Notre Dame Football

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes 21-10 on Saturday in their 2022 season opener at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, and the team's offense had an abysmal evening.

Quarterback Tyler Buchner completed just 10 of 18 passes for 177 yards. Buchner, Chris Tyree, Audric Estime and Logan Diggs also combined for just 76 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

This is Buchner's first season as the team's starting quarterback as he takes over for Jack Coan, and he and the rest of the offense will need to be much better moving forward if it wants to compete with some of college football's best.

After an underwhelming start to the season, fans expressed their frustrations with the Fighting Irish offense and play calling on social media. One of the biggest complaints was that the offense let the defense down.

There's still plenty of time for the Notre Dame offense to figure things out and, after Saturday's loss, they'll get back in the lab with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees early this week to figure out what went wrong.

The Fighting Irish also have a slightly easier schedule coming up. They will face Marshall next weekend before closing out September with games against California and North Carolina.

The Notre Dame football team lost a key member of its 2023 recruiting class on Wednesday.

Five-star edge-rusher Keon Keeley announced on Twitter that he has decommitted from the Fighting Irish, signaling a reopening of his recruitment.

Keeley is listed as the No. 1 edge and No. 7 overall player in 247Sports' composite rankings. He had originally committed to Notre Dame in June 2021.

A 6'6", 242-pound recruit out of Berkeley Prep in Tampa, Florida, Keeley is sure to garner interest from other programs. 247Sports recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins describes Keeley as "a larger-framed pass-rusher that's best football still appears to be well ahead of him" and added the youngster "has what it takes to eventually emerge as an impact player for a College Football Playoff contender and a possible Day 1 selection in the NFL draft."

As a junior in 2021, Keeley recorded 65 tackles (35 for loss), 16.5 sacks and 22 quarterback hits in 13 games. He helped lead Berkley Prep to district and regional titles as well as an appearance in Florida’s 3A state title game.

Per ESPN's Tom VanHaaren, Keeley had taken a visit to Alabama in July and he "previously entertained offers" from Ohio State and Florida, which he visited in March.

Even after Keeley's decommitment, 247Sports ranks Notre Dame's 2023 recruiting class third in the nation. The class is headlined by 5-star safety Peyton Bowen. He will also be joined by No. 4 offensive tackle Charles Jagusah and No. 6 linebacker Drayk Bowen.

NBC has reportedly settled on a new announce team for Notre Dame football games during the 2022 season.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett will be the color analyst for Fighting Irish games, while Jac Collinsworth, the son of NBC Sunday Night Football color commentator Cris Collinsworth, will do the play-by-play.

Garrett and Collinsworth will replace Drew Brees and Mike Tirico, as Brees left NBC after just one season and Tirico is taking over as the lead play-by-play man for Sunday Night Football.

The 43-year-old Brees retired last year following 20 seasons as an NFL quarterback, including 15 with the New Orleans Saints. The 13-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl champion is a surefire Hall of Famer when he becomes eligible.

When Brees signed on with NBC, it was expected that he would be the heir apparent to Cris Collinsworth as the color analyst for Sunday Night Football.

Brees served in that role for Notre Dame, filled in a couple of times on the NFL side and worked as a studio analyst, but it was a short-lived partnership after it was announced in May that he was leaving NBC.

Longtime Sunday Night Football play-by-play man Al Michaels also left NBC in order to call Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video, which opened the door for Tirico to become the full-time play-by-play man on SNF.

Jac Collinsworth, a Notre Dame alum, has been with NBC for the past two years after leaving ESPN, and while the 27-year-old has primarily done sideline work and interviews, he is set to get his big break in the broadcast booth.

Meanwhile, Garrett is a new arrival at NBC after a 12-year career as an NFL quarterback, 10 years as head coach of the Cowboys and most recently a two-year stint as the New York Giants offensive coordinator.

In addition to replacing Brees on the Notre Dame broadcasts, the 56-year-old is taking Brees' spot on the Sunday Night Football studio panel.

Collinsworth and Garrett should already have some synergy since they worked together on USFL broadcasts in recent months.

Per Marchand, seven Notre Dame home games will air on NBC and Peacock this season, with the first being a Sept. 10 clash with Marshall.

The 2022 campaign will mark Notre Dame's first full season under head coach Marcus Freeman following the departure of Brian Kelly for LSU, and the Irish are looking to win double-digit games for a sixth consecutive year, which would extend a school record.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman named Tyler Buchner as the team's starting quarterback ahead of the 2022 season.

The sophomore will be under center when the Fighting Irish face off with Ohio State on the road in their season opener.

Notre Dame lost its leading passer from a year ago when Jack Coan moved on to the NFL. Coan signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent.

That left Buchner and Drew Pyne battling for the starting job. The former probably had the inside edge from the outset based on how he and Pyne were used in 2021.

Buchner went 21-of-35 passing for 298 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions and ran for 336 yards and three scores. Pyne went 15-of-30 for 224 yards and two touchdowns and only appeared in two games.

Still, Freeman made it clear during a press conference on Aug. 5 he wanted to see more from Buchner before putting him atop the depth chart.

"In terms of Tyler Buchner, you know what? We all know he can run," he told reporters. "So it's really good for him to progress in terms of being a passer, staying in the pocket, making good decisions, you know, because it's always easy to take off and run."

Buchner was a 4-star recruit and the No. 11 quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, so he carried reasonably high expectations when he arrived in South Bend.

Freeman should know pretty early on whether the San Diego, California, native is the long-term answer at quarterback. In addition to the opener against Ohio State, Notre Dame plays North Carolina on the road on Sept. 24 and then BYU in Las Vegas in its next game.

Amid the constant reshuffling of conferences across college football, it appears as if Notre Dame is going to remain an independent.

Head coach Marcus Freeman said on ESPN's First Take that being an independent "is what we love" and it's "what our program's built on."

Notre Dame is one of seven schools that currently operate as an FBS independent. Army, BYU, Liberty, New Mexico State, Connecticut and Massachusetts are the others.

BYU (Big 12), Liberty (Conference USA) and New Mexico State (Conference USA) will be joining conferences starting with the 2023-24 academic year.

The entire structure of college football has been shaken up due to realignment in recent years. Texas and Oklahoma accepted invitations to join the SEC in July 2021.

Per Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, the 2024-25 academic year will likely be the first year that the Sooners and Longhorns are playing in the SEC.

In response to Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12, the conference announced last September that BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston will be added to the group. They will join the conference for the 2023-24 academic year.

Last month, USC and UCLA announced they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten starting in 2024.

Amid all of the conference reshuffling, The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach noted on June 30 that she spoke with someone in college athletics who believes this eventually leads to two "megaconferences" with the Big Ten and SEC having at least 20 members each.

Per a September 2019 report from Chris Smith of Forbes, Notre Dame's three-year average profit of $76 million ranked fifth among all FBS programs. Its three-year average revenue of $120 million was eighth in FBS.

The Fighting Irish are a member of the ACC in all sports except football. The football team did compete in the ACC during the 2020 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They went 10-0 during the regular season and lost to Clemson in the conference title game.

Freeman is entering his first season as head coach at Notre Dame. The 36-year-old spent last season on Brian Kelly's staff as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He was promoted in December after Kelly took the LSU head coaching job.

Travon Walker surged up NFL draft boards as the 2021 season unfolded en route to being the No. 1 draft pick, and Notre Dame defensive end Isaiah Foskey could have a similar rise in the eyes of one NFC scout.

"No one is touching [Alabama edge rusher] Will Anderson, but Foskey could push himself into the top 10 this year," the scout told ESPN's Matt Miller. "He's that naturally talented. You just don't hear about him because there are so many studs at defensive end."

As the scout alluded to, Anderson might be untouchable as the top pass-rusher in the 2023 NFL draft class. The Crimson Tide star had 101 tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks in 2021.

Anderson aside, there isn't another can't-miss defensive end at this stage.

In May, ESPN's Todd McShay projected Anderson to land third overall and had Clemson's Myles Murphy as the next DE off the board at No. 16. Miller had Murphy in the same position in his June mock but ranked Army's Andre Carter II slightly ahead at No. 13.

Considering the continued importance of pressuring the quarterback, it stands to reason one or more edge-rushers will join Anderson as top-10 candidates when the draft rolls around next spring.

Foskey took a big step forward in his junior season, finishing with 52 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and six forced fumbles. If he follows up with a similarly strong 2022 campaign, then he might fulfill the NFC scout's prediction.

Notre Dame's schedule will afford him plenty of opportunities to showcase his skills, too.

The Fighting Irish open with Ohio State on the road, and Foskey's stock could soar if he's routinely making C.J. Stroud's life a nightmare in the pocket.

Clemson, Boston College and USC are on tap later in the year. That clash with the Trojans and Caleb Williams could be the perfect way for Foskey to end his regular season on a high note.

The Big Ten is reportedly in a holding pattern as it waits to see if Notre Dame intends to join the conference.

According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Big Ten officials have told Oregon and Washington the conference is "standing pat for now" as it awaits Notre Dame's decision.

On Thursday, USC and UCLA officials notified ESPN's Pete Thamel and Heather Dinich that their respective applications to move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten had been accepted and that they would begin Big Ten play in 2024.

In the wake of the decisions by USC and UCLA, the Pac-12 released the following statement, noting that it intends to explore expansion options:

With the departure of USC and UCLA putting the Pac-12 in dire straits, it has been speculated that other top Pac-12 programs such as Oregon, Washington and Utah might consider leaving as well.

Given the Big Ten's expansion into a superconference rivaling the SEC, speculation has ramped up regarding Notre Dame moving to the Big Ten as well.

While Notre Dame officials haven't said anything publicly about interest in the Big Ten, it may prove too much to resist joining the conference given where realignment is heading.

USC and UCLA are about to join the Big Ten, while Texas and Oklahoma have already committed to moving from the Big 12 to the SEC.

Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic reported on Thursday that a source told her to expect the Big Ten and SEC to become megaconferences with 20 or more teams each.

If that happens, it would perhaps spell the end of the Pac-12, ACC and Big 12, or place them well down in the pecking order at the very least.

With the exception of the 2020 season, Notre Dame has always been an independent program in football, and it has worked out well to the tune of 11 national championships and two trips to the College Football Playoff.

In 2020, Notre Dame played in the ACC for one season due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. While it was uncommon for the football program, many of Notre Dame's other athletic programs are in the ACC, including men's and women's basketball.

If Notre Dame wishes to move all of its programs to the Big Ten, including football, there could be some massive ramifications for the school.

Per ESPN's David M. Hale, there is a television contract in place through 2036 that requires Notre Dame to play in the ACC if the football program decides to join a conference.

Should Notre Dame try to play elsewhere, it would face financial penalties worth $150 million or more.

Even so, from Notre Dame's perspective, there is likely great appeal in sharing a football conference with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and USC.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has clarified the comments he made about academic standards at Ohio State.

Appearing on Morning Juice on 97.1 The Fan in Columbus on Wednesday (h/t ESPN's Adam Rittenberg), Freeman said he would "never discredit the quality of education" at Ohio State.

Freeman caused a stir in an interview with CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd that was published June 10.

"I'm not saying from top to bottom, but the majority of our kids, they—I want to say this the right way—are pushed to learn and their study habits are formulated every day. You can't cheat academics at Notre Dame," he said.

To emphasize his point, Freeman mentioned his alma mater of Ohio State as an academic institution where there were more avenues available to students to pass classes.

"If you don't go to class [at those places], OK. Take some online classes. Show up for your final," Freeman said rhetorically. "At Notre Dame, you're forced every day to go to class."

Freeman clarified he wasn't talking specifically about Ohio State as much as every big school in the country.

"When you really look, what exactly I said, I was talking about if you don't go to class at these big schools that have 60,000, 40,000 students, OK, you can take online classes," he told Morning Juice. "We can't. The majority of our kids cannot take online classes here because it's a smaller school and you're forced to have in-class attendance. That's what I wanted to get cleared up."

Freeman played linebacker for the Buckeyes from 2004 to 2008. He was a two-time All-Big Ten second-team selection in his final two seasons at the program. The 36-year-old also earned two degrees from Ohio State.

After a heart condition forced Freeman to retire as a player in 2010, then-Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel hired him as a graduate assistant.

Freeman went on to be an assistant at Kent State, Purdue and Cincinnati before Brian Kelly hired him as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2021.

After Kelly left the Fighting Irish to become LSU's head coach, Freeman was named his replacement in December.

Buckeyes fans will have the opportunity to let Freeman know they don't appreciate his comments, even if something was lost in translation.

Ohio State will host Notre Dame in the season opener for both teams Sept. 3. This will be the first meeting between the two storied programs since the Buckeyes' 44-28 win in the Fiesta Bowl in the 2015 season.