Could the IRISH End Up in the Rose Bowl?

The folks in Pasadena are already talking about the prospects of Notre Dame returning to the Rose Bowl -- the Irish last played in that game in 1925! 

This could be fun!   

Thanks to ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Shawn Gallagher for alerting me to this story.

LINK:  IS NOTRE DAME ROSE BOWL BOUND?

Coach Kelly on the Dan Patrick Show Today

Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly was a guest this morning on the Dan Patrick Show.  Coach Kelly let the world know where he voted his Fightin' Irish, in the latest Coaches Poll.

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- DAN PATRICK SHOW

Photo of the Day: The Green Fire Truck!

You've got to love this!

ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Corey Angst (Mendoza College of Business faculty member) was kind enough to forward me these photos of a 1934 Ford Fire Truck that a number of "Notre Dame" families have restored; the Angst family, Kidder family, Cullinan family, Dugard family, Cox family, Egan family, Sedlack family, Curran family, Smoker family, Haigh family, Barrett family, O'Shaughnessy family and the O'Brien family.

You can find it over in the Hesburgh Peace Studies parking lot on football weekends!

Corey believes the GREEN FIRE TRUCK has brought the IRISH Good Luck and should be given some of the credit for NOTRE DAME's undefeated season!   

Hey, we're 9 - 0  -- they better drive that truck to Los Angeles over Thanksgiving!

Chicago Tribune Story: ND's Zach Martin

He's one of the best offensive linemen in the country -- and he wears #70 for the Notre Dame Fightin' Irish!

Irish captain and left tackle Zach Martin was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune -- enjoy!

LINK:  ZACH MARTIN

Take the Blind Test -- Who Should Be #1 & #2?

Folks, the gang at CBS Sports put together a BLIND TEST of the top five teams in the polls -- based on their performance on the field and their opponents performance.

You need to take that TEST -- I will tell you, the two teams I voted for ended up getting 61% of the vote and it did include the NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH!

LINK:  TAKE THE TEST!

Boston College Week: Coach Kelly Presser

The head football coach of the undefeated Fightin' Irish of Notre Dame met with the media today to talk about his team and their game this Saturday in PRIME TIME against Boston College.

If you'd like to watch Coach Kelly -- click on the link below:

LINK:  COACH KELLY PRESS CONFERENCE

Luke Zeller Has Never Missed a Shot in NBA!

Former Notre Dame basketball player -- Luke Zeller '09, made the Phoenix Suns roster this year and after playing two games -- he's NEVER MISSED A SHOT!

Luke is 3 for 3 from the field -- including a three-pointer!

Phoenix Suns GM Lance Blanks has called Zeller "...one of the best shooters in the world."

Zeller worked his way into the NBA by playing professional basketball in Japan, Lithuania and the NBA Development League (Bakersfield, CA and Austin, TX) -- since graduating from Notre Dame in 2009.

LINK:  ZELLERS MAKES SUNS ROSTER

It's a Bird, It's a Plane -- No, It's "GOL"DMAN!

This is a photo of the greatest TWO POINT CONVERSION in the history of Notre Dame football!

If Everett Golson -- AKA "GOL-DMAN" -- doesn't make that great dash from the ten yard line and LEAP OVER the final three yards into the end zone, our National Championship hopes would have vanished!

Here's a look at a piece produced by Fighting Irish Digital Media about "Gol"dman -- my nickname for Everett Golson.

LINK:  GAME BALL TO EVERETT GOLSON

Irish Move Down to #4 in BCS Rankings...

A 3 OT win over Pittsburgh and a win over USC where a defense gave up 51 points and 615 yards of offense -- led to the Ducks moving ahead of the IRISH in the BCS rankings this week...

It just goes to show you "what sells" to the human voters -- OFFENSE.

Anyway -- there's three more games left for Notre Dame and four for the others; Alabama, Kansas State and Oregon -- plenty can happen.

It may come down to the IRISH beating USC by more than 10 points on November 24th.

GO IRISH!

LINK:  NOTRE DAME MOVES TO #4

STAT OF THE GAME -- In Notre Dame's Win

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame out gained Pittsburgh 222 yards to 20 yards in the 4th quarter and the three OT periods! 

Think about that!!!

ESPN Jumps the Gun -- Posts IRISH Loss

The folks at ESPN.COM posted this on their site right after the fumble by Cierre Wood in the 2OT and as the kicker for Pitt was lining up for the 31 yard FG to win the game...


Maybe it was the ESPN.COM "JINX" -- that led to the field goal miss?

A ND fan was quick to pick this up before ESPN took it down.

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING! Undefeated 9 - 0 !

You'll find a number of stories about Notre Dame's 3 OT win over Pittsburgh -- in my post last night.  Here's a few more for your reading pleasure!

Oh, what a night!!!

LINK:  YAHOO SPORTS

LINK:  ASSOCIATED PRESS

LINK:  ESPN

NBC's Coverage of Notre Dame's 3 OT Win!

The gang at NBC may have picked up another RATINGS WINNER tonight -- as Notre Dame struggled, yet found a way to beat a game Pittsburgh squad in TRIPLE OVERTIME!

Here's a look at NBC's coverage of Notre Dame's 29 - 26 win over the Pitt Panthers -- including the FULL GAME REPLAY:

LINK:  GAME HIGHLIGHTS

LINK:  COACH KELLY WITH ALEX FLANAGAN

LINK:  KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE POST GAME

LINK:  FULL REPLAY OF GAME

LINK:  GOLSON'S WINNING TD IN OVERTIME

Media's Initial Reaction to ND's 3 OT Win!

The Fightin' Irish are 9 - 0 and that's really all that matters right now for this football program.  There were some positives tonight:

• 522 yards of total offense
• Holding Pittsburgh to 1 for 14 on third down
• 34 first downs against only 13 for Pitt
• 231 yards of rushing
• And, almost eleven more minutes in time of possession

Yet, it took THREE OVERTIMES and a MISSED FIELD GOAL for Notre Dame to go to 9 - 0 on the season.  The Irish overcame:

• Three turnovers on offense -- while getting ZERO on defense
• Special teams that were not so special -- kick-off and punt -- all struggled big time
• Field goal miss and an extra point miss
• 170+ rushing by Pitt's Graham
• Two long drives to start the game on offense and NO TD's to show for it

LINK:  PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE

LINK:  PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE

LINK:  NBC'S NOTRE DAME CENTRAL

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

LINK:  ESPN NOTRE DAME BLOG

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

LINK:  FORT WAYNE JOURNAL GAZETTE

LINK:  CHICAGO TRIBUNE

It's His Team Now: Everett Golson Leads IRISH!

Folks, there were many who didn't BELIEVE after Golson threw an interception in the endzone with approximately three minutes left and the IRISH down 8 -- they left Notre Dame Stadium.

Yet, here we are THREE OVERTIMES later and Notre Dame is 9 - 0 thanks to a two-point conversion (PLAY OF THE YEAR), a missed field goal and a team that refuses to lose...

Notre Dame 29 -- Pittsburgh 26

The photo above - taken by Travis Mather -- is the Play of the Year for Notre Dame football.  That's Everett Golson diving into the endzone to tie the game!

Here's all of the post game coverage -- Coach Kelly's press conference, Players after the game and the halftime and post game locker room celebration, etc.

ENJOY!

LINK:  ND LOCKER ROOM AND SIDELINE

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  PLAYERS POST GAME

LINK:  ZACH MARTIN ON FIELD AFTER THE GAME

Best Day of the Week: Gameday at Notre Dame!

The Pitt Panthers roll into Notre Dame Stadium to take on our #3 BCS ranked Fighting Irish -- in what typically is a very close and hard fought battle.  This will be the 68th time these two schools will have met on the football field.

To get you ready for today's 3:30 PM ET kick-off -- here's a look at what the media "experts" think about today's game:

LINK:  PITTSBURGH POST GAZETTE

LINK:  PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE

LINK:  ESPN NOTRE DAME BLOG

LINK:  NBC NOTRE DAME CENTRAL

LINK:  ESPN

LINK:  CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE

Protect This House Friday -- Must See Video!

The gang at Turning Point continue to impress with their weekly PUMP UP video for the Fightin' Irish!  Take a look:

LINK:  PROTECT THIS HOUSE FRIDAY

Photo of the Day -- DOMER Curing Skin Cancer!

ND GO IRISH BLOG regular Dr. Carlos Gomez-Meade '01 in Austin, TX (Longhorn country) sent me this photo today of him at work!  Got to love the "scrub cap" he wears curing skin cancer every day!  Thanks Doc!

LINK:  DR. CARLOS GOMEZ-MEADE BIO

Coach Kelly's Last Media Session Before Pitt

"118 plays in practice -- which is 30+ more than what the IRISH have been able to run in a typical practice this season..."

This is one of the key things Coach Kelly discussed in the last media session before kick-off tomorrow.

LINK:  COACH KELLY'S MEDIA SESSION

Miami Herald -- Great Story on ND's Importance

Notre Dame football -- at its best -- is good for sport.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S SHINING LIGHT