Sports

After notching season's first win, Irish volleyball travel to Long Beach State Tournament

The energy rose inside Purcell Pavillion Sunday afternoon as the clock neared 4 p.m. The Notre Dame volleyball team had lost their first two games of the season in fairly decisive fashion, but they were all even as they prepared for a fifth and decisive set against Milwaukee University. It would have been understandable if a young Irish team, and their new head coach Salima Rockwell, felt the pressure of the moment. But instead, Rockwell encouraged her team to embrace it.

Saints topple Goshen for first time in program history

The Holy Cross Women’s Soccer team came into Tuesday's match against the Goshen College Maple Leafs in search of two things.

ZeLO Model Predictions: Week 1

Last weekend, college football had what might be the oddest weekend in sports: Week 0. I have always watched and enjoyed college football, but I was never a diehard fan and the earliest I would watch was the start of conference play. 

Belles look to burst onto conference scene

This weekend, all three Saint Mary’s fall sports enter their first regular-season action of the year.

Hot start buoys Irish over Spartans

The Notre Dame’s men’s soccer team went up to East Lansing and beat the Michigan State Spartans 3-2 on Monday night to pick up their first win of the 2022 season. It was a huge bounce back from their disappointing loss to Seattle in their opener at Alumni Stadium.

Debut for two: Freeman and Buchner set to join exclusive company in Columbus

Among the many storylines for Saturday’s showdown between Notre Dame and Ohio State, a rarity in Fighting Irish history will present itself at Ohio Stadium. Head coach Marcus Freeman and sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner will become just the 7th head coach-quarterback duo in the last 100 years to make their Notre Dame regular season debuts in the same game. Freeman, an Ohio native and Buckeye alumnus, will be at the helm for the second time overall; he led the Irish in their Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State last season. Meanwhile, Buchner is set to make his maiden voyage as a starter after throwing for 298 yards and rushing for another 336 in 10 games off the bench in 2021. Both men seek to write the next chapter in Notre Dame’s long-standing tradition of excellence in these scenarios.

Notre Dame-Ohio State: History of the Matchup

For just the seventh time in their lengthy history, Notre Dame and Ohio State prepare to meet on the gridiron this weekend.

Moller: MLB World Series contenders by tier

With September starting this week, the playoff push for Major League Baseball is heating up fast. With that being said, it’s time to look at the World Series contenders by tier.

Observer sports staff ranks ND football schedule

With just days leading up to the daunting season opener in Columbus, 23 Observer sportswriters sat down to vote on how to rank the Irish schedule, from the easiest game to their most challenging clash. Here are the results:

ZeLO football season projections

ZeLO football season projections

Irish cross country aims high as new season begins

Entering the 2022 season, Notre Dame cross country finds itself in the unique position of having its men’s and women’s teams on divergent trajectories. Irish director of track & field and cross country Matt Sparks called the current state of the program “a tale of two teams,” with the men counting on underclassmen to take up new leadership roles in the midst of a transition period while the women return a veteran-laden lineup coming off of their most successful season in over a decade. The one constant, though, is that both teams appear to have all the necessary pieces to be among the nation’s best.

ND Rankings in the ACC

Notre Dame Women's Soccer 

Men’s soccer looks to bounce back

After a bumpy start to their season opener at home, the Notre Dame men’s soccer team is on the road to East Lansing to take on the 1-0 Michigan State Spartans. 

Saints soccer teams seek to gain momentum

With both squads’ seasons in full swing, the Holy Cross College men’s and women’s soccer programs seek to use recent success to gain momentum against upcoming road opponents.

Notre Dame Women’s Soccer kicks off with a win

With a 4-0 win to make themselves 4-0 on the season, Notre Dame women’s soccer took down Illinois at Alumni Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Head coach Nate Norman summed up the win in three words.

Notre Dame Men’s Soccer squad eyes College Cup return

The easy response to Notre Dame men’s soccer’s season-opening loss is an overreaction. Last year was a one-off, a fluke. Losing their top two goal-scorers may be too tall a task to overcome. Such thoughts became more prevalent as No. 4 Notre Dame fell to unranked Seattle, 3-1, in the opener. However, that final score was hardly indicative of the quality with which the Irish played. Notre Dame outshot the Redhawks 19-10 and out-possessed the visitors 52-48%. They doubled up Seattle in corner kicks, 10-5. 

Top five games to watch in the first week of college football

Move over Nebraska and Northwestern, the big boys are ready to play this weekend. Week 1 of college football offers a flurry of games from Thursday through Monday, which is a treat for all sports fans. Without further ado, here’s my top five games to watch this weekend.

Rockwell secures first home win against Milwaukee

The Notre Dame volleyball team opened their season this weekend with two consecutive losses. Their season opener against Texas Tech on Friday saw the Irish fall 3-1 before another loss, this time 3-0 against Mississippi State, the next day. However, the Irish then battled it out on Sunday against Milwaukee, where head coach Salima Rockwell scored her first Irish win. 

I built a college football model. Here's how it works

For those of you who have read The Observer for the past few years, there is a good chance you have run into my NFL model, which is predicated on the idea that instead of simply measuring wins and losses to rate teams, we can observe what statistics tell us down to a micro level.