Rakes Report: A Notre Dame Podcast

Jessica Smetana and our USC Insider Nick Tresnowski join to talk the win over Army at Yankee Stadium, Lincoln Riley's status among Trojan fans, how Southern Cal might be able to attack the Notre Dame defense, whether they'll be able to hold up against the Irish rushing attack, playoff positioning, the monster win for Niele Ivey in Los Angeles and the future of the Irish/Trojans rivalry. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Senior Day victory over the Cavaliers, Notre Dame's eighth consecutive win. Topics include special teams injustice, defensive dominance, sloppy offense, long drives with no points, some silly ACC results elsewhere and feelings going into the final two games. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Michael Bryan of 18 Stripes joins to take a look at Notre Dame's stat profile with three games left, as well as playoff rankings, future schedules and stadium atmospheres. Then (44:45) Paul Coletti of The Irish Alert newsletter discusses the hot start for the Olivia Miles/Hannah Hidalgo backourt and Notre Dame basketball.   Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish dominating Florida State to get to 8-1 on the season. Topics include: A stellar defensive effort against a horrific offense, splash plays from Riley Leonard and company, questions on special teams, how this weekend affects the playoff race and much more. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Happy Halloween! As a bye week trick and treat, we're taking a look at the 1982 film Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which swaps out Michael Myers as the villain and replaces him with an Irish witch/business tycoon. Topics include how this film views the Irish, the greatness of Tom Atkins' Dr. Dan Challis, an evil scheme that has a few holes in it, robot specifics, why John Carpenter remains the king of kings and much more. Guests: Niamh Cavanagh, Jessica Smetana, Joseph Sposato

Jessica Smetana and Sam Werner join to discuss the Fighting Irish's dominant win over the Midshipmen to get to 7-1.  Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles joins to talk about building chemistry with teammates, her excitement about the newcomers to the Irish roster, growing her game, the legacy of the program's success in the WNBA, hearing transfer rumors about yourself and much more. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish improving to a 63% chance at making the playoff after a win in Atlanta. An up-and-down day from the offense, young stars on defense, Brent Key making his way onto the Enemies List, Dog In Him rankings, the psychic damage of that atrocious broadcast and another fun day of college football. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to walk through the Fighting Irish's dominant win over the Cardinal and a fun weekend of college football overall.  Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jamie Uyeyama of Irish Sports Daily joins to talk about what the Fighting Irish might look like over the second half of the season. Topics include how the offense could improve, underrating the line's effect, Mitchell Evans, third-down running back usage, how to survive injuries along the defensive line, linebacker snap counts, elite secondary play and lessons learned from the Deuce Knight decommitment. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to talk about the carnage that descended on college football while Notre Dame rested and what it means for the rest of this season. Then (32:30) Priya Desai gives her review of the Fighting Irish game day experience for last week's Louisville visit. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish pull out the win in a Top 20 battle. Topics include a sloppy first quarter, the depth of the defense stepping up, big plays from the offense, questionable late-game decisions from both coaches and color (green and otherwise) from inside the stadium. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Sam Werner of the Three-Point Jesus podcast joins to talk about the victory over the RedHawks. Topics include The Riley Leonard Discourse, a dominant defense (except for second and long), an assessment of special teams and how playing a big game against Louisville changes the tenor of the week/gameday experience. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish's demolition of the Boilermakers in West Lafayette. Topics include a dominant run game, dominant defense, concerning injuries, if there's a quarterback controversy and some (well, maybe more than some) lingering thoughts from last weekend. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to examine the wide world of takes — including fair critiques, honest questions, sizzlers and some creative fan-fiction — that resulted from Notre Dame's loss to Northern Illinois. Understand if you auto-delete this but it's not overly gloomy or whiny. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Michael Bryan of 18 Stripes joins to recap his Saturday at Texas A&M. Also included: Marcus Freeman's fourth down decisions, what one game affirmed/undercut as far as preseason expectations and what we're looking for in Week 2. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the monster win in College Station. Sorry this is very loopy and rambly and not edited, we'll be more coherent next time. Buy Golden-Denbrock 2024 merch here. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jessica Smetana joins to select the things we're most excited to see this Fighting Irish football season. Also: Big-picture thoughts, predictions, advice for Notre Dame fans traveling to College Station and the debut of campus' newest statue, Hot Dog Jesus. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Alex Herrmann and Andrew Smith of Notre Dame, Our Blogger join to preview all 12 opponents on this fall's Fighting Irish schedule. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

Jamie Uyeyama of Irish Sports Daily returns for Part Two of this year's Frosh O series to talk about every scholarship freshman on the Notre Dame defense. Included: Can Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa really be Manti 2.0? Tae Johnston has upside at safety, but Kennedy Urlacher could be in the mix on special teams from the jump. Leonard Moore's stock continues to rise as he appears to in the cornerback rotation. Bryce Young is a monster at defensive end. Jamie's overall thoughts on a big 2024 season for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish, including a thin margin for error. Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.