5.5 average class rank
Total wins -- last three seasons: 38

CLEMSON:

2016: 21 -- 11th ranked class
2017: 14 -- 16th ranked class
2018: 17 -- 7th ranked class
2019: 29 -- 10th ranked class
Total / Avg: 81 signed -- 11.0 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 39

OKLAHOMA:

2016: 21 --19th ranked class
2017: 28 -- 8th ranked class
2018: 23 -- 9th ranked class
2019: 24 -- 6th ranked class
Total / Avg: 96 signed -- 10.5 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 36

ALABAMA:

2016: 25 -- 1st ranked class
2017: 29 -- 1st ranked class
2018: 22 -- 5th ranked class
2019: 27 -- 1st ranked class
Total / Avg: 103 signed -- 2.0 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 37

GEORGIA:

2016: 23 -- 6th ranked class
2017: 26 -- 3rd ranked class
2018: 26 -- 1st ranked class
2019: 25 -- 2nd ranked class
Total / Avg: 100 signed -- 3.0 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 35

USC:

2016: 21 -- 10th ranked class
2017: 24 -- 4th ranked class
2018: 18 -- 4th ranked class
2019: 25 -- 20th ranked class
Total: 88 signed -- 9.5 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 24

MICHIGAN:

2016: 28 -- 8th ranked class
2017: 30 -- 5th ranked class
2018: 19 -- 22nd ranked class
2019: 26 -- 8th ranked class
Total: 103 signed -- 10.75 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 27

NOTRE DAME:

2016: 23 -- 15th ranked class
2017: 21 -- 10th ranked class
2018: 27 -- 10th ranked class
2019: 22 -- 16th ranked class
Total: 93 signed -- 12.75 average class rank
Total games won -- last three seasons: 32

Sources: 247Sports for Recruiting info and ESPN for season wins

Notre Dame's Advent Series: December 16

A Notre Dame Family's Tribute to Eli Manning

John and Mary Beth Wilcox (Long Island, NY) parents of three Domers; Alex '16, Christopher '20 and Julia '23 -- are lifelong fans of the New York Giants.

They're also big fans of Eli Manning, who likely made his last home start for the Giants. To show their appreciation for Manning -- the Wilcox's brought their home made signs to MetLife Stadium yesterday for the Giants win over the Dolphins.

That is John and Mary Beth holding up their signs for Eli on the cover of today's New York Daily News. (John and Mary Beth are furthest left in the image above).

Got to love devoted fans like this!

Notre Dame's Recruiting Class -- Hype Video

The early signing period for Notre Dame Football begins this Wednesday, December 18th!

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Notre Dame's Advent Series: December 15

A Nice Win Over UCLA for Notre Dame

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Notre Dame's Advent Series: December 14

Coach Kelly With Media After Bowl Practice #1

My Favorite "Non-Notre Dame" Football Game

The 120th Army vs. Navy game begins today at 3 PM ET on CBS. I hope to see this game in person someday...

Chase Claypool Named Notre Dame's MVP

Friday, December 13, 2019

Keep An Eye Out For This Before Christmas...

Had some fun last night with seven Notre Dame student-athletes and the Notre Dame Leprechaun -- filming a Christmas message for the Rockne Athletics Fund.

Left to right in photo above: Mikayla Vaughn (basketball), Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa (football), Marist Liufau (football), Abby Sweet (softball), Sam Jackson (Leprechaun), Hannah Thompson (volleyball), Liam Eichenberg (football) and Jemma Yeadon (volleyball).

Click on photo to enlarge.