Week 4: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Let it go, let it go!

I don't care what they re going to say

Let the storm rage on...

The cold never bothered me anyway.

Dateline:  Cherry Creek, CO

Saturday night found Jerrence and his granddaughter Sloane watching the film, "Ratatouille" and in the midst of a surprisingly heated discussion.  

The 4 year old wanted to know why the Oscar winning movie wasn't in any of uncle Tim's film criticism books.  

Lord knows he's written enough of 'em, she said.  How could he overlook the ageless themes the movie makes the viewer confront?  Themes of isolation, prejudice, suffocating expectations... chasing a dream while being forced to play a role that society has predetermined for you... yet not who you really are.

Jerrence wondered, where had he seen those themes before?  Oh yeah, Notre Dame football.

Still, Sloane was adamant:  Remy the rat was a modern day Cyrano de Bergerac, a peternatural talent hidden behind the facade of a more societally acceptable dolt.

Was uncle Tim such a David Lynch fanboy that he couldn't see the power in this storytelling?  And hadn't Werner Herzog explored similar themes in "Aguirre, the Wrath of God"?  

Did animation represent a blind spot in her great uncle's cinematic lens?

"Remember, Sloane," Jerrence had to remind her, "Uncle Tim is crazy!  He thinks the purple dinosaur Barney is real."

Quote of the Month

"If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead..."

        

    Chef Gusteau, "Ratatouille"

So it would appear that possibly coach Freeman was also a lover of the Disney film -- as it sure seemed like he was trying mightily to get his team to move past the disappointment of Games 1 and 2 -- and concentrate on correction / future improvement.

Word of the Month

Used in a sentence paragraph:  Before the game even kicked off, one thing was clear to Jerrence:  both Notre Dame and Arkansas were in serious need of triage .  Each team had profound defensive deficiencies that required significant -- and immediate -- attention. 

But it wasn't until after ND's 56-13 victory, when he read the myriad of 'glass half empty' reactions by the ND message board geniuses, that Jerrence felt similar remedial treatment was required by the site's administrators for that group.

Apparently a 43 pt. victory while limiting the nation's leader in total offense wasn't impressive enough.

The words of Anton Ego, the officious food critic in "Ratatouille" rang in his ears: 

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy.  We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read..."

"Physician heal thyself," Jerrence thought.  Yeah, right.  When pigs fly...

Game 4 Thoughts

Spandex and Lycra, you better work it for me

'Cause I'm about to expand this band of elasticity

I got my stretchy pants on... 

"Did you take the over, Gaga?"

In Colorado, Jerrence thought the game was probably over when his 4 yr. old granddaughter Sloane declared "I'm bored..." 

He was pretty sure she was referring to the football game and she had a keen intuition when it came to these things. Jerrence thought of the day when he could take her to Vegas...

But when she subsequently put on her traditional "Victory!" Princess Elsa dress -- as one does --  while suggesting we go get ice cream, he definitely knew it was game over.

Copy that, Sloaney.  Let's go get some Rocky Road.

For Jerrence to witness such decisiveness watching a Notre Dame football game was such a pleasantly different experience than he'd been a part of with his neurotic brothers only a week before.

But I digress.

---------------------------------

Here's what else came to mind watching the game, in super random order:

1.  Trap Game!  As maybe only Jim Thompson (my annual March Madness pool partner) can attest to, my ability to be diametrically, savant-like, wrong in predictions should be legendary.  

And this was the game I was most worried about going into this season.

2.  CJ Carr.   Young Mr. Carr continues to be an ongoing topic for this blogger.  And this week's epiphany is this: after four games -- two on the road in the "we don't cotton much to northerners" South -- does anyone still look at him and think, boy he's just barely more than a freshman?

I think not. 

3. Arkansas O.   For all the remaining trepidation about ND's defense and whether it's good / bad / mediocre (now and in the future), can we at least recognize that going into the game, the Arkansas QB was the national leader in total offense?  So limiting him (and the offense) to ~200 yards under their average is not nothing.

A Rendell sighting!

4.   James Rendell.   A latter day Maytag Man.  The last time a Notre Dame punter never kicked in two straight games?  

That would be never.   

Well, probably during the Leahy years but records don't go back that far.

His single on-field appearance was the very definition of irony:  4th down, the punt team goes onto the field and they call a fake!

5.  Defense.    Just a radical thought but just maybe learning a new scheme actually does take a little bit of real game time.   

And no Leonard Moore?  No problem!  

Don't look now but Zachary III / Golden / Johnson are playing A LOT and getting demonstrably better with every game.

Now if we can just continue to ratchet up the pass rush pressure a little more...

6.  Lacrosse!  This may be only interesting to me, my brothers and the Chaminade alumni... but Kevin Corrigan's boys -- and we're talking plural lacrosse players with Matt Jeffries making a big 4th quarter catch -- combined for 8 receptions and 126 yds.  

Pretty neat.  One wonders just how many other high end dual lacrosse - football athletes there are out there...

BTW,  Penn State thinks their RB Room is the best in the country?  That's cute. 

Buddy's Buddy

If one were merely going by who was the best player on the field last week, one doesn't think there'd be much of an argument.

That was Jeremiyah Love.

What can't the guy do?  It would seem Denbrock finally opened the playbook -- or maybe the O just executed better -- but this week the world got to see J-Love, the receiver.

Me likey.

That said, the future 1st round draft choice isn't this week's choice.  Lord knows he'll surely get the Buddy call in a far more important game -- I, for one, am hoping it's USC.

Rather, this week we're calling out CJ Carr to be The Bud. 

Four games in, it would probably be a little inaccurate to call this game totally revelatory as the redshirt freshman has shown the talent, more or less, in every game.  

Does one therefore call it a breakout game?  Maybe.  Statistically, sure:  354 yds. passing, 4 TD's and a 73% completion clip.  One would be hard pressed to find a QB in college football who had a better day.

But what was more impressive was the continued maturity the kid's showing, with high end decision making -- witness his only run, a 14 yd scramble on 3rd down when he forewent the inclination to force a pass (something he's had problems with earlier ion the season) and run for the 1st down.

And the accuracy.  Boy, if the O-line continues to give him the same clean pocket they allowed last week, look out.

Finally, back to Jeremiyah... if you didn't have a chance to see this, WATCH!  It'll give you an even deeper appreciation of this young man's character, his parents and his ultimate path to ND...

RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)

Let me go out on a limb here and suggest this:

Last week's game would appear to represent a much needed correction.  Or perhaps just a gravitation toward an expected norm.

But you and I are likely wondering a) how much of a correction and b) do I even trust it?

At the epicenter of this quandry is the defense.  While the offense may not continue to put up 50 points in every game, they ought to be good for 35-40, right?  Even a mediocre defense should be able to manage something less than that, right?

Pete Sampson's post-Arkansas thoughts on the subject...

-----------------------------------

The heat is not off defensive coordinator Chris Ash, but it’s at least turned down. 

After the game, Freeman called the defensive game plan “simple enough,” which felt like an admission that Ash has installed so much defense that Notre Dame barely mastered any of it. 

Zone coverage seems more wishful than actual. On the Razorbacks’ 33-yard completion to O’Mega Blake on the opening drive, Arkansas had two other receivers running wide open as Notre Dame’s linebackers simply watched quarterback Taylen Green instead of feeling the threat behind them.

But when Notre Dame played more man-to-man defense, the secondary played an incredibly sticky game, far superior to the first three weeks. There weren’t many free receivers versus man. Arkansas still hit 11 big plays (passes for 15-plus yards or runs of 10-plus yards). That’s the same number as Purdue and only one less than Texas A&M. 

But four of Arkansas’s big plays came in garbage time. One actually worked in Notre Dame’s favor, as Adon Shuler forced a fumble that Smith recovered.

Notre Dame doesn’t have a CFP-level defense. It might not be able to create one in the next two months. But with Carr at the controls, the Irish might be ready to win a different way.

Source: The Athletic

September 29, 2025

Cocktail of the Month

At halftime of Saturday's game I shared with a few of you a cruel but accurate tweet which reported a Arkansas reporter in the press box having suggested college football needed a mercy rule.

42-13 at that point with nothing to indicate it was going to get any better for the Razorbacks. (And it didn't.)

Being a head coach for a team mired in losing is surely a lonely place -- as Marcus Freeman has certainly felt at some point in each of his four seasons in that position at ND.

But this week, the sentiment -- and the cocktail -- fittingly goes out to Arkansas' now unemployed Sam Pittman.

The Heart Is A Lonely Mixer

"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" 

by Carson McCullers (1940)

Loneliness abounds in this dreary Southern gothic tale. John Singer, a deaf man, encounters several people in a Georgia mill town. 

They all gravitate toward Singer and his generosity in meeting their needs. But they are all ultimately stymied in their pursuits through circumstances outside anyone's control. 

Pair the bleak, isolating world of Singer with an equally lonely-feeling cocktail, which has only two ingredients.

                   

Yield:  1 serving

2 oz. Scotch whisky

½ oz. Drambuie 

Lemon twist, for garnish

-----------------------------

1. Fill a mixing glass with ice cubes.

2. Pour your preferred Scotch whisky into the mixing glass.

3. Add the Drambuie to the Scotch in the mixing glass.

4. Stir the mixture well using a bar spoon or mixing stick.

5. Strain the mixture from the mixing glass into an ice-filled rocks glass.

6. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Source:  The Turn of the Screwdriver

50 Dark & Twisted Literary Cocktails

By Iphigenia Jones

Schedule 202

August

31                @Miami             L      

September 

                                                  

13                Texas A&M         L                      

20               Purdue                W                   Corrigan brother reunion!                      

27                @Arkansas        W                   Soooiiieeee! 

October  

                                                                                                     

4                 Boise St.              _                     Alumni Hall Reunion weekend, Union Pier MI        

11                NC State             

18               USC                                             "Lincoln, We Hardly Knew Ye" (wussy)                    

November 

 1                 @BC

 9                Navy                  

16               @Pitt                          

23               Syracuse                                               

29              @Stanford                                                              

December

19-20      PLAYOFF GAME!

  

Wager 2025

Alive and kicking... 

Wins	ND Equivalence	Domer
12 The Joker	"Do I really look like a guy with a plan?" -----  Ledger's Joker is mercurial, charismatic and a complete psychopath. Utterly unforgettable.  Just as a Notre Dame undefeated, on-their-way-to-a-national championship-season would be.	Kevin C. John P John L Brian M  JP  Bryan G   Raz  Dave M Tim B.
11 Otto	"Don't call me stupid!" ----- Ex-CIA operative Otto lives at the intersection of dangerous and moronic. An 'Otto season' for ND would be a rollercoaster -- a lot of fun with youth at some key positions, and likely more than it's fair share of 'that wasn't very clever' moments.	Gutsch , Sloane Daryl Jim S.  Peter  Tim  Ted Bill Jim B Pat B George Alex, Feif Garrett Spit the Elder
10 Hans Landa	"That's a bingo!" ----- Jew hunter Landa -- equal parts chillingly pathological and  pragmatic, this character would probably represent a 10-win regular season that might make you sick to your stomach but ultimately pretty satisfied.	Jerrence,  Mike C,   Tim C.   Mark U.  Jerry P.  Jerry C.   Mike B. Brian W.  Jim T. Mike G, Bose Jerry W Lini, Randy   Greg Kyle W.
9 RP McMurphy	"I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science." ----- What's the residual emotion from Cuckoo's Nest?  Sadness. RP, a guy who sees things clearly but can't get out of his own way. When it doesn't end well, one is left thinking what could've been.  Like a 9-win season.	Matt Alvin
8 Jason Bourne	"I don't know who I am.  Or where I'm going.  None of it." ------ An apt summary of an 8-win ND season.  A lot of difficult questions ultimately unanswered. Still, the Bourne trilogy rocks and JB is The Man.
7 John Wick	"I'm thinking I'm back..." ----- For many, ND winning only 7 games would be akin to someone shooting their dog -- and requiring appropriate payback. And like with John Wick, rationale requiring very few words of explanation.
6 Maximus	"Are you not entertained!" ------ Probably not, if ND only won six games... but that's not the point here:  it probably says a lot about me that the final ranked character is the most moral, selfless one of the bunch.

Sports Imitating Art. 

Untitled, by Keith Haring (1987)

Schadenfreude of the Week.

Taking this, now, week by week...  we're going to call this "climb the rankings ladder' time -- denoting ND's painstaking ascension back up to BCS playoff consideration -- that not only requires the Irish to win out but for several teams in from of them to lose, preferably repeatedly.

Teams you never gave a thought about where one simply says that you wish it didn't have to be that way... nothing personal, just business.

1.  USC.  I would not begrudge any USC alumni from thinking 'we should never lose to Illinois.'  In fact, I'd encourage it.  But perhaps they also ought to start thinking bigger picture:  one wonders what USC's Big 10 record now is when playing east of the Mississippi.  

Or Lincoln Riley's lifetime record on that front, for that matter.  I'm guessing it ain't especially BCS Playoff worthy.

So maybe, coach, playing Notre Dame every year isn't your biggest issue. 

2.  Penn State.   Fun fact:  Big Game James is now 2-21, lifetime, against AP Top 6 teams.  

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

And that Heisman consideration for your veteran QB, arguably the most overrated football player in the country, has gone the way of Cade Klubnick's chances.

Which is to say, in the dumpster.

3.  LSU.  The level of ill-will ND Nation feels for Brian Kelly is both impressive and terrifying.  And apparently now being matched by LSU fans.

What is that force could be used for good?

Yeah, right.  So consider this BK call out Jerrence throwing raw meat to the voracious masses.

4.  Georgia.  It would seem that every team, or their coach, has an opponent that just seems to have its number.  For Kirby Smart, that's apparently Alabama.  

And while my attitude toward coach Smart has softened a great deal -- if I recall, he was very respectful of ND before/after their playoff game -- but we do need chaos to reign in the Top 10 for us to have a chance at a playoff berth, so... Roll Tide!

Terry's Tools.

The few, the proud...

With the changes of the season and the football schedule now in full throttle, it would follow necessarily that the tools would start coming out of the woodwork.

Newton's Third Law of Motion (and, it would seem, American behavior):  

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. 

While this bodes well for this blog -- I am nothing if not a content slut -- I weep for humanity.

-------------------------------------------------

Easy Rider rides again. 

1)  Arkansas.   Bobby Petrino is your replacement head coach?!  Really?!  When you could've had Mike Gundy?  Or why not approach Lou Holtz -- he was in the neighborhood and doesn't even own a motorcycle!  

Evidently they're leveraging that old chestnut, "7th time is a charm!" 

2)  US Ryder Cup fans.   Honestly, I expect this from Packer fans -- especially when they're playing the Bears -- they haven't quite caught up to the rest of humanity on the evolutionary scale.   And when one considers cheese and Spotted Cow beer as your chief export, what do you expect.

But American golf fans.  

You don't like Rory?  Fine.  Heckle him -- and the other European team members -- all you want, at least until they're over their ball.  (But even then you couldn't stop.)

But telling him to eff off?  And throwing a beer on his wife?  What is wrong with you people?

Personally, I loved the Fighting Irish team of McIlroy and Lowry shutting up Long Island.

3)  Big 10 Refs.    Not that I was ever truly confident on this question but now, I REALLY have no idea what is considered targeting.

No call.

Or maybe this is just the refs deciding Franklin needs all the help he can get to actually win a meaningful game. 

4)  Adonai Mitchell.   I'm used to Alexa listening in on everything I say.  I'm less prepared when the Football gods do so.  

But last weekend, on the Sunday family Zoom, the Corrigan brothers had just got finished rehashing the ND game, of which one point was made how impressive it was of Jeremiyah Love making a point to cover up the ball with both hands virtually every time* he crosses the goal line.    

Clearly taught (and repeatedly drilled into) him.  

So what do we see in the early NFL game, right on cue?  2nd year pro Mr. Mitchell celebrating early... dropping the ball early...  and having a clear TD nullified when said ball goes through the end zone for a touchback.  

Oh yeah... his team loses by... wait for it... a touchdown.

* Love's brilliant 2 yd. TD vs. Penn State a notable exception.

 Name of the Week

It can be no surprise to anyone who knows Jerrence even a little bit how much he enjoyed living overseas.

12 years internationally and he'll go to his deathbed confident that he appreciated every day walking the streets of London, Milan, Düsseldorf, even Shanghai.

And had he lived there for even a reasonable period before having children, he might've been inspired to name his daughters in the manner of this week's designee. 

Meerbusch Corrigan.  Richmond Corrigan.  Walton Corrigan.  Basiglio Corrigan.  Pu Dong Corrigan.

Hmmm. 

Trinidad Chambliss

Unlike many of the honorees of this section, Trinidad is apparently really good -- and certainly one of the season's early stories.   

Sitting presently with the 6th best Heisman odds (!) as QB for the 5-0 and 4th ranked Ole Miss, he wasn't even a starter until an injury in the 2nd game sidelined the Rebel's original starter.

Chambliss is completing 64% of his passes for 1,033 yards, 5 TD's and 1 INT. He's 10th in SEC passing yards because he didn't start two games, but tied for most yards per attempt (10.2 yards).

Not bad!  The only question it leaves is this:  does he have a sibling named Tobago?

Trivia!

Q.  How did thinking about his own death inspire eleven minutes of a famous pianist's fury?

A)  Paul McCartney

B)  Billy Joel

C)  Elton John

D)  Warren Zevon

------

(Last blog's answer:  "Johnny Cash  was the famous songwriter who pledged to be faithful to his wife in his biggest hit, only to record a song written by his mistress (June Carter) that became his other greatest hit, "Ring of Fire.")

Final Thoughts

Preach, Rudyard.

Week 3: Take The 'Over'

Yeah, what's going on 

Tell me what's going on 

I'll tell you, what's going on 

Dateline:  Flint Lake, IN

So there Jerrence was, late Sunday afternoon, watching a late 1980's British mini-series, "Jack The Ripper" -- starring Sir Michael Caine as the Scotland Yard inspector assigned to investigate the infamous spate of 1888 East End Whitechapel murders.

While one might think this a random choice, after watching the Packers sh*t the bed against the Cleveland Browns, a story involving shocking vivesections seemed like an appropriately natural progression.

But as he watched a story he knew and had seen before countless times, even having done the "On the Trail of Jack the Ripper" guided tour from London's Tower Underground stop, the plot turned a bit:  the inspector's investigation began to grapple with the thought of the murders being not only a two-man job but that the killer might himself have a split personality -- one side good and admirable, one side dark and dangerous.

Jerrence shouted from his couch, "Yes!  Just like Notre Dame's football team!"

Quote of the Month

"It was not a comfortable meeting.  But I didn't want it to be comfortable..."

        

    Marcus Freeman, on Sunday's coaches meeting

Oh to be a fly on the wall of that get together.  Other than the Jimmy Kimmel - Disney management meeting, Jerrence couldn't think of a more interesting conversation.

There are a lot of reasons Jerrence loved coach Freeman, including his culture building philosophy and his hot wife.  But one also appreciated his comfort in embracing confrontation and having those tough conversations with whomever needs it (Exhibit A: the likely "you're not yet ready to be ND's DC" conversation with Mike Mickens).

But this week is really going to put that skill set (and it's efficacy) to the test. 

Good luck coach, we're right behind ya.

Word of the Month

Used in a sentence paragraph:  "Why do I do it," Jerrence wondered.  He'd already lowered his opinion of the Notre Dame on-line fandom as low as he thought it could go.

So why did he still, continually, go back to the website to read the recriminations his fellow subscribers threw at the football program, even when they win by 26 pts.

He thought it must be the 16 years of institutional Catholic grooming -- Jerrence was like a moth to a flame for self-abuse.

Yet with their hairpin trigger inclinations to assign blame to anything or anyone that didn't go their perceived way, Jerrence considered most of them to be abject cretins.  

And Gutless Wonders to boot -- they'd never say anything close to these 'insights' if confronted face-to-face with their targets.  

Maturity would have to wait.  Much more appealing for Jerrence was the fantasy of seeing a few of them defenestrated as a sign of showing the "pitchfork 'n torch" crowd just what accountability looks like. 

Game 3 Thoughts

You better stop!

Look around - here it comes...

Here comes your 19th nervous breakdown.

It seems to me that any 'one off' event tends to, minimally, gets a person's attention.

Like for instance wow, that was really poor defense, didn't see that coming!  

A second, repeated performance subsequently becomes cause for some concern and anxiety.  

A third time represents a legitimate, alarming, trend... 

---------------------------------

With that as a starting point, here's what I think:

1.  CJ Carr.   From last week's blog, 'rinse and repeat.'  Granted, he'll play against better defenses in the future but he's looking really good RIGHT NOW.

And if last week was any indication, maybe the best long passer ND's had since... Clausen?

One underrated aspect no one's talking about:  he's consistently making the easy, safe throws.  

I think we can all remember QB's past who made one pull-your-hair-out (if, in fact, you had hair) when they couldn't consistently make those same, move-the-sticks completions.

2. Running game.   "It's about damn time!" he says facetiously.   I don't think anyone ever thought there was an issue with the running backs so this commentary could be more appropriately directed at the O-line.  

And for that matter, the WR's who we saw making some pretty awesome downfield blocks.

Still, it's hard not to want to call out how special Love and Price are when given even a modest hole to run to.   

3. Defense.   Often while playing golf with my good friend Al Brunett Pompano Beach, he'd turn to me and say, "Terry, we are... not good."

True dat.  While one can safely say the same thing about ND's defense, what to make of it?  Offering no solutions whatsoever, I would, humbly, point the finger at the pass rush (or lack thereof) as a root cause. Is it the rush ends (Botelho and Traore) still knocking the dust off?  Is it scheme?

In any event, it would seem correctable, yes?

Maybe it's about learning a new scheme and requiring, collectively, having a little more patience. (Ha! As if...)

The again, maybe it's also about experience.  Without Mills / Cross III / Kizer / Watts up the middle -- all multiple years starters, the lesson might be better athleticism doesn't actually beat better recognition. 

4.   DB's.   For starters, 3/4 of the starting defensive backfield wasn't out there. So there's that.  And when you don't have a pass rush, you're asking for trouble.  

So while the freshmen didn't have the same auspicious lock down performances that Ben Morrison and Leonard Moore demonstrated in their inaugural games, they also had their moments.  

Give 'em time. 

5.  Injuries.    So... while it's sounding highly unlikely... let's hope Leonard Moore plays this week.  

Arkansas is pretty good offensively. Don't be surprised if this game ends up 35-31.

Buddy's Buddy

Let's make this easy -- and no doubt obvious -- about Buddy's Bud this week.

Jadarian Price, come on down. 

Sheer stats alone, he would be the likely #1 choice (with all deference to CJ Carr and his breakout performance):

• 9 carries, 74 yards, 3 TD
• 2 kickoff returns, 142 yards, 1 TD

216 total yards

But that's not entirely why Jadarian is The Man this week.  One of Buddy's great qualities (and perhaps a subset of last week's referenced unconditional love attribute) was his loyalty.  

And for those of us who watched Mr. Price hang in with ND last offseason... when he knew he wasn't going to be the featured back, when he knew he could transfer almost anywhere 

(outside of Penn St.) and be RB #1 while making a BOATLOAD of money... 

...that's a pretty special kid.

The fact is, he's got another year of eligibility after this season. 

And while seemingly doubtful he'll stick around for 2026 ('RB longevity' being something of an oxymoron), ya never know. 

But in advance of that decision, it's time to recognize him now.  

RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)

Sports writers are like sportscasters, everyone's got an opinion about 'em and usually based in whether one thinks they're homers (a good thing if they're hyping your team) or they're antagonists, never cutting your team a break.

While some are not, I'm a fan of Pete Sampson.  I think he (and Matt Fortuna) sit comfortably in that tricky middle ground of being both insiders and objective.

So when he harbors discomfort, as I think he's manifesting this week, I tend to pay attention.

-----------------------------------

Can the Irish win without Leonard Moore?

It’s hard to replace an All-American-level corner, even if that’s exactly what Leonard Moore did.

As a freshman, Moore subbed in for Benjamin Morrison at midseason and basically matched the future second-round pick in terms of coverage. The season went so well that Moore was named national defensive freshman of the year, opposite Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith on offense. But the Irish secondary has struggled since Moore suffered that ankle sprain early against Texas A&M, which sidelined him for Purdue. It’s not clear whether Moore will play at Arkansas. He’s listed as questionable on Notre Dame’s injury report, although nickel DeVonta Smith, who hasn’t played since Miami, has been upgraded to probable.

Without Moore, Notre Dame reshuffled its secondary, bumping Christian Gray to the boundary to replace Moore, then filling Gray’s spot in the field with freshman Mark Zackery. Freshman Dallas Golden took over at nickel and made his first career interception. If the Irish don’t have Moore, that lineup might look much the same this weekend, just with Smith and Golden rotating at nickel.

“It’s not like they don’t know what they’re doing, but how do we continue to get them into zone coverage defense to play with the clarity that it takes to cover up open gaps and open space when you play zone,” Freeman said. “And then man coverage, we gotta be able to use the proper technique.

“You can’t use the excuse that Leonard’s not out there and DeVonta and guys that have experience. The guys we put out there, we believe, are good enough to execute what we call.”

That’s debatable, at least statistically. The Irish have allowed 300 yards passing twice in Ash’s three games as defensive coordinator. Notre Dame gave up that much through the air just once in three seasons under Al Golden.

Source: The Athletic

September 26, 2025

Cocktail of the Month

I must admit sometimes Jerrence thinks himself pret-ty clever...  it doesn't occur often... but this week's blog would be one of those times, like when he feels he can knit together a bunch of disparate content that's thematically consistent with the blog's overall insight.

So for all those graduates -- and I don't want to single out a specific major -- who couldn't find O'Shaughnessy Hall if they were lead up to the front door and haven't yet grasped a theme, the thread this week has to do with duality:  good vs. evil, strong vs. weak, or in the ]case of ND's offense and defense, excellence vs. incompetent... 

And what better book to demonstrate that than...  

The Picture of Dorian Grey Goose

"The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde (1891)

Handsome, hedonistic and narcissistic.  Dorian Gray wished that his portrait would age instead of himself. Beauty above all else, am I right?

This wish leads Dorian down a path of amorality, deceit, exploitation and cruelty... you know, the fun stuff.  His portrait takes all this abuse and becomes grotesque and unrecognizable.  

We sometimes think photos of ourselves look nothing like us -- but this is intense.  Redemption comes to Dorian only through destroying his own portrait and thus killing himself.

Why not pair this Oscar Wilde classic with a decadent take on the martini?  Indulge your vices. 

                   

Yield:  1 serving

2 oz. vodka

1/4 oz. dry vermouth

l1/4 oz absinthe, for washing

blue cheese stuffed olive, for garnish

1.  Chill a martini glass by placing it in the freezer while you prepare the cocktail.

2.  Fill a separate mixing glass with ice cubes to chill the vodka and dry vermouth.

3.  Pour the vodka and dry vermouth into the ice-filled mixing glass.  (You can choose to stir or shake the mixture, depending on your preference.)

4.  Discard the ice from the mixing glass.

5.  Pour the absinthe into the chilled martini glass.  Coat the interior by swirling the glass, then discard the excess.

6.  Strain the chilled vodka and dry vermouth mixture into the glass.

7.  Skewer a blue cheese-stuffed olive on a cocktail pick, and place in the martini as a garnish.

Source:  The Turn of the Screwdriver

50 Dark & Twisted Literary Cocktails

By Iphigenia Jones

Schedule 2025

August

31                @Miami             L      

September 

                                                  

13                Texas A&M         L                      

20               Purdue                W                   Corrigan brother reunion!                      

27                @Arkansas         Soooiiieeee! 

October  

                                                                                                     

4                 Boise St.               Alumni Hall Reunion weekend, Union Pier MI        

11                NC State             

18               USC                     "Lincoln, We Hardly Knew Ye" (wussy)                    

November 

 1                 @BC

 9                Navy                  

16               @Pitt                          

23               Syracuse                                               

29              @Stanford                                                              

December

19-20      PLAYOFF GAME!

  

Wager 2025

We're prayin' for it all day and fightin' for it all night.

Give us just one victory; it will be all right...

Wins	ND Equivalence	Domer
12 The Joker	"Do I really look like a guy with a plan?" -----  Ledger's Joker is mercurial, charismatic and a complete psychopath. Utterly unforgettable.  Just as a Notre Dame undefeated, on-their-way-to-a-national championship-season would be.	Kevin C. John P John L Brian M  JP  Bryan G   Raz  Dave M Tim B.
11 Otto	"Don't call me stupid!" ----- Ex-CIA operative Otto lives at the intersection of dangerous and moronic. An 'Otto season' for ND would be a rollercoaster -- a lot of fun with youth at some key positions, and likely more than it's fair share of 'that wasn't very clever' moments.	Gutsch , Sloane Daryl Jim S.  Peter  Tim  Ted Bill Jim B Pat B George Alex, Feif Garrett Spit the Elder
10 Hans Landa	"That's a bingo!" ----- Jew hunter Landa -- equal parts chillingly pathological and  pragmatic, this character would probably represent a 10-win regular season that might make you sick to your stomach but ultimately pretty satisfied.	Jerrence,  Mike C,   Tim C.   Mark U.  Jerry P.  Jerry C.   Mike B. Brian W.  Jim T. Mike G, Bose Jerry W Lini, Randy   Greg Kyle W.
9 RP McMurphy	"I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science." ----- What's the residual emotion from Cuckoo's Nest?  Sadness. RP, a guy who sees things clearly but can't get out of his own way. When it doesn't end well, one is left thinking what could've been.  Like a 9-win season.	Matt Alvin
8 Jason Bourne	"I don't know who I am.  Or where I'm going.  None of it." ------ An apt summary of an 8-win ND season.  A lot of difficult questions ultimately unanswered. Still, the Bourne trilogy rocks and JB is The Man.
7 John Wick	"I'm thinking I'm back..." ----- For many, ND winning only 7 games would be akin to someone shooting their dog -- and requiring appropriate payback. And like with John Wick, rationale requiring very few words of explanation.
6 Maximus	"Are you not entertained!" ------ Probably not, if ND only won six games... but that's not the point here:  it probably says a lot about me that the final ranked character is the most moral, selfless one of the bunch.

Sports Imitating Art. 

   Mere et Enfant,

La Ciotat, by Baltasar Lobo, 1947

                 

Schadenfreude of the Week.

Taking this, now, week by week, we're going to call this "climb the ladder' time -- denoting ND's painstaking ascension back up the rankings -- that not only requires the Irish to win out but for several teams in from of them to lose, preferably repeatedly.

Teams you never gave a thought about where one simply says that you wish it didn't have to be that way... nothing personal, just business.

1.  Illinois.  Heretofore the 9th ranked team in the country, I was actually cheering for the Illini, driven by what a tool I think Indiana's coach is.  Alas... 63-10.  Ugh.

2.  Utah.   Not a great week for the state -- their 16th ranked university gets spanked by Texas Tech AND they their resident patron saint of Indie film, Robert Redford.

3.  South Carolina.  Other than Clemson (see below) -- and possibly us (!), has any team had their dreams dashed more quickly than the Gamecocks?

4.  North Carolina.  So, is Jordan Hudson really all that hot?  Enough to blow your legacy over? 

At least you have a bye this coming week (and Clemson after that).

5.  Clemson.  If you're still feeling 'glass half empty' about your 2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, think about Dabo's crew and know that things could be worse.

Just not yet.

Terry's Tools.

The few, the proud...

In the spirit of full disclosure, I've been a little distracted of late.

There's been the 3x back and forth to Colorado.

The visit to see mom in Iowa with the brothers.

Some house guests.

And while there has been no shortage of tools in the real world (see Carr, Brendan), I haven't been paying attention as close as I should within the sports realm.

But one candidate did jump out recently -- and a repeat offender that's never a surprise.

-------------------------------------------------

1)  USC.   Kudos to The Independent podcast that Pete Sampson and Matt Fortuna host for this tidbit which I'm taking on faith as factual and not just rumor...

"Think ND'll bite?  Not a chance in hell."

You may have heard that USC has finally offered a counter proposal for extending the soon-to-expire series with Notre Dame, one that gone on for nearly a century interrupted only by WWII and the 2020 Covid outbreak.

"At last, some movement," you cry!  

Well not so fast.  What the two aforementioned writers reported was this:  SC offered only a two year extension with one of the games (presumably ND's 'home' game) to be played in Mexico City.  To be aired on Netflix.

As one can imagine, neither ND or NBC (who has the Big 10 TV rights in addition to ND home games) was thrilled with that proposal.

The word 'disingenuous' springs to mind.

 Name of the Week

Spoiler alert -- it's highly, highly likely you will hear this name on Saturday. Quite possibly a lot.

Through four games, this senior WR via the transfer portal -- shocker! -- already has 24 receptions for 324 yards (80 yds./game) and 3 TD's.  

You think he isn't salivating about the defense he's going up against this weekend?  Let us hope Leonard Moore can play...

But I digress -- this is all about the name.

First of all, the apostrophe is a nice touch.  I'd imagine the parents were maybe big New Testament fans and when the baby came, dad said, "He is the Alpha and the Omega..." whereby mom replied, "Well he certainly ain't The Beginning with this uterus... this pregnancy was rough."

Okay, fine, he'll be the end, The Omega.

O'Mega Blake

Trivia!

Q.  1. Which famous songwriter pledged to be faithful to his wife in his biggest hit, only to record a song written by his mistress that became his other greatest hit?

A)  Kris Kristofferson

B)  Johnny Cash

C)  Glen Campbell

D)  Willie Nelson

------

(Last blog's answer:  "The Kingsmen's "Louie, Louie" was investigated by the FBI for offensive / subversive lyrics but forced the investigators to give up because no one could understand what the hell was being said.)

Final Thoughts

So hanging with my brothers in Iowa last week, family reminiscing inevitably occurs at some point.  

This time, I brought up the now unthinkable notion that our mother actually let me walk... on my own... to Garfield Park kindergarten. 

I was six years old.

And school wasn't across the street. In fact, it was over half a mile away, in a relatively urban environment.   

Now the cynic (which is to say any of my brothers) might say "What's the big deal?!  She had three other sons..." 

Losing Jerrence would certainly qualify as 'an acceptable loss'... and after all, only six, he'd barely established any substantive family roots to speak of.

But I say, nay!  It was the ultimate act of pure FAITH, albeit one borne out a mother's desperation knowing her other children represented far bigger challenges  -- a virtue Notre Dame fans need to now embrace.

BELIEVE!