The Independent: A Notre Dame Football Podcast

The Notre Dame spring game was a thriller, with Irish kicker Spencer Porath hitting a field goal on the last play to give the Blue team a 41-40 win over the Gold team. Of course, the takeaways came far beyond the kicking game for Marcus Freeman's fifth Fighting Irish squad, and Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson are here to recap the spring season. How close is this team to being a national title contender? (It already is.) How close is CJ Carr to being a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate? (Very close.) More than 45,000 folks packed the stadium for a beautiful South Bend Saturday, as excitement is high around this year's team.

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Notre Dame held its annual spring jersey scrimmage this past Saturday, and CJ Carr stole the show. Just how good can Marcus Freeman's squad be in 2025? We'll find out more in this Saturday's Blue-Gold spring game in South Bend, which Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson preview as well. Plus, how high will Jeremiyah Love and other Fighting Irish players go in this week's NFL Draft?

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Notre Dame's Blue-Gold spring game is just two weeks away. So, too, is the NFL Draft. There is lots to talk about with Marcus Freeman's squad as Fighting Irish players past and present look to make statements this month. Join Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson for another spirited discussion about all things Irish, on the latest episode of The Independent. 

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Notre Dame is halfway home during spring football, culminating in the April 25 Blue-Gold spring game. Marcus Freeman updated the media Wednesday on where things stand with his program, from CJ Carr's leadership to the new additions to Chris Ash's defensive staff. Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson are here to talk all that and much more on the latest episode of The Independent.

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Football is back (kind of). Notre Dame is amid its first week of spring football, as Marcus Freeman's fifth Fighting Irish squad heads into 2026 with a chip on its shoulder. Jeremiyah Love and other former Irish stars showed their stuff at Pro Day this week as well. Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson are here to talk about all of that and much more on another exciting episode of The Independent. 

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Former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz passed away on March 4 at the age of 89. In this special edition of The Independent, former Holtz players Jeff Kilburg, Chris Zorich, Steve Roddy and Cornelius Southall share their favorite memories of their coach, from winning the national championship to random acts of kindness that reverberate with his former players till this day.

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March is here and that means NBC’s Jordan Cornette, Notre Dame’s all-time leader in blocks, joins The Independent to preview conference tournament week, look at where things have gone wrong for Fighting Irish men’s basketball and much more. Plus, Brian Kelly is in the news again, and Jeremiyah Love’s draft fate may have taken a turn after Week 1 of NFL free agency.

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Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson are back for more Notre Dame news, nuggets and conversation. Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love showed out at the NFL Scouting Combine. 

Where will he and fellow Fighting Irish backfield mate Jadarian Price get drafted? Plus, what does the projected first round tell us about Marcus Freeman's squad's opponents, both past and future? The fellas talk all that and more as we are officially in spring ball month in South Bend. 

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Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson are back for another episode of The Independent. The guys talk the latest on Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame squad, look at the QB situation beyond CJ Carr and wonder if Wisconsin's football team is offering a template for how the Fighting Irish men's basketball team can get back on track? 

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Matt Fortuna and Pete Sampson are back for another episode of The Independent. The guys talk about the Big Ten's proposed 24-team College Football Playoff format and how that would have affected Notre Dame this past season (and in seasons to come). They also evaluate the assistant coaching hires that Marcus Freeman and Chris Ash made for this year's Fighting Irish assistants: Charlie Partridge, Brian Jean-Mary and Aaron Henry. Plus, it's never too early to look ahead to the 2026 schedule and break down the makeup of future Irish opponents.

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