THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING NOTRE DAME, SAINT MARY’S AND HOLY CROSS ESTABLISHED 1966
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 | VOL. LXI, NO. 10
NDSMCOBSERVER.COM
Rector sues anonymous parties for defamation By Nick Augustini and Jack Johnson Legal Correspondents
Editor’s note: This article references accounts of sexual misconduct whose authorship has not been identified by The Observer or Share Your Story, the Instagram page where accounts originated. References to allegations are not intended to be construed as evidence of their accuracy or credibility. Reporting by The Observer is included as an exhibit in legal filings referenced in this article.
Notre Dame rector Elizabeth Greenop filed a formal complaint alleging defamation and related torts against anonymous defendants in St. Joseph County Superior Court on Aug. 18. Greenop, who served as rector of McGlinn Hall since August 2024, was placed on paid administrative leave by the University on June 29 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct posted anonymously to Instagram account Share Your Story. The initial complaint
AIM receives AI grant for farmers By Emily Barlett Reporter
The Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale, an international initiative partnered with Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, recently received a $10 million donation to provide AI-powered weather services for small-scale farmers from East Africa and South and Southeast Asia. The donation is part of a $60 million initiative by the OpenAI Foundation to fund AI forecasting for 100 million farmers over a three-year period. The rest of the funds were split among similar programs at the University of California, Berkeley and University of Chicago, along with nonprofit organizations Precision Development, Digital Green and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center. Paul Winters, the executive director of AIM for Scale and professor of sustainable development in the Keough School, runs the initiative while at Notre Dame. “The concern is that while AI will benefit farmers in the United States, Europe, Australia, China and Japan ... it won’t benefit farmers in the Andes and Latin America or Africa,“ he said. AIM for Scale is in charge of securing financial
partnerships for the initiative — connecting innovations by farmers to funding from banks, governments or other donors. “The ultimate goal is durable public infrastructure, including national meteorological and agricultural institutions operating the services, with governments and development banks financing continued delivery,” a presser by the OpenAI Foundation stated on AIM for Scale’s part in the initiative. “We know that farmers respond to information like timely weather forecasts to make decisions about what to plant and when to plant,” Adrienne Uselman, director of communications at AIM for Scale, said. “And when they make these types of decisions based on that information, it tends to have a positive impact on yields and therefore profits. What AI has done is made it easier to get quality forecasts to farmers that are both timely and actionable.” Uselman said that the AI forecasting also makes weathe r information less expensive, as it requires less computing power. “We can democratize weather forecasting and make it m ore accessible to communities that might be impacted by climate change,” she said. see “AIM” on page 4
refutes the veracity of any of the nine submitted accounts. The listed defendants — all currently unknown to the plaintiffs — include any authors of the submissions alleging misconduct, any administrators or operators of the Instagram account where the posts originated and “any other persons who participated in creating, submitting, publishing, or republishing the Defamatory Statements, unless and until discovery establishes that any of them is the same person.”
The lawsuit makes three legal claims: defamation per se, a statement that is harmful on its face without proof of actual harm to reputation; defamation per quod, a statement whose harmful meaning is not clear on its face; and false light invasion of privacy, which involves spreading false statements considered unaceptable by an average person. It also alleges the statements were made with malice, or a deliberate intent to cause harm to Greenop. The 11 attached exhibits in
the initial complaint comprise nine submissions on Share Your Story and subsequent reporting by The Observer on July 1 and National Catholic Register on July 10. The complaint states Greenop sustained damages, including an “injury to her reputation, personal humiliation, mortification, mental anguish and suffering and emotional distress.” It states the former rector incurred damages due to her See “Rector” on page 4
SMC Wellness Committee renews student project grants By Anja Schafer and Giselle Vari Reporters
The Saint Mary’s Wellness Committee, part of the College’s Kristine Anderson Trustey Student Wellness Program, opened the “StudentLed Wellness Grant Proposal” program for the 2026-2027 school year in an effort to garner interest in both physical and mental health. The program will award five $500 grants to students to design a new or improve an existing program or project that promotes the well-being of the
student body. Last year, the same amount was offered, but only one candidate, senior Sofia DahlSantoro, applied and was awarded. No changes have been made since then to the program‘s funding, submission period and eligibility criteria. In an email to The Observer, Dahl-Santoro explained how she utilized the grant money in the creation of a new club on campus — Self-Care SMC. The club aims to help students evaluate and maintain their mental, emotional and physical health through hosting various wellness events and activities.
”So far we’ve spent our funds on giveaways and event supplies! Luckily, we haven’t needed to buy any superfluous equipment thanks to the SEE Hub supplies,” she wrote. Her inspiration for the club was grounded in the disconnect she experienced both in and around Saint Mary’s. “I had seen a lot of issues with disconnects in society and at Saint Mary’s. I had thought about a club focused on bringing students together, and I thought about calling it TogetherSMC see “Wellness” on page 4
Lecture series on saints resumes ahead of gamedays By Dylan Kowalski September not only marks a return to the field for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team but another year of Saturdays with the Saints. The lecture series, sponsored by the McGrath Institute for Church Life, invites students, faculty, alumni and friends of the University of Notre Dame to begin their Saturdays before home games by reflecting on the lives of the saints.
Most lectures completely fill the Andrews Auditorium in the basement of Geddes Hall, with 200 to 300 people in attendance. Theology professor John Cavadini, who began the series in 2010 when he was director of the McGrath Institute, described what he sees as the reasons the lectures draw so many people. “Many of those who give the lectures are faculty known on campus as excellent teachers,” he wrote in a statement to The Observer. Visitors, especially alumni, appreciate the
opportunity to hear from Notre Dame professors, he added. “But more than that, the saints are attractive to people. Their lives are living embodiments of hope. Their lives are close to ours, and they make it seem as though sanctity is a true possibility for any of us,” Cavadini wrote. “The saints are also very welcoming. No matter whether you are an enthusiastic Catholic already, or one with a difficult relationship toward the
SPORTS | PAGE 10
Reporter
see “Lecture” on page 4
NEWS | PAGE 3
OPINION | PAGE 5
SCENE | PAGE 8
SPORTS | PAGE 9
Talich’s journey
Irish over Spartans
In its second annual year, Cavanaugh Hall hosted its festival-themed signature event.
Why our Catholic communities must embrace disability visibility.
A rip-roaring horror film with a mix of scares and laughs for audiences to enjoy.
Former walk-on Luke Talich had a sack, interception and pass breakup against Michigan State.
Notre Dame beat Michigan State 27-10 during a light rainstorm on Saturday night.
CAVchella event
Disability visibility
‘Resident Evil’
DAILY
2 | THE OBSERVER
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
What is the worst job you have had?
Have a question you want answered? Email photo@ndsmcobserver.com
Ben Chitlik
Audrey Deck
“Being a mover.”
“Summer camp counselor.”
sophomore Holy Cross Hall (HCC)
junior Welsh Family Hall
Elinor Hwee
Kyle Lauckner
“Fruit stand at a farmers
“Trails technician.”
freshman Johnson Family Hall market.”
Madeline Shea
junior Dunne Hall
sophomore Holy Cross Hall (SMC) “Hostess.”
SOCIAL MEDIA POLL
PHOTO OF THE DAY | MARIELLA TADDONIO
Have an idea for a poll? Email lmartin01@saintmarys.edu
What are your preferred water drinking habits? I have no preference or drink from the tap I prefer bottled water
23.0%
I prefer filtered water
58.0% 19.0%
THE NEXT FIVE DAYS
CROSSWORD | WILL SHORTZ
Want your event included here? Email news@ndsmcobserver.com
Tuesday Film “Barton Fink” (1991) Follow Fink as he leaves New York’s playwright scene for L.A. 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Browning Cinema
Wednesday Lecture “Eliel Saarinen and His Critics” Explore Finnish archetecture and urban planning. 5:15 - 6:15 p.m. Manfredi Family Auditorium, Room 109
Thursday Take a Paws Join the University’s service dogs to relax from assignments. 3 p.m. McDonald Center for Student Well-Being
Friday Notre Dame men’s soccer vs. Syracuse The Irish take on the Orange at home. 7 p.m. Alumni Stadium
Saturday Film “Wuthering Heights” (2026) A tumultuous romance threatens to tear two families apart. 3 - 5:15 p.m. Browning Cinema
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NEWS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 2026
THE OBSERVER | 3
Cavanaugh Hall hosts second annual CAVchella By Mara Hall Associate News Editor
On Friday, DJ Dougie kicked off CAVchella playing Kesha’s “Die Young” a few minutes after 8 p.m. on Holy Cross Hill. CAVchella is Cavanaugh Hall’s signature event featuring student music acts in a rave-like atmosphere. This was the residence hall’s second year hosting the event, after replacing its previous signature event, Cavaret. The event featured two DJs followed by two bands, before closing with another DJ. When DJ Dougie started, no people were present, but by 8:40 p.m., around 20 people were on site. DJ Dougie declined to comment. For the second set, senior Nate Hoody took over DJing with a seamless no-break transition from DJ Dougie. He described his style as house music with 2010s pop music blended in, with his set including “Pull Up” by Collect 200 and “Hot N Cold” by Katy Perry. The event drew people from across generations. Mike Hoody Jr., class of 1996 and Hoody’s father, said, “We’re having a great time,” noting he was in attendance with his parents, because his son was DJing and a family friend’s daughter was
a Cavanaugh resident. During the set, freshman Sarah Kung said, “I think it is really fun. I think the music is amazing. I wish people started jumping up and down more though.” The crowd picked up for the bands, swelling to over 50 people. Shoelace was the first of the two bands. For their covers of “Rein Me In” by artists Sam Fender and Olivia Dean and “Kilby Girl” by The Backseat Lovers, they invited people to sing along. Charles Scott, the rhythm and bass guitarist for Shoelace, said, “I think this is one of our best sets we’ve played out so far. The energy was there from everybody. I loved it.” Marquette Ave. took the stage after a brief transitional period. The whole band was repping the CAVchella T-shirts being sold for $18. Between songs, a group of men at the front of the crowd repeatedly chanted support for Sorin Hall, including chanting “Sorin loves Sorin” with clapping. At the request of the crowd, lead singer senior Caroline Kwon said into the microphone, “Shout out Sorin. Shout out Sorin.” In an interview, Kwon said, “We do not have a connection to Sorin Hall, but they seriously brought the energy.
That was awesome. I couldn’t help but give them a shout out. They asked for it, and I had to give it to them.” After their final planned song, the crowd began chanting, “One more song.” The band obliged and sang a cover of “Linger” by The Cranberries. Regarding being encored, Kwon said, “That was awesome. I was not expecting that at all, and I felt so bad because I needed the lyrics on my phone, but it was just so much fun.” Following Marquette Ave., hall president junior Brigid McKinley announced to the crowd, “We’re out of the dirty part, but we still have sodas back there if you are thirsty.” Individual drink coupons were $2 apiece and wristbands for entry were $7. Organizers also offered a $10 package featuring a wristband and two drink tickets. In an interview with The Observer, DJ Noah Boyd, the final performer of the night, described his style as a lot of house music, but noted that he tries to mix in party and pop songs. “For anyone that stayed till the end, it was great to come out here and play for people,” Boyd said in an interview with The Observer. Around 10 people remained until the end. McKinley announced after
Boyd’s set that those remaining could buy shirts for $10. Artists were not paid for their participation. Boyd said, “Normally I don’t take free gigs. I’ve never done a charity event before, so when they asked me, it felt good.” The event and the marketing events which preceded it raised money for St. Margaret’s House — a day center serving women and children. McKinley noted members of Cavanaugh Hall recently started volunteering monthly there. In an email to The Observer following the event, McKinley stated that Cavanaugh Hall rector Marlyn Batista said final attendance and fundraising counts are not yet available due to credit card processing times. Freshman Anna Walsh said, “I feel like we don’t have that many on-campus things to do over the weekend that much, so as soon as we heard of something going on and then it benefits a good cause, we were like ‘Oh, of course we have to go,’ and it’s like a mini concert, so it is really fun.” Last year, CAVchella occurred on North Quad under a tent. According to junior Olivia Purcell, the event moved to Holy Cross Hill this year since it offered an outdoorsy atmosphere and removed the tent costs.
Ahead of the event, Cavanaugh posted an Instagram reel detailing how to get to the site. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have known where it was if it wasn’t for that Instagram post from Cavanaugh,” Kung said, adding, “It is perfect weather for this, so I am really glad it is outside.” In an interview with The Observer toward the end of the event, McKinley described the location choice as “phenomenal.” Ahead of the event, organizers and bands faced some changes to the setlist. In an interview with The Observer, sophomore Jackson Powell, a Shoelace lead singer, said, “We actually got the invitation Wednesday because a different band dropped out. We were very thankful for the invitation,” noting they had wanted to play at the event. McKinley explained that while the lineup published to Instagram was the final lineup that performed, another band, which she declined to name, dropped out at the last minute after some of their members were out of town. Batista declined to comment at the event, directing requests for comment to McKinley. Contact Mara Hall at mhall27@nd.edu
Law professors review former SCOTUS cases By Gracie Shea Reporter
In honor of Constitution Day, the University of Notre Dame‘s Eck Hall of Law hosted a 2025-2026 Supreme Court review on Friday afternoon. Speakers included law professor and director of the Program on Church, State & Society Richard Garnett and law professor Derek Muller. Garnett opened the lecture with tips essential to understanding the Supreme Court’s cases. The first recommendation was to remember that the Supreme Court decides legal questions, not party issues. “It’s best to think about what was the question presented in the case and how do the justices decide that question,” Garnett said. He also stated that the court’s main job went far beyond deciding cases and that they have rejected more cases than they accepted. “So just remember, when the Supreme Court decides not to take a case, they really haven’t taken the case. It doesn’t tell you whether what happened in the case
below was right or wrong,” he continued. He went on to clarify the concept of a “shadow docket,” which happens when the Supreme Court must make a decision swiftly. While the media frames this as a “shadow y” operation, Garnett clarifies the process isn’t new, and all information regarding this emergency docket is available to the public. “When I was a law clerk a million years ago, most of the interim cases had to do with the death penalty. Most of them don’t have to do with the death penalty anymore because it’s not part of capital punishment deals,” he said. “But don’t be thrown off by reports that there’s something shadow y or secret happening in these cases. It’s a pattern.” Garnett’s final tip for understanding the Supreme Court was to clarify the difference between the “May court” and the “June court.” While the May court contains more of the routine, often unanimous cases, the June court contains the “divisive and contentious cases.” He goes on to remind the audience that although the media
make it seem as though some justices never agree, even the most dissenting justice aligns with the majority most of the time. When asked about notable cases from the past year, Muller highlighted Louisiana v. Callais and National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Committee, which looked at voting rights and party regulations. Louisiana v. Callais specifically addressed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and in a 6-3 decision on April 29, 2026, determined that states must consider factors other than race when determining congressional districts. “I think it’s going to shift how we think about a lot of congressional districts,” Muller said. The 6-3 ruling in June for NRSC v. FEC determined that public parties should be allowed to coordinate funds while maintaining individual contribution limitations. “The coordination between the party and its members is really important,” Muller stated. In terms of how it will impact future elections,
Muller predicted it will benefit both parties’ abilities to fundraise. The notable cases discussed by Garnett were Chiles v. Salazar and Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety. Chiles v. Salazar was a case addressing viewpointbased freedom of speech in Colorado, where the state attempted to restrict talk therapy among consenting clients regarding gender identity. The state claimed it was a restriction of conduct or professional speech, but the Supreme Court argued that this label didn’t exempt it from viewpoint discrimination. “This Supreme Court, across the board, all of the justices, is very speech-protective in a general matter, and this is consistent with those cases,” Garnett said. Landor v. Louisiana Department of Corrections and Public Safety contained what many, including Garnett himself, assumed to be a “clear violation of statutory religious freedom rights.” In this case, a Rastafarian inmate had his head forcibly shaved by prison guards
despite a court order saying this would not be prohibited for religious reasons. The federal government had previously given money to the state of Louisiana to protect religious freedom in the prison system. However, as Garnett points out, “Landor is not suing the state; he’s suing the prison guard and this bribery regulation doesn’t work that way.” The court ruled in Louisiana’s favor. Addressing the cases to watch in this upcoming term, Garnett highlighted St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case addressing universal preschool funding in Colorado and Jouppi v. Alaska, a case focusing on excessive fines. Muller identified Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota, a case regarding requirements for voter ID or proof of citizenship and Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County, which addresses Boulder’s ability to sue polluters, as being interesting cases within the next couple of months. Contact Gracie Shea at gshea@nd.edu
NEWS
4 | THE OBSERVER
Rector
Continued from page 1 loss of University-provided housing, future employment and earnings. In a sworn affidavit to the court on Sept. 9, Greenop stated she has not been arrested or charged with any crime and refuted claims made in one of the submitted accounts that she had “f led the state,” stating she remained in Indiana
Wellness
Continued from page 1 Then when I saw the wellness grant, I realized a great way to do that would be by fostering an equitable environment for student care and wellness,” DahlSantoro added. Sarah Granger, the director of the Health and Counseling Center and co-chair of the Wellness Committee, announced the opportunity via email on Sept. 1. The email included eligibility requirements, guidelines for the program and an application. In an interview with The Observer, she described what the committee is seeking from applicants. “What we were looking for is to get more of our students‘ ideas and interests around what they think might promote wellness on campus, whether it‘s an activity, a club, a new type of exercise class or something
Lectures
Continued from page 1 Church, or just someone inquiring into the faith, the saints will receive you and help you go farther.” The McGrath Institute’s current director, Joseph Capizzi, said that the series contributes to the McGrath Institute’s mission to “form faithful Catholic leaders for service to the Church and the world.” “The saints are icons of leadership. They reach us first through the imagination, which is where most of us are actually persuaded of anything, and they show us real holiness,” he wrote in a statement to The Observer. “A bishop and a beggar, a queen and a ragpicker. All of them recognizably leading, none of them leading the same way.” Given the scope of the audience, Capizzi finds that “forming leaders for the Church and the world means forming all people, not merely students, and Saturdays with the Saints is a rare opportunity to
AIM
Continued from page 1 AI weather models could increase accessibility to forecasting for countries that previously
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
The Observer retracts article
and cooperated with the University’s investigation. “I did not sexually assault, sexually touch, or engage in any nonconsensual or sexual contact with any resident, student, or other person as described in the submissions,” Greenop stated in the affidavit. The complaint requested the court issue subpoenas for “the operator(s) of the Account and to Meta Platforms, Inc., to ascertain the true identities of the Doe Defendants,”
and a motion to expedite the process of discovery for the purposes of identifying defendants was made on Sept. 9. Greenop is represented by Michael Smyth and Andrew Jones of the Jones Law Office LLC in South Bend, Indiana. An in-person hearing on the matter of issuing subpoenas is scheduled for Nov. 4. Contact Nick Augustini at naugusti@nd.edu and Jack Johnson at jjohns77@nd.edu
Editor’s note: On Friday, The Observer erroneously published that 136 undergraduate residents had received a room assignment in Keenan Hall for the fall 2026 semester, representing 54% of the hall’s approximate
that we as staff might not associate with what the students are thinking,” Granger said. Grant proposals must focus on one of five pillars of wellness: mental, physical, spiritual, financial and emotional wellness. Proposals cannot be linked to classes or academic requirements. “We do say that it can‘t be linked to a senior project or a grad project. It can‘t be linked to a class activity, but it could be linked to a club,” Granger said. The Kristine Anderson Trustey Student Wellness Program that developed the grant is named after alumna Kristine Anderson ‘86, who also funded the development of the Trustey Trail. “Student wellness is very important to Anderson, so she has donated money, which we have utilized in the committee to put on like the fall health fair, the spring health fair and then some other activities,” Granger said.
Junior Kate Bailey, co-president of Wellness Committee, promoted the grant for students to look into applying. “I think the grant honestly is an amazing opportunity, allowing students to get a voice in student wellness on campus,” Bailey said. “It basically provides the funding for students that want to start clubs, for students that want to have a speaker come in or for students that want to explore different wellness options on campus to get that opportunity and have the funding in order to achieve that goal.” In offering advice to this year’s applicants, Granger emphasizes the importance of communication throughout the application process. “Don’t get overwhelmed by the process. We tried to make it pretty easy. It does give good experience if you‘re looking to move into this type of work
post-graduation,” Granger said. “If there are questions that come out, reach out to us. We‘ll help you through the process.” The grant will be awarded to five different students or groups, with the recipients revealed on Oct. 16. Dahl-Santoro emphasized the lasting impact of the grant and what limits students typically encounter in starting up their own organizations. “This grant is the only reason we are able to have this club! Otherwise, students have to rely on their own personal budgets, schedule constraints, and the Health and Counseling Center,” she wrote. “With all of these factors, it becomes very difficult for students to find the resources they need to take time for personal care. Now, in the community of other students, they can take that time for working on themselves
in a more accessible way.” For Bailey, the grant is not only an opportunity to fund individual ideas, but also a way for students to become more aware of the resources available to them and to create new opportunities for their peers. “I honestly think it‘s just important to engage with because there‘s so many of us that are scared to ask for help and just getting to learn to see all the opportunities and resources we have on campus,” she shared. ”And just like the opportunity to help others too, especially with this grant, like finding a club, for example, that can help so many other people [and] bring people together.” Applications are open until Oct. 1.
reach all of those people at the same time.” Saturdays with the Saints has also inspired the McGrath Institute’s Sullivan Undergraduate Saints Fellowship, where, according to Capizzi, “The logic of the lecture series gets carried all the way through.” As part of the program, fellows take a one-credit course in the spring, studying the prayer and charity of particular saints. In addition, they go on an international pilgrimage. At the end of the spring semester, first-year fellows will travel to France, Poland and Spain. The goal of the pilgrimage is to immerse fellows in the cultures and background of the saints themselves. Upon returning to campus, each fellow leads a group of other undergraduate students in prayer and service for a full academic year. To tie each lecture together across a season, Saturdays with the Saints has a theme every year, with 2026
being “Saints of the Poor.” Organizers drew inspiration for the theme from Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” along with the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s death. Beyond these two factors, Capizzi thinks this theme is fitting, regardless of time and place. “In one sense it is always the right theme. Service of the poor is conformity to Christ. God makes a preferential option for the poor, and in the Incarnate Word divinity becomes poor for our sake,” Capizzi wrote. “The saints who served the poor were close to God’s own heart because they hastened toward the very people God loves with a particular tenderness.” While Saturdays with the Saints is primarily a lecture, Notre Dame students have an opportunity to take it as a one-credit course, with around 25 enrolling every year. Cavadini hopes students will gain “something to help them advance on the path to personal
holiness and maybe a new friend, in the person of one of the saints.” Sophomore Mark Mikhail, a biology and theology major, was drawn to enroll in the class by the spiritual opportunity it offered. The first lecture, given by associate professor of historical and systematic theology Joshua Benson from The Catholic University of America, was on St. Francis of Assisi. “The one thing that I liked about the lecture specifically was [Benson] was able to give us some of the writings of St. Francis of Assisi, which was really great,” Mikhail said. “Part of what is exciting about the class is that there’s a lot of visiting professors that give the lecture, so getting to know about them and knowing the modern theology work out there is wonderful,” he added. This past weekend’s lecture centered on Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, founder of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus. An immigrant from Italy who came to minister to poor Italian Catholics in large cities like New York and Chicago, Cabrini was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Professor Kathleen Sprows Cummings, director of Notre Dame’s Global Catholic Research Initiative, delivered the lecture on Cabrini. Cummings serves on the board of directors of the National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini in Chicago and was previously board chair. The Saturdays with the Saints series will continue on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 10:30 a.m. before the Fighting Irish host Stanford University. Notre Dame theology professor Blake Leyerle will present on St. John Chrysostom, under the title, “The Urban Poor and Incarnate Christ: St. John Chrysostom’s Message to His Listeners.”
relied on weather information from outside sources. Forecasts can now be more localized and run on laptops, rather than requiring larger technological devices.
Winters said AIM for Scale is working with the University of Chicago to explore how existing models can be adapted to specific countries. Additionally, they are working with organizations
such as Precision Development to ensure accurate weather information reaches farmers in a timely manner. “If we can’t help farmers in Ethiopia and make their lives
better, and that means higher productivity and higher profits, then we failed,” he said.
By Observer News Staff
capacity via Residential Life. The correct figure for undergraduate residents is 184 — 74% of total capacity. The occupancy of the hall was 228 in fall 2023, 226 in fall 2024 and 195 in fall 2025. The original article has been retracted.
Contact Anja Schafer at aschafer01@saintmarys.edu and Giselle Vari at gvari01@saintmarys.edu
Contact Dylan Kowalski at dkowals2@nd.edu
Contact Emily Barlett at ebarlett@nd.edu
OPINION
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
THE OBSERVER | 5
ND Democrats: what is worth fighting for? By College Democrats Columnist
What is worth fighting for. A play on the quintessentially Notre Dame question — What would you fight for? The prompt seems virtually inescapable at this school. We see it played at every home football game; its messaging permeates throughout the curricula. I’ll concede, seeing those five words so often has somewhat desensitized me to what exactly the question posits. What do I fight for? What gets me up in the morning? I was recently asked that question while hanging out in LaFun, and embarrassingly, I initially had no answer. But I took just a moment to think. I thought about myself, my ambitions, my family. I thought about this country. And then, like an epiphany of the most cliche movie, I found my response: This year marks my mother’s 20th anniversary of living in the United States, coinciding with our 250th anniversary. She came from a large, poor family in a remote Cameroonian village, where she had to hop from home to home in order to alleviate some of her mother’s burdens. Unfortunately, abuse and neglect shaped her childhood. Even when she came to Maryland in 2006 as the wife of a refugee, it seemed like her suffering followed. Just over a year after her immigration, she found herself a single mother working two part-time jobs while trying to get
LIAM FLYNN | The Observer
her degree. It took an unfathomable amount of work, more than I could ever conceptualize, but today, my mother, Marcelline Ndonfack Enyeji, is a nurse practitioner specializing in mental health and in the process of getting her doctorate. I once asked my mom what she loves about America, and she simply told me, “In America, you can become anything you want.” Liberty, equality, self-governance
and justice: the American ideals. It is through them that we may become anything we want. It is from them that we as a nation derive our purpose. I do not think that our purpose lies in a senseless war with Iran, one that has killed over 7,300 people, including a number of Americans. I do not think that our purpose lies in aiming to deport “one million” immigrants regardless of legal status and irrespective of numerous United States
citizens who have been killed by ICE. I do not think that our purpose lies in the deliberate rejection of the US Constitution, our most authoritative document. It is an unfortunate truth that the actions of this country are no longer derivative of our ideals but rather the interest of a president who has warped what it means to be an American. The “American” is neither a race nor a political ideology nor even a state of being. It is unlike any national identity
in the world. Republican President Ronald Reagan once quoted a letter that said: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.” I believe he was correct. People, people like my mother, choose the United States for a reason. They choose the United States because of the unique ideals this country dedicates itself to upholding. Right now, this nation has failed in upholding those ideals, but that does not mean they are gone forever. Rather, they are waiting for us — for us to decide that this country is worth fighting for. Beautifully, this country has a built-in mechanism for us to fight for what we believe in — voting. We can fight with our vote, and we do so by getting, perhaps, the Ken Paxtons of this country out of office and opening ourselves to the James Talaricos of the world. We need to show up and show the nation that we care about her. And I will fight for this nation to my last breath because I know that she can and will be better than what we see today. The sun has not set upon the United States of America. Sophia Lekeufack Political director College Democrats of Notre Dame
It’s okay to not know what you’re doing in life By Christopher Saenz Columnist
There is a strange expectation that somewhere between the ages of 18 and 22, we are supposed to figure out what we are going to do with the rest of our lives. Choose a major. Pick a career. Find an internship. Build a resume. Decide where you want to live. Figure out who you want to be. And while you are doing all of that, look around and notice all the people who seem to be doing it better than you. Someone already has an internship lined up. Someone else knows exactly what graduate school they want to attend. Another person seems to have discovered their calling at 19. Someone is getting engaged. Someone got the job. Someone has the grades, the connections or the plan that you wish you had. There is a phrase I have heard many times: Comparison is the thief of joy. I was reminded of that at Mass this Sunday. In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus tells the story of a landowner who goes out
throughout the day looking for people to work in his vineyard. Some begin early in the morning. Others arrive later. Some do not start until nearly the end of the workday. When it comes time to be paid, the landowner gives the workers who arrived late the same daily wage as those who had been working since morning. The workers who started first are frustrated. They look at what someone else received and suddenly what they themselves were given no longer seems good enough. I think there is something incredibly human about that reaction. It is hard to appreciate your own life when you are constantly measuring it against someone else’s. And maybe that is especially true in college. God does not give everyone the same gifts, the same opportunities or even the same timeline. Some people discover what they are called to do very early. Others take a much longer road to get there. One person’s gifts may be obvious while another person’s may take years to recognize. The problem begins when
we start assuming that someone else’s timeline is the standard by which ours should be measured. I certainly did not have everything figured out at 18 or 21. I went back to school in my late 20s. Years later, I am still in school, still learning and still trying to understand exactly where life is taking me. Somewhere along that road, questions about faith, service and vocation became much more important to me, and today, I am discerning a future path toward the permanent diaconate. That certainly wasn’t something I had mapped out when I was 20. And I think that’s the point. Your life does not have to unfold according to the schedule you imagined when you were younger — or according to the schedule of the person sitting next to you. That doesn’t mean you should wander through life without direction. You should work hard. You should make plans. You should ask questions and seek advice from people you trust. But plans are different from certainty. You are allowed to
change your mind. You are allowed to discover that the career you thought you wanted isn’t actually for you. You are allowed to realize that someone else’s definition of success doesn’t have to become yours. And most importantly, you are allowed to not know yet. There is also no shortage of people willing to tell you what you should do. Parents, professors, friends, coaches, mentors and even strangers on the internet will happily offer advice. Some of it will be excellent. Some of it won’t be. Part of growing up is learning the difference. When someone gives you advice, ask yourself a few questions. Does this person actually know me? Do they understand what matters to me? Have they lived through something similar? Are they trying to help me become the person I am supposed to be, or simply the person they think I should be? Listen to people whose lives give their words credibility. But remember that even good advice is still advice. Eventually, you have to make the decision.
Which brings me to this column. Going forward, I want to try something a little different. I want this to become a place where members of the Notre Dame community can send questions about the things they are trying to figure out. College. Careers. Relationships. Family. Faith. Failure. Success. Uncertainty. Or maybe something completely different. I am not claiming to have all the answers. If anything, my own life has taught me how much we continue to figure out as we go. But sometimes it helps to ask someone who has traveled a little farther down the road. So send me your questions at csaenz@nd.edu. Big questions. Small questions. Serious questions. Strange questions. Anything, anytime. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Write to Christopher Saenz at csaenz@nd.edu
OPINION
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
When peace leaves the room By Francisco De la Cuadra Mancilla Columnist
Last week I was at dinner in the home of a Notre Dame trustee when I found myself talking to a U.S. Marine. He is now a junior at Notre Dame, studying philosophy before he returns to the Marines. In 2021, he had served as a sniper during the evacuation of Kabul, so naturally that is where our conversation went. I had followed the evacuation the way most people did: through headlines, photographs, videos of crowds pressed against the airport gates, planes lifting off. Hearing him describe it made those images feel different. For him, the decisions made in Washington were never abstract policy. They were people standing in front of him, streets he had to move through, orders he had to follow, choices made in seconds that could not be undone. I keep returning to that conversation because we tend to talk
about peace from a distance. We talk about treaties, ceasefires, resolutions and we tend to think peace arrives the moment leaders shake hands and sign something. But a signature is only a beginning. An agreement has to leave the room where it was written and become something people can live. That is why this week’s United Nations General Assembly matters. Nearly 130 heads of state and government are gathering in New York to discuss war, development, climate, technology and cooperation, under a theme that says a great deal about where the institution finds itself: “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.” This year’s gathering also carries an added question. António Guterres’ second term is ending, and six candidates now hope to become the 10th secretary-general. There have been public dialogues, a global town hall, more
attention than usual on who gets the job. But I am less interested in who wins the position than in what we are actually asking that person to lead. The United Nations cannot make peace on its own, and no secretary-general can end a war with a speech. Peace depends on governments willing to negotiate, institutions able to function and agreements that outlast the room where they were signed. A ceasefire can stop the shooting. What comes after depends on whether people trust their institutions, whether displaced families can go home, whether governments can hold enough stability to let people rebuild. We rarely think about any of that when we read the word “peace” in a headline. War photographs well. It has images, front lines, clear moments. Peace does not. It is what happens in the years after the cameras and the diplomats have moved on to the next crisis, when the people who stayed
behind have to make their own institutions work. That task keeps getting harder because power itself is shifting. Governments still matter, but they now share the stage with technology companies, armed groups and individuals who can reach across the world in seconds. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how information spreads. Conflicts that once stayed local now become global arguments within minutes. Institutions built after the Second World War are being asked to manage a world they were never designed for. None of that makes those institutions less necessary. If anything, it makes their ability to adapt more urgent; diplomacy gives countries a way to talk before violence becomes the only option left, but that only works if the institutions behind it can turn promises into something real. I keep coming back to that dinner because the Marine reminded me of something simple:
there is always someone standing on the other side of a decision made far away. Most of us face international politics through classrooms, newspapers and screens. For him, the evacuation of Kabul was something he lived and carried out, not something he read about the next morning. This week, leaders will gather in New York and talk about peace again. Most of them will never meet the people who will live with what gets decided. That distance does not make it matter less. It makes it matter more. What happens in that room does not stay in that room. It moves through governments and institutions until it eventually reaches someone who never had a seat at the table. Peace can be negotiated in New York. Its success will be decided somewhere else entirely. Write to Francisco De la Cuadra Mancilla at fdelacua@nd.edu
The Church is improving disability visibility By Isabelle Fernandez Columnist
On Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, Pope Leo welcomed participants of the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games. According to a report by Vatican News, he imparted an apostolic blessing upon them as well as “thanked them for their presence” and “for the genuine joy they bring” to a world in need of their examples. To me, having been raised within the Catholic Church alongside Luke, my brother who has Down syndrome, the event signified a broader shift occurring within the Church: We are recognizing the value of including differently-abled individuals and intentionally working to make our faith communities welcoming spaces for them. For instance, EWTN News reported earlier this week on a group of parents who began All Are Welcome Ministries, which helps to offer sensory-friendly masses, provide community for families of children who have disabilities and foster awareness and understanding among parishioners by creating space for those who have disabilities to participate within the Church. One of the group’s founders reflected, saying “Iʼve watched parishioners grow in understanding, volunteers embrace these families with incredible love, and parents finally take a deep breath because they know they donʼt have to apologize for their child simply being who God created them to be,” EWTN reported. Even in my own parish, within the last two years, a Special Religious Education program began and has grown to include around 20 families. As a result, Luke, alongside several of his classmates, received
Confirmation. While our parish priests have always had a wonderful relationship with our family, and our parish as a whole has provided ample support for individuals who have disabilities, including my brother, I have witnessed people become extremely uncomfortable upon encountering a person who has Down syndrome. For one reason or another, not usually due to unkindness so much as a lack of exposure, difference affects a sense of unease. And for all the staring and discomfort, they’ll probably still end up missing the moments when Luke’s at his best. They won’t see when he sits down
next to an older parishioner who was sitting alone to ask their name or compliments my mom’s dress or runs down a long list of people we should pray for at bedtime because the label ‘disabled’ often creates a glare which seems to eclipse all else in the eyes of those who see difference as unsettling. Ultimately, efforts to promote disability visibility through greater inclusion within Catholic communities do not only stand to benefit individuals who have disabilities and those close to them. Rather, the whole of our parishes need the joyful witness of people who are differently-abled just as much as
those individuals need us. Embracing people who have disabilities affords Catholics the opportunity to reflect in a powerful way on what it means to see every single person as inherently fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Surely, many of us are familiar with this Bible verse, but do we then find ourselves struggling to accept that God could intentionally and lovingly make someone who has an intellectual disability? Is it difficult for us to accept that the responsibility might fall on us as members of the Church to support that person in a way that helps them live out the vocation God
intends for them? Furthermore, when a member of the Church lives out their faith in a potentially different, yet nonetheless rich and beautiful way, we are confronted with the oftentimes challenging reminder that holiness is not self-constructed. It is not by having proper, highly specific liturgical preferences or by knowing a certain number of prayers and Church fathers that we become holy. Rather, it is by Christ’s deep love for us and by loving him greatly in return that we become saints. Read the unabridged version of this column at ndsmcobserver.com
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Wednesday, September 23 – 7:30 p.m. Moreau Center for the Arts, O’Laughlin Auditorium Visit saintmarys.edu/events for tickets. Groff and Turner’s visit is part of the Francis A. McAnaney Humanities Lecture, previously known as the Christian Culture Lecture. This lecture series has welcomed remarkable writers, historians, philosophers, and theologians to campus for more than 15 years. The Francis A. McAnaney Humanities Lecture has been endowed by a gift from the Peter B. and Adeline W. Ruffin Foundation. This continues a lecture series revived by Donald and Susan Rice ’61 in 2006 in memory of Bruno P. Schlesinger.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
PHOTO
THE OBSERVER | 7
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State The football team faced Michigan State on Sept. 19, 2026. The Irish won 27-10 during a drizzle. By photo editor Mariella Taddonio and photographer Jonathan Karr
SCENE
8 | THE OBSERVER
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
‘Resident Evil’ is a mean, lean horror rollercoaster By Luke Foley Scene Copyeditor
I invested heavily in Zach Cregger stock following the one-two combo of 2022’s “Barbarian” and 2025’s “Weapons.” Both were thrilling, wildly imaginative films that cemented Cregger as one of my favorite emerging directors in Hollywood. However, I was puzzled when he announced that his next film after “Weapons” would be a film based on the “Resident Evil” video game franchise. After two triumphant original films that earned him massive industry cachet, why would Cregger willingly clock in to the IP factory? Moreover, why the “Resident Evil” franchise of all choices? While the video games are beloved, the film adaptations are notorious for being … well, awful (although a small but loud contingent in the film community views them as auteur masterpieces, they are best ignored). But based on interviews leading up to the film, Cregger clearly had a deep passion for the games and was super enthusiastic about his take on the material, so I remained cautiously hopeful. After seeing the film, I couldn’t be happier with Cregger’s franchise detour, as his “Resident Evil” is a mean, lean horror rollercoaster that never relents. Cregger’s film smartly forgoes all the complex lore and existing characters from the “Resident
LIAM FLYNN | The Observer
Evil” video games and strips the franchise to its bones. The resulting premise is taut but sturdy: Medical carrier Bryan (Austin Abrams) must deliver an antidote to the Raccoon City hospital amidst a deadly zombie outbreak. It really doesn’t get more complex than that, which is to the film’s credit. It stays laser-focused on Bryan’s arduous journey to the hospital, full of gruesome kills and nightmarish imagery. The film fully displays Cregger’s gifts for inspired visuals and situational horror: I don’t want to spoil the specifics of the encounters, but several moments had me laughing in
shock at what Cregger lets rip. The film has a certain meanness to it; our characters get no easy wins, and it has an enjoyably transgressive attitude for a franchise film, culminating in a downer ending that feels like it’s laughing in your face. The film runs on a giddy logic of “And what if x happened next?” to a winning result: a constantly escalating odyssey through madness and gore that never takes its foot off the pedal, leading to a tight 95-minute runtime with no fat. Our protagonist on this wild ride, Bryan, is awesome because he’s just a regular guy. He’s not
a hyper-competent zombie slayer who handles every situation with effortless composure and skill; instead, he barely even knows how to operate a shotgun and constantly freaks out. But his bravery, despite his clumsiness, makes him an endearing hero. He also has a strong emotional arc of overcoming his fear of becoming a father and accepting his girlfriend’s unexpected pregnancy — this is the film’s only real attempt at any deeper subtext, and it lands well: Bryan confronts the worst horrors imaginable and realizes that it’s still worth bringing life into this world. Nevertheless,
I miss the thematic depth and big ideas of Cregger’s previous films, and I can’t help but feel “Resident Evil” is disposable in light of their ambition. Still, the film is a tonal wonder, as Cregger deftly balances both horror and comedy. This success largely stems from Abrams’s incredible performance: He delivers hilarious buffoonery but can still lock in and express genuine horror when needed. The film’s funniest moments come from his off-the-cuff reactions to the increasing absurdity of his situation. However, not all of the film’s humor worked for me: Paul Walter Hauser’s brief character sometimes grated, as his Marvel-esque quips clashed with the more naturalistic comedy throughout the film. But the humor still shines and creates much-appreciated catharsis from the film’s insanity. “Resident Evil” is a thrilling blast of horror-comedy that honors the spirit of the video games without wasting time jangling keys to please diehard fans: In that sense, it’s the platonic ideal of a video game adaptation that studios will hopefully take notes on. I’m also glad Cregger got to have so much fun within a franchise sandbox — here’s to hoping his next original film, “The Flood,” continues his hot streak. Contact Luke Foley at lfoley2@nd.edu
In glory everlasting: The Shirt 2026 By Isabela Garza Sanchez Scene Writer
How do you make your outfit unique if 77,622 people are wearing the exact same shirt? Let’s brainstorm. Cut the neckline and make it cropped? Buy a humongous size and cinch it at the waist? Add green and yellow ribbons to the sleeves? Remove the sleeves altogether, and tie it behind the neck? These were all questions a group of strangers and I asked ourselves at midnight a day before the Rice game in our section’s common room. It’s tradition that the first home football game of the season strips away all outfit decisions but unleashes creative liberty. From custom top-and-skirt combos to no shirt at all (a personal game-day favorite), “The Shirt” becomes a blank canvas for the most creative minds on campus. Where did this tradition originate, though? Let’s go back to the year of Madonna, oversized flannel shirts and Nelson Mandela’s prison release. In the spring of 1990, the Student Union Board needed money for their spring festival, so then-senior Brennan
DIONE QUIAMBAO PAHILAN | The Observer
Harvath had the idea of selling T-shirts. 9,000 sold and $17,000 later, the home-opener against Rice on Sept. 15, 1990 was a sea of cheering fans in green. Thus, a new tradition was born, spanning the next 36 years. Today, we arrive at the 37th shirt designed by The Shirt Committee. Incorporating the school’s primary colors, navy
and gold, the shirt features the classic ring for the first time ever, tying current students and alumni to the University. It reads, “A golden tradition,” accentuating the endurance of Notre Dame’s identity, mission and student life. Bringing the campus’s architecture into the design, the metallic font is inspired by the style of the “In glory everlasting” engraving
above the east door of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Now as for the back, the most recognizable building on campus makes an appearance in this year’s Shirt for the first time in 27 years, with a clouded starry sky taken from the ceiling of the Basilica. The timeless phrase “Love thee Notre Dame” sits at the bottom — and, of course, a row of football
players with the date 1842 on their backs. Linked arm in arm, they face the Virgin Mary atop the Golden Dome — I wonder which player is CJ Carr. Let’s not forget the sleeves. In another reference to the Basilica, the clock reads 18:42, the year Fr. Edward Sorin founded the university. Since it started in 1990, the project has raised more than $13.5 million. Half of the revenue from the Shirt benefits The Shirt Charity, which assists students in covering unexpected medical bills. The remainder is utilized to fund student clubs and organizations, as well as give assistance to students through the Office of Student Enrichment, ensuring that all students, regardless of financial circumstances, get a successful Notre Dame experience. As the single highest-selling annual piece of collegiate athletic apparel in the nation, “The Shirt” has become a quintessential part of the Notre Dame experience, unifying the diverse student body with a newer tradition on top of all the old ones. Contact Isabela Garza Sanchez at igarzasa@nd.edu
SPORTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
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FOOTBALL
Talich’s journey from walk-on to key playmaker By Henry Lytle Associate Sports Editor
When starting safety Brauntae Johnson was injured during Notre Dame’s season opener against Wisconsin, it presented a new opportunity for Irish players to enter the fray in the secondary. Now in his second consecutive start at free safety, senior Luke Talich has been an essential playmaker for Marcus Freeman’s defense, recording an interception and a sack in Notre Dame’s 27-10 win over Michigan State on Saturday. The former walk-on from Wyoming has always had a knack for creating big plays on defense or special teams, but his path to starter hasn’t always been easy. Talich began his collegiate football journey as a 3-star recruit from Cody, Wyoming, in 2023 with only eight offers, mainly from Pac-12 schools and his state flagship Wyoming Cowboys. The small town of Cody in northwest Wyoming houses only 10,377 residents and did not generate substantial national buzz for Talich, but he was still regarded as the top player from Wyoming with elite physicals as a 6-foot-4, 210-pound safety. Talich’s father, Jim Talich, played linebacker at the University of Wyoming, but Luke Talich had dreams for bigger football and even colder winters at a national powerhouse. He threw away all guarantees of a scholarship by accepting an opportunity as a preferred walk-on for Marcus
Freeman’s Irish, betting on himself in the biggest stage. Talich first earned minutes on special teams for coordinator Marty Biagi as a freshman in 2023. His first tackle came against Ohio State on special teams. Then, against Pittsburgh, he blocked a punt that sparked an 82-yard touchdown return from Chris Tyree. Talich suffered a broken collarbone only eight games into the season, yet his efforts earned him a scholarship spot in the spring of 2024. Leading up to the Michigan State game, Freeman said, “I knew he was gifted, but we just didn’t have any scholarship offers. And he earned it. He came in here and he earned it as a freshman, and he just kept getting better.” In his sophomore campaign, Talich played in all 16 games, working his way from a special teams contributor to a key backup on the national championship runner up. His biggest moment of the season came against a disappointing Florida State team, in which the safety recorded his first interception and returned it 79 yards to the house. Talich followed up a solid sophomore season by improving on all facets of his game. As a junior, he totaled 25 tackles on the season, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 pass breakups and 3 interceptions. Meanwhile on special teams, Talich showcased a Swiss Army knife ability, returning a blocked punt for a touchdown against Syracuse and recording a
84-yard receiving touchdown on a fake punt against Stanford. Now in his senior year, Talich earned his first career start at safety against Rice, forcing a fumble in the first quarter and logging a tackle for loss. His play cemented a role as a starter for the Irish ahead of Michigan State. The safety made a massive impact against the Spartans, consistently contributing to winning plays. Talich collected 3 tackles throughout the contest and a
critical sack in the fourth quarter on a safety blitz through the teeth of the Spartan protection. Talich also recorded a critical interception in the first quarter that stopped head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s offense dead in its tracks. He added on a pass deflection in the second quarter that halted a Michigan State drive on 3rd & 13. After his contributions against the Spartans, junior safety and captain Adon Shuler was asked about Talich’s ability to mesh with
the rest of the defense. “It’s testament to all the work he’s put in,” Shuler said. Playing alongside a defensive unit with talent and depth at each turn, Talich has stepped up for the Irish in a major way at the safety position this year. He currently sits at fourth in tackles for the Irish with 11 and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu
MARIELLA TADDONIO | The Observer
Senior safety Luke Talich and junior safety Adon Shuler celebrate after Talich’s drive-ending sack against Michigan State on Sept. 19, 2026. Talich recorded an interception and pass deflection as the Irish won 27-10. ND MEN’S SOCCER
Notre Dame vanquishes No. 1 Stanford By Dan Kilcoyne Sports Reporter
The Irish defeated the Stanford Cardinal 3-1 away on Sunday, Sept. 20. No. 20 Notre Dame men’s soccer has had an impressive start to the season, including a brilliant upset over No. 17 Clemson last week. However, there was no tougher test than a visit to the No. 1 Stanford
Cardinal. The Cardinal were 7-0-1 heading into this matchup, looking unstoppable to that point, but the Irish had form on their side, led by freshman forward Tristan Tropeano after his game-winner against Clemson. The Cardinal looked as good as they have all season to start, applying constant pressure on the Irish defense. Stanford winger Alex
LEO TETI | The Observer
Freshman forward Tristan Tropeano breaks away from a quick defender against Detroit Mercy. He scored one goal in the 4-0 win.
Chow looked promising on the right for the Cardinal, with his incredible passing range on full display, but junior goalkeeper Blake Kelly held strong. Kelly deflected a powerful close-range header from Cardinal forward Jayden Fitzgerald Boes, with an exceptional reflex save. Despite the run of play for Stanford, the Irish struck first with a ruthless counterattack. Senior forward Jack Flanagan drove forward before finding Tropeano in space. He laid it back to Flanagan, whose shot was saved, but it fell right to the feet of senior midfielder Nolan Spicer, and the captain scored his first goal of the season. The Irish were unable to hold on to their lead, however. With halftime looming, Stanford struck back. Midfielder Jack Pymm picked up the ball on the edge of the box and skipped past one man before firing a left-footed finish into the bottom right for his third of the year to send the sides level into the break. There was no better way to start than a goal 45 seconds into the second half as the Irish picked up another fortunate rebound. Junior forward Stevie Dunphy’s volley
was tipped off the post, but senior midfielder Nico Bartlett was waiting and smashed it into the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead. Stanford responded well to going behind, immediately piling on the pressure, as a swift counterattack forced a brilliant double save from Kelly. The keeper first stopped a shot at the near post before leaping across to smother the rebound. As the game approached the 70th minute, a Cardinal goal looked inevitable, and the chance came as graduate midfielder Vlad Walent took Fitzgerald Boes down in the box to win Stanford a penalty. Pymm himself stepped up to take the penalty, but Kelly proved the Irish’s hero in goal yet again as he leapt to his left, tipping Pymm’s effort onto the post and away to crown his exceptional performance. The Irish sat back, inviting Stanford pressure in the hopes of seeing out the narrow lead. As Stanford players bombed forward, another fast break from the Irish sent Tropeano storming down the right. He didn’t take the shot, instead playing a ball across the box, which found a sliding Stanford defender, but the ball fell right back
to Tropeano, who squeezed it in to lead 3-1. Tropeano now leads the Irish with 4 goals on the season. The goal was originally disallowed for offside, but a lengthy video review overturned the decision and sealed the upset for Notre Dame. This victory dealt the Cardinal their first home regular-season loss in two years and gave Notre Dame its first No. 1 upset in 11 years. Kelly truly was the star for the Irish, with a career-best 10 saves on the night, including the magnificent penalty save to maintain the 2-1 lead as well as 3 saves on three straight Stanford shots across a four-minute span. The Irish record their third win ever over the top-ranked team in the country and are the first team to score three against the Cardinal since their 3-1 loss to UCLA on Sept. 28, 2023. The Irish move to 2-0-0 in conference play with two ranked wins and are establishing themselves as true contenders for the rest of the season. The team returns to South Bend on Friday to take on Syracuse, hoping to maintain a perfect ACC record. Contact Dan Kilcoyne at dkilcoyn@nd.edu
SPORTS
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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
FOOTBALL
Laslo: No scheme can account for ND defense By Ethan Laslo Sports Reporter
Through three weeks, Notre Dame’s defense has been unquestionably elite. The expectations were sky high entering the season, and the Irish have delivered. In three games, they have allowed a total of 23 points and pitched their first shutout in nearly four years in week two against Rice. In those three games, the Irish have also posted an incredible 8 turnovers. For context, they had just 3 at this point last season. Granted, the opponents may have been better the first three weeks of 2025, but that doesn’t make Notre Dame’s 2.67 turnovers per game any less impressive. Nor does it diminish its fourth-ranked 7.7 points per game allowed. Statistically, the defense has
been just as good across the board as they have been at creating turnovers. Saturday’s 27-10 victory over Michigan State was the second consecutive week in which the Irish front has held opponents to under 2.0 yards per rush. After holding Rice to 1.9 yards per carry in week two, Notre Dame held Michigan State to just 1.6 yards per carry Saturday night. They have also allowed just 193.0 total yards per game to opposing offenses, which ranks second in the country. On the back end, they rank 14th in passing defense, giving up 134.7 yards per game through the air. However, Notre Dame’s greatest defensive strength this season isn’t something that can be easily schemed around. It’s the physicality. Football is a violent sport by nature. Since its inception, the name
of the game has been out-muscling opponents and wearing them down over the course of four quarters. In 2026, no team in college football has done that on the same level as Notre Dame. In fact, the Irish have allowed just three of their 23 points given up in the second half, a third-quarter field goal in their week-one win over Wisconsin. No single play has embodied the physicality of the Notre Dame defense quite like senior safety Adon Shuler’s forced fumble on the first drive of the game against Rice that set up senior defensive lineman Boubacar Traore’s scoop-and-score touchdown. After the win over Michigan State, Shuler assessed the unit’s performance in three weeks in four simple words. “Fast, physical, violent and disciplined,” the senior captain said. The crucial aspect of physicality
JONATHAN KARR | The Observer
Junior safety Adon Shuler intercepts a pass against Michigan State in Notre Dame’s 27-10 win on Saturday, Sept 19. Shuler also recorded three tackles to help the Irish defense keep the Spartans to only 10 points.
is it doesn’t stem from a specific play call or pep talk. It comes from a certain mindset and preparation that can only be beaten by matching or exceeding it. Every coach knows that, but not every team brings it, especially in the modern era of college football. After his team’s 35-10 domination over Texas on Nov. 15, 2025, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart explained the importance of physicality in the era of NIL and paying players. “When you have the check and no physicality, you end up with nothing,” the two-time national champion head coach said. Smart is a defensively-minded head coach much like Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, who knows as well as anyone the importance of physicality. That’s why physicality has become such a hallmark of his units over the course of his time at the helm in South Bend. Now in his fifth season, Freeman boasts his most physical unit yet, which is also one of the nation’s deepest across the board. It has become one of the biggest factors in the defense’s ability to continuously be as dominant as they have been. “I think the other [reason for our physicality] is how much depth we have,” senior linebacker Drayk Bowen said after the Michigan State game. He had previously highlighted the offense as contributing factor to the defense’s success but felt the team’s depth has also allowed it to flourish in wearing opponents down. “The defensive line’s rotating six, seven, eight guys. For linebackers we have four, five guys that we rotate. You know, defensive backs are rotating in and out.” In any sport, but especially
football, having fresher players leads to better play. For Notre Dame’s defense, depth has helped them remain physically dominant from the first whistle to the last in each game. That depth stems from both returning and new talent. The Irish returned 77% of their defensive production from 2025, tied with the Florida Gators for the most in the country. They also added junior defensive linemen Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu, fifth-year corner DJ McKinney, sophomore corner Jayden Sanders and senior defensive lineman Keon Keeley to the already loaded defense. As a result, the Irish have had plenty of talent to work with so far, most of which have seen quality in-game reps. From top to bottom, Notre Dame has proven it could be the most physical defensive unit in the country. Its depth is a crucial factor, but there’s also a collective mentality that has to contribute as well. That’s where Marcus Freeman’s “leave no doubt” mantra for the 2026 season comes into play. It’s clear the defense is doing everything in their power to live up to that motto. So far, they’ve certainly left no doubt with their play, particularly in the second half. That intensity has already brought them great success. The biggest advantage Notre Dame can have, or any defense in the country for that matter, is great physicality. It’s extremely difficult to beat a physical defense by nickel-anddiming around it. The only way is through. Contact Ethan Laslo at elaslo@nd.edu
ND VOLLEYBALL
Irish volleyball sweep Eastern Illinois By Josie Brown Sports Reporter
Over the weekend, the Irish volleyball team played against Eastern Illinois in a homeand-home series. The Irish took home the victory both at home in Purcell Pavilion and on the road at Gardella Family Court in Charleston, Illinois. They won both matches in straight sets, improving their overall record to 3-6 for the season. The team found its fight this series, shutting out the Panthers completely. Opening up the first set at home, the Irish took a commanding lead of 8-3, assisted by sophomore outside hitter Mae Kordas’ early ace. In this first set, the Irish came out swinging with 9 kills, three of which were attributed to junior middle blocker Anna Bjork. Alongside the kills, another reason why the Irish were so dominant was their scrappy playing style and digs to keep points alive. Eastern Illinois
seemed to answer Irish aggression with its own form, challenging Irish sophomore libero Maya Evens. However, she played calmly, and with 5 digs in this set, it was clear aggression alone would not win the match. Rather, Notre Dame’s grit and precision would. While Eastern Illinois did their best to rally, going on two 4-point runs in the set, the Irish were in firm control. The Irish took the set 25-22, following back-to-back kills and a miscommunicated set on part of the Panthers. The Irish’s aggressive accuracy and long rallies were clearly breaking the Panthers’ spirit. In spite of their decaying mentality, the Panthers tried to hang on. The opening of both the second and third sets saw Eastern Illinois come out on top, taking a commanding lead over the Irish. However, Eastern Illinois stumbled when it could not find an answer for the depth and placement of the
Irish kills. Specifically, freshman middle blocker Isabella Sangha and Kordas made it increasingly difficult for Eastern Illinois to return the ball, let alone control it with the two both obtaining double-digit kills after just the second set. Still, Eastern Illinois kept trying to match shot for shot. This was made impossible because of the impeccable coverage of the Irish blockers. Specifically, the blocks made by Sangha propelled the team’s momentum due to her reach, placement and control of the ball, despite heavy kills being targeted at her. A combination of precise kills and intense block coverage shut down the Panthers 25-19 in the second and third sets, respectively, securing the first sweep of the weekend for Notre Dame. Now on their own turf, the Panthers were looking for revenge on Sunday afternoon. However, the incredible coverage of the Irish persevered, neutralizing the Panther
attack. Bjork even managed to tie her personal high, totaling 10 blocks across the game and obtaining 63% of the team’s total blocks for the entire game. Again in the first set, the Irish managed to put up an impressive 15-5 lead early. As the match progressed, however, the Panthers made the Irish fight for their win. Their previous weak transition balls slowly found rhythm, and they began targeting the deep right corner, which saw some success. The holes in the Eastern Illinois defense, particularly the gap in the middle of the court, still allowed the Irish to secure the first set 25-13 and the second set 25-22. In contrast, the third set posed an interesting challenge. Just as Eastern Illinois began building momentum, the energy of the Irish took a slight dip. With a few offensive errors for the Irish, the Panthers built an early lead. This set saw point-for-point action, with
possession of the ball changing nearly every service. To win this set, it was clear the Irish would have to pull energy from the reserves. This thrilling set culminated in 5 set points with Bjork putting the nail in the coffin with her 10th block of the match. This Irish team is a whole different squad compared to the one that went to South Carolina for three losses last weekend. They have honed their offense and significantly reduced the gaps on blocks resulting in more control and possession of the ball. Looking forward to next week, Irish volleyball faces longtime rival Boston College and Syracuse on the road. Both Friday’s game with the Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and Sunday’s match with the Orange in upstate New York are set to start at 1 p.m. Contact Josie Brown at jbrown68@nd.edu
SPORTS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2026
THE OBSERVER | 11
FOOTBALL
Irish overcome Michigan State and rain By Henry Lytle Associate Sports Editor
Notre Dame hosted Michigan State on Saturday evening for the first time since 2016 and controlled the pace of the game for a 27-10 win to retain the Megaphone Trophy. The Irish held the Spartans to 44 yards rushing and scoreless in the second half through a stormy evening to improve to 3-0. Junior receiver Micah Gilbert exploded for 8 receptions totaling 170 yards, the most for an Irish player since Chase Claypool in 2017. Notre Dame also featured Nolan James Jr. heavily in the run game as the sophomore rushed 26 times for 121 yards and a score. “The run game is really important. If we keep taking care of the ball, keep winning the turnover margin, we have a chance to be really good,” head coach Marcus Freeman said postgame. 1st Quarter On the first play of the game, junior quarterback CJ Carr delivered a strike for 61 yards to junior receiver Micah Gilbert. The huge chunk play set up junior kicker Spencer Porath with a 25-yard field goal that hit the net to open the scoring. The Irish held the Spartans scoreless on their opening series after a sack from junior defensive lineman Tionne Gray forced a three-andout. Gray helped the Irish finish with 4 sacks as a team, stopping multiple critical Spartan drives. On the punt, the Irish deflected the kick, allowing the offense to scrimmage from the Michigan State 41-yard line.
Coordinator Mike Denbrock’s offense struggled on third down in the first half, starting 0 for its first 5, but on a critical fourthand-3, CJ Carr found Micah Gilbert for the conversion. Forced into another fourthand-2, Carr rolled out to his right, finding the reliable senior captain Jordan Faison for the conversion. The offense capped off the drive with a James 2-yard touchdown run to give the Irish a 10-0 lead with 4:31 to go in the first quarter. On the other side, the Spartans earned one first down before quarterback Alessio Milivojevic was intercepted by senior safety Luke Talich on a deep pass intended for Rodney Bullard Jr. Talich put together one of his best performances in the win, totaling 1 interception, 1 pass deflection and 1 sack. Despite Talich’s effort, the Irish offense stalled and was forced to punt. After a hold negated the initial punt, special teams coordinator Marty Biagi called a reverse on the ensuing attempt to add trickery to the mix, but freshman receiver Brayden Robinson fell short of the line to gain by just 1 yard. “I love the play and the plan, but I didn’t love the execution. I only regret it because it didn’t work,” Freeman said. 2nd Quarter Michigan State took over on offense from the 50-yard line after the failed fake punt. The Spartans drove into the Notre Dame red zone but could not convert the Irish mistake and instead settled for a kick from 32 yards. Liam Boyd knocked in
the field goal for Michigan State to make the score 10-3 with 10:05 left in the second quarter. On the next Irish drive, the rain began to fall, adding in another element of challenge for Carr. Junior running back Aneyas Williams kept the drive going on an early third down, converting the first third down of the game for Notre Dame nearly midway through the second. On second-and-3, Carr evaded a sack, rolling out of the grasp of a Spartan defender to complete an acrobatic 8-yard throw for junior Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham to pick up the first down. The Irish capitalized on a pass interference on Faison to set up first-and-goal, and, two rushes later, Williams punched his ticket at the goal line to take a 17-3 lead. Michigan State responded by attacking senior safety Adon Shuler with a 53-yard moonball to Bullard. The biggest chunk play of the game for the Spartans put their offense at the 15-yard line with 3:27 to go. It took one more play for backup quarterback Cam Fancher to snake through the Irish defense and score the touchdown. The Irish attempted a two-minute drill, but struggled amid the downpour and took the 17-10 lead into the second half. Reflecting on the first-half performance, Carr said, “At halftime I thought it was a similar feel to the Wisconsin team. We knew we had to fight.” 3rd Quarter And fight the Irish did. On the first Notre Dame drive of
the second half, Carr began with a 14-yard pass to Gilbert. The leading receiver on the day caught 3 passes on this drive alone to help Notre Dame pick up much-needed yards after starting backed up. James then broke through the line for a 17yard rush, a new Notre Dame season-long run, setting up the Irish at the Michigan State 20. After a delay of game penalty set the Irish back to third-and-12 from the 22, the offense stalled, leading Porath back on for another kick. The Purdue transfer kept his record perfect on the season, calmly sinking the 35yard kick to give the Irish a 2010 lead with a minute remaining in the third quarter. 4th Quarter The next drive was a great opportunity for Notre Dame’s highly touted defense to prove why it is one of the best units in the country, and it did exactly that. Milivojevic was sacked by junior lineman Loghan Thomas for a 9-yard loss on first down. Then, on third-and-19, senior lineman Boubacar Traore created havoc for another Irish sack that caused a fumble. On the first play of the drive, Gilbert sneaked through the Spartan zone to complete a 28yard reception. This reception brought his total to 131 in the game. On the next play, Gilbert caught another Carr deep pass for 39 yards, smashing his career high in catches and receiving yards, which previously sat at 2 receptions for 47 yards. Carr had his turn in the scoring department, pushing through the
offensive line for the touchdown with his legs to make it 27-10. “It felt easy with him. He was open a ton winning those one-on-one battles,” Carr said of Gilbert’s impact. The Irish defense made another statement on the following Spartan drive. On the first play, Milivojevic’s pass was intercepted by the captain Shuler. “When we play Notre Dame style defense, teams don’t get anything,” Shuler said. After the Irish offense stalled out in three plays, Porath stepped up for a 39-yard field goal that went wide left for his first miss of the season. Notre Dame would force one more Spartan punt before running out the clock to seal the 27-10 victory. The win keeps the Megaphone Trophy in South Bend. Despite the seemingly close score, Notre Dame looked its most dangerous on offense yet as Carr threw for 234 yards with no turnovers while also converting multiple 30+ yard plays. “We know we’re hunted every week and people are going to give their best against Notre Dame,” Carr said. But if the Irish can hold opponents under two touchdowns and win the turnover margin, the sky is the limit for a balanced, experienced and wellcoached team under Marcus Freeman. “It comes down to the consistency with how we execute. When we’re executing our best, nobody can stop us,” Carr said. Contact Henry Lytle at hlytle@nd.edu
ND WOMEN’S SOCCER
Notre Dame runs riot against Boston College By Dan Kilcoyne Sports Reporter
As a season-high crowd of 1,774 eager fans packed into Alumni Stadium, the 17thranked Notre Dame women’s soccer team welcomed fellow unbeaten Boston College to town for some Friday night action. The Eagles came into the matchup 8-0-0 after being faultless through their first eight games, scoring 26 goals and conceding only five. The Irish would prove a much tougher task, now back in the rankings and coming off the back of a 2-1 victory against Clemson to kick off ACC play. The night saw plenty of key stars return for the Irish, notably junior forward Lily Joseph, who was back from Poland after representing the United States in the U20 Women’s World Cup, and junior midfielder Grace Restovich, who made her longawaited return after being sidelined for the past 11 months due
to a knee injury. Notre Dame started the game with an energy it had been lacking at the start of the season, with head coach Nate Norman’s high press on full display. The Irish looked electric on the counterattack, with the speed of freshman forwards Kate Kemmerley and Bristol Kersh proving deadly. It was junior forward Ellie Hodsden who showed her speed to break the deadlock, however, as in the 7th-minute she got on the end of a ball from senior midfielder Charlie Codd and squeezed her shot in off the far post out of the keeper’s reach. It was the second straight game in which Hodsden contributed to an early goal after her 1st-minute assist opened the scoring against Clemson last Friday. The Irish continued to dominate, with Kersh looking like a real threat down the left wing with the ball at her feet, relentlessly driving forward and creating space. Junior forward
Izzy Engle impressed as she made her way onto the pitch alongside Joseph. It didn’t take much longer for the two forwards up top to make an impact as Joseph received a ball from junior midfielder Riley DeMartino in the Eagles box, beating the defender with her first touch, giving herself space to fire a shot across goal into the bottom left corner. The Irish had definitely missed her clinical nature in front of goal, and she will be a huge addition as the Irish enter the gauntlet that is the ACC schedule. Boston College was not backing down, trying to apply pressure but ultimately struggling to stop the energy the Irish attack was bringing off the bench, a clear display of the incredible depth the Irish have when at full strength. The Eagles’ hopes of a comeback were soon squashed as a heartwarming moment for the Irish players and fans saw Restovich score in her first game
back from injury. Her partnership with Engle has been lethal for the Irish in the past, and it is most definitely back as Engle picked up the ball by the touchline and made space for herself to drag the ball back and find Restovich who was making a late run into the box. It was an elementary finish as Restovich rolled it into the back of the net to a roar from the Irish crowd. Restovich’s goal sealed what was by far the most impressive half of soccer from Notre Dame this season and highlighted what a powerhouse it can be when at full strength. Despite being down three goals, it was the Eagles who came out firing in the second half, putting together their most consistent phases of play and forcing some excellent saves from junior goalkeeper Sonoma Kasica. Engle and Joseph continued to combine well, creating chances for the Irish, but without an end product until
the 75th-minute. Then, a brilliant team move from Notre Dame set Engle charging down the right-hand side, forcing a save from Boston College senior goalkeeper Olivia Shippee, but the ball fell to the feet of Codd, who fired it into an open net. There was some bad news for the Irish despite the brilliant performance. In the game’s dying seconds, junior forward Randie Foor went down injured. The Irish travel to No. 2 Duke next week before they return to North Carolina the following week to take on the No. 7 Tar Heels. After the two-game road swing, Notre Dame returns to South Bend to play No. 13 Virginia on Oct. 8. The Irish can feel much more confident heading into a difficult run of games after an emphatic win, looking much more like the side that was ranked No. 2 in preseason rankings. Contact Dan Kilcoyne at dkowals2@nd.edu
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