Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame Football And Recruiting

Notre Dame faces the #2 Clemson Tigers in the Cotton Bowl, and the winner gets a chance to play for the national championship. The Clemson offense is one of the nation's most dynamic units and the Irish will have to bring their A game on defense. 

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the Clemson offense and discuss what makes the unit just so good. They talk big picture about the offense and then go position by position breaking down the Tigers.

Corey and David talk about Notre Dame commits going for state championships this week, preview the upcoming junior day and answer questions from the message board.

Notre Dame earned its right to be in the College Football Playoffs, although some in the national media are pushing back against that. Before diving into Notre Dame's first opponent - the 13-0 Clemson Tigers - Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell talk about why Notre Dame is clearly one of the four best teams in the country. The BGI staff also discusses the opportunity to permanently change the narrative that is in front of the Irish football team. They conclude with an introduction into the Clemson Tigers and what makes them such a dominant program.

The BGI recruiting staff discusses the latest news in Notre Dame recruiting

Notre Dame's 12-0 record has been a huge boost for the program in many ways. Its recent success of 10 wins in three of the last four seasons has raised the program's profile. But the Irish are still not among the elite programs. The questions are how far has Notre Dame come and how far do they have to go?

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell debate that topic. The BGI staff takes a look at what programs from the five power conferences rank as tier one, tier two and tier three programs. Then the staff discusses why Notre Dame was a tier three team prior to the season before finishing up with where Notre Dame currently ranks.

Notre Dame remained No. 3 in the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings. With the Irish finishing the regular season 12-0 and still ranked No. 3, Brian Kelly's squad has all but assured itself of a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Blue & Gold Illustrated football analyst Bryan Driskell and recruiting reporter David McKinney discuss the latest with the rankings. The duo discusses who might earn the fourth spot after this weekend's conference championship games and whether or not the Irish could still drop a spot based on what happens Saturday.

It wasn't pretty, but Notre Dame got the job done, beating USC In the Coliseum for the first time since 2012 to finish the 2018 season with an undefeated 12-0 record. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell break down the game, covering all three phases. They discuss what allowed the Irish to win but also talk about what led to the game being closer than it should have been.

The BGI recruiting staff discusses all the latest news in the world of Notre Dame recruiting

Notre Dame travels to Los Angeles this weekend for its annual rivalry matchup against USC. This time, however, the Irish have a playoff berth on the line. The 11-0 Notre Dame squad can all but wrap up a playoff spot if it can beat the 5-6 Trojans. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell preview the matchup. The staff talks about what's on the line in this game and then discuss the matchups that are most important for Notre Dame to have success.

Ryan Young, publisher of TrojanSports.com, joins BGI recruiting reporter Corey Bodden on the show to discuss USC and the upcoming matchup between the Irish and Trojans.