SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It’s Game Blue and Gold weekend, and you’ve got questions. Less about the game itself and more about everything around it, from Notre Dame’s NIL boost to the long-awaited reveal of its next football building. There are also questions about bettors’ exits. , problems with the offensive line, and it makes financial sense to book a hotel now for the school football playoffs in December.
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Begin.
Why can’t a normal fan go to the FUND’s online page and make a one-time or monthly recurring donation in five minutes?I think there would be thousands of enthusiasts more than satisfied with donating $20 a month, and many probably giving more, and that can make a real difference. Other schools do this, why can’t we?– Brian C.
You can go to the FUND’s website, fill out the “Contact Us” form, and make a donation to the collective if you would like to take this route. It’s not as fast as entering your credit card format directly on the site, but it’s not. like FUND would reject the donation. If you’d like to donate $20 a month to the Notre-Dame collective, the option is there.
But if you’re asking why Notre Dame doesn’t directly reach out to alumni and enthusiasts looking to donate to the FUND, I understand that they don’t need to go into detail and give the impression that they’re asking for a double donation. There’s already donor fatigue at other schools (this story by Seth Emerson explains the upheavals) and Notre Dame doesn’t need to create a similar scenario here. FUND is also very well funded. According to agents, Notre-Dame is seen as competitive and willing to pay. You’ve probably noticed that every Notre Dame player is returning this season, as well as the next beloved quarterback on the roster. What the Irish are doing now is working.
In many ways, other schools would prefer to take inspiration from Notre Dame and vice versa.
Gug updates are expected to be released this weekend to coincide with the Blue-Gold game. In the age of NIL, are amenities still seen the same way as before with recruits?What would be your five most sensible and must-have upgrades for A New Building/Renovation?-Ryan C.
Interesting question. Facilities still matter, but with NIL weighing so heavily on recruiting in those days, the capacity of those amenities now matters more than your style. To put it another way: When did you last see an NFL free agent sign with the team because of their cafeteria or weight room?This resolution is a commercial transaction. Today, recruiting at top schools is more like that than it was when customers went wild through slides, calm rivers, or golf courses. Instead of spending that money on structural projects, it would be better for schools to spend that money on players. . . . through a third party, of course.
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As for Notre-Dame’s new facility, nutrition will be the number one priority. As far as I can understand, the plans take that into account. Notre Dame football no longer carries food from the practice table down the sidewalk in carts and then places it in an elevator to serve it in an area designed as a reception area/recruiting room. Notre Dame has come a long way since it insisted that football players eat in the cafeterias because they had to be close to the normal student body. This will be the next step in this evolution.
Second place on my list would be the recovery area for players. The Irish have invested here in recent years, either in terms of other people and products. It’s easy to find an area for one person. It’s harder to find an area for a wing of floating tanks. , cryotherapy chambers, or laser therapy, depending on where Notre Dame needs to move forward with your recovery. But when Notre Dame added a floating tank later during Brian Kelly’s tenure, it necessarily incorporated it into an area dedicated to bloodless bathtubs.
The third would simply be space, whether it’s coaches’ offices or real estate for players to get an education. In Gug 1. 0, a graduate assistant referred to his workplace as “the sweatshop” because there were basically three staff members working in an application closet. Jack Swarbrick talked about stepping over players who were doing their homework while they were sitting on the floor. The Gug was not designed for its current use.
In reality, there will be bells and whistles that Notre Dame will come with in its new football operations center. Given the burden of this project, it makes sense to spice it up a bit. But nutrition, recovery spaces, offices and university real estate are expected to be the driving forces behind the projects unveiled on Saturday.
How involved are you with the offensive line right now?Is pass coverage the main issue, or are ground blocks a similar concern?-Stephen O.
Worried but alarmed, if that makes sense.
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The offensive line will take a step back this year, which happens when you lose a unanimous All-American on the left side and a mid-round pick on the right side, even though Blake Fisher never took the next step in his junior year. Taking the position was going to take a lot of work. Not just this weekend, but all summer and then all preseason camp and probably all season.
But considerations about how to approach seem to overwhelm what’s happening at Notre Dame with Pat Coogan, Ashton Craig, Rocco Spindler, and Billy Schrauth. No matter who starts guarding, the Irish will be confident that they can hold their own against Texas.
Last weekend’s scrum didn’t involve much past fortune in floor games beyond the quarterback, who still counts. But the biggest fear was the inability to grasp predeterminations, either by making sure certain projects were forged or simply by clinging to the rush of one-to-one passes. Will Notre Dame be able to arrive before the season? Maybe. Most likely, this offensive line will look a bit like the 2021 team, which featured six starting elevens, five of which came in the first six weeks. Joe Rudolph shouldn’t want to go to that extreme, but it’s simple. Take a look at the offensive line and wonder if it’s fleeting to want a little paint throughout the season before coaches know who can play more productively and where.
Assuming the Irish have been defeated at Texas A
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Good to see you again! Three-point position for holidays in French Polynesia. . . Visits to the islands or sun loungers and cold drink?Overwater bungalow or else? The best part?—Jonathon G.
1. We took a cruise after spending some time in Sydney. And for the record, Notre Dame wants to see a Shamrock Series game at Allianz Stadium. From there, the cruise ship reached Fiji, Bora Bora, Moorea, and a few other stopovers. There’s a lot of diving and snorkeling, so most of the time there are tours with drinks later.
2. Are you booking an overwater bungalow for two people who need to check TikTok and play Fortnite?Indoor cabins for everyone.
We went snorkeling in Bora Bora, where we saw seven giant ocean manta rays, which like to be underwater with a 20-foot alien weighing two tons.
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Can you give us some facts about the communication of the headphones?Will Notre-Dame use this generation in 2024?Do you know if there’s a generation plan for helmets for the playoffs?- Kenny G.
Notre Dame tested the headset’s communication while preparing the bowl, but was unable to use them in the game because the state of Oregon rejected the opportunity to do so. Obviously, the Beavers have had a lot of other upheavals with the departure of part of the team. training staff and double-digit departures. But Notre Dame’s first impression of helmet communication was positive. That’s literally no wonder given the absurdity of signage in school football.
New offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is also okay with the headset communication, though he’s not sure what effect this will have on the speed of the game. As a reminder, the helmet communication rule would allow a player in all aspects. of the ball having a helmet, which would cut off 15 seconds from the end of the game clock or when the ball clicks, whichever comes first. In theory, a fast-moving team can simply run to the line of scrimmage, force the defense into lineup, and then ask the offensive coordinator to call the quarterback with a whistle.
“We’re going to have a way to increase the speed of what we’re doing,” Denbrock said. “I don’t know if it affects him. I haven’t figured it out until now. Maybe some of this data will become a little clearer as we move forward.
“But I like it so far, and the quarterbacks like it, because they don’t look at the signal. In fact, they just look at the defense or line up the offense. I think in the long run, it’s going to allow us to run more games. “than less.
One note: Unlike the Sun Bowl, where Notre Dame couldn’t use helmet technology because the state of Oregon decided not to use it, teams wouldn’t want to agree on whether or not to use helmeted communications this season. excellent. If the opponent doesn’t, that’s your decision.
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Will CJ Carr be able to replace the Irish in QB?
Why would our initial bettor be transferred? A) Iowa was offering a NIL purse or b) Mike Denbrock has a boat-burning strategy and we will never release them?-Nick J.
Behind the scenes, Bryce McFerson has struggled with consistency during the peak of spring practice, even more so than was demonstrated in last weekend’s open scrum. Even if Notre Dame didn’t need to lose its starting bettor in spring practice, as much as the Irish are expected to pull through, whether it’s the move of graduate Eric Goins or the search for something new on the moving portal.
Consider McFerson’s saga as another example of why it doesn’t make sense for a program at the level of Notre Dame to pull scholars and players out of top schools, barring exclusive circumstances. The Irish discovered more than McFerson did two years ago on the Harvard transfer. Jon Sot, who beat the rookie. There is a strong possibility that the Irish will be able to do so again.
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What can you do to make August 31 come sooner, Pete?My NHL team is about to miss the playoffs (back) and my MLB has to have licensing agreements with Ambien. See what you can do please. Enjoy it. -Brian S.
As a Liverpool fan, I hear you.
How early is it to plan my trip to South Bend for December 20 and 21 this year?-Patrick F.
I’ve been tracking hotel rates on the domain over the weekend and it turns out that some chains are starting to see the possibility of a football game at Notre Dame. The Courtyard in Mishawaka is $899 per night this weekend and has a “Special Event. “marked in the rooms, however, the Fairfield Inn, just 2. 6 miles away, can still be purchased for $271/night with the option to cancel until Dec. 18.
It is worth booking this reservation in advance.
Remember, this is everyone’s first time experiencing the expanded school football playoffs. And there are no more productive practices to manage this. But if a high school football fan is interested in their game, a reasonable hotel room is a market inefficiency to consider.
(Top photo: John Byrum/Icon Sportswire Getty Images)