Newsstand: Notre Dame projected to face LSU, Brian Kelly in bowl game
In his Week 2 bowl projections, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy dropped as close to a bombshell for Notre Dame as a Week 2 bowl projection can be.
McMurphy projected Notre Dame to face LSU, who is led by former Irish coach Brian Kelly, in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla. It would be the first time Kelly coached against the Fighting Irish since he left South Bend for Baton Rouge, La., in December 2021.
The ReliaQuest Bowl, formerly known as the Outback Bowl, is considered one of the top bowl games outside the New Year’s Six. In projecting them for this game, McMurphy believes both Notre Dame and LSU will finish outside the top 12, despite a hot start (albeit against poor competition) for the Irish and a preseason top-five ranking for the Tigers.
McMurphy put Georgia, Michigan, Florida State and Washington in his projected College Football Playoff.
LSU fell to No. 14 in the AP Poll after a 45-24 loss to Florida State on Sunday night, while Notre Dame rose to No. 10. The Tigers host Grambling State at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, while the Irish visit North Carolina State at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Notre Dame tweets of the day
“The Stable,” as Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough calls it, is strong this season.
Irish freshman quarterback Kenny Minchey: big Zach Bryan fan.
Three straight clean sheets for the Fighting Irish in men’s soccer.
Quote of the day
“Our staff, we believe in our guys that we brought here as a recruiting staff all the ways down to our staff members and coaches. If we don’t let these guys grow and empower them to get better and try to assess where our depth is, we won’t know. So the the only thing we can do is continue to give our guys opportunities that they’ve earned, because it is performance based, but also let them be able to go out there and have pieces of success. And then if there is some small failures, then we allow them to fail up and keep moving forward. That’s what these two games have allowed us to do so far.”
— Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Gerad Parker on Notre Dame’s skill position depth
Headlines of the day
Game preview: Dueling transfer QBs face off in Notre Dame vs. NC StateOn paper: Who has the edge in every facet of Notre Dame vs. NC State?Point/Counterpoint: Which game should have the Irish on upset alert?How the Aztec package succeeded for the Irish defense vs. TSUHow legacy TE James Flanigan embraces family’s identity through Notre Dame football recruitmentThree things to know about NC StateNotre Dame ranks No. 10 in Week 2 Associated Press Top 25On3 Rankings Discussion: What do CJ Carr, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jack Larsen need to do for a bump?What we learned about Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey in Week 1What NC State head coach Dave Doeren said about Notre Dame footballWhat 2025 four-star TE James Flanigan said about his Notre Dame football recruitmentQuick hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden explains Week 1 linebacker rotationQuick hitters: What Notre Dame OC Gerad Parker said prior to NC State gameLucky Charms: 2026 Fighting Irish quarterback target sets return tripQuick hitters: Three key things 2025 four-star TE James Flanigan’s coach said
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