Print Edition for The Observer for September 16, 2022

GRAPHICS BY MAGGIE KLAERS, PHOTO BY MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

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INSidER

The observer | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

coach feature

Golden, Rees coordinate plans for major changes

By MADELINE LADD Associate Sports Editor

After a devastating defeat against unranked Marshall, the Irish are looking to regroup and revitalize this weekend at home against Cal. The loss of sophomore starting quarterback Tyler Buchner due to injury threw an even bigger wrench for the Irish. Both the defense and offense came out f lat in last week’s game. And there is a dire need for improvement on both sides of the ball.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and defensive coordinator Al Golden shared similar sentiments about their mindsets and where they hope to go. Taking accountability and standing behind Marcus Freeman and the team, both coaches are determined to reverse the mistakes that were made the last two weeks.

‘It all starts with me’

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

After the Irish fell to Marshall at their home opener, head coach Marcus Freeman faces the task of rallying his team to victory.

The Notre Dame offense has consistently fallen short this season. Shortcomings and red f lags seen during the Ohio State game were only exemplified in the disappointing performance against Marshall.

Buchner’s inaccuracy on deep

passes coupled with the lack of holes created by the offensive line made it difficult for the Irish to move the chains.

With Buchner out, however, junior quarterback Drew Pyne could be the switch the Irish need. Experienced and ready to assume Buchner’s role as starting quarterback, Pyne brings a different perspective to the table.

“Drew’s care factor is about as high as anyone you can be around,” Rees said. “I told Drew, we are in a tough spot right now and we need you here. Drew knows the playbook and has respect for his teammates. He’s prepared himself for this for a long time.”

Though this new change will certainly shake things up on offense, Rees foresees it as a way to pivot and create enhanced offensive play.

“There’s certainly things that Tyler does at a high level that we’ll adjust to or pivot from,” Rees said. “We have a lot of faith and trust in Drew, and we are building that in Steve Angeli right now. Our job is to make sure these two guys are ready to go and play in a football game.”

Rees recognizes that the success of the offense stems

from him, and he takes ownership of the team’s performance. Rees’ play calling has been largely conservative, so it will be interesting to see what he does this weekend.

“It all starts with me,” Rees said. “I have to be better, I have to do more to make sure everybody knows what is expected and what needs to be done. We are extremely driven to make sure that we will fix what we need to.”

Rees “believe[s] there can be expansion in the playbook” and must put players in a place that is advantageous to the offense. Running back Chris Tyree, said to be a key asset for the Notre Dame offense this year, has seen little action on the field.

“We have to continue to find ways to get the guys who will make our offense more explosive and get more touches,” Rees said. “Tyree certainly falls under that category.”

Despite all the negatives on the offense, there were some good moments. Rees emphasized the importance of recognizing these positives to stay motivated and replicate them while replacing the negatives. see FEATURE PAGE 14

captain Feature

‘Find the better way’: Captain Bo Bauer talks qualities of leadership, ownership ahead of Cal

By EMILY DeFAZIO Associate Sports Editor

It’s no secret that, at 0-2, the Notre Dame football team is feeling some pressure. And the leadership position that being a captain of said team can certainly amplify that pressure.

This certainly rings true for 2022 captain Bo Bauer. After Notre Dame’s home opener loss against Marshall, the fate of Marcus Freeman’s debut season hangs in the balance. Especially with sophomore starting quarterback Tyler Buchner’s season-ending injury, the Irish have had to rethink their entire game plan moving forward.

In addition to restructuring the offense around junior Drew Pyne, the defense has had to take a hard look at itself to see what needs improvement in order to prevent fourth-quarter games of catchup.

For Bauer, this review began with a self-evaluation as a player and a captain.

“The first thing I said is ‘what could I have done to, you know, get these guys to the point,’” Bauer said. “We’ve had great leaders who have not let the standard fall. And now that’s on my shoulders.”

Such high standards make a tough loss like the one to Marshall

an even tough pill to swallow.

Bauer said that the days following Marshall have been difficult. But that this defeat was also a motivating factor for him.

“It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life, is to walk around the locker room and look these guys in the eye who’ve given me the greatest gift, the greatest trust in my life to be a captain and lead these guys,” Bauer said.

The team bond has added an emotional level to the issues at hand. Bauer said that the strong relationships he and his teammates have with each other influence the push to make a play happen. This can also lead to a strong response when it does not go their way.

“I think a lot of the times that it comes down to the guys, we all love each other so much that we wanna make the play,” Bauer said.

“And not for some selfish reason or something. It’s ‘we want to win the game together to see our brothers happy and successful’ and we just kind of have to make the game smaller. Just, ‘look, what’s my job this play’ and do that over and over and over again.”

For Bauer, he has focused in on his role on defense. Despite the defense looking like the Irish’s strong

SARAH GRISHAM | The Observer

Irish graduate student linebacker Bo Bauer, captain of the Notre Dame football team, snaps the football to the quarterback during Notre Dame’s game against Marshall. The Irish will face Cal on Saturday.

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Volume 57, Issue 11 | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

New ND leprechauns discuss journeys Four Notre Dame mascots talk about process to becoming the new face of Notre Dame athletics singing along to the fight song with his dad every Saturday.

During his sophomore year, Coury worked for Fighting Irish media as a cameraman. He loved capturing the students’ excitement at games, and he was inspired by the role that past leprechauns have played in bringing energy to the crowd.

“I realized, man, it’s a lot easier to hype up a crowd without a camera on your shoulder,” Coury said.

After hearing about the tryouts from friends on the cheer team, Coury decided to apply “kind of on a whim,” he said.

“In my mind, being a leprechaun was always a dream, but never

By MEGHAN LANGE and KATIE MUCHNICK Saint Mary’s News Editor, News Writer

The Fighting Irish welcome four new leprechauns for the 20222023 year. Seniors Jake House and Jamison Cook, junior Ryan Coury and sophomore Colin Mahoney were selected. All four will be entering the role for the first time. The new Leprechauns reflected on their paths to the green suit and their hopes for the year.

Ryan Coury Coury did not think he would one day be the Fighting Irish mascot.

Coury grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, “bleeding gold and blue,” he said. His parents both attended Notre Dame, and he remembers

MAX PETROSKY I The Observer

The Leprechaun, Ryan Coury, leads the student section in cheers during the first home game of the season between Notre Dame and Marshall University at the crowded stadium on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022.

ND Law School ditches early action

By EMMA DUFFY News Writer

On Aug. 31, Not re Da me Law School a nnounced t hat t hey w i l l be terminat ing t heir ea rly decision prog ra m. This mea ns t hat a ll prospect ive students w ill now have t he abi lit y to apply to t he non-binding regu la r decision applicat ion.

One’s interest in attending t he law school w i ll now no

longer be show n t hrough t he t ime t hey apply, but interest demonst rated in “W hy Not re Da me Law School? ” statement.

Dillon Ya ng, president of Not re Da me Law School Student Ba r Associat ion, discussed how low-income students were at a disadva ntage apply ing ea rly

see ADMISSIONS PAGE 4

see LEPRECHAUN PAGE 5

Out of the Darkness walk aids in suicide prevention

By MARISOL BOHORQUEZ News Writer

As a part of Suicide Prevention Month, the South Bend community is passionate to show support through the Out of the Darkness walking event taking place this Saturday.

The Out of the Darkness walk is a national initiative put out by the American Foundation for Suicide

Prevention. The foundation hosts these walks across the country and this year, St. Joseph County is hosting one of these walks in Howard Park.

Director of the office for student involvement and advocacy Liz Baumann discussed the importance of this walk and why it can connect well with students from the tri-campus community.

“Mental health is

something that’s important for all of us and especially important for college students.

There are numerous statistics out there on how prevalent suicidal ideation is for college students… being able to expand our suicide prevention efforts and education and advocacy is something I’m very passionate about and excited to be doing with this walk,” see WALK PAGE 3

Alums advise NIL student athletes

By RYAN PETERS Notre Dame News Editor

In 2018, Arike Ogunbowale hit back-to-back game-winning buzzer beaters in the national semifinal and championship to earn the Notre Dame women’s basketball team its first national title since 2001.

The historic feat further propelled Ogunbowale to stardom,

NEWS PAGE 3

even leading to an appearance on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Despite the fame that arose from her burgeoning career, she could not profit off her name, image and likeness (NIL) while in college, former Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush said.

“Her fame just kind of exploded from that point on, and see ADVICE PAGE 3

VIEWPOINT PAGE 8

Courtesy of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention hosts Out of the Darkness campus walks as a way to show that those suffering are not alone. More information can be found at afsp.org/campuswalks.

SCENE PAGE 9

Football PAGE 14

M soccer PAGE 16

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TODAY

The observer | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

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Erin McNally, Madeline Menkhaus and Jess Geriane sell tickets at North Dining Hall for Lewis Hall’s annual LHOP. The event serves all-you-can-eat pancakes and other breakfast foods from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Proceeds will go to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana.

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Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Football Fridays at the Eck Eck Visitors Center 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Variety of activities ahead of game day.

Saturday with the Saints Andrews Auditorium 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Lecture series on Catholic faith.

Mass Basilica of the Sacred Heart 8 a.m.

Early mass held on home game weekends.

Founder’s Day Cookie Giveaway Ave Brew Cafe 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Treats to celebrate Founder’s Day.

ND Votes: Pizza, Pop & Politics 1050 Jenkins Nanovic 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Campaign on voter education.

Trumpets at the Dome God Quad 4:10 p.m. - 4:20 p.m.

Band performs outside of Main Building.

Notre Dame Bagpipe Band God Quad 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Band performs outside of Main Building.

Green Dot Bystander Training Regina 123 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Proactive bystander training session.

Arts of Dignity Series Washington Hall 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Folk music concert that shares the story of American workers.

Energy Week Panel Carey Auditorium 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Notre Dame faculty debate the creation of food in labs.

News

Advice Continued from page 1

she obviously couldn’t be compensated for it at the time,” Wimbush, who was a classmate of Ogunbowale said. “It kind of crossed my mind that this was something that needed to change.”

Soon after Wimbush completed his college football career at the University of Central Florida, momentum started to shift toward allowing college student-athletes to receive NIL opportunities. As a result, Wimbush teamed up with fellow Notre Dame alumnus Ayden Syal and they created MOGL in 2020, an online marketplace that can easily connect athletes with brand deals.

“The number one largest problem is that athletes don’t have the time or the resources to source these deals and brands need a seamless and easy way to source the talent,” Syal said. “So, we’re solving that problem, while also ensuring that athletes are navigating the space in an educated way.”

MOGL currently works with over 5,000 athletes and 1,400 brands, Syal, the company’s CEO, said. Athletes on the MOGL platform are able to connect with both nationally recognized and local brands.

As a former student-athlete, Wimbush knows firsthand the reach student-athletes have in their communities, even though he was never able to profit off his NIL during his college career. He estimated that he would have made around $100,000 each year he was quarterback.

“It was always in the back of your head that you couldn’t make money,” Wimbush said.

Student-athletes have proven to be effective advertisers for all sorts of brands, Syal said.

Unlike traditional influencers with national or international followings, college athletes are well-known within their campus community and alumni base and thus can better connect with potential customers, he explained.

“At the end of the day, people actually know these studentathletes. They’re in class with them, they can resonate with them,” Syal said. “So, what we’ve found is it really has provided an

Walk Continued from page 1

Baumann said.

Through promoting this walk, Baumann said she wishes to continue advocacy for mental health awareness within South Bend with help from the tri-campus community.

“From here I hope this event is kind of a jumping-off point for us with expanding our programming for mental health and suicide prevention. I think this walk is an

ndsmcobserver.com | friday, september 16, 2022 | The Observer

3

incredible amount of value to these brands directly.”

While football players draw some of the most high-profile marketing deals, Syal said MOGL facilitates deals for athletes in all sports.

“Over 60% of the deals that we’ve done have been in nonrevenue-generating sports,” he said. “We’ve really confirmed the thesis that all athletes provide value in this space.”

MOGL also facilitates deals for Division II and III and junior college athletes. Syal said studentathletes outside Division I often experience success in the NIL marketplace because they have to be more proactive to connect with brands. Amherst College wide receiver Jack Betts has become commonly known as a leader in the NIL space and uses MOGL for a large portion of his deals, Syal said.

One of the advantages of MOGL’s platform is it is fully compliant and automatically discloses all brand deals to the student-athlete’s university or college, Syal said. All brands are vetted to ensure they are compliant with state laws and university protocols before MOGL works with them.

Using MOGL is free for student-athletes. MOGL primarily generates revenue by charging a fee for the company that strikes a deal with the athlete. Wimbush said MOGL acquires about 175 student-athletes a week. One of the ways the company grows is through a referral program, Syal said.

“We have a pretty robust referral system with athletes who are on their campuses, where they get paid $5 for each athlete that they bring to the platform,” he said.

During the start-up’s first few years, the Notre Dame network has played a large role in financing and developing MOGL, Syal said. Groups that have helped back MOGL include Irish Angels and the IDEA Center.

As NIL continues to grow, Syal said MOGL hopes to educate student-athletes as they navigate the wide-open marketplace. One concerning trend Syal has noticed is athletes often rush into deals without considering their long-term opportunities.

“What we’ve seen is that athletes have been really harmed by long term exclusivity clauses

that really inhibit their ability to monetize their NIL in an effective way long term in favor of a short-term opportunity,” he said.

Additionally, athletes tend to sign exclusive deals with agents who take large portions of their revenue from marketing deals, when they could source the deal themselves, Syal added. The NIL market is new and constantly evolving, Wimbush said, making it difficult to project into the future.

“I do think it’s gonna continue to evolve. As legislation comes about there’s more regulations, there’s more guardrails,” he said.

“It could be a good or bad thing.”

Wimbush said although the future of the current wide open NIL world is uncertain, he said MOGL has and will continue to allow student-athletes to take advantage of the ever-evolving market in a safe manner.

“We’ve provided a very seamless and a holistic solution for all athletes to take advantage of their NIL in a reliable and a compliant manner,” he said. “We’re doing it the way that we think is right, and it’s going to provide value for athletes, universities, and all the rest of the stakeholders in the NIL space.”

Wimbush said.

“Her fame just kind of exploded from that point on, and she obviously couldn’t be compensated for it at the time,” Wimbush, who was a classmate of Ogunbowale said. “It kind of crossed my mind that this was something that needed to change.”

Soon after Wimbush completed his college football career at the University of Central Florida, momentum started to shift toward allowing college student-athletes to receive NIL opportunities. As a result, Wimbush teamed up with fellow Notre Dame alumnus Ayden Syal and they created MOGL in 2020, an online marketplace that can easily connect athletes with brand deals.

“The number one largest problem is that athletes don’t have the time or the resources to source these deals and brands need a seamless and easy way to source the talent,” Syal said. “So, we’re solving that problem, while also ensuring that athletes are navigating the space in an educated way.”

MOGL currently works with over 5,000 athletes and 1,400 brands, Syal, the company’s

CEO, said. Athletes on the MOGL platform are able to connect with both nationally recognized and local brands.

As a former student-athlete, Wimbush knows firsthand the reach student-athletes have in their communities, even though he was never able to profit off his NIL during his college career. He estimated that he would have made around $100,000 each year he was quarterback.

“It was always in the back of your head that you couldn’t make money,” Wimbush said.

Student-athletes have proven to be effective advertisers for all sorts of brands, Syal said.

Unlike traditional influencers with national or international followings, college athletes are well-known within their campus community and alumni base and thus can better connect with potential customers, he explained.

“At the end of the day, people actually know these studentathletes. They’re in class with them, they can resonate with them,” Syal said. “So, what we’ve found is it really has provided an incredible amount of value to these brands directly.”

While football players draw some of the most high-profile marketing deals, Syal said MOGL facilitates deals for athletes in all sports.

“Over 60% of the deals that we’ve done have been in nonrevenue-generating sports,” he said. “We’ve really confirmed the thesis that all athletes provide value in this space.”

MOGL also facilitates deals for Division II and III and junior college athletes. Syal said studentathletes outside Division I often experience success in the NIL marketplace because they have to be more proactive to connect with brands. Amherst College wide receiver Jack Betts has become commonly known as a leader in the NIL space and uses MOGL for a large portion of his deals, Syal said.

One of the advantages of MOGL’s platform is it is fully compliant and automatically discloses all brand deals to the student-athlete’s university or college, Syal said. All brands are vetted to ensure they are compliant with state laws and university protocols before MOGL zworks with them.

Using MOGL is free for student-athletes. MOGL primarily

generates revenue by charging a fee for the company that strikes a deal with the athlete. Wimbush said MOGL acquires about 175 student-athletes a week. One of the ways the company grows is through a referral program, Syal said.

“We have a pretty robust referral system with athletes who are on their campuses, where they get paid $5 for each athlete that they bring to the platform,” he said.

During the start-up’s first few years, the Notre Dame network has played a large role in financing and developing MOGL, Syal said. Groups that have helped back MOGL include Irish Angels and the IDEA Center.

As NIL continues to grow, Syal said MOGL hopes to educate student-athletes as they navigate the wide-open marketplace. One concerning trend Syal has noticed is athletes often rush into deals without considering their long-term opportunities.

“What we’ve seen is that athletes have been really harmed by long term exclusivity clauses that really inhibit their ability to monetize their NIL in an effective way long term in favor of a short-term opportunity,” he said.

Additionally, athletes tend to sign exclusive deals with agents who take large portions of their revenue from marketing deals, when they could source the deal themselves, Syal added. The NIL market is new and constantly evolving, Wimbush said, making it difficult to project into the future.

“I do think it’s gonna continue to evolve. As legislation comes about there’s more regulations, there’s more guardrails,” he said.

“It could be a good or bad thing.”

Wimbush said although the future of the current wide open NIL world is uncertain, he said MOGL has and will continue to allow student-athletes to take advantage of the ever-evolving market in a safe manner.

“We’ve provided a very seamless and a holistic solution for all athletes to take advantage of their NIL in a reliable and a compliant manner,” he said. “We’re doing it the way that we think is right, and it’s going to provide value for athletes, universities, and all the rest of the stakeholders in the NIL space.”

awesome effort and I’m really excited about it, but I don’t want it to end here,” Baumann said.

Through normalizing mental health struggles, it can become difficult to identify when to reach out for help. There’s a blurred line between what is categorized as a normal obstacle and what is categorized as a tell-tale sign that something is wrong.

Baumann discussed this idea further, saying she believes it is something to be

recognized and to be more of a priority in our day-to-day lives.

“In normalizing mental health, I also want to help others see the importance of reaching out for help and that although a lot of experiences are normal, it’s normal to feel homesick.

It’s normal to be stressed about academics. It’s also not necessarily normal to be having suicidal thoughts,” she said. “And so, helping people recognize the signs in themselves and each other and therefore helping each

other and themselves get help is really, really important. “ Self-care is incredibly important for students to partake in but as well as being honest with yourself as to what works best for you in times of destressing.

Baumann discussed further this concept of how not everyone can find relaxation through “traditional methods” such as bubble baths and exercising but rather through their own personal self-care journey.

“Making sure that you’re honest with yourself about

what self-care looks like for you, and making a commitment to carve out time for that, I think is really important, especially with college students,” she said.

Registration for the event takes place at 9 a.m. and at 10 a.m., then the walk will proceed until 1 p.m.

Saint Mary’s students can access transportation from the student center at 9:30 a.m.

Contact Ryan Peters at rpeters5@nd.edu

Contact Marisol Bohorquez at mbohorquez01@saintmarys.edu

4

NEWS

The observer | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

University receives grant for quantum sciences

By REDMOND BERNHOLD News Writer

The Universit y of Notre Dame, Indiana Universit y, Purdue Universit y and Indiana Universit y-Purdue Universit y Indianapolis (IUPUI) received a repeatable five-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further research the applications of quantum technologies in private industries.

As a part of an Industr y Universit y Collaborative Research Center, the multicampus research team of over 100 researchers aims to answer the problems of financial, pharmaceutical, high-tech and other industries w ith quantum technolog y.

“It allows the Universit y and the graduate students in particular to work w ith problems that really are of industr y interest,” Peter

Admissions Continued from page 1

decision, compa red to t hose who cou ld a f ford admissions counseling.

“A bunch of studies show t hat if you apply ea rly decision, t here is a n increase or boost in t he LSAT score,” he sa id. “W hen you look at ma ny dif ferent factors li ke t hat, t he ones who a re able to a f ford prep classes a nd t he ones who a re able to a f ford admissions counseling a re t he ones who have t hese sor ts of resources to be able to put toget her a package of ea rly decision.”

Kogge, Ted H. McCourtney professor of computer science and engineering at Notre Dame, said.

Kogge mentioned the high demand in private industries for quantum studies, mainly to learn more about customer experience.

“We needed 12 sponsors and we got 16,” Kogge said.

“We seem to have hit a good spot for industr y.”

Gerardo Ortiz, an Indiana Universit y physics professor, explained the array of campus strengths and interested organizations.

“W hat industr y means is not just companies like IBM, Google or Amazon, but also [the] A ir Force and government agencies,” Oritz said. “The kind of research in quantum technologies that we are proposing are those areas where these four universities are already some sense of world leaders.”

“[In early 2020], we submitted a planning grant to NSF, and then in May 2021 we got awarded the planning grant,” Sabre Kais, a distinguished chemistr y professor at Purdue Universit y, said.

“And then they inv ited us to what they call the ‘bootcamp training’.”

Kais explained that in the training, they learned the expectations and the ways in which to collaborate w ith industries.

The research team then inv ited companies in the area of quantum information to a planning meeting.

“We got the industr y to tell us more about the challenging problems in their industries, and the facult y from the four campuses gave a summar y of their research, which was of interest to the different companies,” Kais said.

The companies then decided whether to prov ide additional financial

support to the research team.

Kogge pointed to the cutting-edge new advancements in the field of quantum information.

“Quantum has this bizarre propert y, that if you have quantum bits and you untangle them and put one on one side of the universe and the other on the other side of the universe, their values w ill be the exact same,” he said.

Kogge additionally pointed to the lack of resources in the quantum field at the moment.

“There are not a lot of courses that people have developed. There’s not a lot of textbooks. A nd there’s a potential for just really things that w ill transform the way we think about solv ing problems,” he added.

Despite a lack of precedent, research is projected to start early next year, according

to Oritz. Additionally, he pointed to the potentially w idespread effects “We can have a big impact at the level of the United States and internationally, he said. “And in that regard, we need to be ver y strategic.”

One particular area Oritz pointed to was quantum communications.

“There are some industrial partners who are interested in quantum communications and developing smart fibers that can encode quantum components to perform secure communications,” he said.

Kogge stressed the impact that quantum technolog y can have on societ y.

“That [quantum information] offers the potential of communication w ithout the abilit y to have it intercepted,” he concluded.

According to director of law school admissions Ma risa Simon, t he administ rat ion’s decision was made to a llev iate applica nt st ress.

“Our ma in object ive was to create less st ress for applica nts,” Simon sa id in a n ema i l.

Simon a lso noted t he law school reg u la rly reeva luates t he admissions process for applica nts a nd t hat t he need for t his cha nge was obser ved in t he last applicat ion cycle.

“We consta nt ly consider cha nges to t he admissions process which cou ld improve t he ex perience for applica nts, a nd t he reasons for t his cha nge beca me more

appa rent over t he last applicat ion cycle,” she sa id.

Simon sa id t hat she does not a nt icipate t hat t his cha nge w ill bring sig nif ica nt cha nges to t he number of applicat ions received, but a lso ack nowledged she ex pects applica nts were relieved to hea r t he eliminat ion of ea rly decision.

“In not if y ing prospect ive students of t his cha nge, we have sensed t heir relief in not hav ing to ma ke t hat dif f icu lt decision prior to apply ing,” she sa id in a n ema il.

Ya ng seemed to be more apprehensive about t he fact, say ing t here cou ld be

a cha nce t hat t his hur ts t he applicat ion process for students t hat have t heir hea r t set on Not re Da me law. St i l l, he ma inta ins t hat if a student is a good applica nt, t he admission boa rd w i l l be able to see t hat w it h or w it hout ea rly decision.

“I t hin k t hat it might [hur t a n applica nts cha nces], but I t hin k t hat a lso if you’re a good applica nt, I t hin k our admissions boa rd wou ld def initely see t hat. If you a re w it hin t he stat ist ics of being t he t y pe of ca ndidate t hat t he school is look ing for, I don’t t hin k it shou ld deter too much,” Ya ng sa id.

He goes on to ex pla in t hat

he has not hea rd much ta l k of t his move t hroughout t he law students, ma inta ining t hat t his may be t hat t he move has been relat ively recent. However, he stated he saw a lumni posit ively respond on Lin kedIn. “I’ve seen some a lumni posts about t his on Lin kedIn a nd how proud t hey a re of t heir school a nd how proud t hey a re of t he Universit y for ta k ing t his step,” he sa id.

Ya ng noted his pride in t he law school’s commit ment to diversit y.

“I’m def initely proud of t he school for ta k ing t his big step a nd committ ing t hemselves to a more diverse law school.”

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Leprechaun Continued from page 1

something that I thought was a possible reality,” Coury said. “But the moment I realized it was on the table, I went for it.”

All four leprechauns volunteer at other events to engage the Notre Dame fanbase. His favorite part of the job, though, is being a part of a team and working with the other leprechauns.

“We are not only leprechauns ourselves, we are part of the cheer team,” Coury said. “Having those people behind you and with you at everything — it’s electric.”

Coury is a finance major with a real estate minor, and he plans to pursue sports business or real estate after graduation. On campus, Coury is the vice president of Dillon Hall and works as a tour guide for the admissions office.

“At the core of what we do as leprechauns, we are ambassadors for the University. We are representing what [Notre Dame] stands for,” Coury said. “That’s something huge for me.”

Jamison Cook Unlike Coury, Cook did not grow up in a Notre Dame family, but that does not diminish his passion for Fighting Irish sports.

Cook wanted to be a leprechaun to showcase his love for Notre Dame athletics.

“You don’t have to be a lifelong

fan to do something like this,” Cook said. “I wanted to share how much I have come to love Notre Dame on my own.”

Cook tried out for the leprechaun position three times before making the team his senior year. The tryout process involves a written application, a video application and in-person events and interviews.

“I think it’s pretty rigorous,” Cook said.

Eight to ten applicants are selected to participate in the in-person events. Over the course of three days, Cook and his fellow leprechauns led a mock pep rally, conducted a mock media interview and worked as the leprechaun at the Blue and Gold spring game. They were also interviewed by a panel of judges from the athletics department.

“If I’m completely honest, I don’t think I would have wanted to be a mascot if I was at a different school where you had to wear a big head or a mask,” Cook said.

He said he enjoys the creativity of being a “mouthpiece” for the university rather than a faceless mascot.

“I think that that’s something that the four of us really take very seriously but also have a lot of fun with,” Cook said. “We’re kind of the impersonation of what the Fighting Irish is.”

Cook is studying marketing and journalism, and he is originally from Eerie, Pennsylvania. Cook is currently recruiting for a career in brand management.

“I think [being the leprechaun] kind of gives me a unique perspective, especially for the field that I’m going into conveniently,” Cook said.

“I’m very much living the Notre Dame brand and trying to bring it to life for people.”

Colin Mahoney Mahoney believes the power of the leprechaun extends far beyond excitement at games.

“I think the leprechaun certainly has a presence on campus and has the resources and capabilities to be a force for good,” he said.

Mahoney hails from a family of farmers in Omaha, Nebraska. He was not originally committed to Notre Dame, but he switched his deposit at 11:45 p.m. the night of the deadline, partly because of the opportunity to be a leprechaun.

“I think very early on, I bought into the mission of the University,” Mahoney said. “Ultimately, I want to be a servant for others, and I think that’s what led me to Notre Dame.”

His favorite part of the job is when he gets to see a “tangible result.” Mahoney recently visited St. Adalbert Elementary School in South Bend to interact with young Irish fans. He was handing out high fives before the kids decided to hug him instead.

“That certainly felt good, because I left feeling like I had made those kids’ days better and hopefully gave them a memory that will last them a lifetime,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney lives in Duncan Hall and is majoring in finance and Spanish. He plans to pursue investment banking after graduation.

Jake House “The leprechaun is so special because you’re not in a mask, you get to see people face to face … and let them know that they are welcome … showing that Notre Dame is a place for everyone,” senior Jake House said.

A romance languages and literature major originally from White Lake, Michigan, House said that he “grew up a fan of other colleges, and [Notre Dame] just wasn’t on my radar.”

“I applied to Notre Dame a few days before the application was due, because a friend mentioned it.

I never really thought of it as a place for me, but I came for a visit and that first sight of the Golden Dome, you know, just walking around campus … you just get this different feel like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just a place to go to school, this is a family,’” House said.

House recalled a story from his freshman year which put him on the path to becoming the iconic Irish fighter.

“I transferred here from Holy Cross as a Gateway student, and I was a little lost one day and Leprechaun Conal [Fagan, class of 2021] came up to me and helped point me in the right direction, asked if I was doing okay and everything,” he said.

House continued, “I just felt so special because the Leprechaun talked to me and helped me out, and the chance to give that to other people, to make other people feel that way … I think it’s a gift, it’s really indescribable.”

A resident of Dunne Hall, House spoke on his previous high school experience that helped him grow into a student leader.

“I was class president in high school so I was always trying to get people to go out to events and be excited, but I was never a cheerleader or a mascot, it wasn’t my official title,” House said.

House then spoke on the community surrounding the University, saying, “Notre Dame isn’t just the students who go here, Notre Dame is the outreach to the South Bend community, it’s the alumni of course and just fans all over the place.”

House continued, “Notre Dame can sometimes feel like a bubble, it isn’t just the kids on campus bound

by SR 933, Angela, Twyckenham and Douglas, it’s also Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross. The Notre Dame Leprechaun to me is about welcoming people,” House said.

To conclude the conversation, in true Fighting Irish fashion, House had one final statement: “Go Irish!”

Contact Meghan Lange at mlange03@saintmarys.edu and Katie Muchnick at kmuchnic@nd.edu

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The observer | friday, September 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Inside Column

Take the names off the jerseys

He’s a 10, but employed by the Saudi sovereign wealth funds

Ryan Peters

Stephen Viz

Notre Dame News Editor

Stephen’s Scrapbook

Notre Dame Stadium is often called a “cathedral” of college football.

This is true, if you’re talking about the noise level.

If there is anything the past two weeks have revealed, it’s that Notre Dame does not have a serious football program. And no, Marcus Freeman is not to blame. Fault lines such as a lethargic stadium environment and a diminishing schedule date back way past the beginning of the Marcus Freeman era, but were largely masked by Brian Kelly’s genius. These faults quickly caused earthquakes once Freeman became coach and Notre Dame decided the football program was better off acting as reality TV stars instead of football players.

Notre Dame does not need to pretend they’re in “The Hangover” or help Peyton Manning produce his “Ghostbusters” spin-off segment to provide the entertainment fans desire. Marcus Freeman has already set himself up for an Emmy-winning drama this season by losing. Notre Dame stadium is Vatican West. The head coach position of Notre Dame is a pressure cooker unlike anything else in college football. You’re expected to win with “less”.

The drama writes itself.

Some may be disappointed that the window of Notre Dame as an annual College Football Playoff contender closed. However, the excitement of bracing for a pummeling from Alabama or Clemson has quickly been replaced by the excitement of wondering if the Irish will beat Cal or whether or not Drew Pyne will throw it directly to an opposing linebacker. College football is entertainment, and Notre Dame football just got a whole lot more entertaining.

Again, the embarrassment Notre Dame experienced last week is not primarily Freeman’s fault. Sure, he could have coached better, but there’s no avoiding the learning curve a first-time head coach at Notre Dame experiences. Let’s just hope he learns more than previous first-timers here.

The unserious program that propped Freeman up on a mile-high cloud just so he could fall right through it is what’s at fault here. A serious program doesn’t play a hype video for a coach that’s 0-2 during the first quarter. A serious program doesn’t hold a “Victory March” pep rally while the team heads to the stadium to lose to a Sun Belt team. A serious program doesn’t let a massive herd of Marshall fans take up an entire lower bowl section and be louder than the home fans. A serious playoff contender doesn’t schedule an FCS opponent when it doesn’t have to play in a conference championship.

If Notre Dame were a serious program, it would make an effort to make the stadium environment intimidating. Put the bands back on the sideline during the game. Bring back the natural grass field. And, for the love of God, stop playing “Let Me Clear my Throat” before the fourth quarter. It’s unoriginal and nobody jumps. Still.

And just as Notre Dame stadium is losing its identity, the team also faces an identity crisis. On Saturday, the team will wear green jerseys with names on the back. The Irish have taken pride in the team-first symbolism of uniforms without names since the Lou Holtz days. Now here we are with names on the backs of the jerseys for a game against Cal that feels like a toss-up. We can only assume Cal was chosen for the green jersey game because the program decided the Golden Bears lacked the talent for a “Bush Push”-esque disaster.

Well, maybe that was a miscalculation. Notre Dame has a swagger that it so far has not come close to living up to.

This Irish team talks a big game and then looks lost on the field. Sure, it’s great that assistant coaches take responsibility during press conferences.

Linebacker and captain Bo Bauer’s proclaimed willingness to die for his team is inspiring. It’s great that the video of the team celebrating Freeman’s promotion to head coach exists. But the hype is over. Stop talking and buckle down.

It’s time to get serious.

Ohio State did not care about Notre Dame’s feel-good offseason. Heck (and with all due respect to the thriving Sun Belt), Marshall didn’t either.

Since Marcus Freeman became head coach, Notre Dame has spent a ton of time worrying about every detail that doesn’t have to do with their actual play. Golden throne photoshoot backdrops don’t teach you how to tackle.

Green jerseys don’t make your offensive line open up the run game. Opening up more players and staff to the media doesn’t cause your defense to force turnovers. Jersey reveals don’t strengthen ball security. Pregame Mass doesn’t seem to improve quarterback play.

Notre Dame needs to go back to the basics. They need to stop worrying about how they can get a seat at the big boy table with Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State and instead make sure they don’t fall out of their chair at the kids’ table.

I read this tweet three months ago when it was penned during the height of the “He/she’s a ten” memes and the LIV/PGA tour drama that escalated this summer. The context of this tweet directly refers to the persona of Brooks Koepka, golf’s resident bad boy and four-time major winner who spurned the PGA tour in favor of the endless riches that the LIV invitational series has come to offer.

Brooks’ reputation is one of a good-looking athlete who really doesn’t care much about anything, and as someone who follows the sport, I thought it was funny (sue me). The weeks that followed this initial internet hysteria saw many household names on the PGA tour defect for this newly minted rival syndicate, LIV Golf, which is bankrolled by the Saudi sovereign fund (SSF). The SSF is one of the largest such funds in the world, bursting at the seams with $620 billion assets under management. The sole purpose of the fund is to invest funds on behalf of the Saudi Arabian government, and LIV CEO and major winner Greg Norman unveiled the league’s vision as something that would change the face of golf for the better.

Well thanks a lot, Greg, because it has only made things worse. Before and after Koepka’s defection, notable tour card holders such as Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Kevin Na and Patrick Reed all came join to LIV, thrusting the golf world into a civil war. Now, as the LIV and PGA seasons have ended and the former looks for a television rights partner, I would be remiss to not argue that for the foreseeable future, the landscape of professional golf has been ruined. Crushed like the Galactic Republic. Toppled like the Berlin Wall. The PGA tour may or may not be responsible for losing a dozen of its largest names to the LIV tour, but the conflict is here for good. As the riches of the Saudi backed syndicate seep through the sport, let me explain what I think lies ahead for professional golf.

A product of the global pandemic, golf’s popularity amongst amateurs has never been higher.

Amongst spectators and the purchasing public however, the game has lacked the storylines outside of the LIV/PGA drama that generate interest, revenue and increased brand value. The decline of Tiger Woods since his riveting Masters victory in 2019 has played a role in this, but people are just not consuming the game like they used to. Now factor that the most idiosyncratic personalities in the sport (Koepka, Mickelson, DeChambeau, Johnson, etc.) have packed their bags and left, the PGA tour has a talent massive issue on their hands.

But so does LIV. And yes, I could talk about how the league is funded by a country who has no care for basic human rights and is no friend of the West. But when it comes to dollars and cents, they are as flush as one can be, and this has kept LIV leadership has silent regarding these societal issues. When asked about this track record of issues, Norman simply stated, “We’ve all made mistakes”.

If Norman was referring to a 12-year-old who had stolen a candy bar from a gas station, that might’ve been the appropriate response. But for a country that didn’t allow women to drive until July of 2018, actively persecutes the LGBTQ+ community and puts journalists critical of the regime to death, do you really think they view their politics as mistakes Gregory?

But along with the horrific implications that go with being bankrolled by a morally inept evil

Contact Ryan at rpeters5@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

oil empire, LIV golf is simply bad product. The name LIV derives from the Roman numerals for 54, as LIV golfers only play 54 holes in a weekend tournament, with no cuts to be missed or made.

Compare this to the PGA tour, where a 72-hole tournament is played Thursday through Sunday, with a cut that shrinks the field by half being determined on Friday. Currently, if you don’t make the cut in a PGA event, you don’t get paid for the weekend. In addition to this, four day events separate the best from the rest, as the grueling rounds have made for memorable TV narratives. John Daly, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are all names that come to mind when you think of an excellent live sports narrative. For LIV, the answer for “will anyone actually watch this thing” is a no, because nothing is at stake. No matter what, these golfers have millions in their pocket.

An interesting conversation with a friend who attended an LIV event in New Jersey saw her comment to me, “It’s great, the players are treated much better on this tour than they are on the PGA”. And after it settled with me that this might be true, as I don’t know the realities of the differing working conditions for both groups, I realize in reflection the conclusion of my point. Golf is not only a rich’s man game, but a game that takes more mental stress on the body than it does physical. Golfers get to travel the world and enjoy a game where amateurs are routinely encouraged to drink like fish and gamble like heathens while playing. They are golfers. Not coal miners, teachers, first responders or rectors in Residence Halls here at Notre Dame. Its golf. For professionals, it is a tradition that nothing is given, but everything is earned. If you don’t like it, then take a day job and join where a country club that would be happy to have you participate in their events. Yes, as a business student I know and believe that everyone is entitled to earn as money as they would like to.

But when you complain about conditions making millions a year putting a ball into a hole, and then spurn your employer to be paid to do the same thing by Saudi Arabia, I really don’t think you get a say in the matter.

Now many LIV golfers have danced around the question of their defection when the subject is broached. But Harold Varner III gave a blunt answer that moved against this trend. He described his contract as “life changing money” and a “financial breakthrough”. But as these record contracts continue to be signed, I would like to point out that no amount of money ever bought another second of time. LIV athletes are going to have plenty of time in their shortened weekends to think about their adjusted contribution to the sport of golf, society, and to their new reputations as professional athletes. So, as these LIV defectors enjoy their cash in a bathtub like Scrooge McDuck, I hope they reflect on what master they serve. And as no man can serve two, I hope this reflection will lead to the collapse of the LIV tour and not to the landscape of professional golf as we know it.

Stephen Viz is a One Year MBA candidate and graduate of Holy Cross College. Hailing from Orland Park, Illinois, his columns are all trains of thoughts, and he can be found at either Decio Cafe or at Mendoza. He can be reached at sviz@nd.edu or on Twitter at @ StephenViz. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

The observer | Friday, September 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

7

Learning (and teaching) democracy Lauren Klein Write to Vote

No one is born with an innate knowledge of American democracy; we only come to know what citizenship and freedom mean in context.

No one is born knowing what comprises the process of voter registration, how to engage with congressional representatives and where to research critical policies. That knowledge is shaped by experience. Long lines at the polls, gerrymandering which dilutes the power of votes and inaccessible politicians teach disillusionment, frustration and apathy.

If civic engagement is something that must be learned, then we must teach it the right way. They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It will be far harder to un-teach civic disengagement, withdrawal and apathy.

Teaching our children to be democratic citizens will require consistent, concerted and coordinated effort by the government, schools, communities and organizations spanning multiple sectors. Here are a few places we should start.

First, we must re-envision civic engagement as a necessary skill for the next generation. Civic engagement is about more than just the branches of government; the civics courses which many states require tend to be factbased, teaching students about being a citizen rather than how to be a citizen. The Annenberg Institute identifies six proven practices to improve civic education: high-quality classroom instruction, discussion of current events and controversial issues, service learning, extracurricular activities, participation in school government and simulating democratic processes (such as voting, trials, legislative deliberation and diplomacy). Note that only two of these six occur in a traditional classroom setting. The answer to our civics crisis lies not in civics exams alone, but in encouraging students to learn about civics through experiencing it.

As John Dewey puts it,“until the emphasis changes to the conditions which make it necessary for the child to take an

active share in the personal building up of his own problems and to participate in methods of solving them (even at the expense of experimentation and error), mind is not really freed” and democracy suffers as a result.

Next, we must prioritize social emotional learning and critical thinking in classrooms and incorporate opportunities to practice active citizenship across multiple subjects.

According to CivXNow, “civics must teach students to do what Americans are arguably worst at doing right now: holding productive discussions of current issues on which people disagree.” Learning to cooperate, discuss civilly, communicate effectively and manage one’s emotions are not only critical to success in life, but success as a U.S. citizen. In fact, these skills are crucial to facilitating social cohesion, a cornerstone of a successful nation and a key purpose of educationat the heart of each nation’s education system.” As Heyneman and Todoric-Bebic argue, “it is possible to judge the performance of an education system as much on the basis of its contribution to social cohesion as on its attainment of learning objectives.”

These skills must not be confined to civics courses.

Science, math, history, literature … all subjects prime our future citizens. Healthy debate in classrooms may allow students to share different interpretations of literature, and students may learn history through comparing and contrasting different accounts and perspectives. Science can teach critical questioning and collaboration, while math can teach persistence and problem-solving. The more children learn to voice and consider different perspectives and use this acquired knowledge to influence their communities, broadly defined, the closer we will be to attaining a healthy democracy.Finally, we must amplify a diversity of voices in the classrooms. Learning environments should be a simulation of a democracy which reflects principles of equality and justice of voice where students can actively practice civic engagement. This means that courses have an obligation to highlight prominent people of influence who are of various races, ethnicities and genders. Again, this responsibility is not confined merely to

politics; historians, scientists and economists alike bear this responsibility in teaching our next generation. Science courses should teach Rosalind Franklin alongside Watson and Crick, as literature courses should teach Toni Morrison alongside Charles Dickens. Democracy is predicated on equality of voice, and teachers must actually model giving voice to all equally in the classroom in choosing the content through which our next generation encounters our world.

Distinguished scholar, teacher and author Carl A. Grant argues that the purpose of education lies in cultivating flourishing lives through multicultural, democratic, social justice education. To Grant, society is strengthened by installing in students the courage to question, challenge and act upon American democracy, a system that “can be made to work for you or against you” and pursue a truth inclusive of histories, realities and experiences of marginalized communities. As Grant persuasively advocates, practicing democracy through education and taking social action are crucial to advancing a flourishing society.

How can we teach democracy correctly the first time?

By offering children an active civic education that expands beyond civics courses from an early age. Every opportunity we offer students within and outside the classroom has the potential to shape democratic citizens. The future of U.S. democracy lies, in large part, in the strength and ability of our education system.

Lauren Klein graduated from Notre Dame in 2021 with a major in Biological Sciences and minors in the Hesburgh Program in Public Service and Education, Schooling, and Society. She is a member of ND’s Write to Vote chapter.

W2V is the Notre Dame chapter of the national Write to Vote Project, a non-partisan, pro-democracy initiative. Its goal is to support democracy, encourage civic engagement and advance voting rights in the U.S. and around the world. You can contact NDW2V at ndw2v@ nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Lessons from our freshmen selves Alexa Schlaerth Mind, Spirit and Body Politic

It is almost 10 p.m. on a cold Sunday evening in December, and I am walking across the quad on my way home from a (somewhat frantic) Principles of Microeconomics TA review sesh, the likes of which I’ve never experienced before. It is chilly and dark, and the campus has a general “stressed out pre-finals” vibe about it. I, myself, have a general “stressed out pre-finals” vibe about me.

It is 2019. And for some reason, all I can think to play on Spotify as I pace around campus is Juicewrld’s “Ring Ring” and Alanis Morrisette’s “Hand in My Pocket.” See the type of nervous and/or angsty vibe I’m feeling here? You can practically feel it.

Freshman fall had been a whirlwind of an experience.

The new friends and relationships, the different culture, the harsher weather — no one adjustment was too much to handle on its own, but the sum of these had thrown me in for a spin cycle (and paying for laundry was completely new).

Things felt weighty. Like everything mattered immensely. Maybe some of this can be attributed to the sense of novelty that all my experiences carried along with them.

I can still vividly remember the series of “firsts” that happened: my first home game, my first tailgate, my first SYR, my first philosophy paper, my first midterms (though I may wish to forget that last one). But even apart from that, I had a sort of first-year chip on my shoulder, not from any wrongdoing per se, but instead from the mere fact that I knew I had to prove myself. I had to live up to that Notre Dame name I had praised so highly in my admissions essays just a year before. There was a good feeling that came along with the importance I felt in even

the most mundane of tasks.

My freshman year abounded with small moments that became big because they were indicative of decisions I was making on my own. I began to really consider my priorities and what truly mattered to me, on even the most minute of a scale: what I wore on Friday, if I woke up early to work out this week, the tone with which I emailed my boss or my professors, the list goes on.

This obviously amounted to immense stress I felt with every micro-decision I made. After all, did “sincerely” accurately reflect who I was as a person, or was “best regards” a better fit?

This stress did come along with a lot of self-compassion, though, and somehow I was able to be patient enough with myself and allow myself the time and space to make mistakes, knowing I’d have three more years to fix them and really hone my email sign-offs, amidst other things.

Now, a few years later, I’m learning from different mistakes, and the pressure is still turned to a 10. But I’ve noticed I am a lot less patient with myself. There’s an added “you should know this by now,” a judgment that has tacked on with time that is not conducive to a true growth mindset.

After this reflection, inspired by when “Hand in My Pocket” came on after shuffling my Spotify liked songs while walking to class, I want to make sure my lessons from my freshman self are not merely constructions of nostalgia or an oversimplification of what times really were like back then. I want to make sure there’s something material I can actually take away from 2019 Alexa.

And I think that every now and then, it’s important to take a step in the shoes of my freshman self, to adopt the viewpoint of my younger, more nervous and turbulent alter ego to remember a couple things.

Firstly, the small efforts we make here on this campus and here in this world matter. Conversations with a

professor in office hours, whether or not we did that one reading for theology, the people we wave to on our way to SDH — these little actions and decisions can carry a small but beautiful weight to them that can leave a mark on us and others long after they’re carried out. They can be a reflection of our integrity and of what we value.</p> And secondly, although even the little things carry a weight to them, it is important to remember that we are human, and we make mistakes. A cliché at this point, maybe, but remembering to not cast aspersions on myself after erring and just allowing myself to take things in stride has made a huge difference in my life.</p> Now, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to bring TikTok into this column, as I have oft-done (and as is my right!) When the trend of “being the main character” came about, I dismissed it as some sort of appeal to internal narcissism. But now, after going through this vivid flashback or montage of freshman year, I kind of see the light. Things feel nice and concise when we pretend we’re in a movie.

In the spirit of romanticizing our lives, let’s take this firstyear throwback’s lessons into our slightly more mature adult lives. We are, after all, still in the freshman phase of our adulthood.

Alexa Schlaerth is a junior at the University of Notre Dame studying anthropology and linguistics. When she’s not slamming hot takes into her laptop keyboard, she can be found schooling her peers in the daily Wordle and NYT mini crossword, rewatching South Park or planning her next backpacking trip. As an Angeleno, Alexa enjoys drinking overpriced, non-dairy iced lattes and complaining about traffic because it’s “like, totally lame.” Alexa can be reached on Twitter at @alexa_schlaerth or via email at aschlaer@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

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The observer | Froiday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Elizabeth Prater SparkND

MAGGIE KLAERS | The Observer

The observer | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

By COBY McKEOWN Scene Writer

Since I know, Jockstrap sounds like the name of some late 70s British punk band whose lead singer thinks that not taking a shower for a month is giving a middle finger to the system … which is exactly what this band is!

Actually, I lied, sorry to disappoint you, you were probably jumping out of your seats to grab your headphones, now you probably hate me. In actuality, Jockstrap is a collaboration between songwriter Georgia Ellery and producer Taylor Skye. Their debut album “I Love You Jennifer B” is an eclectic scrapbook of electronic sounds, glitchy synths, blown-out drums and a full 18-piece orchestra. Sounds epic, right? Yes, it is.

There is a tense balancing act on this album, teetering between chaos and control, release and restraint. This is heard most prominently on the emotional centerpiece of the album, “Concrete Over Water.” The song starts out very simply with low, resonant synth notes complementing Ellery’s melancholic lyrics reminiscing over a past lover.

Then, suddenly, a wave of glitchy distorted vocals and beeps crashes into the song. Cosmic arpeggios and a high-pitched synthesizer darting right and left across the stereo join the digital ensemble, and by the time the chorus arrives, the song has evolved into some kind of maximalist art pop conglomerate

By PETER BREEN Scene Writer

“A day spent reading is not a great day. But a life spent reading is a wonderful life” – Ayad Akhtar.

Frustrated with a particular persuasive brand of American exceptionalism, the Notre Dame football cult, I spent the Saturday of the Marshall home opener sifting through Ayad Akhtar’s novel, “Homeland Elegies.”

Though a work of fiction, the book reads like a memoir, tracking the life of a character who shares the author’s name. Akhtar, the Wisconsin-raised son of Pakistani immigrants, sings of the post 9/11 Muslim-American experience in ways which score the brain’s gray matter, “carving out new grooves along which old thoughts would reroute.”

The September 11 attacks, a horror whose twenty-first anniversary we celebrate this week, are not the only acts of terror bringing contemporary relevance to this 2020 novel. Ayad, a former theater major at Brown, narrates fondly the inf luence of an Americanist professor with whom he completed an independent study his senior year of college. The final assignment his professor, Mary Moroni, gave Akhtar was to read “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie, the Indian-born, British-American author who suffered an assassination attempt in New York State on August 12.

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with horns and strings —and just as soon as it starts, the musical tide rolls back out and the song returns to spareness and simplicity. The composition wobbles between these two extremes for the duration of this six-minute epic, never definitively setting itself in one aesthetic, but nonetheless guiding the listener through the story of the narrator’s tumultuous relationship with its abrupt switch-ups and sound effects.

While some songs, like the aforementioned “Concrete Over Water,” as well as “Neon” and “Debra,” whiplash between an intimate singer-songwriter ballad and pompous chamber pop, there are a handful of more straightforward songs, like “Greatest Hits,” an over-thetop disco-era pop tune with a groovy Daft Punk-esque bassline, as well as “Glasgow,” a folky guitar ballad with their signature glitchy sound effects sprinkled throughout the track. The whole album sounds like some of Björk’s earlier records if she had spent time at an EDM rave, and also if she was British and also split herself in half so she became two people.

While Ellery’s songwriting is relatively esoteric, we catch glimpses of the story she is trying to tell, one of grief, pain and resistance to change. It is a little ironic how much the lyricism and soundscape contrast: one is mired in regret and reminiscence, the other is forwardthinking and shape-shifting. Ellery is doubtless aware of this fact, and she often plays into the melodrama,

adding a humorous tone to her lyrics. In “Glasgow” she sings, “I touch myself / Every time I see / What’s missing in my life.” Are we supposed to laugh? Cry? Both?

As a final note, I will say that the record is missing a kind of cohesiveness, and it comes off as a hodgepodge of art pop earworms that lacks a strong theme or sound to tie it all together. It’s a bit all over the place, and this makes some of the song transitions a little janky and awkward.

But this is merely a slight fault in the grandiose spectacle of this incredible album. “I Love You Jennifer B” is just Jockstrap’s first record, and it already shows so much potential for the band, so I am very excited to see where they go from here.

A play wright living in New York City as an adult, Akhtar will recount later in the novel what it was like to be a Pakistani-American in Manhattan the day the World Trade Center was struck. Laying the groundwork for what is to come, in the novel’s opening chapter, Akhtar writes of the phone call he shared with Mary in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks. Mary tells Akhtar to “use the difficulty; make it your own.” Akhtar brings this instruction to fruition over the course of the novel’s threehundred plus pages. In doing so, the author not only assumes his personal struggles, but shoulders the sufferings of all who grapple with the idiosyncrasies of modern American life as well.

I would like to imagine the novel in part as an A k htar therapy space in which the w riter feels comfortable expressing his vexations w ith America. A k htar walks the reader through standoffish encounters w ith state troopers in Scranton, Pennsylvania to the penthouse apartments of billionaire venture capitalists. Discussions range from the practical means of hiding a case of sy philis from one’s dy ing mother to the fallout of the U.S.-Sov iet prox y wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here, w itness a corporate healthcare net work lose medical malpractice suits to a small-tow n American jur y and feel helpless at the plight of indiv iduals in the LGBTQ+ communit y reckoning w ith traditional Muslim guilt. Watch

justice reign as the w ill of the strong borne by the weak.

A la rge por t ion of t his t herapy session is devoted to A k hta r’s relat ionship w it h his dad.

A k hta r’s fat her Masood is a ca rdiolog ist who immig rated to t he United States in 1968 to pursue a medica l residenc y fol low ing his g raduat ion f rom medica l school in Pa k ista n. Masood established love for A mer ica a nd a f ir m belief in its supremac y as a creed in his household. Despite a l l of A mer ica’s pleasures, A k hta r must sett le for t he hope t hat his chi ldren may achieve happiness, never being able to achieve t his u lt imate pursuit for himself.

T he end of t he novel welcomes a role reversa l of t he pa rent-ch i ld relat ionsh ip. No longer must t he st r ugg l i ng w r iter el icit h is fat her for f u nds to replace a defect ive cata ly t ic conver ter.

It is t he son, t he now successf u l Pu l it zer w i nner, who is obl iged to foot h is dad’s A ME X bi l l, who needs to ba i l h is fat her out of ja i l, t rack dow n a pa ssed-out Ma sood i n a r u ra l m idwester n ca si no.

The eleg y, a lament for t he dead, intert w ines t he traumatic circumstances of countr y and family. The novel shows us t he oneness of love and hurt.

Contact Coby McKeown at jmckeow2@nd.edu

“I Love You Jennifer B” Artist: Jockstrap Label: Rough Trade Favorite tracks: “Glasgow,” “Concrete Over Water,” “50/50 - Extended Mix” If you like: Björk, SOPHIE, Magdalena Bay

Contact Peter Breen at pbreen2@nd.edu

MAKAYLA HERNANDEZ | The Observer | Images courtesy of RAWPIXEL / JOY! NEWS / CGTRADER / NORTH COAST BREWING COMPANY

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The observer | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

By BRENDAN NOLTE Scene Writer

You’ve known about Fred John Philip Gibson (aka Fred again..) for far longer than you might think.

The 29-year-old multitalented music producer and songwriter has spent the better part of the last decade helping some of the biggest artists in the world create their own work, for the most part opting to remain behind the scenes. But since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Gibson has finally stepped into the spotlight.

Fred again.. has been making music all of his life. However, his breakthrough into the music industry came as the protégé of world-famous record producer and musician Brian Eno. Gibson’s first credited work is for writing and producing two collaborative albums between Eno and Karl Hyde of the group Underworld. While these records are certainly not what would win Gibson the 2020 Brit Awards’ Producer of the Year, they — long with Fred again..’s other work with Eno at his studio in London — would set the foundations both artistically and business-wise for the songs that would put Fred again.. atop the charts. Gibson would go on to write and produce hits such as George Ezra’s “Shotgun” while also contributing to 12 out of 15 songs on Ed Sheeran’s “No.6 Collaborations Project.” In spite of all his successes in hit-making, Gibson’s most artistically significant achievements would not come

By NICOLE BILYAK Scene Writer

This past weekend, the biennial D23 Expo occurred at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California from Sept. 9-11.

The event was originally planned for 2021, but due to the ongoing COV ID-19 pandemic, it was pushed back to 2022. It was also pushed back to highlight Disney’s plans for the 100th anniversar y of the company on Oct. 16.

The D23 Expo stems from the D23 Official Disney Fan Club, which was founded in 2009. D23 refers to “D” — which stands for Disney — and “23” for 1923, which was when Walt Disney founded the Walt Disney Company. The expo contains panels and events ver y much like San Diego Comic-Con as well as a ceremony for the Disney Legends, a Hall of Fame program that recognizes individuals who made an extraordinar y contribution to the Walt Disney Company.

The 2022 D23 Expo kicked off with the 2022 Disney Legends ceremony. Notable members who were inducted into the Hall of Fame include Anthony Anderson (“black-ish,” “Law & Order”), Kristen Bell (the “Frozen” films), Ellen Pompeo (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Josh Gad (also the “Frozen” films). Posthumously, Chadwick Boseman (“Black

until he decided to go solo.

The “Actual Life” style of music began with a chance encounter Fred again.. had with a construction worker named Carlos on a night out in Atlanta.

Gibson had recorded parts of their conversation and decided to try to make a song out of it the next morning. This random interaction would spawn a going-on-three album series of records produced in this manner. Gibson will take voice clips from his friends, random acquaintances and on occasion other musicians or videos and splice them into new meaning through his music.

While Fred again..’s style of production would conventionally fit into the house music genre, the melancholic pianos and ethereal synths scattered throughout the “Actual Life” series create an atmosphere much more somber than many house listeners would be used to. However, Gibson’s most fascinating innovation comes with his use of drums paired with these other elements along with his use of the human voice as an instrument, a technique which has become increasingly popular in hip-hop and the era of sampling, but has yet to be utilized in such a meaningful way. Fred’s use of light, crisp drum patterns, which deviate throughout the tracks unlike a lot of other house music, to complement the mellow beats he tends to craft create a feeling of optimism and perseverance, wherein the melodies and ambience of his records feel as if they are pulling the listener down below water while the drums push the

track along, providing hope of being pulled to the surface.

“Actual Life” is quite obviously a reaction to the pandemic, both in timing and message. During a year when people were drawn apart due to sickness and the terror of the disease itself or by regulations to protect the vulnerable, Fred again.. has made music connecting people to millions of others they will never meet through their words and emotions. The love of those around you and appreciation of their beauty as human beings which Fred again.. has been able to convey through his work is necessarily inspiring in a post-COVID world and has revolutionized a genre thought to be meant purely for clubs and partying. As his most popular track from the “Actual Life” series, “Marea,” reflects that “we’ve lost dancing,” Fred again.. has made it his mission to ensure we keep dancing in spite of our misfortune.

Fred again..’s all-encompassing body of work to date is his DJ set at Boiler Room London, which includes new and unreleased solo and collaborative work spanning all sub-genres of house music and can be found on the Boiler Room YouTube channel. His first two solo albums, “Actual Life (April 14 – December 17 2020)” and “Actual Life 2 (February 2 – October 15 2021)” are available on all streaming platforms, with the third project in the “Actual Life” series set for release on Oct. 28 of this year.

Panther”) also received an induction, which was accepted by his brother Derrick.

Fol low i ng t he ceremony, Disney CEO Bob Chapek took t he stage, w it h ma ny people i n t he crowd booi ng h i m. Chapek ha s ga r nered a lot of at tent ion i n t he med ia for ma k i ng quest ionable cha nges to t he Wa lt Disney Compa ny ; i n recent news, he wa s ca l led out for h is commencement speech at Ind ia na Un iversit y t h is pa st May when he sw itched up t he n ick na mes of Disneyla nd Ca l i for n ia a nd Wa lt Disney World i n Flor ida.

Chapek announced that many of the parks across the world are expanding and many new attractions were announced. In particular, the heavily anticipated TRON Lightcycle Run at the Magic Kingdom was announced, set to open in the spring of 2023.

As is the case with Disney in general, the D23 Expo announced a ton of new movies and T V shows that are under the Disney mantle. One film that is especially anticipated is the live-action remake of the classic 1989 film “The Little Mermaid,” starring Halle Bailey in the main role of Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as the sea witch Ursula. The film is set to be released on May 26, 2023.

In addition to the live-action “Little Mermaid,” many interesting projects are also coming out.

Because there are so many, here are just a few that are the most anticipated. One project that fans of Disney are waiting for is “Disenchanted” from Walt Disney Pictures, the sequel to the 2007 film “Enchanted.” That movie is set to be released on Nov. 24 of this year. Another Walt Disney Pictures project that has been announced to join the liveaction remakes is “Snow W hite,” starring Rachel Zegler in the titular role and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The film is set to be released sometime in 2024.

From Pixar, the biggest project that was announced is “Inside Out 2,” set to be released on June 14, 2024. In addition to the massive list of projects from Mar vel announced several months back, the biggest that is set to be released is “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” With a Nov. 11, 2022 release date looming, the film should carr y on the legacy that Chadwick Boseman created with the character. Mar vel also announced two new “Avenger” movies that are set to be released in 2025, titled “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.”

Overall, the D23 Expo made many announcements that should satisf y all Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and Mar vel fans.

Contact Brendan Nolte at bnolte2@nd.edu

Contact Nicole Bilyak at nbilyak01@saintmarys.edu MEG HAMMOND | The Observer

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Crossword | Will Shortz

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Horoscope | Eugenia Last Happy Birthday: Put your energy where it counts. Consider your options, skills, qualifications and what excites you the most and head in that direction.

This year’s adjustments will shape your future and encourage you to fill up your savings, retain knowledge and explore your ability to push your way forward.

Personal gain and making your dreams come true will play out as planned.

Your numbers are 7, 12, 24, 26, 32, 39, 41.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Simplify your life. Back away from anyone asking for too much or from situations that can cost you financially or emotionally.

Put your energy into what excites you, and do the best job possible to impress those who can help you reach your objective.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be careful not to give in to what someone demands.

Don’t limit what you can do because you feel guilty about looking out for yourself. Take the high road, refuse to argue and continue down a path you find rewarding.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Don’t lose sight of your goals. Recognize what’s possible, and inch your way in whatever direction pays off.

Helping others is righteous, but don’t forget to do what’s best for you.

Taking care of business is all you must do to impress others.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Pay closer attention to how you look and present yourself and your ideas to the world. Stand tall and press forward with dignity and confidence. Work by yourself if it will alleviate interference.

Don’t overspend or overreact.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Sit tight until you have all the particulars about a situation that can affect your position or reputation. Be a good listener, and counter with detail and precision.

Explore the possibilities, but do only what’s necessary. Overdoing something will be to your detriment.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Put pressing matters to rest. Ease your stress and head in a direction that restores your faith in what you have to offer.

Start conversations and explore the possibilities others present.

Patience is necessary when dealing with matters that can affect money matters.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Stop spending; look for cheaper alternatives. Learning and taking better care of yourself mentally, physically and financially will lead to better days. Find a routine that works for you, and progress will be yours.

Live in the moment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Don’t get pulled into someone else’s dream. Take pride in your accomplishments. Personal gain is apparent and will have an impact on the way others view you. Don’t be afraid to do things your way. Physical improvements and romance are encouraged.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Listen carefully in order to deduce what’s valid.

Act on facts, and refuse to let anyone take advantage of your good nature or generosity. Put your energy where it will do some good, and don’t waste time on nonsense or people trying to lead you astray.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Pay attention to detail, and invest in something worthwhile. Too much of anything will drag you down. Rearrange your space to suit your needs. An exciting proposal will grab your attention.

Use your skills uniquely, and you’ll boost your income.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t let interference stand in your way. Make your position clear and go about your business.

A passionate attitude and an energetic approach will help you gain ground and promote your desired success.

Be blunt about your intentions.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look for an alternative way to use and promote your skills. Helping others with services and skills you’ve honed will put you in demand and give you the edge when dealing with partnerships.

Don’t let mixed emotions ruin your plans.

Sudoku | The Mepham Group

Jumble | David Hoyt and Jeff knurek

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Week 3: Top games to watch

By JOSEPH TUNNEY Sports Writer

Last week was another amazing week of college football full of upsets and extremely fun matchups. Texas gave Alabama a big run for their money. BYU got a marquee win over Baylor.

Washington State got a shocking upset in Big 10 country against Wisconsin. Nebraska lost to Georgia Southern, resulting in the firing of head coach Scott Frost. Texas A&M fell victim to another monumental upset by Appalachian State. Notre Dame was stunned by Marshall. The slate this weekend provides us with a ton of action, so let’s get into the top five.

5. No. 6 Oklahoma at Nebraska (Oklahoma -11.0) noon, FOX The former Big 8 rivalry is coming to Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2009.

Oklahoma is at the beginning of the Brent Venables era, looking to contend for a playoff berth.

However, there have been some hiccups already. The Sooners led by a score of just 7-3 at halftime against Kent State before a 24-point third quarter put the game away. Venables, the former defensive coordinator at Clemson, will surely be looking for a better performance against a big rival.

Nebraska is currently wandering in the wilderness after firing head coach Scott Frost on Sunday. Even though Nebraska could have waited until October 1st for Frost’s contract buyout to go from $15 million to $7.5 million, they decided to pull the trigger anyway. Interim head coach Mickey Joseph inherits a Husker team with talent but a penchant for falling short time and time again. Last week, the Huskers gave up 642 yards in a 45-42 upset by Georgia Southern.

Emotions are running high in this rivalry game. Last year, Nebraska struggled to a 3-9 record. But they played 11-2 Oklahoma extremely tight, ultimately losing by a touchdown.

This one could be closer than records would predict.

4. No. 13 Miami at No. 24 Texas A&M (TA&M -6), 9 p.m., ESPN This game would have had a great case for number one if not for the events of last week.

If the Aggies took care of business against the Mountaineers, it would have been a colossal showdown with College Gameday in town. One has to wonder if the Aggies weren’t looking ahead to their marquee matchup this week against the Hurricanes. They shouldn’t

have been, considering A&M is paying head coach Jimbo Fisher 75 million dollars over 10 years.

What is even more infuriating to Aggie fans is that Fisher is 3515 in his first 50 games, whereas the man he replaced (Kevin Sumlin) was 36-14. A&M’s offense has been concerning, scoring just 14 points against Appalachian State, who allowed 63 points to North Carolina the week prior.

Miami comes in with two wins against inferior competition in Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. However, the Hurricanes were beating the latter just 10-7 at halftime. New head coach Mario Cristobal is looking for a big win to set a potential campaign for the ACC title. In order to win, both teams need to put together what they haven’t been able to do so far: a complete game.

3. No. 12 BYU at No. 25 Oregon (Oregon -3.5) 3:30 p.m., FOX The other matchup between two ranked squads is in Autzen Stadium, where the Oregon Ducks face surging BYU. The Cougars are coming off an impressive 26-20 win over a ranked Baylor team in double overtime.

Their defense came in clutch, making plays down the stretch to win the game. The Cougar offense was hurting, literally.

Starting receivers Puka Nacua and Gunner Romney were injured, which ended up leading to a breakout game from Chase Roberts. Roberts caught eight passes for 122 yards, including a highly acrobatic catch for a touchdown.

BYU certainly grinded out an impressive win. But now they face an Oregon team looking to reassert themselves. Oregon took good use of their get-right game against FCS opponent Eastern Washington, winning by a score of 70-14. After getting shut down at every level in a 49-3 drubbing by Georgia in week 1, quarterback Bo Nix and the Oregon offense responded by amassing over 600 yards. Nix made much better decisions in his second game, crucially avoiding a turnover as well. Are the Ducks ready to get back on track and derail a BYU team that is riding high? Or can the Cougars keep their momentum rolling?

2. No. 11 Michigan State at Washington (Washington -3) 7:30 p.m., ABC The Spartans go out west to face a Washington team that has a lot to prove. Michigan State is looking to continue its

Zwiller: What to watch for during NFL Week 2

By TOM ZWILLER Sports Writer

With the conclusion of a crazy Broncos vs. Seahawks game on Monday Night, a wild Week 1 has concluded.

As we head into Week 2, I wanted to take a moment to look back on Week 1 and talk about some of the oddities.

Wide Receiving Struggles : New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers In the offseason, a few of the teams that I suspected to have lackluster pass catchers were the Patriots, the Colts and the Packers.

Last weekend the Colts had 352 receiving yards, with Michael Pittman Jr. leading the way with 121 yards on 9 receptions and a touchdown.

So, the Colts move from problem to suspect. It was the Texans after all, I am not inclined to trust their defense. The Packers and Patriots, however, looked all the more suspicious.

The Packers had a total of 260 receiving yards which is fine. Until you realize that their leading pass catcher was running back AJ Dillon with just 46 yards. And yes, there was a dropped 75-yard touchdown pass that could have changed ever ything. But almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Granted, this might not be a long-term problem.

Key Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard was out on Sunday with an ankle injur y. Assuming he comes back the Packers could get right back into form and Minnesota is just this year’s New Orleans. I still think the Packers are going to end up missing Davante Adams, but only time will tell.

Unlike the Packers, the Patriots do not have an absence they can blame their lack of a passing game on. The Patriots had just 213 yards in their game against the Dolphins, and that might be a mark the Patriots hover around for the rest of the season.

The offense lacks a dynamic weapon. And with quarterback Mac Jones entering his second year, I expect a bit of a slump

for him and for the unit to struggle for the rest of the season.

Fumble Struggles : Baker Mayfield and Matt Ryan One of the odder results (at least to me) was Indianapolis at Houston, a game in which Matt Ryan had a ridiculous four fumbles. W hile only one of them was a turnover, those fumbles did legitimately kill off some good drives for the Colts.

The first fumble was in the second quarter when Ryan fumbled on the Houston 30.

It lost the Colts seven crucial yards. It caused Indy to punt. The second fumble came on the Houston 40 in the third quarter and the Texans were able to grab the ball.

Next in the third quarter, Ryan fumbled on his own 20, recovered it himself and then the Colts punted.

Ryan’s final fumble came in overtime. And while it did not kill the Indianapolis drive, it did lose them three yards, which proved critical as kicker Rodrigo Blankenship missed a 42yard field goal.

Baker Mayfield had an equally horrible fumble performance, racking up four against his former team, the Browns.

His first came in the first quarter on third down, and though the play resulted in a three-yard gain, the Panthers still punted. On Carolina’s next drive, Baker fumbled again, though was able to pass for three yards. In the third quarter on third and 12, Baker fumbled, though it was recovered by Carolina.

Then in the fourth, Baker fumbled in the red zone.

Once again, he was able to recover, and the Panthers would kick a field goal.

By and large, these fumbles were the product of a poor center-to-quarterback snap. And in both cases, most of the blame is on the quarterbacks.

W hile I would expect both Ryan and Mayfield to get better as the season progresses and their problems with the snap to go down, it is something worth looking out for.

Both games could have been dramatically

different. If, say, Mayfield does not fumble inside of the redzone with 1:25 left in the PanthersBrowns game. Carolina missed a chance to score a touchdown which proved critical in a 24-23 loss. If it happens again, it could cost each team another win.

Derrick Henry Since his injur y last season, I have been suggesting that the Titans bell cow running back would likely not look the same as he did before his injur y.

In his return to the team in 2022, when the Titans hosted the Bengals, Henr y had 20 carries but only produced 62 yards, though he did have a touchdown. That game was a horribly inefficient game for Henr y, who averaged just 3.1 yards per carr y.

And while that can be explained away by rust following a large period of recovering from an injur y, his showing against the Giants is a potentially alarming indicator. For the Titans offense to work, Henr y needs to be averaging a lot more per carr y -- at the ver y least 4.5, but ideally closer to five per carr y like he did in 2019 and 2020.

Interceptions Another odd offensive outlier was interceptions, with Carson Wentz throwing a pair, Derek Carr tossing three, and Joe Burrow throwing an insane four interceptions.

Burrow’s pick-six was a good play by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

On the second one, Burrow was hit while he threw.

The third was just an excellent interception by Pittsburgh star T.J. Watt.

And the fourth felt like a 50-50 ball that the Steelers just came up with.

Carr’s first was an aggressive throw that was risky, and the Chargers’ defense made him pay for it. The second interception came early in the fourth quarter on a deep-down field throw into double coverage. I get why Carr threw it. The Chargers were ahead

see NFL PAGE 13

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Soccer Continued from page 16

like a team that could give the Irish defense and junior goaltender Br yan Dowd a handful.

Leo Afonso has lead the way for Virginia w ith four goals on a whopping 30 shots (14 on goal) so far. His four tallies are tied for 15th in the countr y as well as for fourth among players in the ACC. Striker Philip Horton, a breakout candidate for the Cavaliers, scored t wo goals and added an assist. Virginia also rosters an ACC Preseason Watchlist honoree in senior defender A ndreas Ueland.

Virginia has four players w ith at least two goals. And, ten Cavaliers have found the back of the net at least once in this still young season.

ndsmcobserver.com | friday, september 16, 2022 | The Observer

Notre Dame does come into this meeting w ith some recent histor y on their side. The Cavaliers haven’t beaten the Irish in regulation since the 2019-20 season, w ith Notre Dame w inning the last two meetings the teams have played. It is worth noting that both of those games were at A lumni Stadium, however. The only other meeting since was a 1-0 overtime w in by Virginia in 2021.

That game would end as a 0-0 tie today under college soccer’s new rules.

The Irish take on the Cavaliers at 7 p.m EST in Charlottesv ille this Friday, Sept.

16.

The game can be streamed on ACCNX v ia WatchESPN. Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

Week 3 Continued from page 12

resurgence under head coach Mel Tucker, finishing 11-2 and ranked No. 9 in the country in Tucker’s second season behind the helm. Although the Spartans lost star running back Kenneth Walker to the NFL, new transfer running back Jalen Berger has filled his shoes admirably in routs of Western Michigan and Akron.

Defensive end Jacoby Windmon has 5.5 sacks in two games for the Spartans, making him a player to watch.

Washington is in the third game of the Kalen DeBoer era.

DeBoer came to the Huskies by way of Fresno State, after the Huskies fired Jimmy Lake. The Huskies finished 4-8 last season but have convincingly beat two inferior schools in Kent State and Portland State to open the year. The new quarterback for the Huskies, Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr., has experience beating the Spartans (back in

2020).

The Vegas line favoring Washington is a bit of a surprise.

But they do have a tremendous home-field advantage. A win for DeBoer and the Huskies would be a major shift in the program.

But Tucker and the Spartans need the win for national implications.

1. No. 22 Penn State at Auburn (Penn State -3) 3:30 p.m., CBS Big Ten and SEC powers clashing in non-conference play: I love it! The Nittany Lions are 2-0, coming off of an easy win vs. Ohio which was preceded by a barnburner against Purdue.

Quarterback Sean Clifford has been busy fending off incoming freshman Drew Allar for the job. His gamewinning drive against Purdue seems to have locked it up for the time being. But it will be interesting to see if head coach James Franklin pivots to the freshman if Clifford struggles.

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NFL Continued from page 12

24-13, and the Raiders needed points. But it certainly hurt. Hurting worse was Carr’s third pick, which came just a few minutes later as a low pass to Hunter Renfrow was intercepted.

Wentz’s first interception was in the fourth quarter. A cornerback reading the play picked him off, perfectly jumping the out route. The second came the next Commanders drive, not two game minutes later, when linebacker Travon Walker picked him off as he pressured.

With some of these interceptions, they honestly feel like a f luke. I do not see Burrow having a fourinterception game again this season. And I would be surprised if Carr had three again as well. Carr has never had more than 14 interceptions in a season.

I think of him as a quarterback who is good about not turning the ball over.

Wentz, meanwhile, is well Wentz.

Like the fumbles from earlier, these turnovers took these teams out of the game. Or, in the case of the Commanders, put the Jags back in it. The Bengals had to work their way back into the game and could have won it because of how bad the Steelers are. And the Chargers game was put out of reach by those two late interceptions.

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Contact Tom Zwiller at twziller@nd.edu

Due to His Excellency’s attendance at the State funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, this lecture will now be online only.

13

Auburn also enters at 2-0 under head coach Bryan Harsin.

The Tigers opened with a 4216 win over Mercer and won 24-16 over San José State last week. The latter game was a bit of a wake-up call, as Auburn was actually losing at halftime.

Although the Tigers have had struggles, they have been lights out in the red zone. Every trip to the red zone for Auburn has led to a touchdown.

Last fall, Auburn went up to Penn State and played at Beaver Stadium for the annual White Out game. The Nittany Lions came out on top by a score of 28-20. This year, both schools want to send a message that they are here to contend for their respective conferences. A win for either would be a major boost.

The views in this Sports Authority are the views of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Contact Joseph Tunney at jtunney@nd.edu

14

Sports

The observer | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

football

Predictions for outcome of Notre Dame against Cal matchup as Irish seek recovery from home opener Observer Sports Staff

Emily DeFazio, Associate Sports Editor I am not sure where to begin in predicting Saturday’s outcome; I have few words left after having to eat so many of them last week. The Irish would have to win out in order for my 10-2 season prediction to be correct, and with USC and Clemson still left to take on, I have my doubts.

The offense was already struggling, and the loss of sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner is a tough pill to swallow. I have mixed feelings about junior quarterback Drew Pyne stepping in. It is certainly his time to shine, but he will have to do just that. Interceptions like Saturday cannot happen moving forward. However, this is an opportunity for Rees to structure a solid game plan that involves more than just the run game. Pyne has proven he can pass the ball well, and he should be allowed to do so.

I am counting on those sporadic moments of greatness he posted on the field last year to grow now that he is securely in the QB1 position. Utilize juniors Michael Mayer and Kevin Bauman for some tight end touchdowns Saturday. Should the offense rally under this new leadership, and the defensive line tighten up their play, I see the Irish coming away with their first win of the season. Albeit a close one.

ND 24, Cal 17

Nate Moller, Sports Writer

Senior

Notre Dame Stadium is usually one of my favorite places in the world. But it was far from it last Saturday. The Irish looked truly awful throughout most of the game. With Freeman being 0-3 as a head coach, this game feels like a must-win. Without Buchner at quarterback, that will make getting a win much more difficult. Cal is by no means a strong power five team. But they have shown that they can close out games, which is something Notre Dame has yet to do. Running back Jaydn Ott has averaged an impressive 6.5 yards per carry this season. Stopping his production will be key for the Irish.

If the Irish are going to win this game, the offensive and defensive lines need to be much better than the mess that was Marshall. If Pyne doesn’t have time to pass and the run game can not be established, the Irish could be in trouble yet again. I think this is going to be a sloppy game. And while it may not be a good win, I do expect Notre Dame to find a way to get into the win column. A late Michael Mayer touchdown gives the Irish just enough offense to edge out the Golden Bears.

Notre Dame 14, Cal 13 Liam Coolican, Associate Sports Editor If you’re looking for someone to blame for the Irish’s struggles, look no further.

Not only did I predict the

team would go 11-1 and make the CFP, I also wrote last week that “Notre Dame doesn’t lose trap games.” The good news is, my predictions, much like Notre Dame’s fortunes, can’t get much worse. Drew Pyne clearly wasn’t ready to come into the game last week, but he showed f lashes of brilliance last year and I believe he can be a solid, if not spectacular, quarterback at this level.

However, the Irish do have to adjust their offense substantially to play to Pyne’s strengths rather than Buchner’s in just a week’s time.

It might be another slow start for the Irish as the offense takes time to get used to Pyne under center. But the defense will keep them in the game against a lackluster Cal offense. Notre Dame should be more fired up and better prepared than they were a week ago. Pyne will get rolling in the second half, and the defense will come up with a couple of big plays in the fourth quarter. It may take a late score, but the Irish will pull this one out.

Notre Dame 24, Cal 17 Mannion Assistant Editor

McGinley, Managing

The Irish have started the season 0-2 for the first time since 2011. Seeing as that’s as many losses as I predicted on the season as a whole, the Irish are not where I expected them to be. Losing Buchner on top of that was just salt in the wound. There’s potential in the change up though,

especially this week. Cal may be 2-0, but the Irish need the win and this is the space to get it. Plummer is a quarterback the Irish D-line knows, and knows well. They need to get to him just as they did when he played for Purdue.

In terms of Irish offense, it’s not perfect. But Pyne’s structure may be the answer to ending the passing touchdown drought. Both UC Davis and UNLV were able to score through the air on Cal. This should mean the Irish can as well. The defense gets the takeaway they’ve been striving for. And while it’ll be tight, some of the pieces finally come together. At the risk of losing any credibility, Irish win.

Notre Dame 21, Cal 17 Madeline Ladd, Associate Sports Editor To be honest, I’m not sure what to say here after the devastation last week. Coupled with the loss of Buchner, there are a lot of question marks going into this weekend.

However, though Notre Dame is down, they are not out.

They will certainly be coming into the weekend hungry, and the changes made on offense may prove to be beneficial.

But Cal’s defense is no joke.

The Notre Dame offense, now led by Pyne, will need to get it together in order to come out with the victory. I predict that Pyne will be efficient and throw for two TD’s.

I see junior running back Chris Tyree with more action on the ground as well. The defensive line will control the

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weaker Cal offensive line, not fading in the second half as they have in the previous two games. This is a game well within the Irish’s wheelhouse and I think they can pull off the win. But it certainly won’t be pretty.

Notre Dame 17, Cal 13 Aidan Thomas, Editor

Sports

Gross. I predicted Notre Dame to go 10-2 this season, which, I guess, is technically still in play. However when you lose a game that I personally ranked seventhhardest on the schedule and start 0-2, that 10-2 dream is on very thin ice -- but still alive.

The Irish currently have no semblance of an offense. They’ve scored just 31 points, blowing a bev y of opportunities over the first couple of weeks. Untimely penalties, missed open deep shots, interceptions and no running game have thwarted the Irish offense at nearly every turn. Now they turn to longtime backup Pyne to make things right.

He must do so against a Cal defense that is stiff against the pass but has experienced struggles against the run. The lead back for each Cal opponents this year averages 7.1 yards per carry.

The Irish need to assert themselves in the trenches and dominate a below-average Cal offense. Notre Dame must win ugly this year.

Hopefully, that trend starts on Saturday.

Notre Dame 24 Cal 13

Freeman Continued from page 15

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regular season.

I see plenty of parallels between last week’s Marshall game and the South Florida game. And if the Irish can clean up a couple of the things I mentioned, there’s no doubt in my mind that Notre Dame can get some wins this year and build confidence into next season.

These next few weeks are crucial, though. The Freeman Era is currently teetering on the brink of disaster and how this football team finishes out this year will be pivotal in Marcus Freeman developing himself as a legitimate head football coach. Marcus Freeman, I am rooting for you. But it’s time to win some football games. If these losses keep cascading into more defeats, the Freeman Era might burn out as quickly as it took over.

The views in this column are the views of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Contact Joseph Tunney at jtunney@nd.edu

sports

ndsmcobserver.com | friday, september 16, 2022 | The Observer

column

matchup history

Moller: Freeman Era teetering to disaster

By NATE MOLLER Senior Sports Writer

It’s hard to believe that just last week, there were many Notre Dame fans across the country expecting the Irish to finish the season 11-1 after a hard-fought loss to Ohio State in the opening week of the season. Fast forward a week and the narrative is completely different following a stunning Irish defeat to the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Being a lifelong Notre Dame football fan, I have faced plenty of lows.

USC’s reign of terror over the Irish during the Charlie Weis era. A 3-9 season in 2007. The national championship blowout loss to Alabama in 2013. A 4-8 season in 2016. And of course, the pair of recent CFP losses.

Despite all of those painful memories, this might be an all-time low for me. That Marshall game will forever be burned into my head as I sat in the student section in utter disbelief. Notre Dame usually finds a way to win games like that one.

But that just wasn’t the case last Saturday. I had never left a Notre Dame football game early. But I did on Saturday after the Drew Pyne interception because I didn’t want to waste more time on a team that had looked lackluster and effortless all day.

Last December, when Marcus Freeman was announced as head coach, I had full faith in Freeman.

I truly believed that he would be the coach to finally get the Irish to a national title. After a stunning 0-3 start to the Freeman Era, I am now beyond skeptical.

In each of Freeman’s three losses, the Irish have led in the second half and have looked like the better team in parts of each game. And just like clockwork in all three of the games, the team utterly collapses, forgets how to play defense in the fourth quarter and fails to execute late in the game. It’s one thing to have less talent than the other team and be outplayed. But that hasn’t really been the case in any of the three losses. In each of those games (yes, even Ohio State), the Irish proved they had the talent to go toe-to-toe with their opponent and win the game.

Ultimately, those close losses come down to one thing: coaching.

The Irish have been out-coached in each of the three losses, and ultimately, that has been the difference. I could point fingers at offensive coordinator Tommy Rees as well, but I think the problem has been bigger than him so far.

This is, after all, the Freeman Era. This is Coach Freeman’s football team. There has to be some sense of urgency in this football program, and I don’t get the sense there is right now. A loss to Marshall should be a big deal. But it seems like the fanbase and media are waving if off like everything is going to be alright.

Freeman said after the loss to Oklahoma State in the bowl game

15

that the “honeymoon phase is over.” After the atrocious beginning to this season, the relationship is even more than post-honeymoon strained now. Freeman must do everything in his power to right the sinking ship that is Notre Dame this season. Even though the Irish will be playing mostly for pride here on out, Freeman has to energize his team and get them back to playing Notre Dame football.

I haven’t given up on Freeman this yet. But I am angry, confused and anxious. The recruiting has been great under Freeman, and I still believe Freeman can be a great head coach at Notre Dame. But I need to see something from him this year that proves that to me.

For that reason, this weekend at Cal is a must-win game for Coach Freeman. Another loss at home to a sub-par opponent will raise even more doubts about Freeman and could send this season into free-fall — if it isn’t already.

So, what do the Irish need to do to get into the win column?

Losing sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner to a season ending injury certainly isn’t going to help, but hopefully the team can rally around Drew Pyne. If Pyne is going to be successful, though, the offensive line has to improve drastically. The Irish have failed to establish a run game in both games this season. And that, in turn, has made it difficult to find consistency in the passing game. The Irish should have three solid backs in junior Chris Tyree and sophomores Audric Estime and Logan Diggs.

Now is the time to get those three going offensively.

Aside from the offensive line, the Irish need to take care of the football. They didn’t do that at the end of the Marshall game, and it arguably made the difference. The Irish might find themselves in a lot of low scoring games and handing the opposing team good field position will cost the Irish greatly.

The defense has not been the issue this season. But they have struggled to get pressure on the quarterback, recording only three sacks this season. Senior defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey has been relatively quiet for the Irish this season. He needs to energize the Irish front seven going forward and generate some turnovers to help out a struggling Irish offense.

Let’s take a quick detour and look back to 2011, the last time the Irish started 0-2. Last week was not the first time the Irish suffered a horrible loss in the home opener. In fact, in Brian Kelly’s second season as head coach, the Irish lost the home opener to South Florida — a game I was actually at as an excited ten-year old Notre Dame fanatic. Despite the loss, the Irish managed to finish a respectable 8-5 and beat some quality opponents. The following season, the Irish completed a perfect 12-0 see FREEMAN PAGE 14

Notre Dame games against Cal: The history of the matchup

By JOSEPH TUNNEY Sports Writer

W hile Notre Dame has strong rivalries w ith other California universities like USC and Stanford, Notre Dame and Cal w ill meet on the football field for just the fifth time in histor y this Saturday.

These foes each share a mutual rival in the Stanford Cardinal. In addition, both schools are academic powerhouses that boast strong athletic programs. Before the series is renewed on Saturday, let’s examine the prev ious matchups on the gridiron.

October 10, 1959 : Notre Dame 28, Cal 6 The inaugural meeting bet ween Notre Dame and Cal was on the west coast, w ith 68,500 fans packing Memorial Stadium.

The Irish had a great start to the game, recovering a fumble on Cal’s first play from scrimmage.

Quarterback George Izo threw a 27-yard touchdow n pass t wo plays later to put the Irish up 7-0. The Irish defense was swarming to the ball the whole day, forcing a total of six turnovers.

Late in the first quarter, the Irish’s other quarterback, Don W hite, engineered a touchdow n drive to expand the lead to 14-0. In the second half, the offensive drives began to stall out for both sides. The Golden Bears couldn’t get any offense until late in the fourth quarter after a 56-yard run play eventually led to a five-yard touchdow n catch to make it 21-6.

After another touchdow n by the Irish, the clock ran out a few minutes later. It was an important game for the Irish, needing to rebound after an upset loss to Purdue the prev ious week.

The Irish struggled in 1959 but ended the season on a high note, beating t wo ranked teams in Iowa and USC to finish at an even 5-5. Cal finished 2-8 in the last season of the Pete Elliott era.

September 24, 1960 : Notre Dame 21, Cal 7 The second meeting bet ween Notre Dame and Cal opened the season for both schools. This was also the first time the Golden Bears would take the trip east to Notre

Dame Stadium. Leading the Bears after Pete Elliott’s dismissal was head coach Mar v Lev y. Lev y is today more commonly know n for his later tenure as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, making four straight Super Bowl appearances but failing to w in all four. However, 26 years before he took the job w ith the Bills, he was the head coach of Cal. Notre Dame got on the board first as a result of a short field due to a Cal fumble. But Cal responded w ith a sustained drive that eventually led to a touchdow n.

Cal outplayed the Irish in the first half, holding the Irish to a 7-7 tie at the intermission.

But Notre Dame came out of the break w ith a strong drive highlighted by a long kick return and a 33-yard touchdow n run. Later in the third quarter, the Irish blocked a Cal punt and took it to the house to finish the scoring.

However, the Irish still had major concerns after the opening w in. The passing attack was never able to get going, and the team seemed inexperienced.

These would prove to be valid, as the Irish finished w ith a lowly 2-8 record.

Cal finished only marginally better, going 2-7-1.

Strangely, both teams beat their main rivals (USC and Stanford, respectively) in other w ise terrible years.

September 18th, 1965: Notre Dame 48, Cal 6 During the five-year intermission bet ween the second and third games of the series, Notre Dame football had lost its identit y but found it again.

After three subpar seasons where the Irish never finished better than 5-5, they hired the first nonNotre Dame graduate since Knute Rockne: Ara Parseghian.

Parseghian instantly turned Notre Dame football around. The team was 9-0 going into the final game of the 1964 season, boasting the number one ranking.

However, USC upset the Irish to dash any national title hopes. Expectations were sk y high for 1965, and they opened w ith Cal, who finished last in their conference in 1964.

The Irish rolled to a 48-6 w in, amassing 381 yards on the ground. Cal head coach Ray Willsey said, “We have no excuses for this fiasco.”

The Irish were up 9-0 after

the end of the first quarter, but the lead had ballooned to 28-6 by halftime. Turnovers again plagued Cal, leading coach Parseghian to remark that “Cal was most unfortunate; it y ielded field position on turnovers all day.”

Cal went on to go 5-5. The dominant w in propelled Notre Dame to the number one ranking, which they would relinquish a week later in an upset loss to Purdue. The Irish ended up finishing 7-2-1 on the season.

September 23rd, 1967: Notre Dame 41, Cal 8 The Irish again opened up their season facing the Golden Bears, this time in defense of their 1966 national championship. Notre Dame finished 9-0-1 in 1966, beating ever y opponent except No. 2 Michigan State, who they infamously tied 10-10.

The Irish lost 11 starters from the team the year prior, so new players had to step up. The Irish stepped up to the task, dispatching the Bears.

Quarterback Terr y Hanratt y completed 15 passes for 203 yards and t wo scores.

But he also lost a fumble and threw t wo interceptions. Receiver Jim Sey mour and captain Rock y Bleier each caught touchdow n passes. Cal Quarterback Barr y Bronk had an aw ful day, completing just 2 of 20 passes and getting picked off t w ice.

By the time the fourth quarter hit, the reser ves were in. Cal scored late in the fourth, upsetting gamblers who had backed the Irish as 35-point favorites.

The Golden Bears had another middling season, going 5-5. For the second time, Notre Dame lost in an upset to Purdue the next week while carr y ing the number one ranking.

The Irish finished 8-2, their other loss coming to USC. W hen the game kicks off on Saturday it w ill be the first game in the series in 55 years. Cal has been dominated by the Irish in all four prev ious outings, mainly because they lost the turnover battles by w ide margins. The 2022 Irish defense, which has not forced a turnover this season, surely is going to tr y to make histor y repeat itself.

Contact Joseph Tunney at jtunney@nd.edu

16

The observer | friday, september 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

men’s soccer

Irish seeking first ACC win against Virginia

By ANDREW McGUINNESS Associate Sports Editor

On paper, Notre Dame men’s soccer (1-2-1, 0-1-0 ACC) matchup against the Virginia Cavaliers isn’t an ideal matchup. The Irish are still looking to find their stride this season.

They have scored more than one goal in three of their four matches. And while Virginia was picked last in their div ision in the ACC Preseason Poll, the Cavaliers are off to a solid 4-2 start.

Plus, the Irish can tell you how much preseason rankings matter as much as anyone. After all, they overcame the same projection a year ago to make the College Cup. But Friday’s contest offers the Irish a chance to rise to the increasing level of the Cavaliers.

Sometimes, good teams just need the right opponent to push them. A Virginia team w ith a roster not expected to produce a strong season but play ing some

strong soccer right now could be the right matchup. And if nothing else, the Cavaliers prov ide the Irish a second chance to get their first conference w in of the season, after the Irish fell in Sy racuse 1-0 on Saturday.

After dropping their season opener to Xav ier 1-0, the Cavaliers have emerged as a dominant offensive team. Virginia has scored at least three goals in four of its five matches since that game. The lone exception was a difficult matchup against No. 6 Mar yland, which ended in a 6-1 defeat. But other than that, the Cavaliers have run the table.

In fact, Virginia scored five goals in its last game against La Salle (5-0), the same amount the Irish have in four games this season. Obv iously, qualit y of opponent matters.

But Virginia certainly looks Anya Ruffino | The Observer

see SOCCER PAGE 13

Irish senior midfielder PJ Bujouves prepares for a kick into the goal during an exhibition game at Alumni Stadium against Bethel University. The game took place on August 21, 2022, prior to the home opener.

cross country

Irish cross country prepares to host National Catholic invite in hopes of opener victory

By MATTHEW CROW Sports Writer

Notre Dame cross countr y w ill ser ve as host for the National Catholic Inv ite on Friday afternoon at Burke Golf Course. The Inv ite w ill be the home opener for the Irish. Both the men’s and women’s squads w ill be heav y favorites coming into a meet that the program has historically dominated as they look to build on season-opening v ictories. The meet w ill feature a field of 16 Catholic institutions, several of which are located in the Midwest region. The women’s race is a 5K, while the men’s race w ill be five miles.

The Notre Dame men’s team enters the meet ranked No. 13 nationally after taking each of the top ten places in a strong show ing at the Winrow-Valparaiso Inv ite. This was made all the more impressive by the fact that the Irish were not at full strength for the race.

They rested several of their

top athletes to prov ide experience for a talented but youthful group of underclassmen. These runners w ill be counted on to play major roles for the team during this season and beyond.

Given the opportunit y to impact Notre Dame’s team score, the highly touted group of Irish freshmen stepped up. Izaiah Steur y won the race, Ethan Coleman finished in fourth, and several other freshmen placed in the top ten. Notre Dame’s more experienced runners also performed well. Juniors Carter Cheeseman and Jake Renfree and sophomore Robbie Cozean earned topfive finishes.

Friday’s meet w ill likely feature a similar lineup for the Irish men, as the team is unlikely to race its full top seven until closer to the postseason. At last year’s Catholic Inv ite, Notre Dame won the race handily, taking the top four positions and posting a near-perfect score of 16. Top finishers

junior Tom Seitzer, Cozean, sophomore Carter Solomon and senior Quinn Gallagher all return. The Irish should once again put a large pack at the front of the field.

On the women’s side, the No. 6 Irish have similar goals for the Inv ite after a comprehensive openingmeet v ictor y against competitive Purdue and Western Michigan teams. A more veteran team than the men, Notre Dame placed five in the top ten, led by graduate student Katie Ryan, who placed second. Freshmen Sophie Novak and Charlotte Turesson came in third and fifth, respectively. The Irish v ictor y came w ithout appearances from A llAmericans graduate student Maddy Denner and junior Oliv ia Markezich, along w ith other returners who w ill begin racing later in the year.

The Notre Dame women enter the Catholic Inv ite as the 14-time solo defending champions. They’ll strive to make it fifteen and to match

their performance from last year. Then, they earned a perfect score by taking each of the top five spots.

Last year’s race was won by freshman Kate Wiser, who emerged from a strong pack of Notre Dame runners. That included a pair of returners on this year’s team along w ith Wiser – Denner, who finished as runner-up, and senior Katie Rose Blachow icz, who placed fourth. None of these three runners competed at Valparaiso earlier in September, so the Irish lineup w ill likely look quite different from last year’s in their quest to retain the title.

Saint Mar y’s w ill also be in the women’s field, aiming to continue a strong start to the season in what w ill be their third meet. The Belles placed sixth at last weekend’s Calv in Knight inv itational, competing against several nationally ranked Div ision II and III programs.

Junior Amanda Tracy led the team in the 6k race w ith a

31st place finish. Sophomore Susanna Bernov ich, freshman Isabelle Auch, and senior Angela Bannan finished as a pack behind Tracy in 48th, 49th, and 51st, respectively. Saint Mar y’s finished in 13th place out of 15 teams in last year’s Catholic Inv ite.

A 59th-place effort from Bannan paced the team. The Belles look to better that result on Friday.

Temperatures at race-time are expected to be in the mid-eighties. The warm conditions w ill test the toughness of the Irish in their final “tune-up” race before div ing into the challenging slate of meets that the second half of the season w ill hold.

The National Catholic Inv ite w ill begin w ith the women’s race at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at Notre Dame’s Burke Golf Course. The men’s race w ill follow at 4:15 p.m., and the awards ceremony w ill be at 5 p.m.

Contact Matthew Crow at mcrow@nd.edu

insider

Feature Continued from page 2

“There are positives and you gotta find them,” Rees said. “We need to make sure that everyone is doing their job and improving.”

‘We have to do a better job tackling, number one’ The defense was expected to be a huge strength for the Irish. But so far, their performance has been less than stellar. Missed tackles, no turnovers and collapsing at the end of long drives at the end of the game have plagued the defense. Though they were able to keep the points down, the defense needs to step up. Golden recognizes this, feeling “disappointed by not discouraged” by the early results, getting straight to the point.

“We have to do a better job tackling, number one,” Golden said. “And our fourth quarter execution has to improve. That’s on me, I have to do a better job putting them in a position to execute in the fourth quarter, and we have to do a better job tackling as a unit in general.”

Golden’s ownership of the team’s shortcomings is similar to that of Rees, highlighting the accountability of both coordinators.

“We can mix it up and do a better job,” Golden said “We’ve limited explosives and have kept the points down. But what we haven’t done is turn the field on a takeaway. So takeaways, more hits and sacks on the quarterbacks are things we can do a better job of.”

These elements, especially an increasing emphasis on

Pyne Continued from page 4

tossing an interception that sealed an already likely Notre Dame loss. Although he led a touchdown drive to give the Irish a last-gasp onside kick attempt, it ultimately proved to be too little, too late.

But now, with Buchner announced out for the season, it’s truly Pyne time in South Bend.

But according to the redshirt sophomore, that hardly affects his mindset. “ I’m going to keep preparing and treating practice like a game every day,” Pyne commented. “It’s easy to fall in a trap, to think that it’s different. I’ve prepared as hard as I can no matter what situation I’ve been in. I’ve got to lead the guys on the practice field, push them as hard as I can every day and that’s what I’m focused on right now.”

Pyne’s biggest challenge is sparking a lethargic Notre Dame offense. Notre Dame has scored 31 total points this season. They matched

ndsmcobserver.com | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 | The Observer

tackling, could make all the difference for the Irish defense. However, despite the chaos, Golden recognized the three defensive captains as providing a constant for the Irish defense the past two weeks. “(Isaiah) Foskey has shown leadership and a late in-game energ y. We have to keep finding the matchup for him and help him get pressure on the quarterback,” Golden said.

“JD Bertrand’s been very good in terms of setting the front and communication.

Bo Bauer’s obviously doing a great job on special teams.

Very pleased with all three of these guys but at the same time disappointed, because they’ve worked very hard and aren’t getting the results that they deserve. They gotta keep fighting and good things will happen.”

football

Notre Dame’s keys to snagging a solid victory against Cal

By LIAM COOLICAN Associate Sports Editor

Marcus Freeman is still searching for his first win as a head coach, after starting his career off 0-3. Prior to the season, many predicted that this weekend’s matchup would be a walk in the park for the Irish. But the season has not gone as planned for anyone in South Bend.

Oddsmakers, however, still believe in the Irish, as they are currently listed as 11-point favorites heading into the contest.

Notre Dame will certainly have to make some adjustments if they hope to get the victory Saturday afternoon. Here are three keys to victory.

Preparing for Saturday Golden, Rees and the rest of the coaching staff are looking at everything from “the top down.” Though the Irish have not gotten off to a strong start, there is no denying they are trying hard to turn things around. Not taking things for granted and recognizing the importance of each play, Rees says, is the name of the game this weekend.

“Anytime you play this game the margins between wins and losses are very small,” Rees said. “You can have a number of losses that get masked because you won the game. We must not take things for granted. Play in and play out, it matters how everyone does their job.”

Contact Madeline Ladd at mladd2@nd.edu

or exceeded that output in 10 of their 13 games last season. The ground game has been nonexistent outside of Buchner. And the passing game has been inconsistent at best and awful at worst. Now, without their biggest running threat, and the offensive line continuing to struggle, what can Pyne improve upon in his first career start?

The Connecticut product was quick to point out that it’s hardly just one guy or one position that was failing the offense.

“I think it’s easy to point fingers on the offense, but it takes eleven guys to succeed on offense to run the ball,” Pyne said. “It takes receivers, it takes a quarterback, it takes a running back. It takes 11 guys to succeed.”

Every player can certainly share some of the blame for this 0-2 start. There were dropped passes that could have been touchdowns. Missed blocking assignments from the offensive line and tight ends that caused negative plays in big

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Get Tyree the ball One of Notre Dame’s most dynamic offensive threats has been largely absent from their game plan thus far. Star junior running back Chris Tyree has gotten just 12 touches for 65 total yards through the team’s first two games. In the defeat against Marshall, he carried the ball just three times.

By comparison, sophomore running Audric Estime has 10 carries, while sophomore Logan Diggs has seven. Estime and Diggs are certainly talented, but they are averaging just 2.8 and 1.5 yards per carry on the year, respectively.

While Tyree only has nine carries on the season, he is averaging an impressive five yards per attempt.

Tyree is also known to be a threat in the passing game. However, he has caught just three passes so far. Getting Tyree touches will be

situations. In the passing game, only junior tight end Michael Mayer and sophomore wide receiver Lorenzo Styles have more than three receptions.

Pyne knows he must find a way to get them the ball. But he also needs to spread the offense out.

“I think Coach Rees does a great job of that. He knows how to get guys open and create space. He knows how to put us and me in a great position to succeed,” Pyne said. “I have full faith in him and everything he does.”

Additionally, there was a lack of disruptive play defensively, punctuated by the zero turnovers the Irish have caused. Pyne can’t fix everything, but he needs to provide a spark. And Pyne is ready to do just that. Not for his own benefit, but for the teammates that have helped him throughout his career, which has included a bevy of quarterback battles.

“I’m not here for personal accolades or for stats. I’m here to do whatever I can to help

especially important in this game as the offense will still be adjusting to a new quarterback under center.

Establishing the running game will be important. But neither Diggs nor Estime have been overly impressive.

Tyree has certainly done enough to have earned the feature back role. If Freeman hopes to get his first win Saturday, he should make sure the ball is in Tyree’s hands early and often.

Limit the Bears’ Passing Attack Irish fans might be familiar with Golden Bears’ quarterback Jack Plummer, who transferred from Purdue this offseason. Notre Dame handled the Boilermakers 27-13 at home last year. But Plummer played well. Although he didn’t put up spectacular numbers, Plummer completed a solid 25 of 36 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown.

Plummer has looked solid so far inhisnewuniform.Hethrewfor278 yards in Cal’s victory over UNLV last week, and 268 yards and three touchdowns the week prior against UC Davis. As a team, the Bears have rushed for just 119.5 yards per game against mediocre competition. So the Irish would do well to limit Plummer and force the Bears to beat them on the ground.

This might be a favorable matchup for Notre Dame, as the Irish secondary has been a bright spot so far this year. Against Ohio State, they held star quarterback C.J. Stroud, who many predicted to be a Heisman contender, to 223 yards through the air. For reference, Stroud averaged nearly 370 yards

my team win. I think the guys know that. Right now, I play for [Jarret Patterson], for Bo Bauer, for AD [Avery Davis], for guys like that,” Pyne said, name-dropping a few Irish veterans in their final year on the team. “I’m playing for all those guys on the team that have taken me in since I got here.”

That preparation starts in practice, as it has for three years for Pyne. And he’s not letting anything get to his head, and he’s taking it day by day.

“I’m not thinking longterm. The opportunity I see is after this I’m going to go watch film. It’s easy to fall into that trap of letting this get to my head, but the opportunity I have, from where I’m standing, is being able to… come back tomorrow and have a great practice… taking it practice by practice, rep by rep, as hard as I can and with as much focus as I can.”

Pyne’s in a relatively unique position. Frequently, a four-star recruit who lost

per game in 2021. Meanwhile, the Irish held the Thundering Herd to under 150 yards passing last week.

If they can continue this trend on Saturday, Notre Dame will put themselves in a good position to walk away with the victory.

Win the turnover battle This one’s pretty simple. One of the main reasons why Notre Dame was competitive against Ohio State was because they took care of the football. Against Marshall, sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner tossed two interceptions, including a late pick-six which seemed to kill any energy that was left in Notre Dame Stadium. To make matters worse, junior quarterback Drew Pyne came in and immediately threw an interception of his own.

Notre Dame hasn’t been getting any extra possessions on the defensive side, either.

According to Pete Sampson of The Athletic, Notre Dame is one of just eight teams that has yet to force a turnover.

A year ago, the Irish finished top-20 in the nation with a turnover margin of plus-9.

It’s not a promising trend, and it’s one the Irish will likely have to reverse if they hope to get their first win of the year.

The Golden Bears have turned the ball over three times this year but have also forced three turnovers on defense. Notre Dame must be able to take care of the football on offense and force Plummer into mistakes.

Contact Liam Coolican at lcoolica@nd.edu

consecutive quarterback battles (last year to Coan, this year to Buchner) would hardly hesitate before entering the transfer portal. By 247 sports, Pyne was the eighth-ranked prostyle quarterback in the class of 2020. He received interest from the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and other premier programs.

But Pyne has first and foremost always been all in on Notre Dame. Last year, after the Cincinnati game, he discussed his frequent trips to the Basilica, or his walks around campus that he used to calm himself and reflect after practices and games. Pyne has always bled blue and gold. Now he gets a chance to do so on the field.

“It’s an honor to be able to help this team win,” he said “I’m focused on one thing and that’s preparing as hard as I can for Cal and practicing to be able to have success this week.”

Contact Aidan Thomas at athomas@nd.edu

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The observer | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 | ndsmcobserver.com

Quarterback feature

Rep by rep: It’s Pyne’s time to lead Irish team to victory

By AIDAN THOMAS Sports Editor

MAX PETROSKY | The Observer

Junior quarterback Drew Pyne passes the football during the home game against Marshall in an attempt to spark an Irish comeback. Eyes now turn to Pyne after quarterback Tyler Buchner announced an injury.

The first time Irish fans saw Drew Pyne take the field for the blue and gold, it was at the tail end of a 52-0 blowout win over South Florida. Not exactly the most memorable moment. However, the second time Pyne saw the field with the Irish tells you everything you need to know about Notre Dame’s new starting quarterback.

On Jan. 1, 2021, Notre Dame was facing Alabama in the College Football Playoff. When Ian Book briefly left the field for injury, Pyne was thrust into the action. A true freshman at the time, Pyne entered for two plays, completing his only pass attempt for seven yards. It was hardly a groundbreaking play, nor was it an extended performance. But with no warning, playing in the Rose Bowl against Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, Pyne came in cold off the bench to quarterback the Irish offense.

“My mindset has never

changed since the moment I got here,” Pyne said on Tuesday. “I will always be prepared and as ready as possible for any point that I need to help the team.”

That mindset has been evident throughout Pyne’s career at Notre Dame. Last year, he appeared in two games. First, he replaced an injured Jack Coan against Wisconsin, with the Irish trailing 13-10. He completed six of eight passes, including his first career touchdown toss. That score pushed the Irish lead to 24-13.

A week later, Pyne performed admirably in attempting to rally Notre Dame from a 17-0 deficit against Cincinnati. He got the Irish within four points despite being forced into a one-dimensional offense that threw the ball 22 times in the second half.

Last weekend, Pyne entered in relief of an injured quarterback once more, replacing sophomore Tyler Buchner.

This time, Pyne did struggle, see PYNE PAGE 3

MAGGIE KLAERS | The Observer