Author: John Vannie

USC Poses Challenge for Irish

Last November, the Notre Dame faithful expected the undefeated Fighting Irish to storm the Coliseum and obliterate an erratic 5-6 USC team led by a precocious freshman quarterback. The visitors narrowly averted the same disaster that had befallen other unbeaten or highly-rated Irish teams in the last century. Nearly one year later, another talented but…

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Irish Romp as Expected

Notre Dame padded its statistics without breaking a sweat as the Irish outclassed Bowling Green by 52-0 on Saturday. Their 573 yards of offense included six touchdown passes; five from Ian Book in the first half and one after intermission by Phil Jurkovec, his career first. Meanwhile, the defense held the Falcons to 228 total…

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Bowling for Dollars

The Bowling Green Falcons become the next team in a line of financially motivated opponents from the Mid-America Conference to visit Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday. The hosts will contribute $1.1 million to the coffers of the Bowling Green Athletic Department for the privilege of securing an easy victory as they prepare for more substantive…

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Okwara Ignites Irish Defense

Julian Okwara’s image was not quite ready for a milk carton, but Notre Dame fans were beginning to wonder when he would emerge from relative obscurity this season. Today was the day for his breakout performance, as the senior had three sacks and two forced fumbles to lead a second half explosion by the Irish….

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Irish Seek Return to Winning

Tenth-ranked Notre Dame hosts the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday with an eye toward the beginning of a long winning streak that will carry them back into playoff contention. Last week’s disappointing loss to Georgia under the weight of numerous avoidable mistakes must now be relegated to the rearview mirror. The Fighting Irish held a players-only…

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