"Count On Me" -- Notre Dame Football Mantra

Apparently, Coach Kelly introduced a new rallying cry for his Fighting Irish this past week.  Here's a link to the Chicago Tribune story:

LINK:  COUNT ON ME

Coach Kelly Meets With Media After Practice

I'm quite sure there is not a college football coach in America who meets more frequently with the media than Coach Kelly.  Frankly, I love it -- but, I'm not sure it's the right thing for Coach.  Here's Coach Kelly talking about Saturday's game:

LINK:  KELLY WITH THE MEDIA

Wake Forest Week -- Players Meet With Media

Notre Dame football players met with the media today to talk about the football season, Coach Kelly's comments -- and about Saturday's game with Wake Forest.  Here are the links:

LINK:  MANTI TEO & HARRISON SMITH

LINK:  MIKE FLOYD

ESPN's Maisel & Wojo Talk Brian Kelly & ND

ESPN's College Football Podcast featured Ivan Maisel and Gene Wojciechowski talking Notre Dame's Brian Kelly.  Just click on the link below -- advance the podcast to 21:14 to find their discussion:

LINK:  COLLEGE FOOTBALL PODCAST

Wake Forest Week: Presser Coach Kelly

University of Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly spent more than 30 minutes today with the media to discuss Saturday night's prime-time matchup on ESPN2 with Wake Forest.  Here's a link to the press conference:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Smallest Crowd To See Irish In Last 400 Games!

This will be the case this Saturday night at 8 PM ET when the Fighting Irish make the trip to Winston-Salem, NC to play the Deamon Deacons of Wake Forest in their 31,000 seat stadium.  The last time the Irish played in front of a smaller crowd was in November of 1975 when the Miami Hurricanes only drew 24,944 game to the Orange Bowl in a game the Irish won 32 - 9.

So, I figure one or more of these three scenarios played out putting Wake Forest on our schedule:

1. The Irish had an opponent drop from the schedule in the last couple of years and the Irish had a tough time finding a team to play this specific Saturday.
2. The ACC, as part of a Bowl arrangement with the Big East -- negotiated a few football games against the Irish for their member schools.
3. And, Wake Forest agreed to pay Notre Dame between $800,000 to $1,000,000 to make the trip to North Carolina to play a game.

I went on a couple of the ticket sites this evening to see what tickets are going for -- thinking they would be close to $500 or more -- since there's very few seats and the Irish are in town...  Well, I was wrong -- you can buy tickets all day long for under $140 for this game.

Irish Connection -- The Navy Game

The folks at UND.COM had their cameras in the locker room and on the sideline during Saturday's 56 - 14 win over Navy.  You'll see Coach Kelly working on rebuilding the relationship with his players after a difficult week "inside" the Irish program.  Notre Dame fans will love this access!

LINK:  IRISH CONNECTION -- NAVY GAME

Getting DEFENSIVE About Notre Dame's "D"

The Irish have played well on defense for all but a quarter leading into last week's debacle with USC.  And you can add another well executed game by Notre Dame's defense in the 56 - 14 romp over Navy.  Here's what was most impressive:

NAVY OFFENSIVE STATS EACH WEEK:

• Delaware:  437 total yards of offense
• Western Kentucky:  510 total yards of offense
• South Carolina:  335 total yards of offense
• Air Force:  466 total yards of offense
• Southern Miss:  569 total yards of offense
• Rutgers:  305 total yards of offense
• East Carolina:  420 total yards of offense
• NOTRE DAME:  229 total yards of offense

Notre Dame's #1 defense gave up less than 175 yards to Navy in total offense in the game.  Navy's starting running back Alex Teich, who last year rushed for 210 yards of their 367 yards rushing that day had this to say about the Notre Dame defense -- who held him to 62 yards on 15 carries:

“You have to give those guys some credit,” Teich said. “Last year ... it was like night and day. Those guys just flat got after it.”

NBC Replay of Notre Dame's Big Win Over Navy

Irish fans would have never thought we'd hear "Navy's won three of the last four meetings" in the same sentence with Notre Dame.  Yet, that's been the case with our football program -- so, YES IT WAS NICE to see the Irish win BIG.  Here's a link to NBC's full game replay of Notre Dame vs. Navy.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME BEATS NAVY

The Media's Take on ND's 56 - 14 Win Today

Just made a visit to a number of websites who cover Notre Dame football.  Thought you'd enjoy what these media types had to say about the 56- 14 win over Navy.  The game was over at halftime...

LINK:  BALTIMORE SUN

LINK:  WASHINGTON POST

LINK:  NBC SPORTS

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN TIMES

LINK:  ESPN BLOG

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- AL LESAR

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- TOM MOOR

Navy Week: Kick-Off Luncheon at Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Nation gathered this afternoon at "the Joyce" for the traditional Friday football luncheon.  Here's a link to UND.COM's coverage of the highlights...

LINK:  ND FOOTBALL KICK-OFF LUNCHEON

Don't Dismiss the Irish -- a CNN Story Today

Found this article on CNN.COM today -- Notre Dame fans will enjoy what the writer has to say...

LINK:  DON'T DISMISS THE FIGHTING IRISH

A Notre Dame Man -- Jeff Faine

When he played for the Irish, he absolutely dominated the men across from him...

Nine years later, Jeff Faine is still playing the game, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but, it's what he's doing away from the gridiron that will make ND fans most proud.  Jeff Faine is a hero -- to many.  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story about Jeff's return home during the Bucs bye week.


LINK:  JEFF FAINE -- GIVING BACK

Think Coach Kelly Would Like a "Do Over?"

I commented to a friend the other day that it would be nice if Coach Kelly stopped using the phrase "I've been a head coach for 21 years..."  It's getting old.

Coach, we all know this isn't your first rodeo.  The best advice right now comes from legendary Raider Al Davis -- "JUST WIN BABY!"

Well, last night Coach Kelly might have said something FOR THE FIRST TIME, to the media, that he is now regretting (see Chicago Tribune article below).  In essence, Coach Kelly took a shot at the players who were recruited by the previous regime -- never a good thing to do from my perspective.  Especially, when they dominate your starting line-up...

It's going to be an interesting 24 hours in the Notre Dame football program.

LINK:  COACH KELLY COMMENTS

LINK:  VIDEO OF COACH KELLY'S MEDIA SESSION

Will We See Field Turf @ Notre Dame?

Coach Kelly has been campaigning for a new field turf at Notre Dame Stadium.  Well, here's a solution to consider.  It's called Desso GrassMaster and this surface combines "tradition with technology." Meaning, real grass mixed in with artificial grass.

Green Bay Packer fans, Philadelphia Eagle fans, Denver Bronco fans -- have all been watching their teams play on this surface for the past few years.

In fact, the Denver Broncos field was named the "BEST PROFESSIONAL SPORTS FIELD IN AMERICA."  Folks that's real grass in the picture that grows and has to be cut!

Here's a couple of links to the technology behind this playing surface.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME STADIUM'S NEXT PLAYING SURFACE?

LINK:  TECHNOLOGY BEHIND REINFORCED GRASS

Notre Dame's Morris Inn To Expand!

The University of Notre Dame announced a $32 million expansion of the Morris Inn -- the university's on-campus hotel.  The expansion, which will begin next year -- calls for the tear down of the south wing, a 300 seat banquet facility and a move from 92 rooms to 140 rooms, etc.  Here's a link to the Chicago Tribune story:

LINK:  MORRIS INN TO GET A NEW LOOK

Joe Montana's Not Happy With Notre Dame

I'm going to write this off as a Dad who wanted success for his son at Notre Dame -- and does not want to accept that his kid wasn't ready for prime time in the GOLD HELMET.  Here's hoping he comes back to the FAMILY. 

LINK:  MONTANA TAKES SHOT AT HIS ALMA MATER

Are the Irish Really Headed to the ACC?

Former Notre Dame Athletic Director, former ACC Commissioner and father to Irish Lacrosse Head Coach Kevin Corrigan -- Gene Corrigan -- tells the media today that the Irish are considering a move to the Atlantic Coast Conference for EVERY SPORT!  Here's the link to the story:

LINK:  IRISH HEADING TO ACC?

The Story the Sports Media Won't Tell...

The University of Notre Dame was named NATIONAL CHAMPIONS for STUDENT ATHLETES -- with 18 of their 22 varsity sports teams earning PERFECT GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE SCORES of 100!  This marks the sixth time in the last seven years that Notre Dame's student-athletes were America's best.

I'm still waiting for the "SPORTS LEADER" to tell this story...

LINK:  NOTRE DAME IS NUMBER ONE!

SI's Peter King Takes ND to Task for Helmets

Earth to Peter King -- Notre Dame has had "specs" of gold in their helmets for years!  In an effort to "pile on ND" -- which seems to be the easy thing to do for the mainstream media these past 48 hours...  Here's a link to Peter King calling out the Irish for their helmets:

LINK:  EARTH TO PETER KING