Sports

Zwiller: ZeLO's CFP predictions, Week 9 picks

Two weeks ago, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Penn State and UCLA were all undefeated. Tennessee fans had not yet torn down the literal uprights and taken them outside the stadium. And Notre Dame had not yet lost to Stanford (sorry). 

Level up: Irish look to take next step under Ivey

Notre Dame women’s basketball enters the 2022 season with expectations unlike any they’ve seen in two years under head coach Niele Ivey.

Russo pulls off hat trick against Michigan on Senior Night 

Michigan versus Notre Dame — you would be hard pressed to name a rivalry more classic than this one. The Irish entered this special Senior Night matchup Tuesday leading Michigan 14-3-4 all time in the series. Their last meeting was last year in Ann Arbor where Notre Dame won 3-1. 

Irish prepare to meet Spartans in Big Ten opener

Throughout the first month of the season, Fighting Irish hockey has become well-acquainted with The Great Lakes State. Having already squared off with Northern Michigan and Western Michigan, Notre Dame now turns its attention to the Michigan State Spartans. This weekend’s series in South Bend will usher in Big Ten action, marking the first of twelve series on both teams’ conference slates. The matchup will also serve as a crucial segue for the 12th-ranked Irish, whose seven games to follow are against teams rated above them.

Irish await road test versus No. 4 Louisville

Coming off a disheartening loss to ACC cellar-dwellers Virginia, Notre Dame volleyball faces a brutal test in their effort to bounce back. The Irish travel to Louisville to take on the fourth-ranked Cardinals on Wednesday evening. Louisville enters the game with a sparkling 18-2 record. Their only losses are to No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Pittsburgh. The latter loss came in a heartbreaking five-setter, as the Cardinals dropped their game with the ACC leaders.

Tunney: Top five games of CFB Week 9

Another week of college football brings another slate of games, each with unique stories, traditions and players. In the words of famous sportscaster Brad Nessler, “you can go to every stadium in the country, and never see the same thing twice.”

One game away: remembering the College Football Playoff’s near misses

Tennessee and TCU, both unranked entering the college football season, continued their surprising starts by improving to 7-0 on Saturday. Tennessee did not let up following their thrilling win over Alabama, scoring 52 first-half points and coasting to a 65-24 victory against UT Martin. TCU had a more difficult test in the form of No. 17 Kansas State. After falling behind 28-10 in the first half, the Horned Frogs rattled off four consecutive touchdowns behind another big performance from quarterback Max Duggan to emerge with a 38-28 win.

State of the Irish

Editor’s Note: Sammie McCarthy, Nate Moller and Aidan Thomas contributed to this report

State of the Saints

As fall break approached, with students and faculty preparing for the relaxation of time away from the classroom, the Holy Cross College men’s and women’s soccer teams got to work.

State of the Belles

Most of Saint Mary’s sports saw a young team take over last year's program. The fall sports are coming up on conference championships and only one of the Belles’ programs will head to the postseason.

‘Let’s go with Logan’: Diggs answers the call

Sophomore running back Logan Diggs made his presence known as a freshman. With injuries marring the running back room in 2021, Diggs stepped in to fill a major complementary role down the stretch. He notched seven touches for 44 yards in his season debut versus Virginia Tech. In a three-game stretch versus UNC, Navy and Virginia, Diggs filled his role to the tune of 28 carries for 165 yards, good for 5.9 yards per carry and two touchdowns. 

Herko: Will the next Michael Mayer please stand up?

After the abysmal Marshall game that culminated in Tyler Buchner’s shoulder injury, no one would blame any Notre Dame fans who decided to check to see when basketball season started. Buchner’s replacement, junior Drew Pyne has been up and down for sure, but there has definitely been some great improvement since his interception in the fourth quarter on that terrible day. But, how much of this improvement is a result of increased reps at practice that comes from being the starting quarterback versus having the benefit of a future first round draft pick in Michael Mayer on call whenever Pyne gets into trouble?

Irish bounce back to bury UNLV Rebels 44-21

Notre Dame entered its third game as a massive favorite this year at Notre Dame Stadium, including its second straight. The previous two times the Irish were a 15+ point favorite, they lost to Marshall and to Stanford in a pair of devastating defeats that took this team from a potential College Football Playoff contender to a middling 3-3 FBS team. 

Notre Dame vs. UNLV: 5 key moments and trends from the Irish victory

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the UNLV Rebels 44-21. They led 23-7 after the first quarter, and the game was never closer than 16 points after that point.

Observer staff predicts Notre Dame vs. UNLV

The Irish enter as massive favorites, which, to the best of my understanding, means this game is going to be a very annoying and unnecessary heart attack. UNLV has lost their past two games to Air Force and San Jose State by a combined score of 82-14. This week, they’re without their starting running back and quarterback. This shouldn’t be close. Which means it will be close? I don’t know anymore, I’m completely confused. Irish by a decent amount, but not to cover feels like the most on-brand thing to predict in an unpredictable season. 

Gameday Gallery: Notre Dame vs. Stanford

Moller: Irish need to prove themselves after despicable performance against Cardinal

Just when I started to believe in the 2022 Notre Dame football season and Marcus Freeman, Saturday night happened. In the stunning 16-14 loss to Stanford, Notre Dame arguably had its worst performance of the season against an abysmal one-win Cardinal team.

Cardinal Sins: ‘Lack of execution’ dooms Irish in shocking loss to Stanford

The first half of the 2022 Notre Dame football season came to a ruinous end Saturday night, as the Stanford Cardinal defeated the Fighting Irish 16-14 at Notre Dame Stadium. With the victory, the Cardinal snapped a three-game losing streak against the Irish and an 11-game losing streak to Power 5 opponents. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s overall three-game win streak has come to an end, as the Irish scored less than 15 points at home for just the third time in the last six seasons.

‘We need to make sure we are executing’: Bertrand reflects on disappointing loss

Although there weren’t many positives to be had from the Irish’s stunning 16-14 loss to Stanford on Friday night, the defense played well all night, limiting Stanford’s offense and keeping an abysmal Irish offense within striking distance. Junior linebacker J.D. Bertrand led the way for the Irish on defense with 13 total tackles, 6 of which were unassisted. On the season, Bertrand has a team-leading 36 total tackles.

Five Key Moments: Notre Dame’s heartbreaker loss to Stanford

On an unassuming October night in South Bend, the Stanford Cardinal shocked the college football world with a 16-14 victory over Notre Dame. With the loss, the Fighting Irish fell to 3-3 on the season as a daunting second-half schedule beckons. These were the five defining moments in Saturday’s loss.