Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame Football And Recruiting

It has been a busy week for Notre Dame's football program. Former great Raghib "Rocket" Ismail was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame, and several players announced their plans to return or leave the program in 2019. 

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss the career of the Rocket to begin the show. That is followed by a discussion of who Notre Dame lost early to the NFL, and who will step into their shoes. Finally, the staff discusses who returns and how that will impact the team moving forward as it tries to put together another playoff run in 2019.

The BGI recruiting staff checks in with another show from the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas

Notre Dame lost to Clemson by a 30-3 score in the Cotton Bowl. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the game. The staff discusses what went wrong in the matchup and then finish the show with a big picture discussion of the game and what it means for Notre Dame moving forward.

The BGI recruiting staff recaps the action from the first two days of the All-American Bowl in San Antonio

Larry Williams, senior writer for TigerIllustrated.com, joins BGI recruiting reporter Corey Bodden on the show to discuss Saturday's semifinal matchup between Notre Dame and Clemson.

We have broken Clemson down, so now it's time for our official Cotton Bowl preview. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell talk about the opportunity that awaits Notre Dame in this game.

That is followed by a breakdown of the Notre Dame offense against the Clemson defense. Key matchups and keys to the game are the primary topics of conversation.

Next is a breakdown of the Notre Dame defense and how it stacks up against the Clemson offense. The discussion revolves around what the Irish defense - especially the defensive line - must do to slow down the vaunted Tiger offense.

Finally, before giving predictions, the staff discusses how important special teams could be in this game.

The Notre Dame/Clemson matchup in the Cotton Bowl is still eight days away, but there is plenty to discuss regarding the playoffs and recruiting. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell talk about the College Football Playoffs, and whether or not the playoff format should be expanded.

After that the pair discusses Notre Dame's 2019 recruiting class, and whether or not Notre Dame is closing the gap between elite programs like Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. They also discuss how important the 2020 class its to that objective.

Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Bryan Driskell is joined by recruiting reporters David McKinney and Corey Bodden to discuss Notre Dame's success in the early signing period. Notre Dame landed 21 players in the 2019 class, with 10 set to enroll early. The BGI staff begins the show by discussing the class from an overall perspective. That is followed by a position by position analysis that goes over the recruitment of each player and then is followed by analysis of the talent the Irish staff landed at each spot.  The show ends with the three BGI staff members handing out superlatives for the class.

Clemson has one of the nation's best defensive lines, if not the very best. But there are areas where Notre Dame can have success against the highly ranked Tiger defense. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the Clemson defense. They talk about the defense as a whole before breaking down the Tigers position by position.

The BGI recruiting staff previews a huge Junior Day coming up for Notre Dame