Chat Transcript: Could Notre Dame’s kicking woes become a CFP résumé blotch?

Eric Hansen: Welcome to Notre Dame Football Live Chat, Navy edition.

First, some quick programming notes:

► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. It’s proven to be a great move for us and, I believe, for our subscribers as well. And if you’re a potential first-time subscriber, you can take a one-week test drive for $1. That’s seven days of our premium content, plus all the value you get from a national team of writers and content creators, as well as access to every team site in the On3 network. Check it out at: https://www.on3.com/teams/notre-dame-fighting-irish/join/

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel.  We’ll be back next week and every week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. We’ll also have our Postgame Takeaways show after the Boston College game for you to have with your Sunday morning coffee. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well, including the Notre Dame Football Show, live on Tuesday nights.

► The Inside ND Sports Podcast has been rebranded as the Third & Gold Podcast. Going forward the pod will be available on all the podcast places you found us before as well as our YouTube Channel. On our most recent episode, we caught up with Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus to talk about his organization’s film grades of Notre Dame. Our next rendition comes out Thursday this week with special guest Mitch Jeter, Notre Dame’s place-kicker last season.

► Finally at WSBT Sports Radio 960, I’m part of the Notre Dame Football pregame show with Tim Grauel, Jim Irizarry and Blue & Gold teammate Tyler Horka. The GameDay show kicks off with 3 1/2 hours of news, analysis and special guests live from the iconic Linebacker Lounge in South Bend on Saturday ahead of the Navy game. We’ll start our coverage at 3 p.m. ET. You can listen locally at WSBT-AM 960, Sunny 101.5 FM and 106.1 FM in Southwest Michigan. And it will be live streaming on wsbtradio.com.

As far as this week’s chat …

Please include your NAME and HOMETOWN along with your questions. Exclamation points earn extra credit!!!

Here are the rules:

Eric Hansen: Since you all have been behaving and putting up with me, the no drinking and no bare feet rules continue to be optional to everyone but me.

Let’s get rolling.

Don from Scottsdale, Ariz.: Eric, The Kelly article was well done!!! I liked Kelly when he came and I liked it when he left. Glad Freeman is the HC. Sometime in the off season it may be worth it to look at his four-year growth. He learned how to be a head coach and is tireless with his desire to grow. His interactions with the media are particularly good. He never ducks questions and exudes confidence with his answers. The only negative is this year’s team has forgotten the foot in football. Hope that it gets better; it needs to! My question is if place kicking does not get better do you think the playoff committee will take it into consideration and ding ND? When evenly matched teams play, field goals tend to be the difference between winning and losing. If place kicking stays the same, are they truly a number 8 team?

Eric Hansen: Thanks Don for reading and for the feedback on: The rise, the fall, and the reframing of Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame story.

I think it’s a fascinating question, because an injured starting quarterback would figure into those calculations prominently. The thing is ND has shown to this point it can win and win big with some kicking intrigue. I think it would be more likely to bite Notre Dame in a close game than it would on the résumé. And they were kind of in a similar situation last year before Mitch Jeter came right with his injury in time for the playoff. So great question, but I do not think this would come up in the discussions. If it did, I don’t think it would go very far.

Manny from San Pedro: Eric!!!!!!! The BC game made me sick or maybe it was all the candy I ate.  With the rankings last night. Does it seem more likely that we win out we are in or do we need style points?!

Eric Hansen: Manny!!!!! Style points have been redefined. And we all saw that in last night’s CFP rankings reveal. There’s a new strength-of-schedule metric that mitigates pounding a weak opponent and rewards playing a strong opponent, win or lose. That was done in large part to continue to incentivize teams to schedule tough non-conference games. I wrote about this extensively in my Behind The Ballot column this week if you want a deeper dive on that. But basically good losses are a thing now, and that was reflected in the rankings for Notre Dame, Utah and Iowa, among others. So beating a ranked Pitt team, say, by double digits is way more valuable than beating Syracuse by 50 in the hypothetical world. Looking like a team that’s improving is important too. Just ask Miami. They’ve been amassing the opposite of style points lately after such an impressive start.

Jeremy from Goshen, Ind.: Hi Eric! I have really been enjoying football never sleeps! I really appreciate you and Tyler’s perspective on things! Now to my question, with Buchner out of eligibility after this year and a strong chance Minchey transfers, that leaves Blake Hebert As the likely backup next year. Noah Grubbs will still be getting his feet wet As a true Freshman. I think it would be hard to convince a quality QB to come in and be a backup. How does being the scout team QB help grow Herbert’s game especially in areas he needs to grow such As reading coverages?

Eric Hansen: Thanks Jeremy! I think your biggest concern is how can Notre Dame have a game-ready No. 2 quarterback if Kenny Minchey transfers? Your concern is not having just three scholarship QBs, I take it. So, let me start with your question about true freshman Blake Hebert and work outward from there. I asked some insiders about Hebert playing scout team vs. mostly just taking mental reps at practices at this stage of his career. The improvement with reads, etc., will be a big emphasis come spring and he can do some of that now through film study.

But getting daily work against Notre Dame’s No. 1 defense, even if you’re running other teams’ offenses, can be really valuable. You get a chance to adjust to the speed of the college game, learn about throwing in tight windows and work on your QB run game, which is already an asset for him. Where he is the furthest away from being a viable option on game day is not the physical, as you suggested. So again, the offseason is going to be critical for him. If Notre Dame does need to go to the portal for a backup, they may be able to get a player who’s moving up divisions, as Ole Miss did in getting a backup from D2 Ferris State (Trinidad Chambliss), who is now the Rebels’ starter, initially due to injury.

Bob from Oxnard, Calif.): To what extent will Chris Ash receive, accept, and use advice from other coaches on how to defend the option?

Eric Hansen: Hi Bob, the impression I get in talking to sources in and around the Gug is that Chris Ash is a very good collaborator, which is a big reason why Notre Dame has shown so much dramatic improvement on defense. Had he dug in his heels, no bueno. And Marcus Freeman likely would have had to take over. Good coaching staffs tend to have these kinds of collaborative discussions. And he has a head coach and three defensive assistants who have extensive experience with the triple-option and at least one look at Navy’s evolved version of it. He also faced Navy as a D-coordinator in Ohio State’s 2014 season, a year in which they won a national title.

Ron from Dover, Del.: Happy hump day, Eric. My question concerns the seeming issue with protecting the ball in the red zone, I wonder why Aneyas Wiliams hasn’t had more opportunities in the red zone. It seems he was used that way last year if my memory is correct. Ps  great article on Brian Kelly.

Eric Hansen: Hi Ron and thanks for the Wednesday wishes and the feedback on the Brian Kelly column. Jadarian Price is such an asset that the coaching staff is willing to work through that issue with him. As far as Aneyas Williams, I do remember him being used as a third-down option at times last year. I don’t remember him as a red-zone specialist. I know there was discussion before the season about Nolan James Jr. perhaps being a short-yardage option. So, here’s the deal, if Jadarian Price goes into the NFL Draft and gives up a fifth year at ND, Williams and James will be vying to be ND’s No. 1 back next year. As far as this year, you might see more usage from him this month to save some tread on the tires of Love and Price, but that’s not certain.

Mark from T-ville, N.J.: Hi Eric. Hope all is well in SB. Last time I sent a ? you asked me where T-ville was located. T-ville is short for Turnersville, N.J.. which is located at the beginning of the Atlantic City Expressway in South Jersey. Come visit the Jersey Shore. Brenan Vernon has been unable to make the two deep depth roster on the D line for a few years. He was a strong recurit out of Ohio and a promising prospect. Has injuries set him back or has Brenan been pass up by more talented players? Do you see him on the field anytime soon? Thanks for the chats always look forward to them.

Eric Hansen: Hey Mark, you don’t have to ask me twice. I’m there! Brenan Vernon is in his third season as a defensive lineman for Notre Dame and has 17 career snaps logged to show for it, including none on defense this year. Yes, injuries have played a part in that. So has remaking his body — from a strongside defensive end to a now 6-foot-6, 305-pound defensive tackle. He has chosen to stay at Notre Dame so far when it would have been easy to start over somewhere else. From what I understand, he’s embraced whatever role has been put in front of him, such as scout team. At this point, given how ND’s interior D-line recruiting and development have been going, I am not optimistic that he’s going to make a big move up the depth chart.

Kevin-Sleepy Eye, Minn.: Eric!!!!! Got the playoff info we dreamed about. Now a lot can change but we know we control our destiny IF we win.  Our kicking: if we decide to start going for 2pt PAT then we’re dealing with our second biggest issue: converting short yardage plays. These last 4 games can ND afford to be vanilla in short yardage and save all our creativity and great solutions for the playoffs?

Eric Hansen: Kevin!!!! On point with your punctuation! I don’t know that when you’re the last at-large team in the field on the Nov. 4 rankings reveal that you control your own destiny, but you have to like your chances if you take care of your own business. If I’m Notre Dame, I leave nothing in the vault to use just for the playoff. That’s a surefire way to regress as a team and even lose. The last four games are the ideal time to work on your short-yardage deficiencies against real opponents in real game situations in real time.

Matt in Augusta NJ: Eric, hope all is well. Can you break down the linebacker rotation, who has emerged, who has surprised, and who to expect ongoing? Lots of talent and choices.

Eric Hansen: Hi Matt. Notre Dame started with a rotation of four, and i ha’s expanded to five with freshman Madden Faraimo working his way into it with strong practices and special teams excellence. So here’s how the snap counts break down: Drayk Bowen leads with 430, followed by Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (346), Jaiden Ausberry (282), Jaylen Sneed (191) and Faraimo (51). KVA has the highest season film grade of the five, but all of them are impressive and trending upward. Typically, Bowen and Ausberry are the starters. ND plays mostly nickel, meaning a lot of two linebacker looks, but sometimes ND will go big and play three at a time.

Ced walker from Saginaw Michigan aka sagnasty saginaw pride: im hearing rumors Jaden great house will redshirt  this season  God Bless This Football Team here come the irish trust the process the golden standard rally we are nd god country go irish love thee notre dame our mother pray for us

Eric Hansen: If Jaden Greathouse does not recover from his chronic hamstring injury, and the expectation is that he will recover, he would have the option to redshirt. But the JG rumors beyond that are unfounded.

Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hey Eric, I hope that we all have had a chance to calm down after the less than thrilling performance vs. BC. Thanks for the Chats. We need your calming input. 1)Do you think Carr is falling in love with the deep ball?? Should he be looking at more shorter routes to keep drives moving? 2)Since Purdue 2nd half the defense has really grown.  Getting Shuler back and then inserting Tae as the other safety after halftime have made the biggest difference. Do you agree? 3) Short yardage is still an issue.  Why not throw to Fields and Raridon more in those situations?? 4) #3 Safety: Talich or Stroman.  Go Irish!!!!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Tom, nice move saving the multiple exclamation points for the end!!!! I saw some good things amongst the concerns in the BC game. I have also seen worse outcomes in similar situations involving BC games, so I think ND can redeem itself with a strong rest of November. The real concerns to me are the kicking game and the short-yardage situations. To your questions: 1) Given how BC played defense against ND and how Navy, Pitt, Syracuse and Stanford are likely to, it’s a good thing he has confidence in that part of his game. That’s the only way ND is going to be able to unload a stacked box against the run, likely. BC wasn’t putting him in a position to throw short and control the clock. That doesn’t mean you can’t force the issue, but if they’re trying to defend your best receivers on the outside with no safety help, I’d cash in on that. 2) Agree 100 percent on both of those thoughts re the safeties. Tae Johnson’s insertion into the starting lineup is a turning point.

3) I think those are reasonable options, but ND would still like to be able to assert itself in the run game in those situations as well. 4) Luke Talich, for sure.

Shane from White Deer, Texas: Ahoy Eric, are you ready for Navy week, matey? Ok, enough of that.  Notre Dame being ranked #10 is about as good as a fan could hope for wasn’t it? After the BC game, , some of my ND loving family thought it would be our demise. I countered with I didn’t think a lot of eyes were on this game, and that the box score and highlights were going to be more of what the committee would see. Was I just coping, or do you think maybe there was some truth in that? Also, I think sometimes, as fans, we are more critical of our team than others might be. One last thing, do officials ever watch game film to see what they may have missed, or what could have been done better? Anyway, I hope it’s smooth sailing this weekend and maybe move up a spot or 2. Go Irish!!

Eric Hansen: Shane, I’m glad you’re anchored in reality and not out to sea, or has that ship sailed? Ok, now we’re even! It’s not that the committee isn’t paying attention, but they look at the broader context of how Notre Dame has been playing. And statistically holding BC to 10 points and 12 rushing yards is impressive. So is a near 200 pass efficiency rating for a QB who now ranks fourth nationally in that stat. So there was some beauty among the ugliness. Now keep doing that, and it’s a different story. And yes, I do think sometimes a team’s fanbase wants perfection, and anything less is a disappointment. Not that there weren’t causes for concern.

It’s been a while since I did a focused story on the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on with officials. But yes, back when I did, it was mandatory that they go over every game, critique it and learn from it. I can’t say I have investigated that when it comes to current ACC officials, but I question why would that have changed? Also, Josh Burnham mentioned this and D-line coach Al Washington confirmed this that the officials at the BC game admitted to the ND staff they blew it on the facemask penalty on Burnham that never happened.

Jack from Strongsville, Ohio: Hi Eric. My favorite piece you write every week is behind the ballot. What is the process you do to evaluate each team? Look at highlights, review statistics, talk to other beat writers? Is it difficult to be objective on a team you have covered for decades or a team for a school which you may have attended or family members attended? Thanks as always for these chats.

Eric Hansen: Hi Jack. Thanks for the compliments. Let’s start with the objectivity piece. It’s literally my job to be objective and to give readers in stories what actually happened, not what I was rooting for or against. And if I can’t bring that same mindset to voting in the poll, then I need to let someone else do it that can. By the same token, you have to have thick enough skin and be confident enough in your own process in that if you think the team you cover or that you graduated from deserves a higher ranking that what it is ranked in the poll, then you shouldn’t be a wuss and rank them lower, so you don’t get blowback.

At the same time, it’s not my job to overinflate a team’s ranking for the same reasons. And final newsflash, you’re going to get some blowback no matter what you do. It comes with the job. As far as my process, we have limited time, because we’ve covered a game and usually have multiple stories to write and at least one YouTube show to do. Last week I did two. For a night game, I pull all-nighters to get my work done and do a good job of putting my poll together.

I set aside two hours to look at all the scores, look through the stats, read the game stories and sometimes watch highlights. The trick is going back on and looking at a team’s entire season. You can get overly excited about the most recent games, but you have to go back and look. For instance Texas and Oklahoma last week. Big wins, but who were their losses to? It’ s not all about what you did that week. And sometimes wins don’t age well.

Remember when Georgia Tech’s win over Clemson was a huge deal. Not so much now. So, a lot goes into it. I take it seriously, but it’s something I very much enjoy and am humbled to be asked to do. For free.

Matt from Austin: Good morning Eric. Very tough watch on Saturday. Penalties, miscues, turnovers……even the busted route on Fields’ touchdown where he and Pauling were right next to each other. Lastly, the foolish throat slash. In the old days, BK’s lobster head would have exploded. Do you have a sense of how Coach Freeman addresses those issues? I know he’s upset in the moment, but seems measured and in control, which is great to see. Do you have access to him post game or mid week to determine his courses of action? (ie. limiting Price’s carries after the fumble). Lastly, you may not have seen this watching live, but Coach Freeman handing a water cup to a staffer in the 4th quarter and actually thanking him for taking the cup was my play of the game. Very gentlemanly act. Thanks Eric. Irish #10!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Matt. Marcus Freeman is very consistent in the way he addresses those issues. He’ll tell the players constantly nothing and no one is worth 15 yards. These are young people who make mistakes. He gets that. He just doesn’t want them to make them twice. As a media group, we get access to Marcus Freeman after games, on Mondays in person and a short Zoom on Thursdays. You don’t get unlimited questions in any of those settings. Mondays have the widest window of opportunity (30 minutes). Luckily, we have a good beat that asks good questions.

Rich from Key West: I was very pleased to see Josh Burnham have such a solid game last week.  It seems as if he has been buried on the bench most of the season and his those players getting the playing time have not been overly productive.  Has he been hurt or just hasn’t earned much time on the field thus far this season?

Eric Hansen: Hi Rich. He was hurt to start the season, and preferred to play in limited snaps while not near 100 percent healthy rather than sitting out completely until he felt perfect. He is as close now to full health as he’s been in a long time. And it showed. I believe Blue & Gold colleague Tyler James is doing a feature on Josh Burnham in the near future that will take you through that whole process, so keep an eye out for it.

Terry from Ithaca, N.Y.: Will Jagusah play this year? Will he be back next year? Your thoughts.

Eric Hansen: Terry, I get this a lot, but I understand why people ask about this. So here is this week’s version. I would not expect injured offensive lineman Charles Jagusah back during the regular season. Full stop. For the playoffs, maybe. For next year, certainly.

Ryan from Frankfort Ill.: Good afternoon Eric what do you think about the play of Drayk Bowen He looked good against Boston College My score prediction for this week is going to be 42-10 Irish GO IRISH ☘️☘️☘️🏈🏈🏈

Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan. THIS is the version of Drayk Bowen I expected to see this season. It just took him a while (and a lot of others too) to get used to the scheme change. Three outstanding performances in a row now. Thanks for the score prediction.

Dave P from Toms River, N.J.: How busy is Mike Martin searching for portal additions and what positions?

Eric Hansen: Hi Dave. Notre Dame’s director of scouting, Matt Jansen, is a member of general manager Mike Martin’s staff. And he starts that process in the spring by getting feedback from the coaching staff. In July, he’ll build a database of 30 to 50 players per position group, not knowing who’s going into the portal and not necessarily knowing what ND will need. Over the course of the season, those lists get added to, deleted from and refined. Eventually, as it gets closer to the transfer portal opening, they start vetting the players they’re the most interested in, so it won’t be a speed-dating process. So a lot of that work is ongoing. What ND will actually need has not yet been determined.

Mike from Phoenix: Eric, which LB had the biggest boneheaded play of the day? Sneed for shoving a guy in the back on 3rd/10, KVA doing a nose swipe, or Bowen for reaching down to pick up his mouthpiece while having the ball in his hands after a fumble? For the record I’m an old guy who yells at clouds. And the nose swipe is galactically stupid. Can’t imagine Wes Pritchett or Michael Stonebreaker doing something so ridiculous. Freeman should have punted instead of the fake. Pitt is no longer a trap game. It’s a season-defining game. What year did these chats start? I know at least since 2015. Cheers! 🍻 and Go IRISH!☘️

Eric Hansen: Hi Mike. Do the clouds yell back? I started these during the Charlie Weis Era. I’m going to have to do some digging to figure out the first year.

Tom from Toronto: Hi Eric, it was good to see ND ranked no. 10 in the first college football playoff rankings. It would appear that the team’s destiny is in their own hands. That’s a good thing. I was disappointed to see the complaints about the ranking, one writer indicating that it was based on “feelings”. That brought to mind something that Deputy Sheriff Wilkus Minix once said to me a long time ago, “opinions are like a** holes, everybody’s got one”. And I can’t remember who said this next gem, but “it was like picking the fly sh*t out of the pepper with boxing gloves on”. It will not be easy for ND to take care of business, but I think that they are up to it. Dealing with a different sport, many of us in Canada are mourning the Jay’s loss in the final game of the World Series. A great game. A tough loss. But they did their best. That’s all we can ask. No real question. Just some thoughts. Thanks.

Eric Hansen: Tom, thanks for your thoughts. Believe me, when it comes to sports, nothing ever seems to be unanimous when it comes to opinions.

Bill from St Joe, Mich.: Hi Eric!!! Has Aneyas Williams already played in 4 games this season? I’m aware that Seider leans to playing just 2 running backs, but I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of him since he was so effective down the stretch and particularly in ND’s playoff run last year.

Eric Hansen: Hi Bill!!! Aneyas Williams plays on special teams every game, so he’s played in all eight and does not have a redshirt year available to him.

John from Scottsdale: Eric!!!!!!!!!! Nice article on Brian Kelly but my question this week looks forward and not back. I think the BC game demonstrated Coach Freeman’s growth as a coach especially in the last 2 years. I don’t think ND wins that game in his first 2 years as coach. Your thoughts?

Eric Hansen: John!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that’s an interesting theory, and I can’t and won’t poke holes in it.

Doug from Sunny Florida: Eric, I’m going to try to bring some warm sunny weather with me this weekend but it’s not looking too good, 48 and possible rain.  Could place a premium on running the ball. We’ve tried different looks in short yardage with not much consistent success.  One that we don’t seem to be using, especially at the goal line is the RPO with the QB keeping the ball, especially with the defensive ends crashing down on the RB up the middle.  Any idea why CJ doesn’t seem to keep the ball or any idea on what else they can do to have more consistent success?

Eric Hansen: Hi Doug. I think the 2026 version of CJ Carr will be much better at that. I think the 2025 version is willing, but not consistent enough with that yet to make that a really attractive option. But I like your thinking on that, and eventually …

Marie from Atlanta: Hey Eric, I hope you’re having a fantastic week. I have to be honest I haven’t watched any Navy  football this year, what are the concerns for Notre Dame and what are the key matchups? Seider has certainly stuck to his  guns about only playing two running backs, do you feel like this is a mistake? It seems like a third running back might be helpful in certain situations. Additionally, with the way college football is now there is a certain pressure to keep the room happy. Aneyas Williams  has barely played this year after burning his red shirt last year, probably not a recipe for a happy situation. Finally, how do you think Absher   played last weekend and what does he need to do to improve his play? As always, thanks so much for hosting the chats and all the great insights.

Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. Doing great here and double dipping with some women’s basketball tonight as the Irish open their 2025-26 season. … To your questions: 1) The most intriguing matchup is dealing with Navy’s offense, a more multi-faceted version of the traditional triple-option and led by quarterback Blake Horvath. Navy is the nation’s No. 1 rushing team. They don’t throw the ball a a lot, but way more than they used to and they throw it well. The Mids are 18th in team pass efficiency and fourth in third-down conversion percentage, so they like to play ball hog. 2) I think when you have two backs the caliber of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price it’s hard to go too deep unless it’s a lopsided game. Again, maybe some more opportunities in November.  Absher did very well in his pass blocking against BC. Run blocking needs work. That actually is more his background for his high school days, so maybe just getting used to playing next to Anthonie Knapp after working on the right side in practice for most of the season. Thanks for being part of the chats!

Tony from Lexington , Ky. (2581): Howdy, Eric the Great ! Tony from Lexington, KY by way of western Pennsylvania where I was raised (I saw John Huarte lead ND to a thrilling 17-15 victory over Pitt @ Pitt Stadium in November, 1964!). Assuming that Notre Dame beats Navy this Saturday, ND and Pitt will both be 7-2 when they clash in Pittsburgh on November 15th. It will be a HUGE game with CFP implications. What are the odds that Billy Schrauth will be back in the starting lineup for that game? How about Gabe Rubio?  I would feel much better about the game if Schrauth & Rubio were on the field! 🙏🙏 And how about Christian Gray? A lot of folks criticize Christian, but he has made a lot of big plays for ND the past 2 seasons. I hope he is able to play as well. Go Irish! ☘🏈☘

Eric Hansen: Hi Tony the great! (I resisted calling you Tony the Tiger, and I am assuming that will be appreciated?) I don’t think the coaches want to rush either of those guys back, and I don’t think either of those guys are patient. If they get both back before the playoff, that’s a win. But by Pitt? That seems overly ambitious for two players who were not expected to practice this week. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the best of Christian Gray yet. If you ever met him, he makes it easy to believe in him.

Roger from Peoria: Eric: A potpourri of Q’s for you? Navy start is 7:30 PM at home.  Next week Pitt start is noon on the road.  With such diverse starting times, how do the Irish approach game day preparation? If memory serves me correctly, when I was at ND during Ara’s era, the team stayed together off campus the night before home games.  Is that still the norm?  And 2 Q’s regarding Navy.  First, what 2 Irish defensive players will be key for the Irish to scuttle Navy? Second, any chance the Irish used some of the bye week to prepare for Navy, giving less preparation for the BC game?  Thanks for helping make ND football so much fun to follow!!!!!!!!! And, if I may, were you as impressed as I was to see Malachi Fields overtake the BC defender trying, without success, to catch Love on his 94-yard jaunt?  GO IRISH!!!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Roger: I matched your colon (in your question, not elsewhere). Here is my potpourri of answers. 1) Yes, that’s still the practice, though not mine. I sleep at my house. 2) Two defensive key defensive players. It’s hard not to say “all 11.” I’m going to go with linebacker Jaylen Sneed as one of them, and I’ll play a hunch with safety Tae Johnson. Last year cornerback Leonard Moore surprised even himself with how well he did against it. Yes, ND did practice some for Navy during the bye week. And that’s typical every year that Navy falls deeper in the schedule. But the Irish still had a full week to work on BC.

Mike AKA Mo from Maumee, Ohio: Hi Eric !^! I’d like your take on the growth/performance of LT Anthonie Knapp. I believe last season he was a Freshman All-American, and had a PFF grade for the season of 64.5. This season, he had a rough day in both the Miami and A & M games, but seemed to settle down after those two tough challenges. I realize that PFF grades aren’t the “end-all be-all”, but his YTD grade is 59.5 and he just doesn’t seem to pass the eye test at times. Sophomore Slump? Surrounding cast? Eventually better suited to another O-line position when Jagusah returns (next season)? Thanks!

Eric Hansen: Mike!/Mo^^^^! I’m seeing different numbers for season grades for Anthonie Knapp, so that’s going to affect my answer. Maybe one of us is looking in the wrong column? There has been improvement, over last year and from the start of the season. I think we can both agree with that. Is he going to turn into Joe Alt at some point. He is not. But I think he’s going to be the starting left tackle for the rest of the season. I do know this the guy is smart, has good technique and works his butt off. But he’ll be challenged next spring IF everyone is healthy by some young athletic tackles with more size and reach and maybe by Charles Jagusah as well if they feel LT is his best position coming back.

Paul from Knoxville, Tenn.: Ciao Eric: Che bruta partita!  I was surprised that coming out of a bye week ND played such a clunker. Do you think it’s cause for concern or perhaps positive that we could win on the road even when playing much less than our best?  I’m also wondering about some issues that continue to arise periodically: untimely (and undisciplined) penalties, red zone inefficiency, and short yardage difficulty. These have been claimed as “fixable” issues, but if so it appears that the fixes don’t last or are inconsistent over time.  What do you assess may prevent them from being “cleaned-up” more reliably? Grazie ancora for hosting the chat!

Eric Hansen: Hey Paul, I’m into overtime, so I’m only going to be able to answer in English this time. 😎 I would wait until after this week to pick out a ledge. It’s not like Marcus Freeman is in denial about the problems or defensive, so I believe that there are plans to fix them, just as there was with the defense. But I can understand the frustration with how elongated that process is. The next two games will tell us a lot about this team and its viability as a team that could make a run in the playoff.

Lorne from Reno, Nev.: Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us again. I liked your take on Kelly: we were better off for having him (we strived for “above mediocre” for years; he produced several exceptional teams and, as importantly, raised expectations) and are now better off that he’s gone. Please don’t take this as a shot at Gray — I’ve been high on him since he chased Mickey to the portal — but do you think there’s a chance that Zackery remains the starter even when Gray is healthy? Zackery’s PFF coverage grade against BC was impressive, Gray hasn’t been the same since USC and tOSU last year, and we have a pretty impressive history with frosh DB’s.

Eric Hansen: Hi Lorne. I think you’re weighing a banged-up Gray vs. a healthy Mark Zackery. The best-case scenario is one in which both play and both are effective. If the healthy version of Zackery overtakes Gray, there won’t be hesitation to make that adjustment, just as there wasn’t to expand Tae Johnson’s role over a portal pickup in Jalen Stroman. But I wouldn’t not give up on Gray raising the level of his consistency once healthy.

Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric!!!!!!!!!!!   It seemed to me that the new metric played a part in the CFP’s selection. And I can see issues if the wrong team, from ND’s perspective, were to win certain games, like Texas winning out and A & M finishing with just that loss to Texas.  All ND can do is win their games. One by one tell us what needs to happen in ND’s 4 games the balance of the season to give the best input to the CFP committee? What must they avoid? For example if Navy only scores 10 points Saturday Night but doesn’t turn the ball over keeping a high Time of Possession  therefore shortening the game, and ND wins by just 17 points, would that hurt the team in your opinion since ND is a 25.5 pt favorite?

Eric Hansen: Hi Len, about a week and a half ago, I did a story on the games outside of ND’s own that would help ND’s case the most. To try to boil it down for the chat format, parity at the top of the Big 12 and ACC helps ND. USC winning out, including beating Oregon helps ND.  Pitt winning the two games after ND, Miami and Ga. Tech, helps ND. Alabama beating Oklahoma and Georgia over Texas helps ND. And the Irish looking like a team that gets better each week helps ND, no matter what the scores are. Beating Navy 27-10 and looking good doing it would be a plus to me.

Len from the Jersey Shore: Hi Eric!  just a factoid that you probably realize already.  You told us correctly that the Big 12 had zero wins versus AP  top 25 opponents before the CFP rankings came out.  The Big 12 ,per the CFP rankings, now has one win versus a CFP top 25 team.  Iowa State beat Iowa earlier this year and Iowa is ranked.  Thanks for giving so much perspective on the rankings before and after the show.

Eric Hansen: Yes, I was basing that on the AP poll and not the CFP Top 25, which just came out last night. I did not expect Iowa to be ranked.

The Beave (Grand Rapids via Tallahassee today): Eric: In the past several years where ND has handled Navy’s triple option effectively, we have had an assignment-correct stay at home linebacker excel in the role. Jack Kiser was outstanding. Who out of our current athletic but possibly less assignment correct linebackers will fill that role? I recall KVA and Jaiden Ausberry struggled last year. Drayk Bowen? Does Greer Martini have eligibility left? Are we less likely to bring up safety help like Adon Shuler now that Navy has a legitimate passing threat also? Thanks as always for your insight and educating the ND masses (pun intended)!!!

Eric Hansen: The Beave, I am really curious how ND will play this. You actually could move a safety like Adon Shuler into the box and play Tae Johnson and Luke Talich deep, though I’m not predicting that. I think Jaylen Sneed will be disruptive. He is confident against these types of offenses. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaiden Ausberry will be better now that they’ve experienced it. But Bowen makes the most sense for the role you asked about. Thank you for the compliment and the well-placed pun.

Paul from Knoxville, Tenn.: Ciao ancora Eric:  I forgot to ask one more question, if you have time.  With the WBB season starting, do you think the Irish have an above or below average chance to be a balanced team, and why?  On paper, we appear offensively-challenged, and I’m concerned that our becoming Hannah and the Hidalgonettes will not get us very far. Your thoughts?

Eric Hansen: I need to see what this team looks like with Milaya Cowles in the lineup. She did not play in the exhibition (nor did Iyana Moore). Both of those are important pieces in what this team looks like. I am going to the game tonight, so let me give you my two cents after that. Deal?

Eric Hansen: OK, I have got to move on to my next assignment. Sorry I left some really good questions in the queue. I blame my slow fingers for that. Thanks for all the great questions, answered or otherwise. We’ll be back to do it all over again next Wednesday at noon ET.