Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, GAME-WEEK-FINALLY edition. Some quick programming notes: ► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. I […]
Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, GAME-WEEK-FINALLY edition.
Some quick programming notes:
► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. I encourage you to take a test drive — a seven-day trial for a $1 for all our great content and that around the expanded On3 Network.
► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel. This week, we made some season predictions and prop picks. We’ll be back next week and every week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. Tyler and I will also have our Postgame Takeaways Show for you to view with your Monday morning coffee. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well. That includes the return of my live postgame show with former Notre Dame offensive linemen Bob Morton, who will be taking on a larger role with us, moving forward. That starts five minutes after the clock hits 0:00 in Miami Gardens on Sunday night.
► The Inside ND Sports Podcast has been rebranded as the Third & Gold Podcast. Going forward the pod will be available on all the podcast places you found us before as well as our YouTube Channel. Our first episode of the new pod dropped last Thursday with special guest Tony Rice, quarterback of the 1988 national championship Notre Dame Football team. This Thursday’s episode will feature former Notre Dame All-America offensive lineman Aaron Taylor.
► Finally, at WSBT Sports Radio 960 I’m part of the Notre Dame Football pregame show — GameDay — with Tim Grauel,Jim Irizarry and Blue & Gold teammate Tyler Horka. The new expanded GameDay show kicks off with 3 ½ hours of news, analysis and special guests on Aug. 31 at 3 p.m. EDT. You can listen locally at WSBT-AM 960, Sunny 101.5 FM and 106.1 FM in Southwest Michigan. And it will be live streaming on wsbtradio.com.
Eric Hansen: As far as this week’s chat, please include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your question(s) or at least your home planet.
Here typically are the rules:
Eric Hansen: No bare feet and no drinking are rescinded.
OK off we go …
Marie from Atlanta: Hi Eric, happy game week. I can’t believe we finally made it to the Miami game. With the quarterback competition being so close, are you at all concerned that CJ Carr will be looking over his shoulder and be worried about being replaced, and that this will affect him detrimentally in the game? I know it will be important to stop the run, but do you think Ash will come out in attack mode and try to rattle Beck early? I know everyone says he’s physically fine, but I think people are underestimating the mental component to coming back from an injury. It usually takes a few games to really get your confidence about your physical state back. There is some talk of rain Sunday night, do you think that favors either team? Finally, is this a tougher or easier opener than last year at Texas A&M? As always thanks for hosting the chat and the awesome insights.
Eric Hansen: Hi Marie, thanks for the questions. Let’s unpack them one at a time. I think one of the things that got CJ Carr to the top of the depth chart IS his confidence. Coach Marcus Freeman even mentioned Tuesday that Carr might even border on too much confidence. But he likes that. So, no I don’t think he’ll be looking over his shoulder. Will he play perfect? No. Will he bounce back from mistakes? That is what I would anticipate.
As far as rattling Carson Beck, one of the ways you accomplish that — or try to — IS BY stopping the run and putting the opposing team in third-and-longs. Then you have a lot better chances of success in doing the rattling on third down. And I do think ND will be aggressive with pressures, considering how good the back end of the Irish defense is. … Not sure about Beck’s mental state. Playing at home for him will help.
The expected rain, if it happens, I think would be pretty even for both teams. … Tougher than A&M opener last season on the road? In some ways, yes. Miami is ranked higher than the Aggies were last year. But I think this Irish team is more equipped to deal with a top 10 team at the start of the season than last year’s was.
Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. On FNS both you and Tyler said ND would go 11-1 and reach the CFP. Does a 10-2 ND team achieve the playoffs and are the results the same, say if Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are also 10-2? Thanks as always for your great writing.
Eric Hansen: Jack, thanks for taking in Football Never Sleeps and NOT FALLING asleep. I think it’s possible for ND to get into the field at 10-2. It’s a matter of who those losses came to and why? And how is Notre Dame playing in November? I think an 0-2 start would be difficult to climb out of, given then you’d be competing with those two teams theoretically for an at-large spot and they’d own a good tiebreaker over the Irish. As far as Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, etc., again it depends on when their two losses happened and to whom. Thanks for the compliment too!
Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric! Most ND fans will be happy with a lot from last year’s team; turnover margin and pass defense being near the top. Will ND rush defense be better in 2025? Last year I felt that ND’s rush D was gotten the better of in the NIU, USC, Penn St and Ohio St games. We hear a lot about Carson Beck but with the talent of the Miami O line won’t Miami run first and use the pass to complement the run?
Eric Hansen: Hi Len! Notre Dame was 49th nationally in run defense last season (then among 133 FBS teams that the NCAA charted). Since the Irish, in 1988, won the national title with a No. 10 ranking that season in rush defense, no team has ever won a national title with a run defense ranking lower than 40th. And the last six champs have all been in the top 8. New Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash knows that and I think it will be emphasized. I think head coach Marcus Freeman believes the Irish will be better than that too, based in part on his praise for how the interior D-line played in August. Some of those comments were jaw-dropping, given how resistant Marcus is to overhyping individuals or position groups.
Rich P from Phoenixville, Pa.: In a poll I’m sure that QB mistakes would easily top the list of what is most likely to derail a win by the Irish. Do you agree? If so, what would be your choice for the second most likely pitfall? Thank you!
Eric Hansen: Hi Rich. Yes, first I do agree. … Then to your follow-up, I would have said interior defensive line going into camp, but as I just mentioned, they’ve come a long way. I would now say tight ends beyond Eli Raridon and the kicking game. Those are the biggest unknowns, and both are kind of first-world problems, relatively speaking.
Manny from San Pedro, Calif.: Eric!!!!!!!! Football week!!!!!!!!!! Yes!!!! How does playing on Sunday effect week 2. My fear is we win a battle Sunday night and next week we are down like we were against Northern ILl
Eric Hansen: Manny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The good news is, Notre Dame was smart enough to stick a bye week on there, so Texas A&M doesn’t pop up on the schedule until Sept. 13. So, Notre Dame will actually have extra prep time for the Aggies, who will have played two games when they get to town in mid-September.
Joe from Valparaiso, Ind.: Hello Eric, just felt compelled to comment on your recent excellent article about Coley O’Brien. I realize this may not be the appropriate forum but, nonetheless, here goes. I was a classmate and acquaintance of him. Having surnames beginning on letter apart, I sat next to him in a couple of classes. The Sunday after the 1966 Michigan State 10-10 tie, he came to my dorm room to borrow some notes for classes missed due to traveling to the game. You would never have known he was a football player by his humble demeanor and what he accomplished on the field. He was a class act with no ego or arrogance, just came across as an everyday student. My roommate named his son after him. He will be missed.
Eric Hansen: Joe, really appreciate you sharing your story on Coley O’Brien. Thanks so much for submitting it.
David from New York: Eric, Thanks as always for the chats. Can you give us both an optimistic and pessimistic take on Will Pauling being named a captain. Then which side of the argument you sit on. And how do you think it came to be that he got the nod in such a short time as the less heralded of the transfer WRs?
Eric Hansen: Hi David. I would say the pessimistic argument would be: What if he’s not the leader you thought he was, in his short time on campus? What if he has a year like 2024, where there were some dropped passes, and he was injured much of the season, so physically compromised? The optimistic side is where I fall.Will Pauling’s work habits and wisdom and the effect it had on a position group that lost a lot of leadership from last season is profound. And to earn the respect of your teammates in that quick of a time frame and to get their vote speaks volumes.
Bob from Oxnard, Calif.: How healthy do you think Josh Burnham is? It seemed he had a wrap around his leg for parts of fall camp. Thanks.
Eric Hansen: Hi Bob,Josh Burnham talks about and looks way ahead of where he was last year, which was playing through pain most of the season when he came back from an early ankle sprain. With Jordan Botelho back and the defensive end positions being a little more interchangeable, it’s not imperative that he gives ND the high snap counts consistently he did last season.
Stanley B from Glen Allen, Va. (The real COtU: Afternoon Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haven’t posed a question in quite a while, but stay informed by reading every chat. Thanks for keeping us all up to date with your stellar reporting and (Off the record) Inside information. Now that QB has been solved, do you think Carr will have the poise to lead the Irish in such a pressure packed first game? Secondly, who do you feel will have the nod to protect Carr at RG? My new bride has little to no interest in sports, but she will be sitting by me when the TV comes on on Sunday night. (She does know that Knute Rockne had something to do with ND football)
Eric Hansen: Stanley!!!!!!!!!! The maker of great pancakes (Stancakes) as I recall. Thanks for the compliments. I think one of the reasons why I believe CJ Carr will be able to handle the pressure is how much the coaching staff simulated chaos in practice over coddling this past month, for both CJ and Kenny Minchey. Sunday night will tell us all how effective that was, but at least there was planning and intent and practice to achieve that end. … I’m going to roll with Guerby Lambert at RG, but Sullivan Absher wouldn’t surprise me either. But for Lambert to pull even with a short runway (due to April shoulder surgery) breaks the tie for me. Hopefully, your new bride is a night owl, because ND’s first two games are late-nighters.
Jim from Chester, N.J.: Will Notre Dame‘s first play of the game Sunday night against Miami be a run or a pass? And why?
Eric Hansen: Jim, let me get the Ouija Board out. … OK, let’s see. I will say a pass, but with a twist, to a running back, Jeremiyah Love. Why? Because ND is going to try to get to the bottom of what Miami does well and is soft on defense under a new defensive coordinator, Corey Hetherman.
Denis from Niagara Falls, Canada: Hi Eric. The only thing I am worried about re Miami is QB turnovers. Please choose one: Is Carr more likely to turn the ball over zero times or three times? No cheating. One or two are not available to you. How concerned are you re turnovers? As usual, thanks very much.
Eric Hansen: Hi Denis, thank you very much. I MISREAD this question when it was live, and I swear I wasn’t taking advantage of the rescinded “no drinking” rule (or the relaxed “no bare feet” rule for that matter. So, let me answer it properly, and I’ll include my original answer for fun. I’ll go with zero turnovers over three with those being my only two choices. NOW, to my earlier answer. I thought you asked me ifCJ Carr would run the ball zero or three times. Which was definitely a brain cramp on my part. Here is that answer: For me, that’s easy. I’ll go with three. I won’t count a sack as a rush, but I will count a scramble as one. But yes, I think Carr will run some.
Then you asked me how concerned I am about turnovers, and this was my answer, properly interpreted: Notre Dame was the No. 5 team in turnover margin last year, so the Irish both forced a lot (No. 1, in fact) and didn’t commit many. I don’t think this will be a turnover-free game for the ND offense, but I don’t expect a turnover-a-palooza either.
Jeremy from Goshen, Ind.: Eric, it feels like with the potential rain that the LOS will be even more critical than usual. How do you see the matchups shaking out?
Eric Hansen: Hi Jeremy. I am looking at the forecast now, and it’s 77 percent chance of thunderstorms Sunday night in Miami Gardens, so I would be more concerned about a lightning delay than some rain. The line of scrimmage is going to be critical no matter whether it rains or not in this game, and I think both teams can brag about that as strengths. I do think ND has the edge there on both sides, but big tests. And I think the 83 percent humidity is going to test both teams’ D-line depth.
Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hi Eric, this was a tough week losing my friend and classmate Coley O’Brien. He was probably the best ND QB that not many people got to see. After he came in against MSU in ’66, ND went on to outscore #2 MSU and #8 USC the next week 61-0!! He was 21/31 for 250yds and 3 TDs vs USC. Great ND man!! My question: we hear all the time about QBs making line calls, etc. How do the QBs make those calls? I thought the OL made the calls. How will Carr handle that responsibility in his 1st game?? or will a more experienced OL make the call? Go Irish!!!
Eric Hansen: Hi Tom and sorry for your loss. I was too young to cover Coley O’Brien as a player, but I did have some encounters with him in later years and was always impressed with him and what he overcame. Just so I am clear, when you say line calls, you’re talking about IDing the middle linebacker and maybe sliding protections? Depending on the team and the QB, the center might do it, the QB might or a combination thereof. One of the reasons CJ Carr won the starting job was his proficiency at the line of scrimmage to change a play after the helmet communication turns off or slide a protection. But having Ashton Craig at center is a huge part of that process and a tremendous asset in that regard.
Matt from Austin: Hi Eric. I hope this very busy week finds you happy and healthy. OK, we’re here. Give us four keys to this weekend’s game (not named Carr). I’m going with the O line playing well, a few chunk pass plays, stopping or controlling the run on defense, and a few sacks on the Miami QB, who is excellent. Am I close?? Thank you as always and pack sunscreen!
Eric Hansen: Matt. I’m taking the week off because you do my work for me! I’ll go with you list. .. what happens, though, in games between two fairly evenly matched teams is that a lot of those will cancel each other out, so winning in the margins is important .. So, special teams and turnovers .. and who has better depth on defense given how sauna-like the conditions are expected to be.
Jules from Joliet, Ill.: In addition to all of your other fine work, it’s great to hear your wit and wisdom with Sean Stires. Can you settle an eligibility disagreement between myself and a friend? A player redshirts in season 1. Does backup duty in season 2. This leaves him 3 seasons of eligibility. If he were to leave his school and sit out the season and enroll in a new school after the season is complete, would he have two or three seasons of eligibility remaining? (In other words, does he lose a year even if he is not enrolled anywhere?) Thank you.
Eric Hansen: Hi Jules. I’m not sure which dog you have in this fight, but here goes on the redshirt scenario. And this is easier now that we’re in the final season of COVID exemptions. So, the NCAA allows a football player to play four years within a five-year time frame. There are only a few exceptions to pause that five-year clock once it starts. A Mormon Mission, for instance, is one of those. And that’s whyKahanu Kia is a redshirt sophomore at Notre Dame, having first played in 2021 and redshirted last season after his mission. In your scenario a Mormon Mission wasn’t stated as the reason for sitting out the second time. So in your scenario, he’d lose a year by enrolling elsewhere and not playing that second instance. So two years left. … By the way, I am only doing the pregame shows on WSBT radio moving forward, but thanks for the compliment.
Pete from Erie, Pa.: Hellooo Eric! Game week! Hopefully, 15 more after this one! Sad to hear about Coley O’Brien. My nephew is named after him and he was my brother’s RA in 1969. When ND announced captains last week I was a little surprised by a certain WR. Digging around I found this from 8/28/2024: Badgers First & 10, interview w/QB Tyler Van Dyke before the season opener. Is there a teammate you’ve come to admire? “Probably Will Pauling. He does everything right. He’s the example of what you want in a program. He’s always doing extra things off the field, helping in the community. He’s always doing what he needs to do to get better every day football-wise and school-wise.”
Sounds good to me! What is all you need? All You Need is Love? Is it Jere-Monster Love or Jere-MonStar Love? OK, seriously, MiamiFL prediction? Mine’s ND W 25 or 6 to 4 
Eric Hansen: Pete!! Whatever you had for lunch, even if it’s liquid, I wish I could join you. However, I can’t do that during the chat. Thanks for the Coley O’Brien story. And the Will Pauling intel. Great stuff. My score prediction isn’t as lyrical as yours unless there’s something in the Ramones’ catalogue that references Irish 24, Miami 17. Over/under … Over on the receptions and yards for Fields. And thanks for the strong compliment at the end!
Ryan from Frankfort Ill.: Good afternoon Eric who will lead the Irish in Touchdowns and Interceptions this season I’m thinking either Greathouse or Love for touchdowns And Moore for interceptions I like your Score prediction but i think we score a few more Points I’m thinking we win 42-21 or something like that GO IRISH
Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan, I have predicted Christian Gray leading ND in interceptions for the season and will stick with that. I think he’ll get tested a lot, especially early in the season, and I believe he’ll be up to the challenge. TDs, I’ve got to go with Jeremiyah Love, especially with the prospect of him being a bigger part of the passing game than in years past and getting more touches this season. … That’s quite a score prediction, but if my memory is correct, you’re pretty good at that, so I will be curious to see how that compares to the actual score.
Guest: Hey Eric, First time posting since you switched over. You seemed to have transitioned pretty seamlessly. I was curious if you had a database that could tell you (or maybe you know off the top of your head) who the last team was that won a championship without a QB as a captain. Also, I remember you once replied to a quest
Eric Hansen: I appreciate you following me over and your question got cut off as did you name and hometown apparently. I do not know that answer off the top of my head, but given the proliferation of first-year starting QBs winning titles over the past 16 years (nine of them) I’m not sure it’s as uncommon as we might think. And the portal contributes to that too. So the last team to win one without a captain at quarterback. It happened all the way back in January of 2025. Will Howard, a non-captain, quarterbacked the Ohio State Buckeyes’ national championship team. I am not psychic enough to figure out what your second question was going to be, but I’ll guess and say heck yeah as my answer.
Lorne from Reno, Nev.: I’m as rabid as any other fan out there, but … you can’t expect: our receivers to beat their corners every play, but our corners to shut down their receivers every play; our tackles to block their ends on every pass, but our ends to beat their tackles on every pass; our o-line to open big holes, but theirs to find no open space for their runners; our runners to break tackles, but our defense to make every tackle on their runners. The other team is working all year as well, and we will lose match-ups and (heaven forbid) even games. But please (talking to fellow Domers), if something goes wrong, dial down the rhetoric concerning the team, the coaches, and especially the 18-20-somethings who have worked so hard to represent our university to the best of their ability. Finally, it is a game. Go Irish, beat Miami!
Eric Hansen: OK, Lorne, seeing no question in that, I’ll run it as a PSA from you.
Steve H: What is the feedback, if any, on Christian Gray’s performance in preseason camp? If there is any weakness spoken about on defense it appears to be on his past vulnerabilities in man to man.
Eric Hansen: Hi Steve, since I picked Christian Gray to lead the team in interceptions, I’d be silly to give you a wish-washy answer. In talking to Christian, to Leonard Moore, to DBs coachMike Mickens, to Marcus Freeman, there’s a lot of confidence that Christian Gray’s perceived improvement in the offseason is real. The good news is we’ll find out together really quickly given the first two teams on the schedule.
Ced Walker from Saginaw Michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw Pride: Will the Notre Dame band be at Miami Sunday night we must run the ball to win the game I got Catholics 24 convicts 23 defense ( d-boyz) adon shuler gets int or Leonard Moore int God Bless This Football team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us
Eric Hansen: Hi Ced. I don’t think they still sell Catholics vs. Convicts tees, but I was able to decipher who you are picking to win. Duly noted. We have the same total for ND. As far as the band, I’m assuming they’ll go, but don’t have that intel handy. It’s a little out of my purview.
Jonathan in Addison: Eric! Game week chat! Yay! I’m a koolaid drinker and I know it. So I’m trying to temper my expectations a bit. But there’s this one question that makes it really, really hard. Do you have an answer that might help? Here it is: Which ND starters would not start for Miami? I’ll give you QB (grudgingly). Who else? Anyone?
Eric Hansen: Jonathan!!! I am going to disappoint you. I wouldn’t be able to do that without a deeper study of Miami’s roster. They have two players who made most of the All-America teams and at least All-ACC and that’s OT Francis Mauigoa and DE Rueben Bain. I would think ND would win most of those head-to-heads, but where I think the Irish really shine is their rotational players … the 2s and the 3s.
Z from Wakarusa: Eric, my concern this week is a few years ago BK took the team down to Miami and he was absolutely flabbergasted when the team started taking bottles being thrown into the bus. It was one of the few times he was caught off guard with a new experience. Is Freeman ready for that type of welcoming/battle? As you know this is the epitome of a hostile environment.
Eric Hansen: Hi Z. I think if the hostile part ended with the bottle and bricks being thrown at the team buses, ND would have fared better than a 41-8 loss. The environment did play into it, but not 33-points’ worth of margin. ND, I think, ran out of gas in a redemptive season coming back from 4-8 the year before. That was a factor too, and Brandon Wimbush really, really struggled. I think last year’s trip to College Station showed me Marcus Freeman knows how to prepare a team to play on the road.
Jeremy From Goshen, Ind.: Who has better depth along the lines? ND or Miami?
Eric Hansen: Hey Jeremy, I think ND has it on both sides of the ball on the lines. At defensive end, ND can comfortably go three deep. In the interior, easily two deep. Getting down to Cole Mullins and Elijah Hughes with the 3s isn’t the same as the first four, but against most teams that’s not a reach.
O-line-wise, I think Irish O-line coach Joe Rudolphis comfortable that he has nine guys (not counting injured Charles Jagusah) who can play at a high level. So beyond the starting five, which I expect to include Guerby Lambert, the next four would beSullivan Absher, Chris Terek, Will Black and Matty Augustine.
Skip from Houston: Who will be the next recruit or two to commit to Notre Dame? Thank you.
Eric Hansen: I got this question about a month ago, and I reached out with a phone-a-friend lifeline to Blue & Gold recruiting writer Kyle Kelly. I’ve reached out to him again this time. There is no one imminent, it appears. And we’re talking about the 2027 class, since the 2026 class is essentially finished. So eventually, Kyle likes DT Richie Flanigan, the brother of ND freshman TE James Flanigan and the son of former Notre Dame All-American Jim Flanigan. Another one is yet another interior D-lineman, and that’s Deven Robertson from Hattiesburg, Miss. On3 national recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong has a prediction in for 2027 DE Jayce Brewer from Franklin Central High in Indianapolis.
MikeD from Rochester, N.Y.: Hi to the best Eric Hansen in America!!!! I was surprised to see Madden Fereimo (sp?) listed as the #1 rover. I realize we don’t play the rover position much, but would have expected Sneed or Ausbury there. Am I missing something?
Eric Hansen: MikeD you mean there’s more than one of us? EEEEk!! Freshman Madden Faraimo was listed at No. 3 on the official depth chart at both interior linebacker spots. We saw him practice some at outside linebacker, actually as the No. 1 option there, at times when ND showed that look in practice. But on their official depth chart they didn’t list a rover. They listed nickel instead. And like last year, ND will probably be in nickel more than a three-linebacker look. On our depth chart projection, which goes way deeper than two-deeps, we listed both nickel and rover. So, what does this mean in regard to your question. Notre Dame is committed to playing a four-man rotation at the two inside linebacker spots — Drayk Bowen, Jaylen Sneed, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaiden Ausberry. Faraimo is trying to play his way into making that a five-man rotation. Ausberry, Sneed or Faraimo are able to play that outside rover position when called upon. What we wanted to do was most accurately reflect reality, which isn’t always easy two-dimensionally.
Eric Hansen: OK, I did something I’ve never done since moving over to Blue & Gold. I’ve essentially cleaned out the question portal. Thanks for all your great questions. We’ll be back again next week to do it all over again, Wednesday at noon EDT.
Category: General Sports
