With a record home crowd at a constant fever pitch, the Louisville Cardinals humbled Notre Dame with a 33-20 beating that was even more convincing than the final margin would indicate. The Fighting Irish offense was dysfunctional all evening while poor tackling and an unforgiveable penalty on Marist Liufau undermined the defense. Tailback Jawhar Jordan scored twice on second half runs of 45 and 21 yards while Louisville’s defensive front absolutely stuffed Notre Dame’s ground game. The Irish gained only 44 yards rushing all evening on 28 carries.
This loss drops Notre Dame to 5-2 on the season and was sufficiently decisive to end any hope of playoff consideration. Most embarrassing was the way the Cardinals dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Irish are a tired team after playing for seven consecutive weeks and making back-to-back road trips, but there is no acceptable excuse for this debacle. The implosion was so complete that the visitors committed five turnovers, were 0 for 2 on fourth down, surrendered five sacks, and converted only three of 13 third downs.
The coaching staff is not immune from criticism, either. Offensive Coordinator Gerad Parker deservedly incurred the wrath of countless Notre Dame fans for repeated failures on third down and short yardage situations. Louisville’s Jeff Brohm had his team well prepared to counter the Irish offensive tendenceies and attack their defensive weaknesses. Parker had no answer.
The evening got off to a rocky start when a Sam Hartman pass was intercepted for the first time this season on the opening drive. The Cards capitalized on a scoring toss from Jack Plummer to Jamari Thrash to take an early 7-0 lead. Both defenses settled in and controlled the rest of the first quarter. Two sacks of Hartman forced Irish punts during this stretch.
Notre Dame finally got going in the second period but it took a little used wide receiver to light the fuse. Walkon Jordan Faison, who doubles as a star player on the school’s lacrosse team, caught a 36-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at seven. The Irish appeared to catch a break moments later when Louisville jumped offside as Notre Dame was punting the football. The new set of downs did not last long, however, as a Chris Tyree fumble gave the ball back to the Cardinals near midfield.
Neither team would score again before intermission as Louisville ended the half with a missed field goal attempt. Notre Dame’s defense recorded its only turnover of the night on the first series of the second half. Cam Hart forced a fumble and fell on it at the Louisville 39. Unfortunately, the offense failed to move the ball but Spencer Shrader bailed them out by nailing a 53-yard field goal.
The first and last Irish lead of the night did not last long. The Cards came right back to tie the score at ten on a Brock Travelstead field goal. Louisville immediately got the ball back after its defense blew up a third and one running play by Notre Dame. Jordan quickly ran through flailing Irish attempts at arm tackling for the go-ahead touchdown with 5:45 left in the third quarter. The Cards would not relinquish the lead again.
Notre Dame and Shrader narrowed the deficit to 17-13 on a 54-yard three pointer after the offense failed yet again on third and short. Louisville immediately went back to work against the tired Irish defense. As the final period got underway, Notre Dame was on the brink of stopping the Cards and getting the ball back when the decisive play of the game occurred. A Plummer pass did not come close to the line to gain but Liufau was called for a facemask penalty away from the play. Given new life, Jordan burst through for a 21-yard score to make it 24-13. As was the case on his earlier scoring run, Irish safety DJ Brown would only wave at Jordan as he ran by him. There were 11 minutes remaining.
The next two Irish possessions were an exercise in desperation. First, Hartman failed on a fourth down pass from deep in his own territory. Travelstead turned this into another field goal for a 27-13 advantage. A few plays later, the Cards intercepted a sailing Hartman throw and Travelstead tacked on three more. The pattern continued once again and Travelstead recorded his fourth field goal of the night and third in a five minute span.
Now trailing 33-13, Notre Dame added a consolation touchdown in the final moments against the Louisville reserves. Hartman finished 22 of 38 for 254 yards with two scores and three interceptions. Many of those yards came on the final drive in garbage time. Hartman was under severe pressure most of the night as the Irish offensive line could not protect him. Even star left tackle Joe Alt was embarrassed by the Cardinal pass rushers.
Let’s review the answers to our pregame questions.
- Which defensive line will be able to stuff the run? Louisville made the Irish ground game look ridiculous. The blame is shared equally by poor offensive line play and awful play calling by Parker. The Cards outrushed Notre Dame by 185-44.
- Can Notre Dame’s overworked defense muster sufficient energy and aggressiveness? They clearly ran out of gas but the offense did not help them at all.
- Will Brohm find a way to catch Notre Dame off balance with a trick play? Brohm was well-prepared, called a smart game, and did not need to resort to trickery.
- Can Thomas, Greathouse and Raridon rejuvenate the Irish passing game? Not at all. Faison was the only bright spot.
- Will the Irish offensive line put last week’s mediocrity behind it? No, but they took it to a new level of ineptitude.
- Can Notre Dame’s moribund special teams contribute in a positive way? Shrader bombed a couple of long field goals but every other aspect of special teams was a failure.
- Who will prevail in the battle between Thrash and Morrison? Thrash caught an early touchdown pass against Morrison and had eight receptions on the night. Many of them were not against Morrison, though.
- Who concocted this ridiculous Irish schedule? We know the answer to that question, don’t we, Jack? We’ll talk about it again next week when USC obliterates the Irish.
Notre Dame was fun to watch earlier this season but now it has become an excruciating chore. The offense has failed to evolve and adapt as teams have identified their tendencies. The defense is better coached but poor tackling and obvious weaknesses can no longer be hidden. Special teams look hopelessly lost. Everyone could use a week off. The problem is that Parker is in so far over his head that another six months probably wouldn’t turn him into a quality Offensive Coordinator. And to think Notre Dame could have hired Andy Ludwig or Skip Holtz but for the hubris of their Athletic Director.
Tom says:
Spot on analysis. Hope you are wrong about USC, their defense is as atrocious as their offense is good. Gotta win a shootout and alas this offense doesn’t look like they have it in them. A quick shout out to the ACC referee crew for the Liafu facemask call. Louisville probably didn’t need it, but they came through nonetheless.
Mike says:
Here’s the problem:
ND looked completely drained last night.
Exhibit A: Jo Alt getting steamrolled on a pass play, probably by a guy who won’t play at the next level.
Next week is mid terms, then USC. It’s hard to imagine, with 2 losses now, that the players will be as jacked up as they need to be for that game.
I’m not a doom/gloom guy. I’m also not a homer.
But right now this program has some issues.
There’s no pass rush, the scholarship WRs didn’t catch a single pass last night, and both OL & DL were outplayed by a team with MUCH lesser talent. And Hartman looked terrible
There’s also the question about Marcus.
Do y’all realize he’s lost 7 of his first 22 games now?
Everyone talks about him as a great recruiter – I don’t disagree – but they’re playing like an untalented team too frequently
The arrow isn’t pointing up. At best it’s sideways
❤️🍀#50 says:
Spot on! Unfortunately, this loss is not a surprise and unfortunately chalk up another year with a National Title! Still a lot to play for in a BIG TIME Bowl. BUT! If there is a loss next week, Marcus needs to think of the future and get Angeli more playing time.
John Amberg says:
I think Mike Elko set the template on how to stop the Irish offense. Stack the box and dare them to throw. I would have thought this a recipe for disaster, but no one respects ND’s wideouts. They cannot get consistent separation and even when they do they drop the ball (as Tyree did, wide open). The one bright spot was Faison, so naturally Parker did not call his number the rest of the night. Jeremiyah Love is our only playmaker at running back but he was sidelined as well. Sam Hartman is a good QB but in this system, he can only do so much. Finally, Marcus Freeman is not a good enough coach to figure out how this ship gets righted. He is too inexperienced, too easily given to panicky decisions. 21 games in and he is not learning on the job. Quite the opposite. He is foundering and has no idea how to chart a clear path.
SouthCookIrish says:
Yes, Freeman is very likable but over head. Another hiring debacle by Swarbrick.
Mike says:
I like MF.
Seems like a very genuine person, and he’s inarguably a tenacious recruiter, unlike his predecessor
But man … results matter.
Has lost 7 of his 22 games as the ND HC
Will they pivot, like they did last year, and go on a run and make the playoffs (unlike last year)?
Dunno
They just haven’t looked good in their last 2 games.
Seems unlikely
James Kress says:
They won’t make the playoffs this year. Not with an 8-4 record (I’m being optimistic).
Chris says:
Reading the first part of your reply, its like you’re describing Gerry Faust. He too seemed like a genuine person, got ND and a great recruiter (though in those days, ND still recruited itself thanks to Ara & Devine)
And like Faust, I think Freeman is in over his head.
And, just like Gerry Faust, results matter.
The SC game will be a frightful sight.
Dave Williams says:
your assessment of this mess is correct. I don’t know what they can do now. They look completely lost. How they fell apart this quickly is mind blowing. This team is regressing in all phases. I had such high hopes for this team. Sigh. Bob Davie has returned.
Marty says:
Vannie, excellant recap of this fiasco. Offensivesly, if I can identify ND’s tendencies, our coordinator is definitely over his head. Yeah, thanks Jack, your leaving cannot come some enough. Estime up the middle, as I’ve mentioned over and over, are so predictable. As the saying goes, doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result.
Irish Penance says:
This loss was a sad performance by an overrated and tired team that was let down by its head coach and offensive coordinator. Freeman and Parker so far show no ability to improve at either game planning or game day coaching. How long now before Freeman’s weaknesses sabatoge his one real strength, recruiting?
Timothy Miller says:
talk about a constant theme over the years – poor tackling.
SouthCookIrish says:
Liufau needs a) a haircut b) start getting guys on the ground. (Do I sound like a 72 year old?).
James Kress says:
Hi John, a very good assessment of the s-show at Louisville.
What happened to the celebrated ‘conditioning’ the players were achieving? If the defense was gassed late in the game it would appear that the ‘conditioning’ was applied solely to the player’s hair.
It appears that our opponents have sufficient video of ND so that they know exactly what we are going to do, on offense and defense. What happened to the heralded ‘adjustments’ the coaching staff were lauded with when beating decidedly inferior opponents?
The current ND team and coaching staff are ALL to blame for this debacle. Swarbrick can’t escape either since the players on the team are primarily Swarbrick / Kelly 3* and just cannot seem to compete at the level to win national championships.
Freeman was dealt a really bad hand when he said yes to the head coach position and was refused the ability to select his own assistants. It got worse when Swarbrick deliberately interfered with Freeman’s chosen OC. We are paying for that absurdity now. It’s only been exacerbated by the refusal of the coaching staff to ensure fundamentals (i.e. blocking, tackling, ball security, discipline to avoid penalties, etc.) are firmly installed in the players.
I agree with your comment about USC. If the team and coaching staff continue to avoid fundamental play and rational play calling, we’ll get massacred by USC and Clemson. Things will also be tough for games with the other teams on our schedule.
Hoss says:
I wouldn’t be too hard on the defense for being gassed, seemed like they were on the field 85% of the game.
But teeing off on some of those pathetic attempts to tackle is absolutely fair game. Did Liufau take the night off?
This coaching staff is in completely over their heads and when the cameras pan over to the sidelines and in to the coordinator’s box it looks like they know it.
irishhawk50 says:
Despite the rah-rah feel good story about Freeman, it clear once again, that a head coach at Notre Dame needs a proven head coaching ability. A “fish rots from its head” and maybe a new AD will chart a better course, but I have my doubts.
mike says:
Swarbrick was a first-time-ever AD. His Kelly replacement likewise a first-time-ever HC. In MMay ND will once again hire a first-time-ever AD to replace Swarbrick. ND is caught in an inescapable loop of first-time-ever hires, motivated by its inescapable attitude of arrogance, an arrogance that then is taken on like a magical cape that inures its wearer from any sense of concern about possible failure, leading to yet more arrogant decision-making. Wash-rinse-repeat. Hesburgh, Moose Krause, Rockne and Leahy (especially) must be just spinning in their graves, shouting “we worked so long and so hard to build this up, handed it to you, and you do THIS?!” Absolutely stunning incompetence.
d. gremillon says:
So who is primarily to blame for all of these blunders over the years? The President, the board of trustees?
James Kress says:
Yes.
Jeff says:
Until all you proud ND alums, and granted, there is a lot to be proud of in earning an ND degree, realize that unless the school lowers its academic requirements, spends the money on a top-notch head coach, joins a conference and tailors a schedule similar to those of the SEC and Big 10 schools, the Irish have NO CHANCE of winning a national championship. It is not 1960’s, 70’s or 80’s anymore when ND could gather all the top talent it needed and was the on national television more than most schools. I know my comments are probably going to get some negative feedback, but the truth hurts. I hurt. Never stepped on campus as a student but have been an Irish fan since I was a little tike growing up in Goshen. It hurts to see the national media take glee in every ND loss, calling them a relic of the past. It hurts to come to the realization that I will probably never see the Irish win another NC. Changes have to be made.
Chris says:
I agree w/ everything you said & the thing about the national media taking glee in ND losing calling ND “a relic of the past” really upsets me. It upsets b/c its true. They do like to do that.
Its funny though. If ND is a relic, living in our past, overrated & irrelevant why do they brag about beating us especially if their team is a possible participant in the CFB Playoff? OSU fans & supporters (ie- Kirk Herbstreit) did the same thing last year & will probably do the same this year.
Growing up & living in Louisville I had to hear the “ND is irrelevant” BS my entire life yet UL has only sold out their stadium 2x in 5 years-both when ND was the opponent. And these people will be thumping their chests for years to come & last night’s “game” is easily in their top 5 if not #1 in greatest wins ever.
IDK what my point is but it seems funny to me that we (ND) stink, are overrated yet beating us is still a grand achievement thats worth of braggadocio for years on end at least in their eyes.
#❤️🍀50 says:
I agree with everything you said except no need to join a conference.
Michael Case says:
John I think you summed it all up in your last paragraph when you wrote: “The problem is that Parker is in so far over his head that another six months probably wouldn’t turn him into a quality Offensive Coordinator.”
It was very disappointing to watch the Cards stuff the line of scrimmage and dare Hartman to throw. This reminded me of the (way too recent) years when the Irish had no quarterback and teams would do the same. Now they have a decent quarterback but no game plan to get the ball into the hands of wide receivers. Not having play action and screen plays in Parker’s playbook helped the Cards all night. I also noted several times the running backs totally missed seeing where the blitz was coming from. Lack of fundamentals all around. Future opponents will be watching film of this game and licking their chops.
mike says:
You bet they will; in fact they already are….licking their chops. Every game is now at best a toss-up. You can bet that USC’s Wliiams is seeing this coming Saturday as his “Heisman moment,” something ND has become very adept at providing to USC players. And that says nothing about Dabo, who you can bet the mortgage is eagerly anticipating revenge for last year’s game. Sad.
Steve says:
I think the old axiom is true – you win and lose games in the trenches and last night (and somewhat against Duke) ND is just getting their butts whipped on both sides of the line.
OL is not giving Hartman time to throw – he really hasn’t had time to throw since probably the 4th game of the year and not really opening up holes for our running backs.
DL is not much better. We have one playmaker on either side of the ball – Howard Cross.
But watching the game it was clear neither DL or OL were up to the task.
David says:
John, an excellent assessment. I probably have paid more detailed attention to ND football this year than in any year since my ’73 graduation. I do not know the X’s and O’s like most who read and post here, yet I do seem to sense how emotionally and physically drained a lot of the players must be; as alluded to in John’s write up. I noted and was reminded by the announcer’s comment last night that mid-term exams were this week and next. For many, I imagine that was an extra source of stress/fatigue. Not saying this makes for excuses for the “team.” I merely am empathetic toward this reality as I was a student who floated on and off the track/cross country teams as I personally could not always study as I needed to and run a 12 mile work out in the same day. I marvel at the time management of all athletes, especially the Olympic sport ones who now have to travel so extensively.
For example, I traveled in recent years to watch my nephew on the Ball State volleyball team(an hour down the road from my home in Indianapolis). After one match, my nephew at 10 p.m. told me he had to leave and take an on line make-up test. I think of this example when I observe all of these conference changes.
Of course the scheduling that John references has been a recent ND football challenge/problem.
GOND88 says:
I said the Irish facing a Jeff Brohm coached team did not bode well and sadly I was proven right. Brohm and his coaches were clearly in control while Freeman and the ND coaches looked dazed and confused most of the night. I guess they expected Louisville to just forfeit the game after they saw those gold helmets glistening.
The offense has turned into a complete train wreck and also as I feared Parker seems to have no idea how to adjust or play chess with the better opposing defensive coordinators on the schedule. I didn’t think such an accomplished line coach in Joe Rudolph would be doing such a poor job with the interior of the line which is an achilles heel of the offense. I never thought I’d miss Tommy Rees but he’d be doing a better job than Parker.
If Jack Swarbrick passed on hiring Skip Holtz then it’s a good thing he’s done soon because that was just plain stupid and vindictive. The ND offense desperately needs an accomplished and veteran offensive coordinator and Holtz would have been the perfect fit. They should hire Holtz after this season and demote Parker back to tight ends coach.
On the bright side ND still has a chance to beat USC as long as they can keep them under 20 points since ND can’t seem to score more than that. But ND is now staring at an 8-4 season (at best) and 0-3 against tOSU, USC and Clemson. Freeman did not inherit a program in shambles like Kelly did so there is no excuse for this.
John says:
Thoughts:
1. To whoever argued that they days are over that opposing teams saw ND on their schedule as their bowl game/Super Bowl, last night was Exhibit A against that argument. Hats off to the Louisville crowd for acting like they had tickets to the final and most important football game in human history. The home team ate that energy for dinner all night.
2. Relatedly, I suspect ND loses last night even if they had won against Ohio St. and Duke. Perhaps not out of gas physically, but definitely seemed to be emotionally. To state the obvious, some thought about exactly why ND wants to beat SC is in order, perhaps Williams’ fingernail artwork last year can be put to good use.
3. Most importantly, I am for now willing to give MF the benefit of the doubt, though no longer Parker. BK teams nearly always won the games ND was supposed to win, with the flip side of the Faustian bargain being near assurance they had zero chance to win games in which they were a 3 point or more underdog. MF teams are at least capable of playing with more fire than BK teams. Hopefully that pays off in the long run.
4. The face mask call… Liufau must have had some karmic payment coming due. As far as I could see, he was simply falling and the hand to face mask contact was incidental. Am I wrong?
5. Mario Cristobal. At least there’s that within the past 24 hours.
Jake in Cali says:
JVAN,
This was so bad, I turned the game off!
I just couldn’t watch anymore..
I predicted on your Irish Preview 23 Column in August that this would be an 8-4 season and we’re right on track… I was truly hoping that I was wrong.
Some thoughts (in no particular order):
– WR’s have an incredibly hard time in separating
*Even the announcer (Jordan Rogers) commented on it*
– Joe Alt does not play like a Top 10 pick –
OL got bullied for the second week in a row
– Why is Chris Tyree returning punts – he looks lost out there. Is there no other option?
– Parker play calling is worse than Rees – just terrible
– The slowest developing run plays I’ve ever seen.
– The rotation at RB does not work – It’s clear that Love has game changing speed and then we don’t see him again for long periods of time.
FINALLY, this is a POORLY coached Irish team. The numbers don’t lie and we constantly fail on converting on 3rd and 1… Again, terrible play calling.
USC is going to put up 50 on us next week if something doesn’t dramatically change in the next week..
Steve says:
For decades the conventional wisdom has been you don’t hire a ND head coach without prior head coaching experience. Too much is involved to learn on the job. The results bear this out (Faust, Davie). Once ND decided to hire someone without prior head coaching experience, it had an obligation to provide him with experienced, proven coordinators. ND’s decision to hire a rookie head coach and its refusal to properly support him has predictably produced the results we saw last night.
You asked who made up this schedule. People who sell their fans the fiction the football team is “independent” made up this schedule. The same people who commit every year to play conference members Navy, USC, Stanford and 5-6 ACC teams. That’s 8 or 9 games an “independent” team must schedule as their conference-member opponents can accommodate them. Washington and Oregon are each able to schedule open dates the week before they play each other. Penn St. can schedule an open date followed by a scrimmage against Umass the two weeks before playing Ohio St. The flexibility ND achieves by remaining “independent ” means ND plays 7 consecutive weeks before playing top rival USC. Instead open dates and scrimmages, ND’s three games prior to USC include Ohio St. and two road games drawing the biggest crowds in the history of the opponents’ stadiums in the “biggest game ever” for these programs. The team is gassed and, as an added bonus, has mid-term exams while preparing for USC. This is the price of “independence.”
jimcart says:
No one was banging down the door when the ND HC job was open. It’s just not desirable anymore.
ike says:
Fickell from Cinci would have taken it, but Swarbrick has his all-encompassing philosophy of “look down the hallway for the lowest hanging fruit” and could not and would not wait 5-6 weeks for Cinci to play its bowl game. What was the impetus to jump so quickly? Allegedly it was a recruiting class that was from Kelly, so you know it was mediocre at best because of his lazy approach, and so we have yet ANOTHER first-time-ever HC in WAY over his head (think Brennan, Faust, Weis, and now Freeman). Freeman is a great guy, but he was NOT ready for this, any more than Rees was ready to be an OC at the ND level of CFB. So, we learn the lesson yet again, except we never really LEARN it, we just get taught it, again and again and again, each subsequent time arrogantly believing “this time it will turn out differently.” What’s that saying about doing the same thing over and over and over each time expecting a new and mdifferent result?
D. Gremillon says:
ND has become Vanderbilt.
irishhawk50 says:
Not quite….working on it
SMcCabe says:
Ouch!
bocceman2 says:
Joe Ault knocked to the ground by a gimp kneed linebacker sums up the entire game. Pitiful!
GOND88 says:
I never thought ND would be completely bullied and pushed around by Louisville on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Gerad Parker has already won the prestigious Brian Van Gorder award for worst, most clueless assistant coach on ND’s staff.
One Historian says:
Last night was a stinkeroo for the ages on all counts and now good ‘ole USC is coming to town – on paper it looks like stinkeroo #2, which begs the question for the TEAM – who’s showing up this Saturday night? You got your butts handed to you last night for the whole world to watch and this week an ARCH-rival who is riding high and who handed you your butts last year – and then proceeded to rub it in and is unbeaten this year – is coming to town, so the question is simple – whatcha gonna do?
Irishwolf says:
Hi John- Great assessment of the game, as always. And, in a reply post above, it said “To state the obvious, some thought about exactly why ND wants to beat SC is in order, perhaps Williams’ fingernail artwork last year can be put to good use.” At this level of football, tired should not beat someone’s intentions to give the other team a tough game. We have too many offensive line players with no ‘bad intentions’.
In the post-game presser Marcus said he needed to see tape to know what’s wrong/what happened. If that is true, he should negotiate a resignation. You may not know the nits and nats, but, you should be able to know pretty well what the issues are, and adapt.
After the punt call by ND deep in it’s own territory, BK’s ‘get used to it’ came to mind……..
Will says:
At the age of 74 I can say with many years of experience that sometimes you think with your head and sometimes you think with your heart. Since Freeman was elevated to Head Coach I’ve been thinking with my heart. I desperately wanted him to succeed. But now I know in my head that he won’t. I have seen this movie before in the person of Bob Davie, a young and upcoming defensive coordinator who was promoted to Head Coach of ND without any previous head coaching experience. He was fired after 5 years, went into t.v. commentating, and after ten years got the itch to coach again and compiled a dreadful record at New Mexico. Freeman will follow the same career trajectory. He will be a huge media star after he is fired in 3 and a half years. The bare fact is that he was hired by an incompetent Athletic Director and an empty shell of a woke University President for image reasons. He is not a first rate football mind. In the last 2 games he was seriously outcoached by men with inferior teams. ND’s offensive line which was supposed to be the heart of the team has had numerous pre snap penalties and missed assignments, a lack of teamwork, and a lack of effort. The talent is there; the coaching is not. And where will we be in 3 and a half years when Freeman is fired? Our new AD has absolutely zero experience in hiring coaches so I don’t expect an improvement. Bottom line is I am out….for good. I’m not spending another minute on ND football. I’m tired of being a gerbil with a miniature ND hat on my head running endlessly on a flywheel. It’s a good time to get out because in addition to incompetent coaches and athletic directors, I am sick of slick media productions, hype videos, plastic grass, transfer portal mercenaries, NIL money payments, and Los Angeles teams in the Big Ten and SF teams in the ACC. One last question, John. How do you keep going with this clown show? I sense you have been around ND for a long time and love the place much as the rest of us.
John Vannie says:
Tough question. I am running this website along with two other fellow ND alums. I force myself to watch the games and write about them out of loyalty to my friends and those of you who use this forum as an outlet to communicate your ideas, impressions, or simply to vent. My affinity for my alma mater is diminished as is yours due to the incompetent and greedy people who hold the reins of power. That incompetence won’t change when the next group of administrators take over. They have effectively marginalized the legacy alumni who valued excellence in football and treated the program like the treasure it once was. The next AD may be a decent human being (unlike Swarbrick) but his background suggests he will be all about those slick media productions and glad-handing of donors that you mentioned above.
I lost my wife of 45 years this summer and now I look forward to joining her in the next life even with the full knowledge that ND will not win or even sniff another championship while I’m still here.
dobberdomer says:
So sorry for the loss of your lovely bride John. We are celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary
on October 28 by attending the ND/Pitt game. You are a true treasure in regards to your next game previews that I look forward to every week! I also enjoy sending you the $50 checks in the mail (I work for USPS) that keep the ad block feature from intruding on to the various boards. I am a mere sub-alum, but our son graduated and won the Interhall football championship in 2004 for the “Hall of Champions” Siegfried Hall and my experiences on the ND campus was life changing. I will forever “Love thee Notre Dame”!
Will says:
John, as a guy who has just celebrated his 53rd anniversary (to a SMC girl), I can’t imagine the pain that you now have to endure. Take care of yourself, my friend. And…you’re right … ND football was a unique Catholic/American treasure. RIP.
The Obvious says:
Mr. Vannie: your last sentence. No words.
mike says:
John – your articles are always at the top of my required reading list for ND material. Thank you for all you have done all these years; it is invaluable to those of us at a distance from our beloved alma mater. My heart goes out to you and your family for your loss. May God watch over you all, and caress her in eternal joy and happines.
Jake in Cali says:
JVAN,
I’m so truly sorry to hear about your wife.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and all of your family..
George Quill says:
Very sorry for your loss, John. Somehow my marriage to a Purdue alumna has survived these 38 years and counting.
I know , like a lot of you posters, that I sound like the nostalgic old-school Domer that I am, but I also mourn the loss of the University I held in the highest esteem. As an Irish Catholic jock growing up in Chicago, I only applied to one university-ND! It just doesn’t seem like the same institution to me anymore.
I will always be an ND fan, however. Go Irish!☘️
SMcCabe says:
John, so sorry to hear this. Another reminder of just how important a game played by college kids really is, which is not very.
Tonythehawk says:
Right on, Will, sorry to say. As a ‘65 grad, I’ve been following college sports for years. The days of the true student athlete are long gone. Like everything else in today’s society, greed has taken over at all levels, and now in football. Hate to say it, but ND started it all some 30 years ago with the big money tv contract with NBC. Guess it took a while for Power 5 conferences and the transfer portal/NIL to catch up.
Tony Perrone says:
Right on, Will. Too much money corrupting college sports and football particularly.
Tony ‘65
jimcart says:
Our overrated O line failed miserably. Just because they are bigger and out weigh almost all opponents does not make them great. They usually only open holes late in games when the D line is spent.
Mike says:
From seeing it on television and not in person the atmosphere can’t be precisely judged but wouldn’t leadership last night have involved Hartman taking the game away from the offensive coordinator and calling the plays himself? Parker’s or whoever’s calls to run up the middle into the permanent solid wall Louisville had was clearly beyond stupid. And again not being close to the field but always interested in ND football, when a team has one or two great running backs, they usually get used extensively so they can get a feel for the rhythm of the game and then be able to know by instinct when there’s an opportunity. But ND was rotating its backs. Were Estime and Love impaired? They seemed blameless for the mess. (Unlike the receivers.)
goirish1988 says:
Last night allows us to officially begin an anniversary celebration: 30th consecutive season of being irrelevant.
John–you, your wife, and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. I can only begin to imagine…
Tonythehawk says:
Swarbrick has done a good job in elevating ND’s sports programs, all except football. The “experiments” he’s run in hiring head coaches have been gross mistakes, Kelly’s good overall record notwithstanding except when it counted. The latest example with Freeman, a nice guy with lots of potential, but whose inexperience is demonstrated at every game so far. Just watching him on the sidelines shows he looks dispirited and lost. The rest of his staff have demonstrated basic incompetence for the level of ND football. We have been outcoached in virtually every game under the Freeman era. With all its money, surely ND can afford to hire a quality coach and staff to bring real deserved glory back to our school. Hey, maybe we can finally get 59 year-old Urban Meyer his “dream job”. Hopefully, Pete Bevacqua will do the right thing for our football team and our beloved Notre Dame.
mike says:
Tony, sorry you disabuse you of your impression, but Swarbrick has done NOTHING to enhance ND. He has been a continued embarrassment on SO many levels and in SO many instances, that have all been widely noted and can be researched if one desires to know. The ONLY coaching hire (the PRIMARY and most wide-reaching job of an AD) he has made that promises ongoing success is that of Niele Ivey for HC of the WBB program. (Please do NOT respond with the last and the losingest coach of ND CFB!). Even Ivey is another example of his look-down-the-hallway-for-the-easist-hire approach; he just looks like he’s going to luck out on that one. The Shrewsberry hire is yet to be determined as to probable projections. Unfortunately ND has decided to go with yet another never-before-been-an-AD choice to follow Swarbrick, who will likely concentrate on yet more outward appearance modifications to make things appear shiny and slick, instead of doing the hard work of actually building the program with strong foundations. NB: Muffet McGraw preceded Swarbrick as did the lacrosse coach, and the baseball coach hiring (the one who took us to the World Series) was by one of his assistants to whom he delegated the search.
bill mckinney says:
I agree about Freeman looking dispirited and lost on the sidelines and wondering what it would take for him to get a little pissed off. It’s certainly time. Maybe he needs just a little Kelly in him.
The Obvious says:
Mr. Vannie: your last sentence. No words.
D. Gremillon says:
President Jenkins and ex-AD Jack Swarbrick have to take much of the blame here.
James Kress says:
Their search for mediocrity has achieved its goal.
Patrick says:
Our running back situation needs to be figured out. Either start Estime and leave him in or start Love and leave him in. Currently, we put Love, Price and Payne in the game but then sub Estime into the game when its a for sure running play. Problem is that the other team absolutely knows what is coming, Estime right up the middle. I like Love frankly, more wiggle and break away. Also, other team does not know what is coming.
Felt like the momentum got away from us. The first pick was totally on the receiver…I’m guessing that’s one where he is supposed to turn and either make the catch or box the db out. The only player even looking for the ball was the DB.
Our line was terrible. Fisher is not good and has cost us dearly with penalties. We should go a bit smaller with and quicker with our recruiting. 6’7 330 doesn’t work if you cannot move.
WRs cannot get separation. This has to be a scheme thing…every player is a 4 star or better recruit.
Defensively we have to tackle. Also allergic to catching the ball on defense. Not sure who is coaching the DBs but beyond a problem at this point. Also, we do not get home. We have athletes on the line but simply have zero ability to get home.
This team is too talented to play like this. Feels like OSU stole our souls. Also feels like we have no offensive identity. Not a power run team, not a passing team. We never seem to get into any offensive rhythm. In my estimation, part of the issue is the running back carousel above.
Lot of thoughts. In my mind, season is not lost, but we absolutely need to show up next weekend. I bleed for ND, my favorite thing. Hoping we can turn it around because the talent level is there.
manager47 says:
John – once again had to let this one settle in before forwarding my thoughts. Your analysis and viewpoint of many others agreed upon as ND looked totally uninspired,slow and careless from the get go. The first 4 games were against way less talented Teams and the last 3 games the true identity has become evident. Lack of fundamentals in all areas – bottom line that is coaching and/or a lack of. The Head Coach is responsible and like many i wanted the Man to succeed. I said it on this site in year one – there is no room for inexperience at Notre Dame. The players may love you , you might be the best recruiter but that doesn’t and never will translate in being able to Coach. Every Team that plays ND is the biggest Game on their schedule – they come ready – what i see is just the opposit . Poor in every aspect. Tired of hearing ” we have to get better, we need to learn from this.etc” from the Head Coach – hold your staff accountable – i remember speaking to a member of the 1966 Team – he said Ara made the practice week so tough when they got to the Game on Saturday it was easier and they were prepared – not the case what we are seeing here. Leadership starts with the guy in charge – until that improves we will see more outcomes like last night.
Fulkerson's Ghost says:
I don’t know why everyone is so puzzled. This is Notre Dame’s level. This is the level they have played at for decades. Like any team, they will have occasional flashes of brilliance, but they will always regress to the mean. If they play a top tier team, most of the time they are going to get schlonged. This is never going to change. This has been and will be ND’s reality.
joe says:
Hello John,
So sorry to hear that your wife pass away this past summer. May God Bless You and comfort you and your family!
This loss to Louisville really surprised me and the fact that our O and D lines got pushed around. As much as this game hurts me, I feel ND can bounce back and snatch a win vs USC. I am sure relieve that the game takes place in South Bend!!
John, if you were the offensive coordinator, what changes would you do to make the offense more effective and creative! Thanks and GOOOOOOOO IRISH BEAT USC!!!!!!!!
John Vannie says:
Joe,
ND needs to fix its pass protection schemes. Teams are running simple stunts or blitzes up the middle and they are failing to pick those up. That’s basic OLine play. Not complicated yet they fail. The coaching needs to improve and if guys mess up they need to sit.
Teams have figured out that our WRs suck so they single cover them and throw more defenders into the box to stop the run. It has been working and will continue to do so until the WRs prove they can get open and burn them. The coaching needs to improve here too.
ND also needs more play-action passes, particularly on third down. Just running into nine defenders is not working. They can’t even gain a yard when they need it. Our Offensive Coordinator is not very good. Louisville ran the same or similar defensive schemes as Duke, yet Parker had no answer last week and again no answer this week. That’s weak and unacceptable.
On defense, ND has the worst safeties in major college football. They simply cannot tackle. Right now there are no better replacements on the way. It will continue to be a problem into the forseeable future.
The pass rush also needs to get better but at least I see some young guys who might develop into better players than they have now.
My overall assessment is that ND has a bigger coaching problem than they do a talent deficiency. They could use better players at several positions but the guys they have could do the job if they were coached better and the offense had competent leadership.
Thanks for your thoughts regarding my precious bride. I miss her dearly. Every day is a struggle without her.
joe says:
Thanks John for your knowledgeable analysis. You brought up a lot of good points!! I sure hope they can fix these shortcomings quickly since ND has USC this coming weekend!!
I can’t imagine the pain you are going through each day. May God comfort you as each day goes by!!!!
GO ND BEAT USC!
bill mckinney says:
I’m wondering why we are still so enamored of the 50/50 jump balls in the passing game when we haven’t had a receiver who could successfully compete for those since Chase Claypool.Flores didn’t even try to compete for that first Hartman interception when it was inches away from him as the defender snatched it and Tyree couldn’t succeed competing for a ball when there wasn’t even a defender there! I’m surprised he didn’t injure himself trying to corral it! I won’t even start on Meriweather. He’s totally clueless and useless. “SHRUG”
Drasail2 says:
JV,
Thanks for the insight.
All comments above. Wow!
My fixation is the 4th and 11 with 9 min left. Total call by the coach. There is no way you can expect to keep the team together for NEXT WEEK with that kind of strategy.
College football has radically changed in the last few years. Soon there is going to be a playoff. No longer need for A+ or bust. How can ND succeed in a soon less controlled, unpredicable competitive landscape? Here flailing at the end hurts the program more than a loss would.
Freeman! Fix it! Go Irish beat Troy!
Marty says:
Vegas line has ND a 2 1/2 point favorite! What the hell is that JV?
John Vannie says:
Looks like wishful thinking to me. The logic may be that one team (ND) has its back against the wall while the other (SC) has been living on the edge for a few weeks. SC is due for a loss but I don’t believe ND’s offense is playing well enough to outscore them, even though SC’s defense is horrid. I’m not a fan of Caleb Williams personally but he will be the difference in this game.
I also doubt the film of this game will be shown at a tackling clinic.
One Historian says:
I remember back to the 1988 season when Chris Zorich was playing and he played with ferocity and so did the rest of the D and it was said that one of the reasons the others played with such ferocity was simple – they were afraid of what Zorich would do to them if they didn’t. This team has talent but they need a bad-ass. Think BUTKUS.
Suggestion – someone with the expertise to do so should print out all these letters and sneak into the N.D. locker room Friday night-Saturday morning and tape them to the players’ lockers.
Jim says:
Maybe ND should find out who is the captain of Chicago Vocational School’s defense and recruit him. (Butkus and Zorich are both CVS grads.)
JoeZ says:
My God John, I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your wife. None of this matters after that. I’m 57, and have been a huge ND fan since age 11. I don’t know what to think about ND anymore. I think about what once was, the only real television contract and tons of super talent with every Catholic High School in the US with kids who wanted to go to ND one day, and what it is now. The NBC contract keeps us on air, but everyone can get TV time now. I remember once counting on the 11 year rule, 66, 77, 88, then 99 happened, nothing, and on and on. My wife is a huge ND fan now and never saw the glory days, and I feel I sold her a bill of goods. She’s heartbroken after Saturday.
You need another Lou, someone who wants to coach at ND, can recruit like crazy, and is an amazing coach and motivator. If you’re honest, it never has been a job for everyone. I’d say offer the farm to Urban Meyer, and before everyone starts citing the issues he’s had, remember Lou had recruiting violations both at Arkansas before ND and at South Carolina after ND. He may say go pound sand again, but he checks the boxes. He can recruit, he can motivate, he can coach, and once upon a time he loved ND. He’s also worked huge programs before. “Urban, will you promise no strip clubs while you are our coach?” Urban: “Yes” ND: “You’re hired” He just turned down Michigan State, I just have a feeling he’s hoping for one last hurrah with the team that was once his dream school. If he’s not hoping, I am.
Domer262 says:
John, I am so sorry for the loss of your wife. I will light a candle at the grotto for you and your family. Thank you for your excellent reporting on ND football. I look forward to reading your posts every week and I do not need to say what has been said by you and many on there. I wish we could vote out Fr. Jenkins and all the pompous, arrogant board members and get back to what Notre Dame football and Notre Dame as a whole used to be. It’s time to send Jenkins and Parker packing with Swarbrick. I like Marcus Freeman a lot, but I think he is in over his head and I am very frustrated right now. Even Gerry Faust was able to beat U$C. They need something to fire up this team! I think you need to go in there John, and fire the team up! Someone needs to put a spark in them!
GO IRISH, beat U$C.. Break the Trojans!
John Vannie says:
I’m sure I could fire up the team if I showed up on campus. By now they may have read some of the uncomplimentary things I’ve said about them, so my presence would unify coaches and players alike in a desire to tear me apart. The problem is they would never be able to tackle me.
Mike says:
Good one. It made me snort out loud. Risibly.
(BTW at Notre Dame I and pretty much everyone who was in the College of Arts and Sciences knew “risible” was primarily a term used in philosophy, meaning possessed of the capacity for laughter. Now all the unsophisticated but pretentious writers use risible to mean “laughable” or “funny.” Wrong wrong wrong. (Tho by now thru misuse it probably has those secondary meanings.) That alone made it worth getting a Notre Dame education.
Domer262 says:
Lol😃
John Waters says:
Coach is an absolute magician in the recruiting realm. Placing all that talent on the chess board makes us feel comfortable for he first time in quite a while. It just seems however, as a checkers player he has no idea what to do with all that talent.
aguaman
Jay says:
I really appreciate this website. I think the analysis is great. However, I think the point about 7 straight games for 18-23 year old kids is underrated. I have three boys, all under 18 – their collective attention span is terrible. It’s not going to get much better by the time they get to college. Our team is a bunch of kids. They have lived through a bunch of emotion through the last three weeks. That cannot be underestimated.
The world is not ending. Freeman will get better. He is not Davie (and, my class and the class after me are the only two classes of four years of Davie). With the exception of Ty, we have always given our coaches 5 years. Give him time.
There is no reason to overreact to a loss (even two). We need to be careful what we wish for – joining a conference won’t solve the problem. Jack retiring in the other hand may.
If this type of game is happening two years from now when Freeman has his staff and players, then is the time to think the sky is falling.
Until then, remember Bob, Ty, and Charlie, and don’t wish for the return of Brian.
Go Irish.
EZ Chief says:
Good grief you’re a dour lot. This group would whinge about gifts on Christmas. There’s much validity above, but give me a true WR1, an alpha male at LB, and a bye last week and ND’s undefeated.
Please explain why Swarbrick is not a “decent human being.” Please also explain why he’s a bad AD. He (and BK) dragged a reluctant and lost football program into the 21st century. He’s always a step ahead on conference realignments, CFP expansion, and media/sponsorship deals. He salvaged the Covid year. More broadly is there any ND sports program worse off today than at the end of Kevin White? I fail to see the fecklessness, but I’m not at ground level.
Mike Coffey says:
He’s not a decent human being because he provided the legal framework behind which US Gymnastics shielded itself from responsibility as it allowed dozens of young gymnasts to be sexually assaulted by a known predator. He’s not a decent human being because he shielded his new-hire coach from responsibility for a student’s death. He’s a bad AD because he continually makes average-at-best deals with ND’s “partners” while securing employment opportunities for his children with those partners.
Mike Squyres says:
Thank you, Mike.
May God Bless Mrs. Vannie.
Stephen says:
Well guys, the good news is that I am afraid that Johnny is wrong about USC. USC has needed last minute heroics to beat mediocre teams even when the ‘O’ scored 45 plus points. I will admit, I like USC, even though I am a Duke undergrad from the 70’s, I have always had a spot for USC. But USC has a beyond pathetic defense. if you need proof, watch the bowl game with Tulane from last year – yes, that’s how you blow a lead and lose to a AAC team with far less talent and no hope of ever having a Heisman winner in this era.
The game will be close, but the Irish will score enough to win.
Richard J. Notebaert, Jr. says:
Now I am looking forward to ND’s women basketball season.