Notre Dame Football Midweek Mailbag - Northern Illinois Week

[Music] welcome to the show it's ivid Nation Sports Talk we're up and rolling he's Vince stario I'm Sean Styers hope you're having a good middle of the week Wednesday it is mailbag day on the show so bring your questions as you're filing into the chat of course hit the like button as well I'm a little tired today Vince I don't know why yeah middle of the week and it's like it's a short week but yet it by the time you get to Wednesday doesn't feel like it's a short week I don't know it's just it's a weird you know Labor Day weekend or Labor Day week I guess the following week is always just weird like we I think part of it was you know the anticipation of week one and everything that goes with it and I'm not saying there's a let down but now we're you know preparing for Northern Illinois and I was thinking it is kind of you know it's like all that build you know waiting waiting for Texas A&M it's like boom we're in the middle of week two right now you know that is kind of like a like yep but starts it starts flying by you know home game home game atmosphere I I am excited to get a look at the new jerseys and how they you know glisten in the Sun and all those different things you know but um you know I I always love a home game weekend regardless of who they're playing you know but uh yeah so we'll see how it goes but first home game weekend always you know getting back kind of into the routine again back in the old confines supposed to be like football weather too it's suppos be like 60 degrees like I get I'm bored with that man it's been a little chillier this week already like I looked out my door this morning there was fog I know right outside and it's it's low 80s and then it's going to get a little hotter tomorrow and then that cold front moves in and it's going to dip hard like it's going to be a jeans and Hoodie day at Friday Night Football so uh I'm excited about that I love it I love it already time all right well again mailbag night so bring them on let's go we've got uh a lot of salty questions queued up and ready to go let's just start with this one which line coach achieved the most with his group given the circumstances Saturday Joe Rudolph Al Washington so just just based on Saturday I've Gotta Give the nod to Joe Rudolf I mean he's the one that had all the unproven guys and it was far from perfect don't get me wrong but there was nothing that happened that was catastrophic right that turned the tide of the game or you know anything like that and while Riley Leonard is absolutely part of the equation there were no sacks given up right I mean it was too many negative plays I it was seven negative plays that's too many but no sacks no you know uh allowable fumbles or you know anything like that and to be honest with you defensive line played well but not as disruptive as I was hoping that they would be so they didn't quite live up to my expectations it's funny you said that and I I agree with everything I think it's Al Washington given the fact like think about the veterans that you had on the defensive line versus nothing basically seriously on the offensive line but what you were saying about the defensive line and the disruptiveness it was almost like remember like early last year there were a few games where we kept going man what's you know like this defensive line it's like it's it's playing okay but it's it doesn't seem like it's that disruptive and felt like there was a point where they just finally just Unleashed them and kind of let him go and I was saying last night that it felt a little bit like they were it like they were almost there to to occupy Texas A&M offensive line bodies and just let the linebackers do the work that's kind of like looking back on it especially that's that's kind of the feel that I got just watching what they were doing that's not to say they were never disruptive or anything but right it just felt like it was more of that than true just them attacking and that kind of stuff but maybe they were wonder if I did hear golden say I did sorry I did see Al golden say in the transcript that I got you know that they were very conscious of making sure they weren't going to allow explosive plays and stuff like that so that that could have played into it I don't know okay fair enough I you know I was of course you don't want explosive plays and and I wouldn't even stress about that if you're a defensive coach at Notre Dame because I don't think that's gonna happen very often either by Design or just because these guys are so good I I agree with you that that's the way it played out on the defensive line I don't know if that was the goal you know what I mean like I I just I don't play well did that's just you know the impression that I got watch no I totally totally agree with you that was the end game that's what ended up happening and it was fine it worked out fine I mean it allowed the linebackers to kind of do their thing and it put you know the the secondary on an island at times but they're good enough to do that so I'm cool with it you know what I mean so I still want the defensive line to be more disruptive As you move forward in the season and they're going to have to be more disruptive once you get to the postseason right it was good enough to win this game I mean look Texas A&M outside of the one drive and it's a bit of an anomally they never really threatened offensively you know what I mean and so it was good enough I mean it was good enough I just I'm picky man I want it to be better salty says we need to look into testosterone supplements because we need more staying power you know I have tried some of these kind of herbal based you know I'm a little older than you and I've tried some of this stuff and it just none of it none of it short of you know I think like like true you know testosterone replacement therapy you know I don't I think that that's probably the only thing that would help me if I'm looking for that I I don't know I'm I'm I'm that guy who's very uh just I don't know I I don't I'm not a big supplement guy my son is the complete opposite it's like he's got a pharmacy upstairs uh but I'm just very skeptical of of all of it you know what I mean look I love science I think science is legit but I don't know I'm very skeptical I got plenty of test testosterone I'm good I'm I'm plenty good well just you know you keep getting a little older mine is you like when I had my last my you know went to the to you know do my annual checkup physical and all that kind of stuff you know they do the blood test and everything and mine is like it's still within what they consider normal range but it's getting on the the verge of the low range I mean you know I was going to say it the older you get the more it happens but I'll let the priest do my talking for me nothing to prove Vince has five kids he's got nothing left to prove I'm just saying it's not a lie not a lie at all there's one that I was looking for here that that um a special one where did it go I have done no starring it staring okay here it is I posted the uh the snap count for all the players the the the PFF Pro Football Focus snap counts um the other day on the boards and everybody loves the snap counts so I might have to start doing something every week with the snap counts basically you know kind of do that but um which offensive and defensive players do you think get more snaps against NIU here's here's kind of there were 73 defensive snaps Xavier was the only player to play all 73 Benjamin Morrison had 67 Schuler 60 Clark 59 gray 49 a defensive lineman cross 51 Batello 48 Mills 41 linebackers Kaiser 57 Sneed 31 Bowen 30 KVA 21 Osberry 17 uh offensive lineman and Riley Leonard played all 67 possible snaps I think I think the biggest thing that stood out to me Bo Collins 59 snaps out of 67 Far and Away the most you know not Riley Leonard or a lineman great house 48 Mitchell 32 Thomas 23 uh love 30 for the running backs price 24 Ford 13 and then Flanigan 43 for the tight ends raran 24 Evans 10 so that's just kind of a a little snapshot there I could probably share the screen if you want to look at do you want to look at it so you see it yeah because i' I've got some thoughts but I do want to I was trying to keep track keep your eye on it yeah I was keeping track but so I don't know if it's going to change my answer but I I like the question I do yeah because I I've actually been thinking about this because it is it's going to look different this week just because you're taking on a different kind of opponent right right so can you see that okay do I yeah no I can see it perfectly I I went the I went full screen over here so we're good to go but yeah you know for me offensively I still think that the offensive line even when they pull Leonard which is inevitable in this game I think I think that they allow angelli or whoever they put in second which would be angelli I think they're going to let him operate with the first team offensive line I I just think that they need as many reps together as you possibly can get and because they'll be out there with the first team and I think they should be out there with the second team skill guys as well I think you know name name an offensive lineman right I think all five of those guys will either be in together or out together so I think the offensive line will have the most offensively and then defensively defensively I'm actually G to go with because I think a very similar thing I think will happen on the defensive side of the ball I think they'll they'll pull some of the veterans first and so I'm gonna go Drake Bowen I think he gets the most okay because I think he'll be the ones right but then he'll collect some of those Kaiser snaps when Kaiser comes out you know what I mean like I think Kaiser would sit first but I think Bowen maybe some of the young guys continue to rotate and so since he had as many you know nine more than KVA at the time I'll go I'll go Drake bow and I think he'll have the most I think that makes a lot of sense I do you know like I wonder I think that that's probably a good rationale to look at it that way because like even like you're not gonna keep Xavier watts in there any longer than you have to you're not gonna keep Howard Cross or riy Mills in there any long could beer yeah so the same rationale right yeah but I think they have a lot of faith in their next group of safeties that I think they would want to get them the time I think that's where I'm going to go with Scher actually because of that because if like if Watts come comes off I think that you get you you you want to keep getting Schuler as many reps as possible you know maybe it ends up being like tal you know like even if he's playing next to him or that or you might even just you know Rod herd didn't play as much true safety last week they kind of moved him in some different like they basically had him playing as a linebacker you know a couple of different times you know like cover in the middle of the field but they had Schuler there as well I just think the linemen are going to end up with the most snaps if you ask me skill position I would probably go see it's I wonder I wonder how they're going to use the receivers because we know that we're going to see some younger guys and there's a specific question about that I'll just go with with the lineman and say that I'll say Thomas I'll say Jaden Thomas ends up with the most of the skill guys this is a good one this is a good one I because Faison's gonna be out already right and I think they'll sit great house he doesn't need extra reps you know what I mean and so yeah I I could see Jaden Thomas being that guy although he's he does qualify as a veteran though you know what I mean so they right they may sit him uh yeah and because he's still maybe they do because just with his history maybe you don't want to mess with getting him tweaked up and stuff like that yeah yeah DK I apologize I said it was DJ who asked the question I haven't edited it on the uh on the board maybe I should but it was actually K who asked for the snap counts DJ DK I mean the letters are literally right next to each other but I apologize for yep yep yep yep for the uh for not seeing which D I mean you know I there's there's a lot of jokes there I'm just going to let lie I thought too just going to let it go don't want to get canceled let's go into this one Isaiah says Freeman said KK Smith will play and that we'll probably see Micah Gilbert Saturday do you think cam Williams also plays Saturday or at all this year oh I think this is definitely one of the games that they probably have circled for guys that are going to end up red shirting I mean if you if you think about the opponents that you have a good opportunity to play some some depth pieces right it would be Northern Illinois it would be Miami maybe Navy Maybe army those would be the four off the top of my head that I would pick and this is definitely one of them and so you can play four games without burning your red shirt and so I think that he could definitely be this is definitely a game where you could see him and I would not be surprised if that was the case yeah I think that like the fourth quarter if the game goes the way that we think it's going to go that you're going to see a lot of those guy you know you're you're basically going to see all the guys who are not on the three deep basically getting some opportunities out there what they do with the quarterbacks that's going to be a good question because I've already seen people oh I want to see Angeli and minchie and other people I want to see Carr too well I don't know if you're GNA see every quarterback yes that's right I mean unless this is just an absolute slaughterhouse which it could be I mean it's definitely possible getting four quarterbacks then is going to be complicated I just say that yes I can with that for sure Mark wants to know if we're surprised how popular Jason Kelce has become postretirement podcast commercial endorsements NFL TV gig I mean he is everywhere right now I don't I don't know if like because you've got the streaming services but the the channels I watch which is a lot of NFL Network especially this week because I don't get any ESPN channels right now because they're in a dispute with Direct TV so I'm ESPN but uh I'm a little bit but like that whole thing blew up like even my wife started listening to that Kelsey podcast last year you know after the you know the the whole Taylor Swift involvement and all that kind of stuff I mean that's I think it's I think that I think that Jason Kel's wife is is probably the one who's the most disappointed about his retirement because I felt like she was getting a a lot more attention as well and she just kind of go away wow not a fan all right no I'm not I I will say that he is getting the residual effects of his brother's relationship there's no doubt about that but he's also a big personality I mean he's he's Pat McAfee right that was still playing and when he would go to his brother's games and he's got his shirt off and he's doing all chugging beard sound familiar like I mean apparently is what draws eyeballs right now and look Jason Kelly is a smart Kelsey is a smart guy I mean I've heard him do some analysis work and and talk about the game he can absolutely talk about the game you know what I mean and so you add the personality pieces to it and and just he's kind of you know he's every man right he's every guy's man wants to go out and tailgate with everybody and all that stuff it's it's it is more it's a combination to me of the Pat McAfee effect and the Jason Kelce Taylor Swift effect he is benefiting from all of that interesting interesting he's in a lot of commercials he is everywhere and they just got a they signed a huge contract for that podcast a couple of weeks ago did they really multi-millions to do that thing where's our multi-millions I know like why don't we have an NFL player attached to us I mean there's another I mean what don't we have Taylor Swift swift out pipar there's another there's an NFL former NFL player attached to another Notre Dame podcast I don't think they're making millions so apparently you got to find the right one former NFL player I don't know I thought he played in the NFL I don't know which one you're talking about so it's all right I want to bring up people that are are competitors okay all right all right fair enough Joe says if you're from Philly you're not surprised at all I mean he is an offensive lineman it's you know it's pretty rare that an offensive lineman that's true this kind of but I mean even before this whole I mean he was doing the Christmas album and he was doing all this other stuff so I mean he's kind of always been out there you know just more regionally than nationally and but for the last couple years the main thing I remember him for is when they won the Super Bowl and they did the parade he wore like the I don't even know what Genie or something yeah like the genie hat or whatever and he gave the crazy speech up there on you know and like he was he obviously has a big personality I mean that's what I remember the most but like I mean you're talking about two brothers who are probably both GNA end up in the Hall of Fame when it's all said and done it doesn't hurt that they're both really good players right I mean that doesn't hurt any of this because they both go to the postseason and you know all of that so yeah that doesn't hurt DK wants to know is someone who only roots for one player a bad fan let's choose wide receivers as an example if this guy only pulls for one guy versus the room isn't that poor behavior and a bad fan someone to be aware of I wonder who we could be talking about here I feel like this is a direct shot at somebody and I don't know that I want to get in the middle of that some likes peanuts maybe yeah I don't know that I want to be in the middle of uh of that whole s situation but uh you know you can have a favorite player that's totally fine but you better be rooting for everybody else too right that's my that's my take on that situation and I think in this particular case that is the case right I think I think this particular human does root for the whole team and the whole room but unabashedly enjoys one player Joe says do we see mini or Carr on Saturday case in point here we go in other words is this game in the bag by the Third it should be I'm not going to predict that it will be but it should be and if that's the case then you're going to see backups in the fourth quarter now are there going to be enough possessions to get all of those guys in it's going to be a little bit tougher obviously so I would say no you're not you might you might see minchie but I don't think you're gonna see Carr because I think Carr's still the fourth guy yeah I mean we got to to see a little of minie last year because you know there were a couple of different times where Angeli got to come Angeli started the second half against Tennessee State and that gave m a late opportunity to get a few snaps in there I don't see it being that out of hand by halftime I mean one of the questions I have about this game is just how dialed in is this team gonna be sure after that big environment and everything else last week I know like Jaylen Sneed was saying the right stuff yesterday so I mean we'll we'll see with that Marcus Freeman and and where this program is going and where it's you know wants to be and all those different things I mean we are going to see another quarterback out there who's only started five career games for Northern Illinois he's he's been around for this is his fifth year it's either his fourth or his fifth but his career started in 2021 so one two three four so it's his fifth year so he's been around it's only his fifth start if Notre Dame takes care of business I guarantee we see and jelly I just I don't know what they're going to do with those other because I don't think they just want to roll a bunch of guy you know like the quarterback position specifically you want to give whoever the number two guy is some quality snaps as you said let him play behind the first team offensive line for a while and and in those kind of things let him play with some of the first team guys before they start to transition you know with some of the other guys coming off the bench and stuff like that so I just I I don't know about minchie like I would say decent chance for minchi but again it could end up being like last year where it's just like a drive at the end of the game and that kind of thing yeah I I it just depends on what plan they have if if that's you know what they want to do if you know what I mean like I don't it just like it just depends on what they want to do and if they want to get the third guy in they'll get the third guy in you know if they want to get all four guys in then they'll get all four guys in it just it just really depends on what they want to do I just think it'd be tough from a continuity standpoint to do that I could also see a situation where you know Angeli gets the backup reps this time and then maybe against Miami uh you know Miami of Ohio then minchi gets the backup reps and then maybe against Navy maybe that's CJ Carr's turn to get back up reps you know what I I just Army yeah you know what I mean like they could do it that way it just all depends on because I mean I would think that they want to get Carr on the field at some point I would think so yes I would agree with you got difficult when you've got two other quality guys in front of him you know them are anticipating that he's going to be your starter next year you better get him some reps this year there's really no excuse not to so I'll just put it that way yeah with a new kicker punter Long Snapper short Snapp ER and holder did Marty BAGI achieve the most of all the Notre aame coaches in the Texas A&M game no he didn't achieve the most uh he achieved a lot for having all new guys I mean there's no doubt about that and in theory he coached up the guys that have been on the roster and that would be both Snappers and the holder and so you got to give him credit no doubt about it but if you Whittle it down to plays on the field I mean it's it's minuscule in comparison to offense and defense and and as the head coach as well so I mean the only the only negatives I think with the special teams were just some of the punts you know like they just looked off like I you know the line drives and he said he you know he for Rapid Fire I don't know if you looked at the rapid fire list I did and so yeah I don't want to go too in depth with that but I still I think that was hogwash I think I I don't think that's what they wanted to do it all okay all right like I said save it I knew it'd get you fired up it did soon as I saw that no it didn't in that transcript I was like this is Vince material right here thanks for the Super Chat Tyler whose hype do you buy into more after week one USC Penn State or Miami and why USC because their offense is usually pretty good right and they have a good look they have a they have a a coach with a proven track record offensively and I think I I still wasn't all that impressed with their defense if I'm being honest right so I think they have the ability to sustain some offensive uh you know Firepower and and scoring points and some things like that so I think USC has a track record of being good especially offensively Penn State has no track record of winning big games so I don't care that they won in week one that's not a big game and look Miami looked great but it was one week let's see what happens when they meet a little adversity at some point you know what I mean I I just I'm still not 100% sold on cam Ward if I'm being honest and again I I just I need to see what they can do more you know down the line and and look USC doesn't have an easy stretch but I I just still have more faith in them than I do the other two I'm kind of in the same boat it's it's between USC and Penn State for me Penn State just you know blasted West Virginia but at the same time they did that to open last season as well and now they were still decent did make the playoff but like if you're going to ask me which team has the better chance to make it to the playoff it's probably Penn State because I think they've got a little bit easier road than USC and they've got fewer questions because now right okay like what exactly is USC's defense it better but like you said still some question marks there and how good is Miller Moss how how good is all of that going to be over the entirety of the season but at the same time I'll probably lean a little bit more toward USC since they did beat an LSU team that was supposed to still have a pretty good offense they had the same defensive question you know but you know only 47 total points in that game and both teams had huge defensive questions going into it but again I just I don't see pen State really being that much different from any other Penn State team they're they're they're definitely at a at a stage where they're more consistent but I think I buy a little bit more into USC yes because of the the chances with that offense yep because that's two games in a row where you know Miller Moss has been pretty decent really so Salty's not happy with my answer on the Special Teams question uh oh he's he he thought he lofted one down the middle for me and I whiffed sorry buddy that was a fat one he said you whiffed on it I mean I get it I get I get where you're coming from but essentially he's a position coach even though he's a special teams coordinator as far as the Snapper the holder the K you're you're a position coach and I wouldn't put him above any of the other position coaches in fact Corner played pretty darn well you know what I mean like there's a lot of other positions that played really well too so you know he did a great job job no no doubt about it he did a great job but not ready to go there DK says Kelly beat LSU on his own I mean it feels like he's done that in all three season openers so far really you think about it yeah not great Notre Dame's wine and cheese I don't think we've seen this handle before says I don't know if you announced a tailgate but if you do when is it I think salty also asked about a tailgate have you heard any details tailgate for this I have not I usually I'm usually the last to hear about any tailgate information for what it's worth so yeah I have not heard squat didly so I don't think there's going to be one this week it's going to be when you know Brian's parents are in town uh when whenever that is and I I don't know the plans for that so gotcha also would you rather players walk the penalty line to be chirping on the field or show no fire but be safe from penalty and he said at another po that he's referencing the Bo Collins could have been a penalty but wasn't a penalty and it should have been a penalty if we're being honest I mean he push the guy like you can't push a guy especially right in front of the official he's lucky that you know Notre Dame staffer whoever it was I it might have been Coach Brown I'm not 100% sure you know stepped in it's like what are you doing and then he immediately turned around and apologized to the referee MH so I mean he kind of got lucky on that one look I want my especially receivers man like I want them chirping I want them in the ear of the DB as long as they can back it up number one but you've got to know where the line is as far as getting and the line is putting your hands on another guy you just can't do that especially when the plays over like hey man you just made a hell of a catch talk your talk like I'm cool with that but you don't need to push him in the back when he's walking away you know that that's that's I guess you I guess you don't know you know like if there were some other things that were being said I think that they were kind of going back and maybe the was aware of that and that's why he didn't throw the flag definitely possible yeah good call I don't know like exactly cuz obviously Bo Collins pushed him for a reason it wasn't just you know because it's like hey I made a great play now I'm gonna shut you know there was there was some stuff going on there but again you know like he came out and talked to the media last night and he owned up to it and said hey I've got to be better you know I want to be fired up and you know do all that stuff for the team but he's aan like he knows he knows better but I he was fired up like that was a hell of a catch I be fired up you should be fired up if I was if I'm Marcus Freeman I'm telling him like dude that was a clutch massive catch for our team be fired up show your emotion just don't push the guy yeah you gota you gotta know where the line is that's all have you watched the here come the Irish on peacock the two episodes that they dropped last week I sure have SOI so Joe wants to know what you think look it was good enough that I'm upset I don't get to watch another one until the season's over you know I mean it there was some good stuff in there and you know I like following you know Marcus Freeman around and you know some of that kind of stuff and you know I it was very interesting to you know see them vote for captains for example and you know just some of that behind the scenes stuff now some of it I know I've known or knew and I don't have to see it but like some of that behind the scenes stuff is pretty cool and I would imagine now that they're getting into the regular season there's going to be a lot of cool stuff and my challenge is going to be remembering what the heck was even going on during weeks one two three like at the end of the season you know what I mean so I mean honestly what I was thinking is dropping it two days before the season started like maybe they should have dropped it a week earlier so that you know what I mean because like going into that weekend like it's complete like that's one of the because I think we we we would have talked about it if it was a week earlier because we still had a week to go before the game but once the game hit that's all anyone obviously wants to talk about for good reason I think it's just kind of gotten swallowed up by the start of the season two days later I thought it was pretty good I I like the first episode a little better than the SE second episode like they followed both um Xavier watts and Jack Kaiser in the second episode and I felt like like doing both of those stories like especially when you consider again they had the whole offseason of content to put into this I felt like two player profiles might have been a bit much for one episode like of that coming into the season sure kind of thing when they had so much other stuff on kind of on on the pl but I you know again I thought it was well done pretty good it was you know fun to see Jack Kaiser go out to New York and propose to his now fiance and all that kind of stuff cool yeah that was cool I had no idea about that so I mean that was cool speaking of documentaries Sean mailbag question for you have you watched the Connor stallions documentary I watched about half of it okay so okay we don't want to get into it too far then have you watched the whole thing I did I watched it yesterday I mean I've heard about like everything that came in the tail in because like I just got so fed up with watching that first half of it because there was Zero accountability from him I know right he obviously just denied anything it's everything a great sign stealer that's basically his his side of the story is I'm a great sign stealer and that's it you know and and look to to and a diard Michigan F right right that was annoying by the way I'm just gonna say that but I mean they really hit that part home like way too much that he was a just a lifetime Michigan fan and all this other stuff and it's like well no wonder he cheated for him like like that doesn't even surprise me at this point but I I did find it somewhat fascinating you know when he was at the Naval Academy and his entire job was trying to steal their signs and he came up with a pattern and all this stuff and you've got to be pretty smart obviously to be able to do a lot of that stuff but when he got to Michigan he just took it too far like you're clearly good at what you do but he didn't have to take it to that next level which he clearly did all he had to do is do what he did when he was at Navy within the rules correct you know within the rules you whatever's on the TV copy or whatever's going on from the sidelines just that because as he said you know like he had this massive catalog of like every sign that you could imagine took pictures of himself doing it like that was that was actually really impressive and then he would memorize all of them and then try and figure them out and all like that part I was fascinated by because that takes kind of a special mind to be able to do a lot of that kind of stuff and so that impressed me but it's like dude your your love of Michigan blinded you clearly and that's why you did what you did and he still loves Michigan he went to the national championship game they actually talked to him at the national championship game right and like well because he was in hiding and then he decided to kind of come out of hiding and all this other stuff and it's funny because the guy who's in charge of like bar stool is at Port noi or whatever his name is and they started they asked they asked him about being about the central Michigan thing I did see that in there yes and por was like yeah he told me that was him like he flat out said it and then they then they flash over to Conor Ian and he's like this guy doesn't even look like me as he's holding it next to his face and my daughter who had just happened to walk in the room at that time she's like why is he holding a picture of himself because like if that wasn't him are you telling me like how hard is it for Central Michigan to figure out who is or isn't on the staff that looks like that I know I know and and they've got like all these security videos of the people that he bought tickets for filming the entire game and like but they just happened to send him they just happened to send him they just they always just happened to be sitting across the field from the team that Michigan was going to play with a perfect shot of the sidelines they just happened to send him you know video on the phone of of guys you know going signs that's that's that's all that was just hilarious it is what struck me is like this guy apparently he decided like now this is other stuff that I've that I've read I don't I don't know if it actually came up in the science dealer but like his intention to go to the Naval Academy was all part of his long-term plan of being a coach at Michigan he thought that it was going to like prepare him better the discipline and just everything strategic things that he was going to learn so he went to the Naval Academy and all the things and not just the Naval Academy but obviously he he became a marine and when you go through the naval academ Acy you decide are you going to be a marine or you going to be in the Navy and he chose Marines which you know just from a like that's that's again the tougher path to go Marine Corps versus Navy and that's the way so he becomes a commissioned officer yes in the Marine Corps right and then starts flying around the country going to Michigan games and and other games but like like on the weekends he's renting out his house while he's sleeping in his car so that can afford these flights and all this different stuff but this was all part of his grand plan yes Naval Academy become a Marine Corps officer so that it would lead to him being the head coach at Michigan one day he had done research and it's like I forget what the number was was like 10 or 11 out of the top 15 all-time winningest uh college football coaches had all been in the military in some form fashion and so he decided that's the path and so that's what he did and it doesn't sound like he was ever you you know overseas or anything like that it sounds like he was always State Side so he was able to fly to these games on his own dime and was like a volunteer staffer for Michigan Right while he's still in the Marines while still in the yes and then he gets out and he finally gets his his first dream job I had no that part like some of that backstory stuff I did not know like I did not know he was a Michigan fan I did not know he was in the like I didn't know that kind of stuff but the documentary did a good job of laying out pretty much the case against him and they would ask him about it and he'd be like I don't know what you're talking about you know it's like but yeah it was you know everything I'm doing is completely normal man I'm just out here I'm just out here stealing signs from Michigan and at the end he's like well I didn't break any rules but I definitely operated in the gray oh it's okay dude that means you broke rules yeah anyway back to the this stuff more questions mark wants to know what we think about Northwestern how Northwestern football field football players feel about playing on a makeshift lacrosse field for the next two years have you seen this setup they've got over there first of all the the view is unbelievable I mean it's beautiful right next to Lake Michigan I mean it looks great beautiful yeah and look it's a small obviously it's a smaller Stadium I it's it's pretty be an awesome High School stadium a good great call or a small College you know that kind of a thing look Maybe I'm Wrong here and if somebody knows please correct me Northwestern wasn't selling out their Stadium okay they are now and they're so now they can say that they're playing in front of a soldout crowd and you know all this other stuff um look I think the vast majority of Northwestern football players have other aspirations and why while they are football players don't get me wrong I would I would kill to have my kid get a football scholarship to go to Northwestern I don't care what stadium they're playing in okay I don't think it matters that much and and the guys that are going to be around for the next three four years will then be able to be in the new stadium and it'll be great but yeah I mean it would it would it would suck a little bit if you're a senior or something like that but I mean it is a beautiful view it's I mean it's right on the lake right there it's pretty awesome but want new if you want this new stadium you got to do this too so I mean it's it's kind of a if you want this you got to do this yeah I mean it stinks but they are building them a new stadium and that's you know this is a temporary stadium and like when I was looking at it when when they kind of showed the aerial you know my first thought was well you know man it's too bad that like they didn't have more space there because I think there is like I don't know if it's a practice field or what like just build the actual Stadium right there I I wonder how big the new one is going to be I mean it's going to be bigger than this one because again it is not big it is is like a small college or a high school yeah type field they do have some sweets and you know they've added more sweets to kind of you know let the uh the alums with the money and all that kind of stuff you know be able to drink their wine and eat their cheese and all that different kind of stuff but it's a unique atmosphere yeah it's not going to be the rowdiest atmosphere but it's Unique but again is it ever at Northwestern I mean I think you know like down the line I think it'd actually kind of be cool that they'll be able to say yeah we played in that that funny little Stadium right by the lake when we were there I know right and and Tom B says do anyone seen the Northwestern football facility it's the Taj Mahal they have really nice facilities I mean they have really nice facilities at Northwestern and they're all pretty new as well so they're obviously putting some resources into this football program and into their Athletics facility you know alone because I I believe the soccer stadium is on the lake as well so they they've got some pretty cool facilities over there at Northwestern salty wants to know if nap continues to steadily improve will he keep the starting left tackle spot next year it's a great question I mean he's obviously going to have you know 13 starts or 14 or 15 or whatever the number ends up being and he's going to compete for it though because Charles jagas saww is really freaking good okay and if Emil Wagner continues to also improve he's gonna be pretty good too and you're gonna have four legit tackles competing for two spots yeah at this point you're gonna because you're gonna throw gerby Lambert correct into the mix as well and it's not like you've got any interior guys that are going to be graduating that are starting right now that you could like move maybe you know Anthony knap into guard or something like that that so I would say if I was a betting man I would say that the starting lineup for the offensive line in week one next year will be different than this year but I for the life of me I can't tell you what the difference is going to be and as Irish for Life says that's a good problem to have yeah I mean I'll be honest it's something that I've thought about but they've played one game this year so let's get through this year see how this year and then we'll talk about you know next year and you know because it is it's going to come up if Anthony knp plays well this season right there's going to be a major competition for that job in the spring and next fall training camp and we're going to be having conversations about who's going to win that thing and someone's probably going to surprise us again for the third straight year so really good question and speaking of which where was the other one oh do you see the offense trying to let the ball good question Joe and I I forgot that this one was up here I had to scroll all the way to the top do you see the offense trying to let the ball fly this weekend since the offensive line should be in a more manageable situation yeah I think you'll see the offense kind of open it up a little bit more I think the offense was very deliberate this past week it was part of their game plan is they didn't you know especially once the game started to wear on a little bit because they they did call some shot plays but they just didn't work work out for Better or For Worse they didn't work out I think as the as the game went on and they kind of saw how the flow of the game was going I do think that they kind of tightened up the reins a little bit and decided hey you know this is a zero score game or a one- score game like let's not put the ball in position to turn it over exactly I mean they felt good about where they were and how they were executing and things like that but I think at some point they're like you know what I think we're just better off keeping a little bit more closer to the vest and they ended up with a double- digit win so I think you know when it's all said and done you can't be upset with it but yes I think they will these next three weeks I think we're going to see a lot more shots downfield they they've got to figure out just how much that can be a part of their offense they want it to be part of their offense it's why you know again part of why you get Riley Leonard and add these veteran receivers to the mix they want to be more down field and that's got to be part of their Arsenal ultimately as you go on and you you know you're competing in the college football playoff and those kind of things against the better teams on the schedule that's got to be a part of it and you know by the time you get there you are completely expecting that your offensive line is going to be in a you know in a different state than it was in week one against a really good line like Texas A&M I mean right like I said earli this week it's going to look different the rest of the season it's going to look better especially for this next month just based on the difference in the level of the competition that you're play agreed salty wants to know if Yingling logger is The Unofficial beverage of the IB tailgate I mean you can make it that if you want all right so if that's what you want it to be buddy you can do that but it is BYOB we've talked about this before you know you want if you want to butter me up all you got to do is show up with an ice cold Yingling you are a Yingling fan I am because back in the like you can get it around here now but yeah not that long ago I remember people going out of town and you bringing it back or bringing it back for you you know that kind of thing so making the runs to Ohio and yep that's exactly right I remember yep Jesse would when he would see his lady friends in Ohio he would go you know stop at the Meer over there and throw a couple cases in the in the trunk and lady friends all that good stuff yeah from Robert I suppose the idea of lowering academic standards so Notre Dame can recruit better players oh he opposes sorry I oppose the idea this pugrad feels strongly the appeal of Notre Dame football is ability to win without lowering standard not really a question but what do you think look Robert they're not lowering standards I don't know where you got that uh but there's plenty of people that Notre Dame doesn't recruit like some guys in their own backyard that they have no desire to recruit because they cannot cut it academically I mean bottom line and so they are not lowering the standards at all now they are adjusting some things to because there are certain player certain kids certain students that you know once they get here they can handle the workload right and there so there there may be like some chances that they take on a guy or something along those lines but there has to be tangible evidence that they're going to be able to handle the workload once they arrive so they're not lowering the standards by any stretch right because like even in the last couple of years like Marcus Freeman what he's not doing is is kind of that profile of well you've got to be this before I'm going to recruit you they're going to recruit who they think are the best players and then if they commit you know the vetting process kind of begins as they go through their academics and stuff like that but C there there have been a decommitment or two that had to do with the admission process and whether or not they were actually going to get into the school once they had committed you know they got to the point where they found out they weren't going to be able to fit that numerous they yeah so they had to commit and go elsewhere basically yep yep and and he he's clarifying in the chat um here I'll pull it up so we can read it he says uh in past people like Paul horning suggested doing so even though it's not an issue now it has been mentioned in years past when they weren't winning I understand what you're saying Robert but there's a reason that they haven't done that because they do have standards and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon because it doesn't need to yeah and I think that that question is a lot less of an issue right now as we've seen again like especially when you look at current recruiting and stuff like that which we'll touch on I think we can kind of touch on that in Rapid Fire when we've got uh some different stuff that we're going to get to Joe wants to know tougher game for the average Georgia Tech or Florida State well right now I'd say Georgia Tech yeah I know right yeah I mean they they have shown that they can win football games uh Florida State work they were competitive against Georgia Tech in game one they weren't competitive against Boston College so they got a lot of uh self scouting to do they're got to figure some stuff out over there in Tallahassee before I think that that's even going to be a tough game right now I mean can we is it there is there still time to change it to an afternoon game Sean is that'd be great I hope so yeah yes that was actually something I was thinking again like when little when random thoughts pop in my head I put it on my Note page should they flip the Louisville and Florida State you know which one is prime time at this point well you know the jury's still out about Louisville at the moment but I agree with you like at the right at least right now it's looking like a better match up so the new AP poll came out yesterday was Florida State even in it no they F I didn't I didn't think that they would be okay so now they're unranked they were the 10th best team in the country supposedly and now they're unranked if that's not a giant warning sign on the transfer portal and building your team that way I don't know what is sometimes it works like last year and sometimes it doesn't like this year we talked tailgate earlier Irish for Life 99 no Ivy tailgate that we know of like Vince was saying you know maybe Louisville like a Brian's parents or I think that that might be one that they would come in for as opposed to he mentioned it in one of the shows that we did but I'll be honest I don't remember which one it was I think it was a night game but I I just can't remember well if it's a night game it's Florida State then yeah I I I just can't remember so but listen if there's going to be a tailgate it will be well publicized prior so I'm writing down a future rapid fire question so okay I don't want to you know I don't want to waste it all in the middle of a mailbag like we can we can dig into it a little bit agreed so you just you just gave me a little I love it gave me a little thought there Mark if you're hanging around he got a lot of questions in the chat tonight if you could be a little more specific on this I don't think I've heard what you're where do you weigh in on the swoops SAS liberman controversy on Caitlyn Clark I didn't realize there was a new Caitlyn Clark controversy so I know what it is either I mean there's been enough stupid Caitlyn Clark controversy and I'm not saying she's stupid I'm saying the controversies that have surrounded her been stupid just with everything that has followed her into the WNBA it's like they just mismanaged like the whole what they had this huge shining star and when you look at every metric they're getting better ratings across the board and her you know games that she plays in are up there at the top and by the way they started one and eight now they're going to be a playoff team they're above 500 you know it's like things have worked out pretty well for Caitlyn Clark maybe they should have just kind of bought into Caitlyn Clark a little bit earlier instead of everybody telling her that she wasn't good enough to play and everything else swoops pulled from a TV broadcast as being negative on Caitlyn I'll have to wow I'll have to look into that if that's the case and that's the reason why I don't like that and analyst should be able to analyze I mean you should be able to be negative if you want to be negative you should be able positive if you want to be POS you have to keep some objectivity if you're going to that seat you can't just go out of your way to bash one player so if that's the case again like I don't know what was said but if that's the case that you know they literally pulled her from a TV broadcast because of it yikes but there's been there's you know there's just been a lot of negativity she's got her haters there's no doubt about that and I don't think she deserves it frankly Nick Happy Gilmore 2 is happening thoughts I I'm skeptical just as I was with the second Top Gun because we always bring that up uhhuh so I'm skeptical but I'm sure that I will see it and I just I don't know I'm not a big fan of retreads and I feel like they're retreading it a little bit I mean in the post Top Gun I know like you've got Happy Gilmore too you've got um Beetle Juice Beetle Juice yeah coming out I've heard mixed reviews on that even though I still want to see it I think there's another one another kind of that's going to be coming out as well I can't think of it off there's a lot of sequels coming out and and that's kind of been the norm here for the past you know how however many years just seems like nobody's got an original thought anymore so but you know how good could it be Bob Barker's dead yeah dodgeball it's a dodgeball sequel right a dodgeball oh that's we did talk about that didn't we yeah that's what it is I knew it was something with Vince vaugh I think that's gonna be interesting he's got the this show called Bad Monkey on Apple right now and it's not bad just a little little slow pace okay you know but you still got some some some decent Vince Von humor and stuff I'm a big fan of the Vince Von humor I'm not gonna lie just I'm not an apple subscriber so I do not I was in I was intrigued by it but not enough to drop the coinage which is more impactful Bo Collins five catches for 56 yards of the great ones three for three and a pi for 42 yards three converting first downs on scoring drives um I know which direction you're going salty Jesse Drew up that you know the third down conversion play on the past to Jaden great house yesterday I thought that they like that was that was one of the more pivotal plays in the game converting considering that was only their second third down conversion but I I I I've got to put him pretty equal because Bo Collins came up pretty clutch with that 20 yard catch as well the same drive yeah exactly again you can cheer for other guys salty it's allowed cheer for other guys it's absolutely allowed cheer for the whole team uh sloppy Joe says swoops wasn't pulled for being negative she was pulled for making up certain stats to diminish Caitlyn Clark's College records refus to apologize then refuse to be objective with Clark I mean if she's making stuff up and it's just always negative then yeah I mean that's probably in line for at the very least of talking to uh but you know again i' I'd have to hear what she was saying and fact check it and all that stuff before I really feel good about making uh you know a claim but if that is true that's that's not that's not cool yeah I'll do a little research on this and if we want to talk about it at a later date fair enough it's got rapid fire potential yeah I think so we'll uh we'll try to work it in there oh sloppy Joe says the reason Clark had those records was because she was in college for five years which is obviously not true yeah I say she was a player right yeah interesting that that's such an easily fact checkable stat you know what I mean like I mean like Colin coward plays with facts like that though all the time Colin cart's not getting suspended you know so fair but Colin card is also not but he's not doing game broadcast I think that there's a different standard when you're talking about game broadcast versus an opinion show and he's not he's not uh denigrating the face of an entire league on a regular basis either you know what I mean and so I'm sure that was part of it too I mean they don't want a negative slant Clark I mean I don't understand why these players are so mad at Caitlyn Clark for being good basically like like she's stealing her Thunder like look if she gets paid more you get paid more it's how it works it's okay to be okay with it you know yep Nick says inner out on Chris Mitchell having a 100 plus yards and two touchdowns this week I've got to be out on that yeah me too I I didn't see anything I didn't see because like I've said before I don't know if Chris Mitchell is just a a two catch maybe one big play per game kind of guy or if he's actually going to be consistent based on what we saw in Camp and what we saw in game one I kind of lean more towards he's not going to be a big volume kind of guy yeah so I've got to be out on that agreed no disagreement Vince we're on a little bit of a crunch so you ready for Rapid Fire Let's Go rapid fire I actually just realized what time it is and we said before that you know we great time yeah that's right it's a party it's the I cocktail hour with Ying Ling provided so you can't get it like through the screen here I know that'd be nice like just salty just kind of send it right over so Kirk KB Street was on the Pat McAfee show this week and they talked a little bit about Marcus Freeman in Notre Dame this one starts with one of McAfee's Sidekicks Boston Connor asking herb Street about Marcus Freeman Notre Dame there's a video of Marcus Freeman kind of boys going before the game how do you feel about their performance obviously on offense kind of dude I appreciate you going there because man I walked out of there I'm glad you brought him up I forgot to bring him up I love that I love that me too a AJ knows him better than anybody um played with James leonitis part of the Ohio State linebacking crew that was fantastic uh Wayne Warrior uh but he is an absolute I don't know if there's another coach that relates to the players better genuinely authentically uh than Marcus Freeman and uh you know he's got Jim Trestle you know and and his style and playing for him you know he even told me before the game hey a punts okay you know we're breaking in a freshman left tackle you know we got some new people up there and then he's like look at right in the fourth quarter I told you like he told his guys we're gonna find a way to win this thing in the fourth quarter so you know not another coach in the country who relates to players like Freeman you know I think it's something that that we're probably pretty aware of you know like we know what Marcus Freeman is in terms of his relationships with the players and stuff like that but what do you think like the impact when when someone like herb Street sees that you know and talking about it in this way it's clearly in the minority it's far as the stuff that I've heard so far so I was a little bit surprised I mean everybody thinks that Kirk herbstreet hates Notre Dame and all this stuff it doesn't hurt that there's an Ohio State graduate leading Notre Dame right now I'm sure that doesn't hurt the cause any oh we're gonna go we're gonna go I'm just saying it doesn't hurt that's all the Ohio State connection why I didn't even think about it that way just saying it doesn't hurt I'm not saying it's why I'm just saying it doesn't hurt okay but no he was very complimentary and I think everything that he said is legit and I had listened to these comments earlier today it must have yeah it must have been this morning I had listened to these comments and I was a little bit surprised because he didn't hold anything back from the love standpoint I mean he was loving some Notre aim uh with his comments which is a little bit of a cry from what he was saying at the end of the actual game itself so I honestly I feel like you're a little butt hurt over a little comment at the end of the game I am a little butt hurt about that I'm not gonna lie I I think that I think that was it was uh it was Reckless Sean it was Reckless wow we're going to court now like slander Nick says where was this love and admiration during the broadcast I will say see that like watching herb Street you know like we're hearing him but like watching him and you know just just like his demeanor when he's on with on that McAfee show is so different than when he's when he's doing the broadcast and you know honestly I feel like he's he's a lot just more you know like you talk about I feel like he's a lot more just sort of honest and free flowing and and willing to give more opinion because I think that this would be my read on it sitting in a you know having sat in broadcast booths and you have two like for for games it's like when you sit there everything that you say is going to be parsed and picked apart in term like even people reading into things you know exactly what he means about this and that and sure everything else and I think that um I think that it's good that you you got to see what struck me is just hearing Kirk herbstreet give his honest opinion right of of Marcus Freeman and we'll hear some more you know comments about you know what he has to say about Notre Dame as well just like in this setting I think we got a we got more from Kirk herb Street than we probably you know actually got in the booth in a long time I think he's he he tempers what he says in the booth he's trying trying to be more professional and obviously the pat mcavey show is a little less than that so he's a little bit more comfortable to kind of speak his mind and so I you know we've talked about this before we were just talking about Cheryl swoops and what she did or didn't say about Caitlyn Clark in a broadcast game setting which is completely different than a talk show because like we talked remember a couple of years ago there was a little bit of a minor controversy when Olivia miles was healthy and Deb tinelli one of the game analysts she works for you know like ESPN and ACC Network and all that stuff and I think she's in the North Carolina hall of fame or you know something NC State hall of fame or something like that but you know like the comments she there were there were comments she made like well would you rather have miles would you rather have Citron and I just felt like that's more a show for that's like a debate show topic that's not that's not now it doesn't go to to like what swoops was was was talking about but I just feel like there are things that that should be brought up in a game and shouldn't be brought up in a game like there there are just certain directions that you can't go but you can go there in a more open form like a podcast or a talk show or whatever it happens to be and and and I will also say like I said it was a more laid-back position but I think he also had time to reflect on the game itself sure when when you're in the moment of a game and you're watching a game you know and you're seeing it all and you're commenting on it there's certain things that you could miss there's certain things that you see that you like latch on to maybe too much I've been guilty of that you know what I mean when you're trying to analyze a game and do all of these different things so I do think at least one or two days removed he's had an opportunity to kind of think back and and and you know reflect on the actual game and so I I tend to take these comments more seriously than I do the comments he had during the game that makes sense no I mean it's a little bit like I was thinking about this with Brian Kelly today like I've said this before when Brian Kelly was here even Brian Kelly should not do postgame press conferences right he is far too emotional and we saw that the other night Brian Kelly should stay away from postgame press conference he should just do the Monday press conference when he's had time to get away from it and reflect a little bit because he can actually you know like come up with thoughts and not explode you know in front of the cameras out there and it's a little bit the same you know you kind of have a little bit of time away and just we all re-watch games and stuff like that and you have different feels for what you see when you're rewatching it compared to when you saw it live right first time 100% shoot as a coach I feel the same way yeah yeah there's a reason they go back and look at game film right right okay so here's a little bit more McAfee and Herb Street on on uh Marcus Freeman an easy gig being a another Dame head coach that's your first that's your first head job you're the head coach with Notre Dame couldn't even fathom that's tough that's a tough as tough a ask in the college game as there is but I tell you what's great is he's being himself like you said but when you talk to him I I hopefully we do a Notre Dame game day because I'd love for you two to hang out you talk to him you're just you become a bigger fan oh yeah way bigger fan I mean he is as good of a guy as there is and it's no wonder they're recruiting well that the program's doing this with him I mean they're only they're just beginning in my opinion of where they're going with with him as a head coach so when he said the program's doing this he was he was pointing like he went like straight up not even like a yeah he was like exactly you again some pretty High Praise there for Mr from Kirk herb Street it absolutely was and I agree obviously with what he's saying it is a very tough thing for this to be your first you know job there's no doubt about it I mean it's it's extremely tough and I think there was a learning curve there as well I think we all had you know we've been watching him learn on the job for Better or For Worse but I also agree with the fact that he is genuine and what you see is what you get with Marcus Freeman he's not a different guy at least in my experience and I I I see him outside of the Notre Dame bubble you know at at at some of his kids events and things like that like he is who he is like there's no there there's I don't think that there's a persona I I think it's this is me man and if you don't like it cool if you do let's go I I I just think that that's who he is and I think the players can feel how genuine it is yeah I mean the players if it was phony the players would just roll their eyes and none of it would matter you know like like when other guys have tried to have whatever you know kind of fight like I think you know you can read that pretty easily and obviously I don't think that's a thing but it you know it it is I think that that was one of the biggest questions for Freeman because you're going from a coordinator to being a head coach at Notre Dame with the spotlight and the pressure and all the expectation that comes with it didn't work out very well for Bob Davey yeah call the last the last coordinator to get an opportunity like that didn't work out very well even Charlie Weiss like there was some initial success but remember he was a coordinator as well had never been a head coach before College Dame yeah I mean and that the biggest issue that was the biggest issue yeah for sure because he treated it like an NFL great offensive mind but just it was the college aspect and how to develop and build a program which is essentially what led to obviously to Brian Kelly being the head coach complete opposites so how about this one from herb Street on his impressions of what stood out to him about Notre Dame players when he saw them Saturday night they're only going to get better with Ryland Leonard a quarterback and that offensive line is so young when they come together uh I like the skill when they just you know how you look at when a team comes on the field Pat you're big on that like wow TCU they're big like Notre Dame through recruiting through the portal they look so different than where they were a few years ago they used to always have big linemen big tight ends Big D linemen big linebackers and their skill it just looks different they're long they're bouncing athletic guys that really stood out to me Vince I don't know about you I mean you know there are obviously some people who just look at recruiting rankings and they're like well is Marcus Freeman really moving the needle but you know again like herb Street travels all over the country and regardless of what you think of him like he sees what elite players look like and you know so he he you know he knows the difference in what that looks like so that that really stood out to me hearing him say that about the change in a short amount of time that he's seen from what Notre Dame players look like right now well again the vast majority of the guys on the field are Marcus Freeman guys right and so if he's saying that about this team he's saying that about Marcus Freeman and bringing these guys in so I appreciate that he has noticed I just don't appreciate what he says next which almost seems like a complete like 180 from what he just said this is this is Vince in a nutshell man like you can say 80 good things but you say one thing that gets in his C just he's he's just gonna remember you forever he's gonna hate you forever he's gonna yell at you to get off his lawn let's just go ahead and hear it freshly cut lawn uh you look at their schedule probably going to be favored in every game they play the game at the end of the year all of a sudden with USC at the LA Coliseum interesting game to remember and to put on the the back of your mind but Notre Dame is uh I think they're mature they got a great uh group together I think they're they're a team that's going to be in the playoff without a doubt it's just a matter of how much better and how much better can they get and can they stay healthy cuz I don't know what kind of depth uh they have right now massive win in College Station in front of that crowd obviously showing up big everything that's a huge win however pans up very interesting they're going to be in the playoff but he's not sure about the depth I really that was the head scratcher to me there right I think you feel the same because he just said he they walked out on the field they're big they're massive they're fast they're long but I don't know about their depth like I will give him a pass okay because of all the good things that he said I will give him a pass because I feel like he's a national guy who you know I I don't really have an issue what's he really GNA know about Notre Dame death in one game right and I'm okay with that like you're not going to have the opportunity to really dive into the depth and all of that of every single team that you cover you're going to know who the starters are the contributors are the guys you're actually going to have to talk about in the game so if you don't know that this is the deepest Notre Dame team that has been here in decades you know what Kirk I'll give you that cool I'll I'll I'll that's okay right okay with that because you know like I think it was in the countdown show when when you and Jesse and I were together last week what did we do the one word to describe noted a and my word was deep this is the deepest roster they have had that I can remember and like um Leonard Moore played out there Saturday night against Texas A&M good point freshman true freshman true freshman right out there you know like the the only two position group you know obviously the offensive line stayed out there the whole night Leonard uh stayed out there the whole night but three running backs you know that was and three tight ends like those were the only two position groups that only played three guys like all those POs like look at the rotation of the defensive line like I would I would have thought that the depth of that defensive line would have stood out considering how that game played out in the seriously quarter you know right in the depth that was a little surprising but he was very complimentary otherwise he does think Notre D he was to the playoffs very that's why I'm giving him a pass but like clearly the depth was there at linebacker you rotated Five Guys the depth at line or defensive line was there you know you rotated a bunch of guys there like clearly the depth was there but you know he said a lot of nice stuff so I'll let it go yeah let it go maybe Brian just jumping in Kirk herb street is the KH that is being referenced talking about K CB street so some interesting comments that I thought that he had fill in the blank it's blank that Jaylen Sneed said the last time he saw mark Freeman as fired up as he was last Saturday night was after the Marshall game two years ago it's fantastic frankly because he should have been fired up after that game for all the wrong reasons right I mean right I wouldn't I that that is not a a that is not a time where you walk in the locker room and you're like all right guys you know what let's just flush this loss you know we're gonna we're not even gonna watch the film we're gonna move on like it's not time for that it's time for them to know that that's completely unacceptable period and it's not only unacceptable by the players it's unacceptable for the coaches and the support staff and the nutrition St everybody it's unacceptable right he should be fired up for that but I think that's a very interesting reference I didn't know he was that fired up I love that he was though like I love it he didn't show that again like he stayed restrained obviously on the field but he obviously was you know was lighten into some people afterwards whether the cameras were actually on and and rolling it it it does strike me that Notre Dame did host Ohio State last year you know that was obviously a season after Marshall and he wasn't nearly as fired up like was he because it was his Alma moer and the hype around it and everything else was he restraining himself a little bit I don't know I just I will say a lot of people have wanted to see a more fired up Marcus Freeman I I think that his emotion needs to be whoever he is again like going back to his authenticity I don't think he needs to you know to push it and you know like well like now I need to you know whatever kind of thing he just like if that's his personality he just needs to to let that personality drive him in whatever direction that he thinks is best for his team I will be kind of curious to see again like what that looks like this week when the atmosphere is going to look a lot different that's fair that's fair I don't think he's going to come out all fired up the way he did right you know because then it looks manufactured right you know what I mean because I don't think it be that fired up but at the same time whatever whatever the motivation job is I think that right I think that that's being reinforced this week because Sneed also did say that that they're you know they are taking this game very seriously like they don't look at it differently and that's ultimately I think how this season is going to be judged because if that's actually the case and they play that way all season I don't see any body being able to beat them I see an unbeaten team going into the playoff at the end of the year if they're able to sustain and and do that throughout the course of the Year Notre Dame's favored by 28 and a half points this weekend against Northern Illinois scale of 1 to 10 once your confidence they cover that number like a six and a half seven because when it when it's that high you're Go I mean they should win by that much yeah exactly because you just never know how the end of the game is going to shake out because Notre Dame's going to have some backups in Northern Illinois might have some backups in you know how long does Northern Illinois keep their starters in against Notre Dame's backups like I you just don't know how that's going to go you know what I mean and so you I don't I wouldn't touch that line even though I think they should win by that much if not more but those big numbers man it get just gets a little bit scary and the offense wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders last week so you know if that was the case if I've seen them put up you know some major yards and points and things like that I'd be a little bit more apt to it but final look I'm a 10 that they're going to win but you know to win by that much I'm like a six and a half or seven yeah I think I'm a seven seven and a half for the reasons that you talked like you said the offense wasn't firing on all cylinders but at the same time they weren't playing Western Illinois I they were playing Texas right but but again I need to see what this looks like against a team like this before before I'm willing to be fully confident that they're going to cover these kind of because they they were big they were big favorites a lot of times last year the last two years basically and they haven't come anywhere close you know we thought that they were going to take it to the next level against some of these teams that were supposed to be pretty bad but it hasn't happened so my confidence is more in that seven range I you know I I will say this in you know last year they took care of business against the crappy teams right 42 to3 against Navy 56-3 against Tennessee State uh 4524 against NC State even though that was supposed to be a tough game Central Michigan they won 4117 um let's see what's oh and pit they won 58 to7 so I mean they and were better last year 45 to7 against Wake Forest and 56 to 23 and Stanford like all right I'll push mine up to an eight my confidence is an eight I'm like trying to convince myself I think at this point but like if we're just looking at last year I think they do take care of business against teams that they should so okay I'll up mine to like a seven and a half eight yeah I mean obviously that was that was the knock on last year's team right they more than took care of the teams that they should but against the better teams couldn't get over that hump you know you couldn't be better fill in the blank it's blank that Irish special teams coordinator Marty Biagi says the way James rendel punted against Texas A&M was part of the game plan do you want me to read the quote or okay sure yeah read the quote so you say quote there was a lot of game plan into it we always want to make sure in that kind of environment first game what he felt like for sure was what he was comfortable with that's a good that's the good part he's so diverse but even in the game we made a couple different calls or checks that we hadn't necessarily practiced because of some of the different things they were doing he did a great job being able to adjust really can put the ball anywhere on the field which is an asset end quote from Marty baji it's hogwash I'm going back to the word I used earlier in the show because look the end result was you know what like almost 43 yards average on the five punts okay that that's okay but those line drives you're out kick you're literally out kicking your coverage you're not allowing them to get down the field and so you look a 10 yard return on a punt too much that that's too much if if he is who he's being advertised as and I think he probably is but in this game he wasn't he's supposed to be the 5.0 you know 55 yard kick guy that by the time the ball comes down he's surrounded by a bunch of Notre Dame guys and forcing a fair catch you know it didn't look like that it it looked a little too nonchalant for for my taste and a little too too line drivey for my taste I would agree with both of those I don't know if the nonchalant the line drivey I just feel like if I'm like you know reading what baji says they were very safe they they were playing it safe out there in that environment kind of like they were playing it safe with the offensive line they didn't want a guy in you know a a big environment like that the first real big environment that he's ever been in because remember again he said the biggest crowd that he'd ever been in front of before that when he was in Australia was when he was playing in you know like some 17u national championship like 20,000 so the crowd was five times bigger than he's ever been in front of and just everything you don't want some crazy special teams play to be the difference in a win or a loss so I can see them you know kind of playing it safe with a guy who's never been in that kind of pressure pack situation before but line drives aren't playing it safe that allows them to return no I agree that's the one part like because the coverage because what was one of the things they needed get better at compared to last year the punt coverage not letting them have those extra yards and stuff like that now he didn't shank it out of bounds or anything like that and so okay cool that's great it was an it was it was an average outing like I'm not mad about it I was just expecting more so you know let's see what he can do at home uh you know this week maybe want to see big booming punts this weekend at Notre Dame I mean they might not have to punt who knows well that's fair too I mean you look I'm not expecting him to look like a traditional punter you know because he's never done it before I'm just expecting to you know what we've been told that he does that that's what I'm expecting you know supposedly he was booming them during pregame 70 yard kicks you know all this other stuff well didn't translate herck I tend to agree with you he says he's never punted in college football he wasn't sure of the Full Throttle timing he was rushing punts I could tell and I did you know that's what I said like those first couple especially he it felt like maybe like he was feeling pressure on you know like in terms of the rush on him that wasn't there like he was you know like very conscious of trying to get it out early and they weren't that great as a result well this is going to sound negative and that's kind of my thing but that and that's so that's okay but that's that's the coaching staff then heat him up in practice I don't understand why he was so like shaken in a game with with them coming after him they heat up the offensive line in practice but they played it safe with them in terms of what they were doing so true but they didn't give up any sacks either no but you know James renell didn't didn't make any negative plays in the punt game so he did not no he did not we're just GNA have the the harshest punter critic all season long in Vince Dario is what we're going to have I I think we need to bring on the other Dario who's actually an expert on the subject you might have to but just don't promise me 5.0 50 plus every time and not deliver that's all I'm saying don't give me the promises you got to deliver that's all that's gonna do it for tonight Vince has got a roll good stuff a lot of good questions in the mailbag earlier tonight tomorrow is we in we out day so don't forget to go to the new Champions Lounge submit your we in we out questions for tomorrow's show we'll have uh some of the latest comments from Marcus Freeman at the start of the show as well from his noon Zoom call with the media that is not broadcast to the public so we'll have some of that on tomorrow's show as well Vince enjoyed it as always I will talk to you on Friday yes sir ready and waiting that'll be when we do countdown to kickoff of course until then hit the like button before you leave and of 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