|
Week Six: #11 Notre Dame (4-1) vs. #17 Duke (4-0) With last week’s three-point loss to Ohio State, “the Fighting Irish” will look to rebound in a road matchup against ACC opponent Duke. After an emotional contest, Notre Dame will have their hands full with an undefeated Duke team. This Duke team has yet to give up more than 14 points this season and defeated Clemson at home in week one. Helping Duke get off to a fast start is second-year Head Coach Mike Elko, who led the Blue Devils to a bowl game last year and a 9-4 record. Elko was Notre Dame’s Defensive Coordinator in 2017 before joining Texas A&M. Currently Notre Dame is favored at online sportsbooks (-210). Where to Watch: 6:30 on ABC Location: Wallace Wade Stadium, Durham, North Carolina Gambling Line: -5.5 (Notre Dame) After holding Ohio State to under 20 points the Notre Dame defense has been solid all year. Coming into this week Notre Dame currently ranks 10th in the nation in Red Zone Defense (NCAA.com). Duke will not have the offensive playmakers that the Buckeyes did, although Senior Receiver Jalon Calhoun has two touchdowns and over 250 yards on the season. Duke’s Quarterback Riley Leonard has more scores on the ground this year (4) than he does through the air (2). The Blue Devils offense has produced high-scoring games through four weeks, but they have not faced a defense close to the talent level of Notre Dame’s. Only scoring 14 points last week was a low point for the Notre Dame offense so far this season. However, Senior Quarterback Sam Hartman has yet to throw an interception and could be influential in the Irish success this weekend. Hartman is very familiar with the Blue Devils' defense as he shredded Duke for 340+ yards and 3 touchdowns in both games he played against them as Wake Forest Quarterback in 2021-2022. These past performances should give Hartman a boost in confidence when the team travels to Durham, North Carolina this weekend. Head Coach Marcus Freeman stated recently that the loss to Ohio State hurts because “We didn’t play at our best”. Coach Freeman will try to get the Fighting Irish back on track this weekend to keep their playoff hopes alive. This could be a potentially dangerous game if Duke can get a lead early at home and work the clock with their running game. Players to Watch (Notre Dame) QB Sam Hartman: 14 Touchdowns, 1,236 Passing Yards, 0 Interceptions RB Audric Estime: 591 Rushing Yards, 5 Touchdowns, 7.7 YPC WR Chris Tyree: 241 Yards receiving, 2 Touchdowns. Players to Watch (Duke) QB Riley Leonard: 778 Yards Passing, 2 Touchdowns, 238 Rushing Yards RB: Jordan Waters: 258 Rushing Yards, 7 Touchdowns WR: Jalon Calhoun: 258 Yards Receiving, 20 Receptions, 2 Touchdowns Prediction: 28-17 (Notre Dame) 
0 Comments
BY BRETT CAGLE: College Football Preview: #6 Ohio State (3-0) vs. #9 Notre Dame (4-0) The Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame welcome Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State to South Bend, Indiana this week in what is being billed as the best college football game of the season so far. The entire country will have their attention on this contest Saturday night as both rabid fanbases believe their teams are title contenders. Each team enters this contest with an undefeated record and are ranked inside the top ten of the College Football standings. Notre Dame defeated Central Michigan last week 41-17, while Ohio State beat Western Kentucky 63-10. Where to Watch: NBC 6:30 CST Location: Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Indiana) Betting Line Currently: -3.0 Ohio State. O/U 55.5 Heisman hopeful Sam Hartman enters this game with an impressive 13-0 Touchdown-to-interception ratio. Hartman is on pace to surpass 3,500 yards passing for the third time in his college career. This will not be Hartman’s first time facing a top-ten opponent. As Wake Forrest’s Quarterback in the 2022 season, Hartman threw for 337 yards and 6 Touchdowns against a Clemson team that was ranked fifth at the time. Hartman was extremely humble during this week's press availability saying that his confidence comes from “My coaches and the players around me”. Ohio State Quarterback Kyle McCord is coming off the best performance of his career against Western Kentucky. McCord has a wide variety of targets to choose from including Wide Receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. McCord struggled however on the road against conference opponent Indiana in the first week of the season. One of the Buckeye’s strengths is their defense, which has only surrendered 20 combined points over the first three weeks. Leading the Ohio State defense are senior Linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers. Although Ohio State’s strength of schedule has not been the greatest, the Buckeyes are currently ranked second in the nation in both fewest points and yards allowed per game. Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman talked briefly about containing Ohio State’s top weapons at his weekly press conference stating “ A lot of those playmakers are back for them… Harrison has a great body type, great hands, and he’s well coached…..they do a great job of developing that wideout room”. In last year's 21-10 loss, Harrison Jr. and Egbuka combined for 146 yards and a touchdown. Freeman is obviously making this a point of emphasis for his football team ahead of this Saturday's matchup. Prediction: 31-28 Notre Dame 
 #9 Notre Dame (3-0) vs. Central Michigan (1-1)
The Fighting Irish return to South Bend after defeating ACC opponent NC State 45-24 last Saturday. Notre Dame Quarterback Sam Hartman continued his stellar play throwing for 286 yards and 4 Touchdowns against the Wolfpack. Running Back Audic Estime gashed NC State for 134 yards and 2 Touchdowns on the ground. Following Notre Dame’s road win Head Coach Marcus Freeman liked how his team handled adversity stating “You’ve got guys coming in, like Sam that’s been through adversity, to stay in the moment, to not be so focused on what happened in the past.” Where to Watch: Peacock (2:30 CST) Location: South Bend, Indiana Betting Spread: -34.5 Notre Dame Notre Dame will face Mid-American Conference opponent Central Michigan on Saturday in a contest they are expected to dominate. The Irish will enter this game as thirty-four-and-a-half point favorites at home. Central Michigan defeated The University of New Hampshire last week in a 45-42 shootout. In week one Central Michigan was outmatched against Big Ten opponent Michigan State losing 31-7 against the Spartans. Notre Dame has had a solid defense throughout the early weeks of the season holding opponents to under 100 yards rushing in each of their first three games. Central Michigan had two players rush for over 100 yards against New Hampshire but struggled through the air throwing for less than 200 yards. Against the Irish stout rush defense, the Chippewas are expected to struggle offensively this weekend. Receiver Holden Staes had a monster game last week catching 2 touchdowns while adding 4 receptions and 115 yards through the air. Notre Dame has a deep receiving core with Jaden Greathouse (8 Rec, 113 Yards, and 3 Touchdowns) and Jayden Thomas (8 Rec, 125 Yards, 1 Touchdown) also getting off to a great start this season as well. Players to Watch (Notre Dame): QB Sam Hartman- (48-64) 75% Completion Percentage, 731 yards, 10 Touchdowns, 0 INT RB Audic Estime- 345 Rushing Yards, 4 Touchdowns, 8.0 YPC WR Chris Tyree- 6 Rec, 128 Yards, 1 Touchdown Players to Watch (Central Michigan): QB Bert Emanuel Jr.- (18-36) 280 Passing Yards, 3 Touchdowns, 3 INT, 142 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing Touchdowns RB Myles Bailey- 127 Yards Rushing, 1 Touchdown WR Chris Parker- 5 Receptions, 142 Yards, 1 Touchdown Prediction: Notre Dame 42 - Central Michigan 10 The 10th-ranked Fighting Irish travel to face ACC opponent NC State this weekend. North Carolina State defeated UCONN 24-14 in their season opener and are led by Senior Quarterback Brennan Armstrong. In NC State’s week one win, Armstrong found the endzone twice on his feet, while rushing for 96 yards. How to Watch: Channel: ABC Time: 12:00 E.T Location: Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, North Carolina Notre Dame has also had stellar Quarterback play this year, as senior transfer Sam Hartman has thrown for 445 yards and six touchdowns through two games. Both of Notre Dame’s wins were massive blowouts over Navy and Tennesse State. Jayden Thomas and Jaden Greathouse are currently leading the Irish in receiving yards and receptions. Greathouse is a talented freshman who has already found the endzone twice this season. Head Coach Marcus Freeman stated in his weekly press conference that he was “very pleased” with the Redzone offense and defense of his team through two weeks. He also added, “Red zone defense is something we have really been talking about…we didn’t really have a good red zone defense last season and I think that they have done a really good job through the first two games executing”. Notre Dame’s Defense has held opponents to a combined 6 points leading into this contest and have forced five takeaways (2 INT, 3 FF) so far this season. Traveling this Saturday, The Irish are road favorites at online sportsbooks (-7.5) and will look to continue to build on their early success ahead of a showdown with top-five ranked Ohio State on September, 23rd. Key Players for Notre Dame: Sam Hartman (QB)- 445 Passing Yards, 7 Touchdowns Total, 82.3 Completion Percentage. Audric Estime(RB) - 29 carries, 211 Rushing Yards, Two Rushing Touchdowns, 7.3 YPC. Jaden Greathouse (WR)- 5 Receptions, 98 Yards receiving, 2 Touchdowns. Key Players for NC State: Brennan Armstrong (QB)- 17-26 Passes completed in week one, 155 yards Passing, 96 yards Rushing, 2 Rushing Touchdowns. Jordan Houston (RB)- 57 yards Rushing, 4.4 Yards Per Carry. Payton Wilson (LB)- 10 total tackles, 1 INT. BRETT'S SCORE PREDICTION: Notre Dame 28 | NC State 10  |
AuthorEvan J. Thomas is an award winning photographer, podcast & Radio host, media mogul and all around "Creative Genius". Archives
September 2024
Categories |
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly