Columns
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5 Things I Want To See From Notre Dame in 2014
We’re two days from kick-off of the 2014 and after another off-season filled with enough drama to script a day-time soap opera, it’s glorious to be able to start watching…
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Duranko’s Digest: Coaching Matters, Notre Dame’s 2014 Faculty
It is timely to examine the reconstituted coaching staff or "Football Faculty" as their primary function is to teach. Ah yes, we love our mantra "it's not the X's and…
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Duranko’s Digest: Kain Colter and the Unionization of Northwestern players
In large things and small, war games and the sports and games people play, in government, in society, there occur tipping points that mark the beginning of a change in…
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Duranko’s Digest: 6 Focus Areas for Notre Dame Spring Practice
Spring practice comes early this year, starting the first week in March. There are significant coaching changes on both sides of the ball. Mike Denbrock was named offensive coordinator. His span…
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Duranko’s Digest: Ranking Notre Dame’s 2014 Opponents
Please note that this post-signing day ranking rates the opponents as we expect them to finish 2014 overall. Not preseason rankings, but where they would rank on a “true value” ranking…
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Duranko’s Digest: 10 frosh likely to play for Notre Dame in 2014
Brian Kelly plays freshmen. Last year 10 frosh saw significant minutes and some were key contributors-on both sides of the ball. the 10 were Elmer, Folston, Fuller, Robinson, Onwualu, Rochell, Redfield,…
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Duranko’s Digest: Ranking Notre Dame’s Projected ’14 Defensive Starters
As we did last week with the offensive starters, today we rank Notre Dame’s projected defensive starters from top to bottom. Dog LB Jaylon Smith – The Golden child came…
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Duranko’s Digest: Ranking Notre Dame’s Projected ’14 Offensive Starters
Obviously, a prediction, not a guarantee. Change happens!! And, both healthy and after injuries, depth is more important in this era of football than ever before. QB Everett Golson – Strong,…
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Duranko’s Digest: Ranking Notre Dame’s 2014 Units – Winter Eval
We’ll take an early glimpse at the component units of the 2014 Irish. Obviously, such predictions are perilous: (1) injuries occur (2) departures occur (3) players develop, sprout and regress…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see in the Pinstripe Bowl?
A rested, healed, motivated Fighting Irish Squad scored early, never trailed and beat Rutgers 29-16. The Irish offense controlled the Scarlet Knight defense, the ND defense manhandled the Rutgers offense, and…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see against Stanford?
A powerful Stanford team defeated the Irish 27-20, concluding the Irish season at 8-4. The fulcrum of the game was Stanford’s outrushing the Irish 261-65. Out there among the eucalyptus trees…
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Duranko’s Digest – What Did We See on Notre Dame Senior Day?
The Fighting Irish played their most balanced game of the year on Senior Day, winning 23-13. The Irish scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, and after allowing BYU’s only touchdown…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see in Pittsbrugh?
Five HUGE mistakes, each self-inflicted, compounded to help Notre Dame lose to a game, gritty Pitt Panther squad 28-21. The Irish offense is not yet eploxsive enough to overcome multiple errors,…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see against Navy?
Notre Dame survived a defensive performance dreadful in design and, at best, mediocre in execution using a dramatic late stop to outpoint Navy 38-34. The previous week against the Air…
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Notre Dame – Navy: 5 Things I Liked
Notre Dame improved to 7-2 on the season with a much too close for comfortable victory over the Navy Midshipmen. The Notre Dame defense was carved up for over 300…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see against Air Force?
Up there in the wild blue yonder, where the air is crisp yet fragrant with alpine firs, Tommy Rees and his sure-handed wingmen went Enola Gay on the Air force…
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Notre Dame 45, Air Force 10 – 5 Things I Didn’t Like
It’s easy to find things to like in a blowout win like the one Notre Dame had on Saturday against Air Force – and we did just that last night.…
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Notre Dame 45, Air Force 10 – 5 Things I Liked
Notre Dame traveled to Colorado Springs on Saturday and left their high altitude destination on the winning side of a 45-10 rout of Air Force. Anytime there is a blowout…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see against USC?
FIGHTING IRISH. That's what we saw. And that is an empirical, technical description, not a mere nickname or wish.
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Notre Dame vs. USC – 5 Things I Liked
Saturday night’s win over USC wasn’t particularly pretty. In fact, it was one of the uglier wins we’ve seen from the Irish this side of 2007, but any win over…
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Duranko’s Digest: What Did We See in Arlington?
In an unconventional game with unconventional twists and turns, the Irish eked out a nerve-wracking 34-30 victory over Arizona State’s Sun Devils, in Notre Dame’s third consecutive outing against a…
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Notre Dame vs. Arizona State: 5 Things I Liked
Notre Dame looked sluggish early, but came on strong in the second half Saturday before holding on to a three point victory over #22 ranked Arizona State for their fourth…
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Duranko’s Digest: What did we see against Oklahoma
In the year’s worst performance, the chickens came home to roost as five critical Irish errors enabled a 35-21 Oklahoma victory. Since the bowl game against FSU, the Notre Dame program…
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Duranko’s Digest: What Did We See Against Michigan State?
True Grit. Rooster Cogburn would have loved this game. A gritty bunch of players led by a gritty coach with a gritty game plane beat a gritty band of Spartans…
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5 Things I Didn’t Like: Purdue ’13
Notre Dame improved to 2-1 on the season this past weekend in an unnecessarily hard fought win over a hapless Purdue team that was a 20 point underdog. While there…
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