Rod Gilmore discusses the reason he is concerned Notre Dame is ranked in ESPN.com's College Football Future Power Rankings.
Steele: Notre Dame has nation's top D-line
June, 18, 2013
Jun 18
4:00
PM ET
By
Matt Fortuna | ESPN.com
College football guru Phil Steele has been sharing some features from his preseason magazine on ESPN.com lately, including position group rankings. And Notre Dame fans will be happy to learn that Steele ranks the Irish tops among all defensive line groups in the nation.
What's more impressive is that Steele says he puts more value into offensive and defensive lines than other position groups since the line of scrimmage is where a majority of games are won. They mark the areas that the SEC has dominated in winning the last seven national titles. And, surprisingly enough, only one SEC team cracks the top five of Steele's D-line rankings, with South Carolina coming in at No. 3. (The Gamecocks have a fairly popular end you folks may have heard of.)
With five of the top six players back from a line that helped the program ascend to No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense last season, the Irish have two future top-15 picks, according to Steele, in Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix, with Steele referring to Nix as the best defensive tackle in the country.
To read the full rankings and analysis, which runs 15-deep and features some familiar opponents and former players, click here.
What's more impressive is that Steele says he puts more value into offensive and defensive lines than other position groups since the line of scrimmage is where a majority of games are won. They mark the areas that the SEC has dominated in winning the last seven national titles. And, surprisingly enough, only one SEC team cracks the top five of Steele's D-line rankings, with South Carolina coming in at No. 3. (The Gamecocks have a fairly popular end you folks may have heard of.)
With five of the top six players back from a line that helped the program ascend to No. 2 in the nation in scoring defense last season, the Irish have two future top-15 picks, according to Steele, in Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix, with Steele referring to Nix as the best defensive tackle in the country.
To read the full rankings and analysis, which runs 15-deep and features some familiar opponents and former players, click here.
Stephon Tuitt and Prince Shembo have both been named to the defensive watch lists for the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA).
The defensive awards are grouped by position, with Tuitt among 32 defensive linemen and Shembo among 41 linebackers.
All CFPA recipients are picked by "objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams," according to the release.
But really … no Louis Nix among 32 defensive linemen?
The defensive awards are grouped by position, with Tuitt among 32 defensive linemen and Shembo among 41 linebackers.
All CFPA recipients are picked by "objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams," according to the release.
But really … no Louis Nix among 32 defensive linemen?
Don't know how I missed this awesomeness form Grantland.
- Phil Steele says that the group of seven independents make up the eighth-strongest conference.
- IrishIllustrated's Tim Prister talks with director of football administration Beth Rex. (Subscription required)
- T.J. Jones is primed for a big senior year, Wes Morgan writes on BlueandGold.com.
- SBNation's Jason Kirk has Notre Dame landing in the Pinstripe Bowl against Rutgers this season.
- SportsonEarth's Matt Brown says that Bob Diaco is one coordinator in line for a promotion soon.
Poll results: Vanderdoes should lose a year
June, 18, 2013
Jun 18
9:00
AM ET
By
Matt Fortuna | ESPN.com
The biggest surprise from the Eddie Vanderdoes poll from two weeks ago may be that there are actually more than 200 of you (roughly 10 percent) who think that Vanderdoes should not have been docked a year of college eligibility after his divorce from Notre Dame.
It only makes sense; Irish fans make up the majority of this blog's readership, and you guys are upset that the nation's 10th-best player defected from your favorite school at the 11th hour, without giving much of a clear reason publicly.
The response of Bill Ganh from Macclenny, Fla., seems to speak for most of you.
Those comments are in line with what Brian Kelly told reporters last week in Bridgman, Mich., with the coach saying that it comes down to accountability. Kelly was asked if the situation was fair to Vanderdoes since Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame at the end of the 2009 season with four years left on his deal with the Bearcats.
In short, with no dog in the fight, I agree with the majority here. A simple "OK" from Notre Dame to Vanderdoes' request would set an awful precedent throughout college football, rendering the recruiting rush even crazier than it already is.
Colleague Ivan Maisel makes a valid point, however, in noting how that attitude contrasts with the way the school handled its contract with Arizona State for the schools' 2014 matchup.
It only makes sense; Irish fans make up the majority of this blog's readership, and you guys are upset that the nation's 10th-best player defected from your favorite school at the 11th hour, without giving much of a clear reason publicly.
The response of Bill Ganh from Macclenny, Fla., seems to speak for most of you.
Hello Matt, As a life long Notre Dame fan, I am a bit biased on the question of "Should a player lose a year of eligibility". I also live near Florida State and are watching them go through the same thing. I think that a player needs to lose a year if they leave a school, or like you stated, National Signing Day becomes a even more of a circus then it already is a la "Lebron James Decision". Although I do understand circumstances change part of lessons of life is learning that sometimes there is a penalty for making those changes.
Those comments are in line with what Brian Kelly told reporters last week in Bridgman, Mich., with the coach saying that it comes down to accountability. Kelly was asked if the situation was fair to Vanderdoes since Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame at the end of the 2009 season with four years left on his deal with the Bearcats.
"I paid a million dollars in a buyout, too. There's accountability in making those decisions," Kelly said. "You can break the contract. He's broken the contract and he's going to go to another school. But there's a level of accountability there."
In short, with no dog in the fight, I agree with the majority here. A simple "OK" from Notre Dame to Vanderdoes' request would set an awful precedent throughout college football, rendering the recruiting rush even crazier than it already is.
Colleague Ivan Maisel makes a valid point, however, in noting how that attitude contrasts with the way the school handled its contract with Arizona State for the schools' 2014 matchup.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said that the university wouldn’t release 2013 signee Eddie Vanderdoes to play at UCLA this year because he must be held accountable. Kelly is right. Vanderdoes signed the document. He has to live by it. So what took Notre Dame so long to commit to play at Arizona State in 2014? Sun Devils athletic director Steve Patterson said on the ESPNU College Football Podcast that it took a lot of lawyers and a lot of negotiation to get Notre Dame to agree to honor the contract it signed in 2008.
Class is back in session today. And that doesn't just mean that yours truly has returned from vacation. Notre Dame's summer classes start today, which also marks the first day of the rest of 18 football newcomers' lives.
The Irish reeled in ESPN's No. 4 recruiting class in the nation for 2013 prospects -- a ranking that had included No. 10 overall prospect Eddie Vanderdoes -- and a majority of that group officially begins their college lives today.
Steve Elmer, Mike Heuerman, James Onwualu, Corey Robinson and Malik Zaire already received head-starts, having enrolled this past semester and going through spring ball with their new teammates. Here's a refresher course on some of the new faces on campus today. (* denotes an ESPN150 member; ** denotes an ESPN300 member)
The Irish reeled in ESPN's No. 4 recruiting class in the nation for 2013 prospects -- a ranking that had included No. 10 overall prospect Eddie Vanderdoes -- and a majority of that group officially begins their college lives today.
Steve Elmer, Mike Heuerman, James Onwualu, Corey Robinson and Malik Zaire already received head-starts, having enrolled this past semester and going through spring ball with their new teammates. Here's a refresher course on some of the new faces on campus today. (* denotes an ESPN150 member; ** denotes an ESPN300 member)
- Five-star OLB Jaylon Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers)*
- Four-star RB Greg Bryant (Delray Beach, Fla./American Heritage-Boca-Delray)*
- Four-star ATH Max Redfield (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo)*
- Four-star ATH Tarean Folston (Cocoa, Fla./Cocoa)*
- Four-star OL Hunter Bivin (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo)*
- Four-star WR Torii Hunter Jr. (Prosper, Texas/Prosper)*
- Four-star OT Colin McGovern (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West)*
- Four-star DE Isaac Rochell (McDonough, Ga./Eagles Landing Christian Academy)*
- Four-star OLB Doug Randolph (Woodberry Forest, Va./Woodberry Forest)*
- Four-star CB Devin Butler (Washington/Gonzaga)**
- Four-star ATH Rashad Kinlaw (Galloway, N.J./Absegami)
- Four-star OT Mike McGlinchey (Philadelphia/William Penn)
- Four-star ILB Michael Deeb (Plantation, Fla./American Heritage)
- Four-star TE Durham Smythe (Belton, Texas/Belton)
- Four-star CB Cole Luke (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton)
- Three-star OT John Montelus (Everett, Mass./Everett)
- Three-star TE-Y Jacob Matuska (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley)
- Three-star WR William Fuller (Philadelphia/Roman Catholic)
Glad to be back.
- The New York Times' Greg Bishop wrote a lengthy piece last week on the late Cullen Finnerty, with Chuck Martin coming off really, really well in it.
- The South Bend Tribune's Al Lesar says that Bob Elliott is not one to give up a fight.
- BlueandGold.com's Dan Murphy catches up with Lou Holtz. (Subscription required)
- Jaylon Smith is ready to get started at Notre Dame, Tony Krausz writes in the (Fort Wayne) Journal-Gazette.
- Players and coaches ran women through drills at Football 101, Rachel Terlep writes in the Elkhart Truth.
Y'all should know what No. 1 is by now …
Nov. 24 2012: Goal-line stand halts USC, caps perfect season (Stories here, here, here, here, here and here)
The irony could not be lost: The preseason No. 1 team in the country found itself unranked heading into its regular-season finale against its arch-rival — the nation's new No. 1 team, which had actually entered the season unranked.
Theo Riddick carved up the USC defense for 146 rushing yards, Kyle Brindza hit five field goals, Notre Dame held Marqise Lee in check, Manti Te'o recorded his seventh interception and, with a little more than five minutes standing between Notre Dame and a perfect season, the Irish defense lined up in front of the end zone for one last stop.
As Brent Musburger said: "A goal-line stand for the ages."
Down 22-13, USC had a first-and-goal from the Irish 2.
A false start. A 3-yard rush. Consecutive defensive pass interference penalties. Two QB sneaks for nothing. A rush for no gain. An incomplete pass.
It took eight plays and three minutes, and afterward Notre Dame was celebrating another goal-line stand against a Pac-12 rival. Its tickets were punched to Miami, where the Irish would face Alabama in the Discover BCS National Championship.
They had completed the perfect journey in the regular season, overcoming what looked like a daunting schedule. Brian Kelly continued the trend of Irish coaches succeeding in their third season in South Bend, Ind.
Afterward, athletic director Jack Swarbrick spoke for everyone in saying that yes, this much success had come sooner than expected.
Things didn't end so well for the Irish against the Crimson Tide, but they and their fans will be able to hang onto this moment, and this season, forever.
From South Bend to Southern California, Notre Dame had marched on to South Beach, 12-0.
Previously
No. 10: Rees replaces Golson on final drive, leads Irish to win over Purdue
No. 9: Irish open season in Dublin with rout of Navy
No. 8: ND gets revenge on Robinson, UM in night win to cap perfect opening month
No. 7: ND survives missed FG, missed penalty and 3 OT scare from Pitt to stay perfect
No. 6: Notre Dame tours award circuit after perfect regular season
No. 5: Notre Dame joins ACC, will play five ACC games per year in football
No. 4: Irish rout Wake on Senior Day, ascend to No. 1
No. 3: Goal-line stand stuffs Stanford in OT
No. 2: Brown catch leads to big fourth in upset at OU
Nov. 24 2012: Goal-line stand halts USC, caps perfect season (Stories here, here, here, here, here and here)
The irony could not be lost: The preseason No. 1 team in the country found itself unranked heading into its regular-season finale against its arch-rival — the nation's new No. 1 team, which had actually entered the season unranked.
Theo Riddick carved up the USC defense for 146 rushing yards, Kyle Brindza hit five field goals, Notre Dame held Marqise Lee in check, Manti Te'o recorded his seventh interception and, with a little more than five minutes standing between Notre Dame and a perfect season, the Irish defense lined up in front of the end zone for one last stop.
As Brent Musburger said: "A goal-line stand for the ages."
Down 22-13, USC had a first-and-goal from the Irish 2.
A false start. A 3-yard rush. Consecutive defensive pass interference penalties. Two QB sneaks for nothing. A rush for no gain. An incomplete pass.
It took eight plays and three minutes, and afterward Notre Dame was celebrating another goal-line stand against a Pac-12 rival. Its tickets were punched to Miami, where the Irish would face Alabama in the Discover BCS National Championship.
They had completed the perfect journey in the regular season, overcoming what looked like a daunting schedule. Brian Kelly continued the trend of Irish coaches succeeding in their third season in South Bend, Ind.
Afterward, athletic director Jack Swarbrick spoke for everyone in saying that yes, this much success had come sooner than expected.
Things didn't end so well for the Irish against the Crimson Tide, but they and their fans will be able to hang onto this moment, and this season, forever.
From South Bend to Southern California, Notre Dame had marched on to South Beach, 12-0.
Previously
No. 10: Rees replaces Golson on final drive, leads Irish to win over Purdue
No. 9: Irish open season in Dublin with rout of Navy
No. 8: ND gets revenge on Robinson, UM in night win to cap perfect opening month
No. 7: ND survives missed FG, missed penalty and 3 OT scare from Pitt to stay perfect
No. 6: Notre Dame tours award circuit after perfect regular season
No. 5: Notre Dame joins ACC, will play five ACC games per year in football
No. 4: Irish rout Wake on Senior Day, ascend to No. 1
No. 3: Goal-line stand stuffs Stanford in OT
No. 2: Brown catch leads to big fourth in upset at OU
ACC Official Visit: Irish eyes are smiling
June, 13, 2013
Jun 13
1:00
PM ET
By ESPN.com staff | ESPN.com
Jared Shanker breaks down QB DeShone Kizer's commitment to Notre Dame, RB Shai McKenzie's ACC visits this weekend, DT Daniel Cage's top four and the recent additions to North Carolina's class.
No. 2 marks the arrival of Notre Dame as a legit national title contender.
As always, my mailbag is open to hear your suggestions on rankings such as these.
Oct. 27, 2012: Brown catch leads to big fourth in upset at OU (Stories here and here)
A three-point home win over a so-so BYU team a week earlier hardly had anyone convinced that 7-0 Notre Dame was ready for a trip to Norman, Okla.
College GameDay was on-hand for this one, too. So were an Owen Field-record 86,031 fans, who did a nice job of striping the stadium for a candy cane-like look of alternating red and white sections. And for three quarters, the contest looked like it had the chance to become a classic.
Then Everett Golson hit rookie Chris Brown on a 50-yard fourth-quarter completion — the first catch of Brown's career — setting off 17 straight points for an Irish team that went on to win 30-13.
Manti Te'o had a devastating sack of Landry Jones and recorded a diving interception late. Blake Bell did score the first rushing touchdown of the season against the Irish, but in the end it hardly mattered.
Golson turned the corner as a quarterback in this game, completing 13 of 25 passes for 177 yards and rushing for a score. The Irish dominated the lines of scrimmage. No. 5 Notre Dame upset No. 8 Oklahoma, giving the Sooners their second home loss of the season. The Irish won their fourth game of the season against a Top 25 team. They held an offense that had averaged 44.7 points per game to 31 points under par.
The Irish were back, officially. And they received contributions from all over in getting there -- none bigger than the one delivered by a true freshman who entered with zero career catches.
Previously
No. 10: Rees replaces Golson on final drive, leads Irish to win over Purdue
No. 9: Irish open season in Dublin with rout of Navy
No. 8: ND gets revenge on Robinson, UM in night win to cap perfect opening month
No. 7: ND survives missed FG, missed penalty and 3 OT scare from Pitt to stay perfect
No. 6: Notre Dame tours award circuit after perfect regular season
No. 5: Notre Dame joins ACC, will play five ACC games per year in football
No. 4: Irish rout Wake on Senior Day, ascend to No. 1
No. 3: Goal-line stand stuffs Stanford in OT
As always, my mailbag is open to hear your suggestions on rankings such as these.
Oct. 27, 2012: Brown catch leads to big fourth in upset at OU (Stories here and here)
A three-point home win over a so-so BYU team a week earlier hardly had anyone convinced that 7-0 Notre Dame was ready for a trip to Norman, Okla.
College GameDay was on-hand for this one, too. So were an Owen Field-record 86,031 fans, who did a nice job of striping the stadium for a candy cane-like look of alternating red and white sections. And for three quarters, the contest looked like it had the chance to become a classic.
Then Everett Golson hit rookie Chris Brown on a 50-yard fourth-quarter completion — the first catch of Brown's career — setting off 17 straight points for an Irish team that went on to win 30-13.
Manti Te'o had a devastating sack of Landry Jones and recorded a diving interception late. Blake Bell did score the first rushing touchdown of the season against the Irish, but in the end it hardly mattered.
Golson turned the corner as a quarterback in this game, completing 13 of 25 passes for 177 yards and rushing for a score. The Irish dominated the lines of scrimmage. No. 5 Notre Dame upset No. 8 Oklahoma, giving the Sooners their second home loss of the season. The Irish won their fourth game of the season against a Top 25 team. They held an offense that had averaged 44.7 points per game to 31 points under par.
The Irish were back, officially. And they received contributions from all over in getting there -- none bigger than the one delivered by a true freshman who entered with zero career catches.
Previously
No. 10: Rees replaces Golson on final drive, leads Irish to win over Purdue
No. 9: Irish open season in Dublin with rout of Navy
No. 8: ND gets revenge on Robinson, UM in night win to cap perfect opening month
No. 7: ND survives missed FG, missed penalty and 3 OT scare from Pitt to stay perfect
No. 6: Notre Dame tours award circuit after perfect regular season
No. 5: Notre Dame joins ACC, will play five ACC games per year in football
No. 4: Irish rout Wake on Senior Day, ascend to No. 1
No. 3: Goal-line stand stuffs Stanford in OT
Video: ASU won't let Irish out of deal
June, 12, 2013
Jun 12
6:00
PM ET
By ESPN.com staff | ESPN.com
Danny Kanell talks about Arizona State refusing Notre Dame's request to not play their scheduled game in 2014.
Coach Brian Kelly says he decided to announce Tommy Rees as Notre Dame's starting quarterback after having time to think, even though he initially said it would be a three-way competition in August.
Kelly said Wednesday that Rees won't have to fight for the starting job.
For more, click here.
Irish have golden opportunity in recruiting 
June, 12, 2013
Jun 12
4:00
PM ET
By
Tom Luginbill | ESPN.com
Recruiting is the lifeblood of every program in the country, and every conference has its own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to landing top prospects. In the start of a weeklong series, we'll examine the BCS conferences plus Notre Dame to find each's strength, the biggest obstacle each faces and the overall view of the conference. Notre Dame is up today.
Biggest obstacle: Relevance in today's era. This term is thrown around a lot when it comes to Notre Dame and the perception of the Irish in today's college football world. It's important, however, because the Midwest alone does not provide a deep enough pool for Notre Dame to build a top-10 program. The Irish must be a national recruiter, which has its challenges despite being perceived as a strength. Academics, an unreasonable fan base expectation level and weather can also play a role.
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Matt Millen counts down his top five linebackers, a list that includes Notre Dame's Prince Shembo.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Matt Fortuna
Fortuna joined ESPN.com in 2011 after working for MLB.com and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where he covered college sports. He grew up in New York and is a Penn State graduate.
