The Sun Bowl Field -- 45 Minutes to Kick-Off

Well, the field looks much better than it did an hour ago!  Here's the latest "tweeted" photo from the Hyundai Sun Bowl staff at 1:15 PM EST!

Two Hours to Kick-Off: Photo of Sun Bowl Field

Here's the latest "tweeted" pictures of the Hyundai Sun Bowl field -- two hours prior to kick-off!

Latest "Tweeted" Photo From Sun Bowl Field

As you can see, the field is still snow covered -- three hours before kick off.  What's surprising to me is the ND student managers are already setting up for the game (foreground) and you look across the field and nothing's happening on the Miami sideline -- is it too cold for them???!!!  Photo "tweeted" by the Chicago Tribune's Brian Hamilton from the Hyundai Sun Bowl pressbox at 11:10 AM EST.

First "Tweeted" Photo of ND Sun Bowl Jersey!

Well, the suspense is over -- the Irish are wearing white jerseys today in the Hyundai Sun Bowl game against Miami.  With the players names on the jerseys!  This photo was just "tweeted" at 10:58 AM by @NDFBEquipment from the Notre Dame locker room at the Hyundai Sun Bowl.  
 

Latest "Tweet" From ND Student Managers

As you can see, they're still "un-packing" Notre Dame's semi-truck at the Hyundai Sun Bowl.  It's 3 1/2 hours before kick-off and about ninety minutes before the IRISH arrive! This photo was "tweeted" by Ryan Grooms, ND Equipment Manager at 10:26 AM EST from the Sun Bowl.

ND's Student Managers Just "Tweeted" This...

As you can see the Notre Dame football equipment staff and student managers are at the Hyundai Sun Bowl, 4 1/2 hours before kick-off!  They just tweeted this photo at 9:25 AM EST from the tunnel leading into the stadium -- notice the snow covered field.  GO IRISH!!!

First "Tweeted" Photo From Hyundai Sun Bowl

As you can see, the Hyundai Sun Bowl stadium field is covered in snow.  I'm sure the Miami Hurricanes are excited about this!!!  This photo was "tweeted" by the Hyundai Sun Bowl staff at 7:30 AM EST.

SUN BOWL -- Latest Weather Forecast

The weather forecast for today's 2 PM EST kick-off has been "all over the place" the past 72 hours.

El Paso's weather on Thursday saw snow showers and wind gusts upwards of 60 MPH!

The latest forecast from the Hyundai Sun Bowl Committee (just "tweeted" at 9:25 AM EST) -- 37 degrees at kick-off and winds out of the West gusting to 22 mph!   

Which will make this one of the "coldest" Sun Bowl's of all time!

LINK:  WEATHER CHANNEL FORECAST -- HYUNDAI SUN BOWL

LINK:  LIVE WEATHER RADAR -- EL PASO 

IT'S GAME DAY -- WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYIN'

The ND GO IRISH BLOG will be posting all the stories leading up to kick-off -- now less than 14 hours away -- in this post.  It's GAME DAY at the Hyundai Sun Bowl and it's time to BEAT MIAMI!  The photo was taken today of the two Head Coaches at their last press conference before kick-off. Here's all of the links to stories coming out of El Paso, TX:

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- AL LESAR COLUMN

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- THRILL IS BACK IN TEXAS

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- MICHAEL FLOYD'S LAST GAME?

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- REES AGING

LINK:  UND.COM -- DAILY DISH FROM THE DOME BLOG

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- REES'S LAST START FOR IRISH?

LINK:  CHICAGO BREAKING NEWS BLOG -- NFL EVALUATIONS ARE IN

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN TIMES -- NO REGRETS FOR IAN WILLIAMS

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN TIMES -- DIACO RECALLS HIS SUN BOWL GAME

LINK:  NBC'S NOTRE DAME CENTRAL  

LINK:  WNDU-TV'S COVERAGE

LINK:  MIAMI HERALD -- A RIVALRY RENEWED

LINK:  MIAMI HERALD -- HOLTZ & MAY PICK IRISH OVER CANES

LINK:  MIAMI HERALD -- SOME HURRICANES SEE SNOW FOR FIRST TIME 

LINK:  ESPN.COM -- FRONT PAGE STORY

LINK:  ESPN -- COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATION BLOG

LINK:  ESPN -- PAT FORDE COLUMN

LINK:  USA TODAY -- A HOME GAME FOR IRISH IN TEXAS? 

LINK:  SI.COM -- STEWART MANDEL COLUMN

LINK:  KVIA-TV -- EL PASO ABC AFFILIATE

The "Red Hat Diaries" -- Two Days Worth!

The ND GO IRISH BLOG has been following University of Notre Dame walk-on QB,  Brian Castello's diary in the South Bend Tribune.  Here's Castello's latest from the Hyundai Sun Bowl:

LINK:  THE RED HAT DIARIES -- DECEMBER 30TH 

LINK:  THE RED HAT DIARIES -- #1 ON DECEMBER 31ST

LINK:  THE RED HAT DIARIES -- #2 ON DECEMBER 31ST

IT'S GAME DAY! -- ND vs. Miami

We're 14 hours to kick-off and the gang at UND.COM is hopefully getting a little sleep right now.  I can't thank them enough for all of their great coverage of our Fighting Irish this season!  The photo above was taken Thursday evening at the Hyundai Sun Bowl Fan Fiesta by the El Paso Times.  Here's a few links to what the Irish were up to Thursday in El Paso, TX -- on the eve of the 77th annual Hyundai Sun Bowl:

LINK:  HYUNDAI SUN BOWL LUNCHEON -- BOTH TEAMS

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  NOTRE DAME "WALK THROUGH" @ SUN BOWL

Hyundai Sun Bowl: ND vs. Miami -- THE FACTS

Well, we're less than twenty-four hours away from the Hyundai "Snow" Bowl between our Fighting Irish and the dreaded Hurricanes.  To get you "all of the facts" -- I've taken the liberty of breaking down how these two teams match up statistically.  We know that STATS LIE, but -- it's good reading as we count down the hours to kick-off Friday at 2 PM EST.  Here we go...

WHEN THE IRISH HAVE THE BALL:

Notre Dame's Total Offense Avg. -- vs. -- Miami's Total Defense Avg.

• Notre Dame is averaging 378.25 yards per game -- 63rd best in the country
• Miami is giving up an average of 317.17 yards per game -- 16th best in the country  

• Notre Dame is averaging 25.75 points per game -- 74th best in the country
• Miami is giving up an average of 19.67 points per game -- 21st best in the country

Notre Dame's Passing Offense -- vs. -- Miami's Passing Defense

• Notre Dame is averaging 257.42 yards per game -- 29th best in the country
• Miami is giving up an average of 146.33 yards per game -- 2nd best in the country

• Notre Dame has given up an average of 1.67 QB sacks per game -- 43rd best in the country
• Miami has sacked the QB an average of 3.08 times per game -- 6th best in the country

• Notre Dame has thrown 16 interceptions this season -- 104th worst in the country
• Miami has intercepted 16 passes this season -- 21st best in the country

Notre Dame's Rushing Offense -- vs. -- Miami's Rushing Defense

• Notre Dame is averaging 120.83 yards rushing per game -- 96th best in the country
• Miami is giving up an average of 170.83 yards rushing per game -- 81st best in the country

WHEN THE HURRICANES HAVE THE BALL:

Miami's Total Offense Avg. -- vs. -- Notre Dame's Total Defense Avg.

• Miami is averaging 422.58  yards per game -- 31st best in the country
• Notre Dame is giving up an average of 353.17 yards per game -- 46th best in the country

• Miami is averaging 27.08 points per game -- 58th best in the country
• Notre Dame is giving up an average of 20.5 points per game -- 20th best in the country

Miami's Passing Offense -- vs. -- Notre Dame's Passing Defense

• Miami is averaging 232.17 yards per game -- 49th best in the country
• Notre Dame is giving up an average of 206.42 yards per game -- 40th best in the country

• Miami has given up an average of 1.33 QB sacks per game -- 25th best in the country
• Notre Dame has sacked the QB an average of 2.17 times per game -- 47th best in the country

• Miami has thrown 23 interceptions this season -- THE MOST in the country
• Notre Dame has intercepted 14 passes this season -- 35th best in the country

Miami's Rushing Offense -- vs. -- Notre Dame's Rushing Defense

• Miami is averaging 190.42 yards rushing per game -- 26th best in the country
• Miami is giving up an average of 146.75 yards rushing per game -- 56th best in the country

SPECIAL TEAMS COMPARISONS

Miami Punting vs. Notre Dame's Punting

• Miami's Net Punting Average:  38.69 yards -- 19th best in the country
• Notre Dame's Net Punting Average:  36.11 yards -- 69th best in the country

Miami Punt Returns vs. Notre Dame Punt Returns

• Miami is averaging 4.81 yards per punt return -- 103rd best in the country
• Notre Dame is averaging 5.93 yards per punt return -- 96th best in the country

Miami Kick-off Returns vs. Notre Dame Kick-off Returns

• Miami is averaging 19.49 yards per kick-off return -- 104th best in the country
• Notre Dame is averaging 20.92 yards per kick-off return -- 83rd best in the country

MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS

Penalties Per Game:

• Notre Dame averages 4.58 penalties per game -- 8th best in the country
• Miami averages 8.08 penalties per game -- 114th best in the country

Turnover Margin -- Season:

• Miami has a (-4) turn over margin for the season -- 80th worst in the country
• Notre Dame has a (-3) turn over margin for the season -- 74th worst in the country

BOWL ELIGIBLE TEAMS ON EACH TEAM'S SCHEDULE -- THIS YEAR:

• Notre Dame:  11 opponents had at least six wins -- 10 were bowl eligible 
• Miami:  7 opponents had at least six wins

Clausen to Return to ND for Degree!

Carolina Panther QB, Jimmy Clausen will be returning "home" to the Notre Dame campus in a couple of weeks to finish up the required classes to earn a sociology degree from the University of Notre Dame.  Glad to see this!  Here's a link to the story in the Charlotte Observer:

LINK:  CLAUSEN -- BACK TO SCHOOL!

Notre Dame Gear -- A Big Hit in El Paso!

I found it quite funny this morning -- that today's El Paso Times Photo Gallery's largest album was of photos taken of Notre Dame fans buying Irish merchandise.  The photos were taken at a "temporary" Hammes Notre Dame Bookstore that was set up in the Doubletree Hotel in downtown El Paso.  Here's a link to the gallery!

LINK:  THERE ARE NOTRE DAME FANS EVERYWHERE!

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Thursday Morning Media...

Here's the ND GO IRISH BLOG's daily look at what the media is saying this morning about tomorrow's Hyundai Sun Bowl between the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and the Miami Hurricanes.  The photo, courtesy of the El Paso Times, is of Kapron Lewis-Moore visiting with a patient at University Medical Center in El Paso.  Here are the links:

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  CHICAGO BREAKING NEWS BLOG

LINK:  NBC -- NOTRE DAME CENTRAL

LINK:  EL PASO TIMES

The "Red Hat Diaries" -- It's Entertaining!

Notre Dame walk-on QB, Brian Castello -- is back again this morning giving Irish fans his take on what the Fighting Irish football team is experiencing in El Paso, TX as they prepare for tomorrow's Hyundai
Sun Bowl Game.  Here's the link to this South Bend Tribune feature:

LINK:  BRIAN CASTELLO -- THE "RED HAT DIARIES"

Irish Win Big East Opener Over Georgetown!

With a national TV audience tuning in on ESPN2 last night -- the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame won their Big East opener -- beating #9 Georgetown 69-55!  The convincing win puts Mike Brey's Irish squad at 12-1 for the season and will undoubtedly move them up from their current #15 ranking in the national polls.  Notre Dame's schedule doesn't get any easier this Saturday as they travel to Syracuse to take on the undefeated and #5 ranked Orangemen on New Year's Day.  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune's story on last night's game along with links to Coach Brey's post game comments and game highlights -- courtesy of UND.COM:

LINK:  IRISH ROLL OVER HOYAS

LINK:  MIKE BREY POST GAME COMMENTS

LINK:  UND.COM GAME HIGHLIGHTS

ND's Coordinators Meet with Sun Bowl Media

University of Notre Dame's Charley Molnar and Bob Diaco met with the assembled media this morning in El Paso, TX for the Hyundai Sun Bowl.  Here are the links to their media sessions today:

LINK:  BOB DIACO -- ND DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

LINK:  CHARLEY MOLAR -- ND OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Coach Kelly's New Boots!

University of Notre Dame head football coach, Brian Kelly -- "tweeted" this photo earlier today to his 20,647 followers on Twitter -- from the Hyundai Sun Bowl.  It's a photo of Coach in his new Lucchese Boots!

Justin Tuck Named to 2011 NFL Pro Bowl!

Former Notre Dame football star, Justin Tuck was named last night by the NFL to play in the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl -- January 30th in Honolulu!  For Tuck, this will be his second appearance in the NFL's annual All-Star game.  Congratulations Justin!  Here's a link to the New York Giants website and their story about Tuck's selection:

LINK:  JUSTIN TUCK OFF TO HONOLULU!