Notre Dame Football

When EA Sports revealed a plan to revive its beloved college football video game, the small print took an understandable backseat to the excitement that accompanied the announcement.

Fans of the NCAA Football series have waited eight years for that news. The official statement sparked a wave of joy across the sport. The initial reports mentioned more than 100 teams have agreed to be featured. Sure, that's not all 130 programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision, but any school not included in that number would have until at least next year to join the party.

Notre Dame, however, is among the holdouts for a logical reason. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick released a statement Monday explaining why Notre Dame isn't yet on board:

"Notre Dame Athletics welcomes the return of EA Sports College Football, a video game series that has historically helped promote interest in college football. Notre Dame will not, however, participate in the game until such time as rules have been finalized governing the participation of our student-athletes.

"As those rules are developed, it is our strong desire that student-athletes be allowed to benefit directly from allowing their name, image and performance history to be used in the game."

At first glance, a big-name brand holding out may seem senseless. Couldn't this negatively impact recruiting? Will fans ever have a chance to play as the Fighting Irish?

The quick version: Notre Dame is waiting for group licensing.

While there's momentum for reform with regard to college athlete compensation, the timeline for new guidelines is unclear. And there's no guarantee group licensing will be included initially.

Group licensing would allow players to collectively negotiate with EA Sports for use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL). It's a key component of creating the most authentic experience—and a large contributor to why EA Sports paused the series.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a few other schools announce they won't participate in the CFB video game until NIL rules change.

But the good news is....NIL ARE going to change before this game is ready for release. The only Q is will they change enough to create group licenses

— Matt Brown (@MattBrownEP) February 22, 2021

It's fair to expect EA Sports will offer the option to download a community-built roster—which may perfectly match reality. That capability is what fueled the survival of NCAA Football 14.

While 100-plus schools have authorized their brand and passively accepted a "backdoor" roster download—which isn't necessarily a bad thing—Notre Dame is taking an all-or-nothing approach. The university is saying it won't permit the use of its name, logo, stadium, etc., unless its players are compensated.

To be clear, this stance may change. Notre Dame's "strong desire" for athletes to directly benefit from a potential video game doesn't mean it absolutely won't participate until then.

But because the game won't be released until 2022 at the earliest, it's a low-risk maneuver that supports Notre Dame's sell of a player-first program.

Additionally, this can apply more pressure to solve the group licensing issue.

The NCAA will soon update its rules regarding NIL deals. But in January, it indefinitely delayed a proposal that would allow athletes to accept endorsement money. This is due in part to the NCAA waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on whether NCAA rules that restrict athlete compensation violate antitrust laws.

Supreme Court has posted the date for argument in the Alston-NCAA case: Wednesday, March 31.

— Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) February 1, 2021

Several state and federal lawmakers have introduced or passed legislation governing NIL. But not every proposal allows for group licensing, which complicates the process of, say, a video game. Without group licensing, EA Sports would be limited to generic rosters and downloadable content.

Even as NIL changes are certain, the NCAA is probably hoping to avoid group licensing. In order to protect amateurism—no matter its flawed intent—the NCAA likely doesn't want athletes to formally organize and sell their likenesses as a group. The long-term ramifications might be problematic for the NCAA.

Since those dominoes must start falling first, Notre Dame and others have time to assess the impending changes.

For now, it's fun to consider a generic replacement. Are you ready for the South Bend Shamrocks? They have yellow chrome helmets with the iconic Touchdown Joshua mural looming in the background.

In seriousness, criticism of the holdouts would be premature. The likely result is all of them, most notably Notre Dame, end up a part of the game.

The question is whether it'll be a product of group licensing—the ideal outcome—or the fear of missing out.

           

Follow Bleacher Report CFB writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

Notre Dame announced Monday that it will not appear in EA Sports NCAA Football video game series until the name, image and likeness (NIL) rules are further established.   

School athletic director and vice president Jack Swarbrick made the following statement:

"Notre Dame Athletics welcomes the return of EA Sports College Football, a video game series that has historically helped promote interest in college football. Notre Dame will not, however, participate in the game until such time as rules have been finalized governing the participation of our student-athletes.

"As those rules are developed, it is our strong desire that student-athletes be allowed to benefit directly from allowing their name, image and performance history to be used in the game."

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly also commented on the decision via a post on his Twitter account:

We are here to support our student-athletes. Much like we have empowered our players when it comes to providing a platform to speak on racial inequalities & social issues that are important to them, we must support them when it comes to NIL & the work that still needs to be done. https://t.co/CrK17BDxsk

— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) February 22, 2021

The NIL debate remains one of the most pressing issues facing major college sports going forward. Earlier in February, Senator Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) and Representative Lori Trahan (D-Massachusetts) co-authored a bill that would make it illegal for the NCAA to put a limit on the amount of money college athletes could make from endorsement deals, per Dan Murphy of ESPN, or determine which sort of deals those athletes could sign.

"Big-time college athletics look no different than professional leagues, and it's time for us to stop denying the right of college athletes to make money off their talents," Murphy said. "If predominantly white coaches and NCAA executives can have unfettered endorsement deals, why shouldn't predominantly black athletes be afforded the same opportunity?"

That potential legislation could also have a major impact on EA's college football video game franchise going forward since it would make it illegal for the NCAA to prevent multiple college athletes from organizing and selling their likeness rights as a group. 

The NCAA and its president, Mark Emmert, want Congress to establish rules and limits on potential endorsement deals, fearing that they could eventually serve as a de facto salary for certain players and affect the amateurism model that has long benefitted the NCAA, individual schools and major conferences. 

"As a former Division I athlete, I'm all too familiar with the NCAA's business model that for decades has utilized the guise of amateurism to justify obscene profitability while student-athletes have struggled to get by," said Trahan, who was a volleyball player at Georgetown. 

Whatever those NIL rules ultimately end up being, don't expect to see Notre Dame in EA Sports' future games until they're established.

The NCAA has levied discipline against Notre Dame's football program for multiple recruiting violations.

Per an official announcement from the NCAA, Notre Dame's punishment includes one year of probation, a fine of $5,000 and a six-month show-cause order for a former assistant coach who had impermissible contact with a high school recruit.   

The program was also docked one official visit and had its period of unofficial visits reduced by 14 days during the 2020-21 academic year. 

The violation by the assistant coach occurred in January 2019 when he "met in person with the football prospective student-athlete privately and discussed the institution's interest in him enrolling as a football student-athlete, the value of an education at the institution and defensive schemes used by the institution" at the student-athlete's Seattle-area high school outside of the recruiting calendar. 

The coach also sent "10 impermissible text messages to a 2021 football prospective student-athlete prior to September 1 of the beginning of his junior year in high school" between July 17 and August 9, 2019. 

Head coach Brian Kelly had impermissible contact with a 2021 recruit off-campus in October 2019:

"Specifically, while visiting Pickerington during the fall football evaluation period, the head football coach was being escorted through the high school's cafeteria when the football prospective student-athlete recognized the head football coach and requested a photo with him. The head football coach initially declined, but ultimately allowed the photo."

As part of the agreed-upon settlement, Notre Dame ended its recruitment of the Seattle-area student-athlete and won't recruit any players from that high school through the 2021-22 academic year.

The Fighting Irish are coming off a 10-2 record in 2020 and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. They won their first 10 games before losing to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game and Alabama in the Rose Bowl. 

Notre Dame announced Friday that it hired University of Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to fill the same role for the Fighting Irish.

Regarding the hiring, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said:

"As we looked into finding someone to run our defense, it was important to find the right fit for our program and Marcus and his family are just that. He has had great success on the field, both running a defense and in his direct work with his linebackers. Additionally, he is considered among the elite recruiters in the coaching ranks. 

"The work Marcus has done elevating the programs he has been a part of speaks for itself, but equally as important is the exceptional work he has done in building relationships with his staff and players. Marcus was our top choice to become our next defensive coordinator, and we are pleased he and his family will be joining us at Notre Dame."

Freeman will replace Clark Lea, who left Notre Dame after three seasons as defensive coordinator to become the head coach at Vanderbilt.

The 34-year-old Freeman spent the past four seasons as Cincinnati's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach under head coach Luke Fickell. Freeman will continue to coach linebackers at Notre Dame in addition to his role as DC.

During his time at Cincinnati, Freeman helped mold the Bearcats defense into one of the best in the nation. That was especially apparent this season when Cincy went 9-1.

With Freeman at the helm, the Bearcats ranked 13th in total defense (324.6 yards per game) and eighth in scoring defense (16.8 points per game). They also ranked 10th in forced turnovers with 21 and 16th in sacks with three per game.

Before joining the staff at Cincinnati, Freeman was a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2010, the linebackers coach at Kent State from 2011 to '12 and the linebackers coach at Purdue from 2013 to '15.

He was also a star linebacker at Ohio State and spent time with the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans during the 2009 season, although he never appeared in a regular-season game.

Freeman was a finalist for the Broyles Award this season, given annually to the best assistant coach in college football.

Next season, he will look to maintain that positive momentum for a Fighting Irish team that reached the College Football Playoff in 2020 and finished 14th in the nation in scoring defense.        

Former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan will use his final year of NCAA eligibility at Notre Dame next season.

A former starter who was sidelined after undergoing surgery for a foot injury this season, Coan announced his decision on Twitter on Monday.

Extremely thankful for the opportunity. Let’s get to work! @NDFootball pic.twitter.com/wKCEbWFgzY

— Jack Coan (@jcoan17) January 5, 2021

Though three-year starter Ian Book is likely to leave South Bend behind to enter the NFL draft, Coan will enter a loaded quarterback room at Notre Dame. The team has two returning signal-callers in Drew Pyne and Brendon Clark, while 247Sports' No. 3-ranked dual-threat QB and No. 65 player in the class of 2021, Tyler Buchner, will join the team next year.

Coan, who was ranked a 3-star recruit in the class of 2017, was committed to play lacrosse at Notre Dame before he switched sports, choosing Wisconsin over Boston College, Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, and more, according to Tom Loy of 247Sports.

He started 18 games for the Badgers in 2018 and 2019, completing 68 percent of his passes for 3,242 yards and 23 touchdowns with eight interceptions. In 2019, he picked up 236 completions, a team record, en route to a Big Ten West title.

His 2,727 passing yards that season were the third-most in program history. The Badgers finished the season with a 10-4 record that included a Rose Bowl appearance.

Without Coan this season, Wisconsin finished at 4-3, capping the year with a 42-28 victory over Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

Quarterback Graham Mertz, who redshirted as a freshman last season after appearing in two games behind Coan, collected 1,238 passing yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions.

Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah declared for the 2021 NFL draft on Monday after four seasons in South Bend. 

He announced his decision on Twitter, posting a statement thanking his teammates, coaches and fans: 

I won’t cry because it’s over, I’ll just smile because it happened. Thank You, Notre Dame. 🌬☘️
.
.
.
Ecclesiastes 3.1
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:” pic.twitter.com/AX6uvOCctO

— JOK (@j_owuu) January 4, 2021

The Virginia native was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and won the Butkus Award, given to the top linebacker in the country, after posting 62 tackles (11 for loss) and three forced fumbles this season. 

His 11 tackles for loss led Notre Dame defenders this season, while his overall tackle total ranked second. He was named a consensus First-Team All-American, earning the nod from the Associated Press, ESPN, Sporting News and CBS. 

After spending his freshman year on the scout team following his February commitment to Notre Dame, then making two appearances as a sophomore, Owusu-Koramoah broke out as a junior in 2019.

He started all 13 games for the Fighting Irish, posting 80 tackles to tie for the team's lead. His 13.5 tackles for loss paced the program, and he also posted 5.5 sacks, four passes defended, three quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries. 

The 6'1½", 215-pounder is ranked No. 9 overall among 2021 prospects by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and is the top-ranked outside linebacker.

After yet another disappointing showing on college football's grand stage, Notre Dame appears to be hopelessly stuck in an "always the bridesmaid, never the national champion" rut.

Alabama was a heavy favorite to win the Rose Bowl, so it's no surprise that the Crimson Tide were never truly challenged in their 31-14 victory over the Fighting Irish. And that result was merely the latest that suggests Notre Dame is on the wrong side of the ravine between the haves and the have-nots.

Notre Dame is a very good college football team. Iconic, one might say. Last summer, ESPN rated the Fighting Irish as the second-best program in the sport's history.

Most of that was rooted in ancient history, though, as Notre Dame has not won many noteworthy games since the early 1990s.

In the past quarter century, Notre Dame has spent a grand total of three weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. This is going to be just the third time in those 25 years that the Fighting Irish finish a season ranked No. 8 or better. And in all three of those years, they got destroyed in the postseason.

Between the 2012 BCS Championship, the 2018 Cotton Bowl and the 2020 Rose Bowl, Notre Dame was outscored 103-31.

It's not just in bowl season, either.

Since the start of the 1999 season, Notre Dame has played 23 games against teams ranked in the AP Top Five. It went 2-21 in those games. The wins were a September 2005 victory over a third-ranked Michigan that went on to lose five games and finished unranked, and the double-overtime home victory over short-handed Clemson earlier this season.

At its best, Notre Dame can be clearly better than about 98 percent of other teams in the country.

Cracking that top 2 percent, though, has been an insurmountable climb.

And unless something changes on the recruiting front, that's going to remain the case for the foreseeable future.

That isn't to say Notre Dame recruits poorly. Per 247Sports, the Fighting Irish have put together a top-20 recruiting class every year dating back to 2006. They'll usually grab around a half dozen of the top 150 high school seniors in any given cycle. That's why they're consistently solid and have averaged 9.4 wins per year over the past decade—even with that 4-8 dud in 2016.

For most of those top-20 classes, though, they ranked outside the top 10.

In 247Sports history (aka since 2000), Notre Dame has signed a total of 16 5-star recruits—only two of whom came in the past seven recruiting cycles.

During that same seven-year stretch (2014-20), here's a sampling of other 5-star hauls: 16 for LSU, 17 for Ohio State, 17 for Clemson, 27 for Georgia and 30 for Alabama. Even Oklahoma—which has been stuck in the same purgatory as Notre Dame in recent years—signed a trio of 5-star guys in its 2019 class.

In the college football arms race, Notre Dame is bringing a butter knife to a gun fight.

That talent gap couldn't have been much more evident in the Rose Bowl.

Notre Dame running back Kyren Williams had a remarkable season, shredding a lot of decent-to-good defenses for a hair better than 122 yards from scrimmage per game. And Notre Dame tried like mad to get him going against Alabama. He led the team in both rushing attempts and receptions, yet even with those 24 touches, he only managed 95 yards against a Crimson Tide defense full of soon-to-be NFL players.

Notre Dame's defense also had a great year in the ACC, limiting opponents to 18.6 points and 335 total yards. And while the Fighting Irish did a better job of slowing down Alabama than anyone has in the past two seasons, it still felt a little like that steamroller scene from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.

(That's right. It's 2021 and I'm referencing a movie that was released in 1997. But you know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Najee Harris had no difficulty racking up 155 total yards, including putting poor Nick McCloud on a poster with one of the best hurdles you'll ever see.

DeVonta Smith added seven smooth receptions for 130 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

And it wasn't until late in the fourth quarter that the Fighting Irish finally broke through the Alabama offensive line for a sack of Mac Jones, who—aside from a hideous-looking slide at the end of a third-down scramble in the third quarter—was oh so comfortable in the pocket all night.

It would be a bit harsh to say it looked like men playing against boys, as Notre Dame does have a decent stockpile of NFL prospects. However, there was no question which team had the most future first-round draft picks at its disposal, as was the case in both 2012 and 2018, too.

Look, Notre Dame certainly isn't the only good team that Alabama has throttled during Nick Saban's 14 years at the helm. And I'm not trying to say there's no chance Notre Dame could win a national championship in the next decade.

However, there's a pretty clear competitive imbalance in college football that makes it all but impossible to envision Notre Dame entering any future CFP as the favorite to win it all. Again, barring some seismic shift in recruiting, the Fighting Irish are likely to always be a sizable underdog when they make the playoff—and that's only going to get worse if and when it expands to eight teams and they have to go through an additional team with at least five times as many 5-star recruits as there are on Notre Dame's roster.

Recruiting stars aren't everything and they don't guarantee anything. Alabama has had some 5-star duds. Notre Dame has found some serious diamonds in the rough. Perhaps there will be a perfect storm for the Fighting Irish in the next couple of years.

There's just no denying the annual talent gap in this sport, though.

                           

Kerry Miller covers college football and men's college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames. Recruit ratings via 247Sports.

No question about it, Brian Kelly is ready to be hurt again.

Following a 31-14 loss to Alabama, the Notre Dame head coach discussed the program's inability to make a breakthrough in a BCS or New Year's Six bowl.

"I'm sorry if you don't like it and if the national media doesn't like it but we're going to go back to work and we're going to put ourselves back in this position again," Kelly told reporters.

He went on to argue the Fighting Irish weren't the only ones to be overmatched by Alabama on the big stage:

Brian Kelly being asked about Notre Dame’s losing margin in major bowl games and not having it.

“This wasn’t a matter of not getting knocked off the ball or not having enough players to compete against Alabama."

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) January 2, 2021

Brian Kelly: "I don't have a unique problem at Notre Dame. Look at the scores everybody had against Alabama and Clemson."

— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) January 2, 2021

“We think we can get there.”

Brian Kelly asked about if Notre Dame can get closer to Alabama and Clemson.

“We’re not going away."

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) January 2, 2021

It's true Alabama and Clemson are largely in a class by themselves. To isolate Notre Dame's College Football Playoff losses to those schools obscures the issue, though. The Fighting Irish can't beat anybody when they're drawn in a major bowl game.

Notre Dame's 7-game losing streak in BCS/New Year's Six/CFP bowl games (since 1998) is 2 games longer than any other team's losing streak in such games (Oklahoma lost 5 in a row during the BCS Era

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 2, 2021

The Rose Bowl score wasn't indicative of the gap between the two teams on the field. Alabama was up 21-7 at halftime and pretty much coasted from there. The Tide averaged 7.9 yards per play on offense to 4.7 yards for the Fighting Irish.

Kelly's belief that his players are "going to put ourselves back in this position again" probably isn't wrong. The program has won at least 10 games in five of the last six years.

But Notre Dame is basically on a rich man's version of the "treadmill of mediocrity." The team enjoys the lofty status afforded to upper-tier Power Five schools, even though it remains independent in traditional seasons. That means the CFP selection committee is always going to grant a playoff berth to the Irish if they're unbeaten or only have one loss. Two losses probably still means reaching a New Year's Six showcase.

Then Notre Dame gets exposed by a strong opponent who has plenty of time to devise a game plan. Lather, rinse, repeat.

And the consistent success the Fighting Irish enjoy makes it almost impossible to fire Kelly. As much as Friday's loss stings, it's a far cry from the low points of the Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis coaching reigns.

The fanbase is probably spoiled to some extent, but it's fair to question how this keeps happening when Ohio State, which had a similar ceiling with Jim Tressel, broke through with Urban Meyer. Similarly, Dabo Swinney turned Clemson into a juggernaut, upending what had been the narrative.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, continues to justify the skepticism that inevitably creeps up whenever it registers a big win in the regular season and looks destined to compete for a CFP Semifinal place.

When the College Football Playoff finalists were announced, no selection was more controversial than No. 4 Notre Dame, which got in ahead of teams like one-loss Texas A&M and undefeated Cincinnati despite being blown out in the ACC title game vs. Clemson, 34-10.

Add in the fact that since the BCS era began in 1998, Notre Dame is 0-6 in New Year's Six bowl games or BCS/CFP contests, and plenty of people didn't believe Notre Dame was a worthy CFP selection this year.

But head coach Brian Kelly isn't worried about the program's detractors.

"Only one team gets to celebrate at the end of the year," he told reporters. "We're going to keep banging, and we're going to keep getting back here, and that's our job. That's our challenge each and every year is to compete for a national championship, and we'll continue to do that."

Kelly also noted that the team has consistently been among the top teams in the country in recent years:

"We're knocking at the door every year, playing really good teams and great opponents and they're elite football teams. I don't know why this narrative continues to pop up when we're always in the game. No, we haven't won a national championship. That's correct. And, you know, I'm not changing the record. But we are there every single year and we are grinding it out just like everybody else."

Notre Dame will go into its New Year's Day matchup with Alabama as 20-point underdogs, a shocking number for a game between the Nos. 1 and 4 teams in the nation. In its last CFP appearance at the 2018 Cotton Bowl, Notre Dame was worked by Clemson, losing 30-3. 

ESPN's Football Power Index sees the Sugar Bowl as a toss-up, giving (2) Clemson a 50.3% chance to defeat (3) Ohio State.

For the other CFP Semifinal, FPI gives (1) Alabama a convincing 81% chance to beat (4) Notre Dame at AT&T Stadium. pic.twitter.com/GbaQqSlK4A

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 20, 2020

And as ESPN's Dave Wilson noted, Notre Dame finished No. 4 "despite suffering the biggest loss by an eventual playoff team in the playoff era (24 points in a 34-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC title game)."

Notre Dame making the CFB playoff only confirms how much of a sham money grab the entire operation is.

Expand the system NOW. Teams like Cincinnati and Coast Carolina need a seat at the big kids table.

— Brad Evans (@NoisyHuevos) December 20, 2020

https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1340711090263633920

Add it all up and, yes, Notre Dame has its fair share of doubters. All that's left to do for the Fighting Irish is to prove them wrong.

No. 2 Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was forced to defend his team's resume Saturday after the No. 3 Clemson Tigers thrashed the Fighting Irish 34-10 in the ACC Championship Game.

"We've got two Top 15 wins," Kelly told reporters. "We've got a win over this Clemson team that was No. 1 in the country. I don't know that anybody has a resume that has those two wins, and we've played 11 games. That matters, playing 11 games. Testing your team week in and week out, I think in my mind puts us as without question as one of the top four teams in the country."

Notre Dame defeated then-No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in double overtime at Notre Dame Stadium in November as the Tigers played without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

It was a much more defensive tone than Kelly struck earlier this week when he raised the notion of Notre Dame opting out of the postseason if players were unable to have their families in the stands for a likely Rose Bowl game.

"I'm not sure we'll play in the playoffs if parents can't be there, to be honest with you," Kelly said. "Why would we play if you can't have the families at the game?"

After Saturday's performance, making the College Football Playoff at all is certainly in question.

The Irish crumbled after taking a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter, giving up 34 consecutive points to Clemson before a garbage-time touchdown from Chris Tyree put Notre Dame in the end zone for the first time all game.

Even with just one loss, the Irish could find themselves tumbling out of the playoff's top four.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney told reporters he believes Notre Dame should be in despite the outcome Saturday, noting the selection committee shouldn't lean toward rewarding teams who played fewer games this year.

As far as Kelly is concerned, his team has done more than enough to earn a playoff berth. Now he just has to convince the committee of the same.

"I think you look at the body of work in terms of what we've done all year," Kelly said. "We obviously lost to the No. 3-ranked team in the country tonight. Wasn't our best effort, but consistency—when you play 11 games and you have a win over the No. 1 team in the country and then you win against an outstanding North Carolina team, I don't know that you need to look any further than that."