Pod of Gold: Notre Dame Football

It was all there - right there - for Notre Dame football. Flex your No. 2 ranked muscle against a good, but not elite, BYU football team, win a big game in a big-time atmosphere and return to Northern Indiana with a likely No. 1 ranking in the national polls - something that has not happened for Notre Dame football in the month of October since ... 1990.

Instead, 28-24 BYU, which leaves Notre Dame ZERO room for error the rest of the way. Just like in 2024. Just like in 2025. Here the Irish are again, having to win out to feel good about getting back to the College Football Playoff.

What went wrong on defense? On offense? Everywhere? What's next. We discuss what the Irish need to be moving forward. No idle week for Pod of Gold. Give it a listen.

In this week's episode of Pod of Gold we touch (briefly) on the 58-7 win over Stanford that moved No. 2 Notre Dame to 6-0 before previewing the marquee game to date against BYU. What does this one mean to Notre Dame? Where might this game swing?

We then check in with former Notre Dame running back Jonas Gray and what playing at Notre Dame meant to him and what it was like when he knew he would have to move on in life without the game he loved.

Finally, it's a hot take and a prediction. Does Notre Dame return from the Wasatch Mountains 7-0? Tune in and find out.

This week's Pod of Gold takes us back to rainy Chapel Hill, N.C., and Notre Dame's 37-26 victory over North Carolina that was close, but not as close as the final score might suggest. What did we like from that one? Dislike? What does it say about the Irish - really, the running game - moving forward. We also spend very little time previewing Stanford - for obvious reasons.

Notre Dame opened as a 37.5-point favorite in what was once a competitive contest.

We talk with guest Luke Stoddard, who created The Rooting Guide (therootingguide.com), which helps college football fans from coast to coast navigate their rooting interests as another College Football Playoff field rounds into view.

This week's Pod closes with hot takes and predictions as the Notre Dame season nears the halfway point.

Another weekend of college football, another easy-does-it win for No. 3 Notre Dame, which moved to 4-0 with a business-like trip to West Lafayette and a 49-10 victory over Purdue. The South Bed Tribune trio of Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough review Purdue, preview what challenges North Carolina might offer with head coach Bill Belichick before spending 30 good minutes with former Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride, Jr.

What does this Notre Dame team have to be national championship-caliber that those Irish teams Pride played on could have used to have success? Pride's answer may surprise you.

We close the show with three hot takes (think a big day on tap for Leonard Moore) and predictions.

And like that, Notre Dame football has hit the quarter ole of the 2026 regular season coming clear of the 27-10 victory over Michigan State. It was a weird night for myriad reasons at Notre Dame Stadium, but the Irish moved to 3-0 with a (relatively) easy night's work.

We discuss the run game. We discuss the pass game. We discuss the offensive line and for good measure, we discuss CJ Carr and what more he could (should) do with this offense. There's way less concern on the other side of the football with one of the game's elite outfits.

Our reader question this week centers on all the hubbub around the failed fake punt for Notre Dame. Was it good? Bad? Indifferent? 

We also talk with Lafayette Journal and Courier writer Sam King and the chance Purdue has to make this a competitive contest at Ross-Ade Stadium. Our Pod closes with plenty of hot takes and predictions.

Hello, old friend. It's been a minute since Notre Dame and Michigan State last met on a football field, soemthing that will change Saturday, September 19 in what might be rainy Notre Dame Stadium when an old rival returns to the Irish schedule.

Before a deep dive into Michigan State with Chris Solari of the Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, the NDI trio of Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough recap Notre Dame's 52-0 victory over Rice and some of the concerns that came out of that Week Two win. Specifically, what's up with the Notre Dame run game. Can it get better? Will it get better? Then it's on to Michigan State and all things Spartans before we touch on some breaking scheduling news - Nebraska in 2032! - and end our Pod with predictions and hot takes.

Here's one - bring rain gear. Hopefully the wet stuff, and the thunder and lightning stuff, hold off.

The trip to Green Bay and game against Wisconsin is in the rearview. Time for No. 4 Notre Dame to turn the page (quickly) and focus on Rice. After no football for the better part of nine months, it's two games in seven days for the Irish.

Our Pod staff of Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough discuss what happened at Lambeau Field - what we liked, what we didn't like and what may be cause of concern moving forward. We bring in our special guest, former Irish linebacker Mike Kovaleski for a discussion on a wide range of topics, including his time as a high school basketball player sharing the same floor as Indiana hoops legend Steve Alford.

Want some hot takes and score predictions to close the score? We've got that as well. 

Week One of college football is here. It's time for Notre Dame football to (finally) play an actual game. Against Wisconsin. In Green Bay. At Lambeau Field. The Tribune's Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough discuss the Notre Dame news of the week (captains named, depth chart released), before a few minutes with Wisconsin beat writer John Steppe of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. We answer reader questions and offer a hot take or two before closing with predictions. Will Notre Dame roll? Will it be close? Tune in and find out.

Notre Dame football is back, and so is the Pod of Gold to discuss everything Notre Dame football every Wednesday during what might be a very loooooooong college football season.

Tribune writers Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough discuss what we learned (if anything) from our fall camp viewing windows. Who stood out? Who didn't? What are the position battles to keep an eye on as the opener against Wisconsin nears?

We'll share some bold predictions for the 2026 season, answer reader questions and close with a quirky top five. Give it a listen.

He has spoken.

It's been more than a minute since we last heard from Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman, so there was no shortage of topics to talk on when he stepped to the front of the Notre Dame Stadium interview room on Wednesday, January 15.

Freeman talked of the end (for now) of the USC series. He talked of the NFL and his interest in maybe one day coaching at the game's highest level. He talked of the transfer portal. He talked of injuries. He talked of how the end of the 2025 season can fuel a deep run in 2026. We discuss all of it, and then end the Pod with a prediction for Monday's College Football Playoff championship game.

Hint: It won't be close.