Eric Hansen: Welcome to the panic-driven Christmas shopping version of Notre Dame Football Live Chat, a special Tuesday edition.
First, some quick programming notes:
► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. And if you’re a potential first-time subscriber, we have a great deal — 50% off your first year with an annual subscription. With that, you get all of our premium content, plus all the value you get from a national team of writers and content creators, as well as access to every team site in the On3 network and a full year of The Athletic. Check it out at: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/.
► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel. We’ll be back next week and every week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well, including the Notre Dame Football Show, live on Tuesday nights.
► The Inside ND Sports Podcast has been rebranded as the Third & Gold Podcast. Going forward the pod will be available on all the podcast places you found us before as well as our YouTube Channel. On our most recent episode, we caught up with former Steve Wiltfong, vice president/national college football recruiting and the transfer portal for On3|Rivals. The next episode will drop late next week.
► By the way, we will have a chat next week. I’m going to do it on Wednesday at noon ET, Dec. 31.
Eric Hansen: As far as today’s chat …
PLEASE include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your question. If you feel it’s relevant, you can include whether or not you like eggnog.
These are typically our rules:
Eric Hansen: But since it’s an optimum opportunity to define yourself as naughty or nice with someone with much more leverage than I have, I’ll leave it up to you which ones you want to follow.
OK, off we go …
Roger from Peoria: Eric: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Seasons Greetings to you and your loyal readers of all persuasions, but all being Irish fans!! In the context of Notre Dame football, what present under the 2025 tree do you think Marcus would ask for from Santa? While the Live Chat format does not lend itself to the next question, I wonder what each of the ND assistant coaches would ask Santa for, it would be interesting to consider. Unfortunately, there will be no Irish-Trojan game next season. Do you wonder if this is just another step in the effort to get the Irish to join a conference? In any (and all) event(s), thanks for the continuing Live Chats which now has populated a Tuesday!! GO IRISH!!!!!
Eric Hansen: Happy Holidays to you, Roger and thanks for the compliments and the flattering preamble. And I will answer the Marcus Freeman Xmas wish question, but let me start with the “joining a conference” theme. I have been doing this chat since the Charlie Weis Era, so roughly 20 years. That question has been a constant during those 20 years and for different reasons. Given how things went down in the College Football Playoff selection process, I understand why you might extrapolate collusion to this area. Let’s look at this pragmatically.
From Notre Dame’s standpoint, there are three pillars that support independence in football. If any of them start to crumble, then football independence is no longer a given necessarily. Those three are: 1) Access to playing for the national championship. 2) A competitive media rights deal that keeps the Irish in the same neighborhood financially as the Big Ten and SEC. 3) A place to house Notre Dame’s Olympic sports and basketball teams. All three of those boxes remain checked. Now could there be a better arrangement for Notre Dame than its current one with the ACC, I think AD Pete Bevacqua should and will mull that this offseason. Now as far as other teams conspiring to FORCE Notre Dame to join a conference …
As long as there is college football and as long as Notre Dame is a football independent, there will be individuals who perceive ND as being the rich kid with the silver spoon sticking out of his mouth. And flaunting it. And there will be whining about it. But from a collusion standpoint of people actually in power, what would be the benefit of forcing full conference membership? Especially if Notre Dame were to fully join someone else’s conference, not the power broker doing the forcing. The pause/end in the USC series is a consequence of USC’s decision to join the Big Ten and a CFP system that doesn’t appear to reward teams for playing aggressive non-conference schedules.
As for Marcus Freeman and what he wants Santa to bring him, I really don’t think it would be football-related. I think it would be that his wife, Joanna, and six kids were happy and healthy.
Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s grandchildren time. My best wishes for a Merry Christmas to you and your family. Will missing the CFP hurt recruiting? Will Notre Dame derangement syndrome hurt scheduling?
Eric Hansen: Len it is indeed that!!!!!! Going to get to see 6 of the 8 tomorrow night. AND I don’t have to cook! Best wishes to you and your family!! To your recruiting question, we had Steve Wiltfong from On3|Rivals on our last podcast. Steve has a really long title, but it’s basically the recruiting/transfer portal guru as a functional title. He thinks it will have some effect, not that recruits will think ND is on the decline, but the Irish and Marcus Freeman won’t be getting the exposure they got last year during their four-game run. My opinion is that the effect will be minimal, because as we get closer to the summer, the consensus will start to build nationally that the 2026 Irish have a chance to win it all. Not a layup, but not a half-court shot either.
Paul from Knoxville: Ciao Eric: Buon Natale!!! Thank you for hosting a chat during Christmas week. I read that ND and USC have not reached agreement on continuing the series, with at least one sticking point being that USC does not want to play ND in Nov allegedly due to how the playoff committee views late losses. To me this reason doesn’t pass the giggle test, so I’d like to ask whether you have insight into what’s going on. Switching gears, now that ND WBB is roughly one-third through the season, I’d like to get your assessment of whether this team has more or less reached its ceiling or if there’s still potential, and probability, for improvement especially for post play. Tanti auguri!!!
Eric Hansen: Buon Natale, Paul!!! I’ll actually get to eat an Italian meal on Christmas Day this year. Pretty fired up about that. … I think you’re correct to giggle, although there’s a thread of truth in it. The committee probably would knock USC out of the playoff field with a late-November loss if it were on the bubble. But Notre Dame plays with the same risk. If the Trojans had been more competitive in the series in the past 15 or so years, I don’t think this is as big of an issue for them. The Irish are 11-4 in the last 15 games after USC put together an 8-game win streak before that.
I think adding ND next year was problematic for two more reasons. USC draws the three CFP participants from its conference — Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon next year. They play three games in the Eastern or Central time zones, where they’re 2-12 in their last 14 crossing the Rocky Mountains. Now the 2026 game would have been out west, but they would have had to come East in 2027, and that year they have road trips East to Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland. So that would make four cross-country trips. … to women’s hoops.
I’ll probably do a few women’s hoops chats this season as we get deeper into it if there’s a demand. Last season, there certainly was. I watched the 110-38 thriller in person on Sunday night against Bellarmine. I don’t think they’ve hit their ceiling. Malaya Cowles and Iyana Moore, two players who missed the on-ramp to the season and the first two games, could help this team improve in the ACC season. When KK Bransford comes back from her injury, that’ll help, too. Keep an eye on that mid-January stretch of games — Louisville, UNC, UConn. That will tell us a lot.
George from El Segundo: While watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” recently, it occurred to me that college football has become “Potterville.” The current situation is non-sustainable: players on one year contracts with no salary cap, schools on the hook for massive payouts to past and current coaches, and a playoff system that brings to mind an old adage: a camel is a racehorse designed by committee! I suspect the situation will deteriorate with the passage of time. Any thoughts you’d like to share on how this mess can be salvaged? Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas to all!!!
Eric Hansen: Grinch, I mean George. I am kidding. You bring up some very good points. And I would say if you spoke to conference commissioners and athletic directors off the record, they don’t believe it’s sustainable either. I had a great chat off the record with a college insider yesterday and learned a lot about the present state of affairs and what they hope could happen in the future. And this will require Congressional help. But there are some really good ideas floating around that could make this sustainable. I’ll share some of those in a future article. And actually the rev-share model is more stable than the unregulated NIL world. So there is hope, but I don’t know how fast those solutions are going to get here. Merry Christmas to you, George. I appreciate your thoughtful emails I’ve received from you over the years.
Ryan Frankfort Illinois: Good afternoon Eric what do you think about the season Luke Talich had i think he had a good season Go Irish merry Christmas Eric 🏈🏈☘️☘️💪💪👍👍
Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan. Merry Christmas to the guy who is helping my emoji game immensely, because mine does need work. I think Notre Dame is loaded at safety, even with JaDon Blair hitting the portal, and Luke Talich is a big reason why. 🔥🎄🍺
I told you. I still need work, but it’s an improvement.
Barry from Napa, Calif.: Eric, happiest of Holidays to you and your fam-uh-lee! Seriously hope you enjoy all the season has to offer. I saw where Drayk Bowen was the ND 2025 tackles leader with 67. I thought that seemed a bit low, recalling a year or two where Manti had 100+. Turns out Bowen was ranked 281st! The NCAA had 48 players with triple digit tackles, the leader in at 151, more than double Bowen. That just really surprised me given ND’s defensive prowess. Do you think it’s because of scheme and style of play? Depth of the roster with multiple players subbing in? Or more an indication of players who aren’t proficient individually but play well inside the scheme such that individual stats get more distributed? May Santa bring you lots of red (wine, that is)!
Eric Hansen: Barry. Happiest of holidays to you, there in the heart of wine country. I prefer wine to whine. Context is everything when it comes to numbers, so let’s go down that road with Drayk Bowen. Let’s start with comparing Bowen’s numbers to Manti Te’o’s. First of all, Manti was a Heisman runner-up and his numbers were legit, but he also played in a different era where offenses were less spread out. Even more so is it different when ND single-season tackles record-holder Bob Crable played. No one will ever touch his records of 187 tackles in the 1979 season or 26 in a game that he did twice and shares with Bob Golic.
Bowen’s tackle numbers are also suppressed by playing in a five-man linebacker rotation, essentially spread over two spots, with Notre Dame playing so much nickel. The Pro Football Focus film grades aren’t an end-all, be-all, but it helps lend some perspective to a player’s production. Bowen struggled early with the new scheme, but finished very strong with a 72.4 season score, which is much better than it sounds. (It’s not like a grade in school, where that would be a C). Sometimes what a player does shows up in the opponents stats. The ball that isn’t thrown his way because he’s covered. Or the bad pass a QB throws because Bowen was blitzing. I hope that makes sense.
Mike AKA Mo from Maumee, Ohio: Hi Eric !^! Holly Happidays!! Imagine you are suddenly OC Denbrock and are tasked by HC Freeman to FIX the third and short/fourth and one dilemma. Carr is your QB, but ANY reasonable personnel solution is on the table for that one play. What might be two plays you have been mulling over that would offer better chances of success than suddenly running Carr up under center & snapping the ball? You’ve already read my thoughts about lining up one of those agile 300+ pound backup O-linemen as the blocking or ball-carrying “halfback” or “fullback”. Thanks!!
Eric Hansen: Mike/Mo !^! I see what you did there. So, YOU are the eggnog drinker. Happy Holidays! For me it’s a combination of the plays and the personnel. And I think a healthy Kedren Young will solve some of those issues. But let’s have some fun and play left-handed. Who would I line up as an unconventional blocking back and or ball carrier? Drayk Bowen was actually a prolific running back in high school and has the size. I’d give that a spin. And then let’s go with 6-2, 340-pound nose guard Sean Sevillano Jr., because he’s huge and pretty nimble on his feet.
Joe from Baltimore: It’s sad to see Jadon leave. I get it, but how realistic is it for a freshman to come in and play a ton for a championship runner up? Did ND over promise or does the player just think they deserved more? Thanks!
Eric Hansen: Hi Joe. JaDon Blair is a talented freshman who walked into an extremely competitive situation at safety with so much depth and more on the way, including five-star prospect Joey O’Brien. In another era at Notre Dame — like pre-Mike Mickens — it would have been easier for Blair to play early. But with that elite talent, you have to have an elite motor. Wherever Blair ends up, that drive to be great has to be every bit as apparent as his physical tools, or he will end up being disappointed with his opportunities. Among the freshman safeties, Ethan Long was clearly better and more driven.
Isaac from South Bend, Ind.: Hi Eric!! Thank you for holding these chats. As a hardcore Irish fan, they are easily one of my favorite resources. Keep up the amazing work! Now to my questions: I have heard ND is pursuing a portal running back. Given our incredibly talented one two of Williams and James, plus Young and the freshmen, this feels like a waste of resources, and could cause talent to leave. Do you agree? Secondly, (I know you are probably tired of Cam Williams questions) do you agree with me that we should just start him? We begin the season with some puffball teams and his ceiling is enormous. There are only a handful of dudes that big who can run like that. Third and finally, do you think we should promote Mickens to co-defensive coordinator AND slide him another check? Thank you, Merry Christmas, and God bless.
Eric Hansen: Hi Isaac. Thanks for the compliments and for jumping into the chat today instead of Christmas shopping. I’ve got a series of intel pieces coming out this week that are going to address some of these things, starting with some offensive line nuggets tomorrow morning. Ultimately, I do not think Notre Dame will pursue a portal running back. That could change, but I think you’ve got a good read on that. Cam Williams I am going to feature in a future piece this week. I don’t think he’s done enough to start, but I do think he has enough talent and a willingness to work through his hurdles, that giving up on him would make no sense. So keep an eye out for that piece, because I think you will enjoy the dynamic of his journey. As far as Mike Mickens, heck yeah cut him a nice check and give him a title bump if that’s all it takes to keep him. He’s as good a combination of recruiter/developer as there is at those positions in the nation. God Bless, Isaac.
Tony from Lake Mary, Fla.: Hi Eric. Happy Mother Cabrini’s feast day. Served the poor Italian immigrants in New York and Chicago. Big time for those of us with Italian ancestry. On to football, the ending of the ND USC rivalry is just about the straw that broke the camels back in terms of caring about college football for me. Being an ND alum and football being so much part of the identity of the University is about all I have left to hold onto. Tell me something that I can feel good about to make want to still care about it. Other than wanting to take my son to a day game because I don’t think he can stay awake for a night game, I want to stay engaged. Do you have any words to help me get out of this?
Eric Hansen: Tony, my first words to you would be: Mangia. Mangia!!! I have Italian ancestry as well, so I’m with you brother. Now let’s work on getting you in a good mood to enjoy your holiday. Normally, that’s way above my pay grade and expertise, but for a paisano on Christmas? Let’s do this. If everything falls right with the portal additions and the expected retentions, Notre Dame will have its best chance to win a national title in 2026 since the Holtz Era. And I’m dead serious. The roster has a chance to be THAT good.
Ron from Dover, Del.: Eric, Happy Holidays to you and your family! I am sure there will be a lot of chat on Marcus going to the Giants which I would hate to see happen. He is a college coach and I don’t see his strengths translating to the Pro’s. He should look at Saban and Meyers who did not succeed in the NFL. My question: why do kids like JaDon Blair think they should be playing right away despite the difference from High School to college? Everyone wants to play but you need to earn it. Makes me admire Xavier Watts even more when I see this.
Eric Hansen: Happy Holidays, Ron!! Let me talk about freshman expectations in more general terms. Sometimes those expectations are driven by the people around a player, not so much the player himself. And Marcus Freeman preaches delayed gratification, so the early on-ramp isn’t a thought that’s coming from him. In fact, only four of the 25 freshmen played enough to burn through a redshirt year — CBs Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery IV, linebacker Madden Faraimo and K Erik Schmidt. There’s sometimes panic if it feels like a potential NFL career is going off the rails, even though neither safety starter, Tae Johnson or Adon Shuler, played enough as a freshman to burn a redshirt year themselves. And both of those guys will play in the League someday soon.
Marie from Atlanta: Hi Eric, wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and happy new year. Thanks for hosting the chat so close to the big day. It’s difficult to watch another great part of college football erode away in the loss of the USC Notre Dame rivalry. I have read that the plan is to restart the rivalry in 2030, do you really believe that will happen or do you think they are just kicking the can down the road and that the game will never really get going again on a consistent basis? I Was disappointed to read about Jadon Blair entering the transfer portal, I know ND is pretty loaded at safety but how big of a loss is this?, Do you have any insight into why the transfer occurred? Finally, do you think Notre Dame needs to become more aggressive when players are applying for a sixth year of eligibility? It seems when legal action is threatened. The outcome is more favorable for the extra year. Notre Dame typically stays pretty quiet during this process. Do you think the university should start getting a little aggressive with their approach? I would love to see some of these players getting an additional year, it just doesn’t seem to happen that much at Notre Dame. Thanks for hosting the chat so close to Christmas, hoping Santa brings you everything on your list. Looking forward to another great year of chats in 2026.
Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. And thanks for your note the other day. And everything in that sounds good. I’ll be in touch. Now to your cleverly-disguised 17-part question. OK, less than 17 (barely LOL). Let’s unpack. I don’t have a good feel if there’s good faith on USC’s part to want to restart it. I think it’s fair for them to assess how life in the Big Ten is treating them and who their head coach is at the time and their AD for that matter. My initial hunch is that it won’t be renewed by 2030 or maybe longer. … I think JaDon Blair would end up being a really good player at his next stop with a new mindset. I don’t think it’s a huge loss for Notre Dame because Ethan Long is better. Joey O’Brien is better. And Tae Johnson is going to be an All-American sooner than later.
I don’t think getting loud on Notre Dame’s part is the way to handle the sixth-year appeals. And I guess I’m not recalling them having a bunch of those turned down, if you can remind me. Jason Onye has a pretty good case, but it’s not a slam dunk. Thanks for being such a great part of the chats, consistently. Merry Christmas to you and your daughter!
Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Eric, do you think that the increase in teams in the Big 20 and the SEC has actually diluted these conferences?? It seems some teams play a much easier schedule than others. Also, is it possible that the ACC could have ND play the weaker teams in their conference to weaken our strength of schedule and possibly impact our chance to make the Top 12 and get into the playoffs???
Eric Hansen: Tom, Merry Christmas and sorry we won’t have a chance to get together for dinner like last year with Tyler and Marie as well. You’ve got two really good questions in the hopper, and I hope I have time to double back and get the other. But let’s hit this one now. Yes, yes and more yes on diluting the conferences. You have teams within a conference playing league schedules that vary dramatically in strength and certainly in many cases don’t lend a whole lot to a true pecking order within a conference. Now to the ACC question, the schedule was set up through 2036 so that all ACC schools would play Notre Dame the same amount of times. So, there was no conspiracy there.
With the addition of Cal, Stanford and SMU as new members recently, it mucked up the rhythm of the original plan. Then ND scheduled the standalone series with Clemson, which was needed. I think going forward, there will be a push by Notre Dame to play some of the traditionally stronger teams more regularly and the traditionally weaker teams less often. That doesn’t always work out that way. Who figured Virginia would be near the top of the standings this season? Tom, I appreciated your email and am backlogged by 264 (really). But I plan to get to yours tonight.
Ron from Dover, Del: Hi Eric just saw Ben Minch wants to transfer. This looks a revolt by bench players as that is three safeties looking to leave . Seems the safety room is getting smaller and maybe not a strength. Your thoughts?
Eric Hansen: Ron, you are reading WAY too much into it. Ben Minich had moved to nickel. But even then, the ease of transferring without sitting out and the allure of money from another school willing to play more is going to attract some kids. Great kid, hard worker, but he wasn’t going to play significant snaps. So, he had a decision to make. If you have 28 recruits and you’re adding through he portal, and only have 13 players with expiring eligibility and only a handful of NFL Draft early entries, the math works out that you’re going to have some roster churn. And some churn is healthy for a program and for the players leaving in many cases. No revolt. The sky isn’t falling. Enjoy your holiday.
Ed from Sayville, N.Y.: Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and all associated with bringing this chat to us Eric! Same to all that bring excellent questions to the table every week! How about a fun lob in your direction? If you could have a beer with anyone in Irish football history, who would you choose and why? Peace on earth everyone!!
Eric Hansen: Oh Gosh. A one part-question with no math? It’s a Christmas miracle!!!!! Ed if you want my last “Dump Davie” bumper sticker it’s yours! Love this question. Now the pressure is on to match it with my answer. I would say Knute Rockne. Not only was he the winningest coach, he was such an innovator. Just a fascinating guy. And no, I was not born yet when he coached, so don’t go there LOL.
John from Chagrin Falls, Ohio: Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful day with your family. It is a sad day with the news of a pause in the ND v USC series. Most are citing USC not wanting to play in November and risk a late loss. Is that accurate as far as you can tell? And is there hope for a renewal in the future? Separate question, now that a couple weeks have passed and round 1 of the CFP is complete, how do you assess ND’s handling of not being selected and then not playing a bowl game? Anything you think we should have done differently? Thanks as always for your insights! It’s an emotional time for all ND alums/fans…we are still processing!
Eric Hansen: Hi John, I hit part one of your question already, but let’s get to the other parts, because they’re worth diving into. … I like the way Notre Dame responded to all of it, and there’s still work to be done. And that’s with being a leader in coming up with a selection process that not only looks like it has integrity, it actually has it and is transparent enough to show that. And it’s not just about adding teams. It’s learning from two years of trial and error and meaningfully evolving the process.
Ced walker from Saginaw michigan aka sagnasty Saginaw pride: merry Christmas happy holidays how many freshmen do you see playing from the 2026 will Notre Dame go to Syracuse Thanksgiving weekend in 2026 God Bless This Football Team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us
Eric Hansen: Hi Ced, when you say playing as freshmen, I’m going to put it in terms of playing enough to burn a redshirt year. And there were only four such freshmen in this class. So for me, Joey O-Brien, Khary Adams, Ayden Pouncey, Ian Premer, at least one of the running backs, and Kaydon Finley. So six for sure and maybe others depending on injuries and spring surprises. … Not sure about the timing of the Syracuse game, but the Irish do have a road trip there next year, and Steve Angeli is expected to be back and healthy for it. Merry Christmas, Ced!!
Mark from Memphis, Tenn.: Hi Eric!!!!!!!!!!!!! Earlier in the chat you used the term “want to be great” with respect to JaDon Blair’s transfer. I recall Brian Kelly using that same term to describe his new players at LSU, giving the layman the impression that his players at ND were not similarly motivated. From your perspective, what specific traits make a player “want to be great” at this level? As always, thank you and Merry Christmas to you and your family! 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️
Eric Hansen: Hi Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, that’s Manny-level punctuation, You’re winning that contest today. And great question. It’s not always motivation. It’s maturity or a combination thereof, or adjusting to college life. Sometimes players are so blessed with talent and so unchallenged at the high school level, they don’t understand how hard they have to work to reach their ceiling at the college level. I think the epitome of a player who will find the path to greatness is one who does what Marcus Freeman preaches … be patient with the process, but do the work while the process is playing out. In other words, be ready for your opportunity. Don’t wait for the opportunity, and THEN start to work.
Dennis from Swoyersville Pa.: Eric just wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and happy New Year. God Bless
Eric Hansen: Dennis. Thank you. And blessings and holiday greetings to you and your family as well!
Matt from Austin: Hi Eric. No questions this week. I’ll just enjoy the chat. I wanted to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have some wonderful family time. As the year ends, I also wanted to thank you for all the chats!!!! They are insightful, honest, and most of all, just plain fun. Be safe over the holidays and I hope Santa is good to you!!!
Eric Hansen: Matt, Merry Christmas to you and your family!! I have to tell you, I am blessed and maybe more than ever the past few years. The lights turned back on for me, and I am grateful for every second of that experience. And I am glad you have fun in the chats. I know there are disappointments in sports, but at the end of the day, following sports should be fun. And that’s why we have the unwritten NO WHINKING and the very-much written No Manifesto policy. So thanks for all of what you just said. That hit me in a good spot.
Geez, I’m getting verklempt … Talk amongst yourself… I’ll give you a topic. … Rhode Island is neither a Road, nor an island. .. Discuss ….
OK, I’m back.
Jim from Springfield, Ill.: Thanks for continuing to do this every week. Can you clarify the financial cost of ND skipping the Pop Toaster Bowl? I have heard that they still get a share of the ACC non-CFP playoff pool, which leads me to believe they would have needed to share their own non-CFP bowl money with the league. I have also heard that, given the expenses of the trip, it would have been a break even if they had gone. Any insight on this? Thanks.
Eric Hansen: Hi Jim. I’m probably going to get a C in math for this question, because I can’t answer it accurately without a phone-a-friend or pausing the chat for 20 minutes to research it. What I can tell you is that the payout for the Pop-Tarts Bowl is $3 million per team, with expenses coming out of that. So the financial penalty to Notre Dame is peanuts relatively speaking. The bigger miss was not getting money from the CFP. Next year ND does get a share whether it’s in it or not.
Skip from Houston: My understanding is that in the past football recruits had to project being able to graduate. With all the changes including transferability and NIL, can you share with us the current academic requirements for football players to be admitted to Notre Dame? Thank you.
Eric Hansen: Hi Skip. Every situation is made individually. So there are not set numbers. There is always context. But think about it, how many academically ineligible football players have you read about in the last 5 years.? So ND must be doing something right with admissions. As far as transfers, it’s very easy if you’re a grad transfer with degree in hand. If you’re an undergrad, it gets tricky with transfer credits.
Tom Ryan from Charlotte Hall, Md.: Hi Eric, and thank you for the excellent article on Coach Freeman’s future. I think as Notre Dame fans we needed to hear your take on where we really are on the complex issue of keeping our Coach in South Bend. Eric, what are your thoughts on the cancellation of ND/USC football games for at least the next two years? In the big picture, how do you see this impacting ND, and in a broader front, national rivalries?
Eric Hansen: Tom, it was great to exchange notes with you the other day. Thanks for hopping on the chat and thanks for the compliments on the Freeman article: Irish Intel: Why Marcus Freeman’s future still points to Notre Dame
The decline of Stanford football and the pause/cancellation of the USC series makes it harder for Notre Dame to add some needed octane to its November schedule. It’s hard to get Power 4 teams beyond the ACC to schedule November games against the Irish. And it’s even harder to get really good P4 teams to do that. I also think it hurts college football to lose one of its most storied rivalries, especially one so unique in so many ways. Merry Christmas, Tom!
Scott from Greenville, S.C.: ERIC!!! Merry Christmas and happy turkey leg to you! Please give my best to Tyler! You guys bring your best every week and I just want to say its a pleasure to interact with you both. This is my 65th Christmas and I while I can’t watch America’s team in the CFP, this is still one of my favorite lead up to Christmas years! Family, faith, friends and football. Although I still have Winchester Dog Show on demand. God bless you Eric and enjoy the holidays with the grandkids!
Eric Hansen: Scott!!!!!! I was sipping my coffee while I was reading that, and when I got to the part about the Winchester Dog Show, coffee shot out my nostrils. Fortunately, it didn’t land on my keyboard or my shirt. Another Christmas Miracle! Ironically, I have two great memories from watching it. One, was when Triumph the Insult Comic Dog crashed the show and the other I’ll share another time. Merry Christmas and thanks for the hype for Tyler and me.
Jack from Rochester, N.Y.: Merry Christmas! With BYU swapping places with USC as our 12th opponent next season, what is your prediction on the dates of our TBA games? I know Wisconsin – UNC are set, but I am interested, where you think our Bye, @Syracuse, Stanford, SMU, and BYU might fall?
Eric Hansen: Jack, I don’t know those dates, but now that we have all 12 opponents, I’m sure the full schedule will be released soon.
George from Boston, Mass.: Love the chats ,the humor , insights and hard work ! But seriously, is it finally over for the mystique of independence being an option for Notre Dame? The loss of USC series (huge loss for all of college ball going forward) ,the weak 2026 schedule, (fallout from Notre Dame public outcry of bowl snub? the rumors ADs no longer willing to play ball with out of conference matchups, the uproar for the special treatment for being ranked 12 in playoffs next year, rumors ESPN and committee members back channeling for the loss of independence, jealousy for the huge singular payout for last year playoff appearance, feud with Acc. Has Notre Dame worn out its welcome with too many parties and might be forced to take a seat in a conference to even survive? The 2026 schedule feels undefeated or they will have to choke down pop tarts next year or worse. Getting close to 17-parter, but does all above lay ground work for FFreeman jumping to NFL and perhaps justified even with loaded talent?
Eric Hansen: Hi George. Love the compliments, thank you. I think one of the hardest parts of being a Notre Dame football fan is being media-savvy. And that’s in no way an insult to you or anyone else. It’s hard to know what is someone with actual legit intel and some guy in his mom’s basement running our stories through an AI platform to come up with a YouTube show script. And then there’s blowhards on TV who feel like it’s their job to entertain, not to bring journalistic principles to their work. So much of what you are reading is overstated, overblown or fabricated. Not all of it. So, let’s address what’s real. The CFP selection process and format needs to evolve. The ACC relationship needs to be revisited, refined and maybe eventually abandoned if it cannot be improved to help both sides, frankly. The sky is not falling. But there is work to be done. And Notre Dame will always have detractors. Always. That can’t be what drives your decisions as a program/school. And if you think those detractors would disappear if you joined a conference in football, think again. They’d find a new reason not to like Notre Dame. Merry Christmas.
Al from Vicenza: Buon Natale, Eric! Non rispondere più a Paul di Knoxville. È furbo, disonesto e beve solo l’acqua a tavolo. Nah, he’s a good guy, actually. We were roomies in Flanner in the ’80s. Eric, my question has to do with academics. Does the NCAA or any other body the oversees college athletics still keep track of how many players actually graduate? Do they even care? With so many players being able to transfer and play immediately elsewhere, and then potentially transfer any number of subsequent times prior to exhausting eligibility, how does some organization responsible for tracking graduation rates, access what institution has responsibility for trying to ensure academic success? And, on a completely different academic topic, why doesn’t Notre Dame list the academic majors of it’s athletes like they used to up until about ten years ago?
Eric Hansen: Buon Natale, Al. For those who don’t speak Italian and don’t want to run it through a translator, that line about Paul “only drinking water at the table” is pure gold! But untrue, I bet. Yes, it’s a more complicated formula, but Notre Dame — not surprisingly excels in the new(er) academic accounting system. Here is the first part of a news release we received last month on the topic:
SOUTH BEND, IN – The University of Notre Dame leads all NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision institutions, along with Northwestern University, with a 99 Graduation Success Rate (GSR), as released by the NCAA on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. The 99 rating for Notre Dame and Northwestern leads the way among football competing schools in the country, followed by Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke and Stanford all with a 97 rating.
Eric Hansen: But I know where you’re coming from. I just saw a story the other day on a quarterback who will be at his seventh school in seven years. I wonder if he’s a sophomore academically.
Smitty from Tempe, Ariz.: Eric – I’m admittedly biased on ND’s independence, but I don’t understand why other schools and coaches (and fans!) say that ND has an unfair scheduling advantage being independent. While this year was a weak schedule, they still played 4 ranked teams, which is competitive with most of the other playoff teams. They didn’t play any FCS schools, which I equate to a week off. With the size of the Big 10 and SEC, the difficulty of those schedules seem to vary wildly from team to team. The ACC and Big 12 are weak. Then you have teams like Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Miami that didn’t even make it to their conf championship games but still made the playoffs. So why do coaches (ie Joey McGuire) continue to harp on ND not being in a conference as being unfair? It’s certainly a risk on ND’s part. Some years they reap the benefits, other years it might bite them. But I don’t think, from a scheduling perspective, it inherently makes their schedule easier. Your thoughts?
Eric Hansen: I think Joey McGuire is an excellent coach who makes very little sense and has little to gain from making remarks that make him look like a rube. And speaking of schedule strength, Texas Tech’s non-conference schedule consisted of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State, and next year consists of Oregon State, Abilene Christian and Sam Houston State, so not sure he is pontificating from a position of strength. But the Red Raiders did have a hell of a year. I’ll give them that.
Matt from DC: Merry Christmas Eric! If you had to put in a prediction (accounting for who you think will declare early or transfer), what will ND’s offensive line look like in week 1 next season from left to right?
Eric Hansen: I’m doing a piece on this tomorrow. If everyone is healthy and there are no further NFL declarations or transfers on the line, I’d say Charles Jagusah, Billy Schrauth Anthonie Knapp/AshtonCraig, Will Black, Guerby Lambert.
Don in Scottsdale, Ariz.: Eric, first and foremost, Merry Christmas to you and yours. Hope Santa delivers the goods to you and the team at B&G. As an older alum the independence of ND has always been a point of pride. Times have certainly changed, and it might be time for ND football to question independence. I think the top 60 teams need to be in a league that operates outside the current conferences. Basically, CFB would be outside the traditional athletic conference domain. What has to happen to create real change in this crazy sport? By the way, Happy New Year!
Eric Hansen: Don, Happy Holidays to you. Appreciate you. This is a bit too much for me to bite off without giving it some deeper thought, but I appreciate that you assess my intellect to be at a level to answer that off the fop of my head! There is more change coming to the sport. Not sure if it will look like what you laid out, but those concepts are being talked about. What I will say is Congressional guardrails and support need to be part of any solution/evolution that is lasting and meaningful.
Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. Happy Holidays to you and family. Does Notre Dame need the game more with USC or does USC need the game more with ND from a national perspective? BYU is a good team but it definitely does not have the pizazz as an USC.I think you pointed out on FNS that USC has not been successful in the Eastern and Central time zones and with the move to the Big Ten do they really need another game in the Midwest. Thanks for the great work throughout the year.
Eric Hansen: Hi Jack. I think it’s a great question that kind of falls out of the way I process things. But let me give it a shot. I think Notre Dame needs the game more for schedule strength in November every other year. But I think the ND game is more valuable than the USC leadership realizes it. To me it makes USC just another Big Ten team, and one that doesn’t particularly travel well.
Eric Hansen: I apologize for everyone I can’t get to today. Hopefully, what we missed we can revisit on the chat next Wednesday. One more before I head to my next assignment.
2581/Tony from Lexington, Ky.: Howdy, Eric! And Merry Christmas to you & yours ! You’ve had an impactful first Fall with B&G ! I have never asked you for a prediction before, but here goes. Please predict the following for the 2026 football season: (1) ND’s starting offensive line; (2) our starting nickel back; (3) who will be RB#1; (4) the score of Wisconsin v. ND on 9/6; (5) will our home game v. Miami on 11/7 be at night; (6) will Texas Tech’s coach criticize the fact that ND isn’t in a conference in the week before we play at BYU; (7) will Joey O’Brien crack the starting lineup at some point next season; (8) will ND make the CFP; (9) if your answer to #8 is yes, where will ND be ranked entering the CFP; and (10) will Jeremiyah Love be a star in the NFL during his rookie season? Since you don’t allow 17-part questions, I reckon I could have asked 6 more, but 10 is enough! I know that it is impossible to make many of these predictions in 2025, but that is why you are the greatest! Go Irish! ☘🏈
Eric Hansen: Merry Christmas Tony (and family) and thanks so much for the card! We’ve got to do this rapid fire, so let’s roll. I am soooo late for my next assignment. 1) Answered earlier. 2) Portal guy or Dallas Golden, I’ll say portal guy. 3. Aneyas Williams. 4) 113 to negative-5. Just kidding. 31 to 13. 5. Of course. 6. Before, during and after. 7. Not unless there’s an injury, but he’ll find a role and play a lot … maybe even on offense in the red zone. 8. Heck yes. 9. They will be ranked No. 2. 10. Big time.
Eric Hansen: OK that’s going to do it for today. I really apologize for not getting close to cleaning out the queue. We WILL be back next Wednesday at noon, which is New Year’s Eve day. Thanks for all the great questions. Happy Holidays to all!