Rakes Report: A Notre Dame Podcast

Jamie Uyeyama of Irish Sports Daily joins to talk some more about Notre Dame being left out of the playoff before pivoting to discussing how good this 2025 team was and how the program is set to get even better in the aftermath of the snub. Donate here to the Center for the Homeless: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rakes-report-christmas-giving-2025 Holiday shirts (with all proceeds going to the CFH) available here: https://rakesreport.dashery.com/

Jessica Smetana joins to kick off our annual fundraising for the Center for the Homeless in South Bend. Donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/rakes-report-christmas-giving-2025 An extended therapy session where we respect conspiracy theories being true and discuss Notre Dame's decision to eschew a bowl. Holiday shirts (with all proceeds going to the CFH) available here: https://rakesreport.dashery.com/

Feel free to skip this and keep living your life but there are a lot of questions and confusion out there so the Spreadsheets & Tailgates newsletter's Michael Bryan stopped in for a concise look at the process, metrics, odds and conspiracy theories that could or could not affect the Fighting Irish's playoff fate on Sunday. Guns up. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish romping to a late-night win in their regular season finale. A dominant first 33 minutes, an incredible fake punt, the cursed vibes of Palo Alto, a bummer rivalry weekend, playoff discourse and much more. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins as the third chair for a draft of our favorite 18 games of the weekend, starting with Thursday night's American clash through a pivotal Saturday primetime slate. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins to recap a very lopsided Steve Angeli Bowl. Love for Heisman, elite safety play, NBC Universal synergy, much more. (Congrats to Utah on reverse jinxing them into an awesome comeback during the recording.) Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

A late-night clash for the Islands Showdown trophy, a battle for both Silver Spade Trophy Mayor's Cup and plenty of danger for teams in the hunt for conference titles. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport  

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish's domination of the Panthers. Jeremiyah Love and Malachi Fields' excellence, Chris Ash's unit excelling, Pat Narduzzi being Pat Narduzzi, some annoying narratives and much more. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

A primetime C-USA clash, a check-in on our old friend Gerad Parker and a couple of Florida teams try to stay on the playoff path. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

The focus is still on football (please defeat Pitt) but both basketball teams also have big games this weekend so we're taking some time to project what that might look like on the hardwood. First, Paul Coletti of The Irish Alert newsletter joins to break down the new and old faces who'll be surrounding Hannah Hidalgo for the women's team. Then (35:00), Sam Werner of the Three-Point Jesus podcast projects the rotation around Markus Burton on the men's side. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport  

Jessica Smetana and the Spreadsheets & Tailgates newsletter's Michael Bryan gather after the Fighting Irish's comfortable win over the Midshipmen to discuss highlights of the seventh straight victory, including more Jeremiyah Love absurdity, C.J. Carr bombing away and a great effort from Chris Ash's defense. Also: How the rest of the day affected Notre Dame's playoff chances and the big upcoming clash at Pitt. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

The races to clinch everything from bowl eligibility to conference title game berths heat up in the season's final month. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport  

Jessica Smetana joins to talk Notre Dame's sixth straight win, where Navy slots in among the remaining opponents, Brian Kelly's firing, the first set of playoff rankings and much more. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

The battle for the Old Oil Can, a key American clash and the Big 12 race stays hot. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Sam Werner of the Three-Point Jesus podcast joins to spend some more time discussing Notre Dame's 34-24 victory over USC and where the team stands after seven games. Then the discussion turns to the future of the Fighting Irish-Trojans rivalry, some conventional wisdom about the series that isn't so wise, stress-testing our playoff beliefs and a lot more. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish's soggy and satisfying victory over the Trojans to retain the Jeweled Shillelagh. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

A big Saturday in the Sun Belt, a monster Friday night and SEC title elimination games. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Our USC Insider Nick Tresnowski joins to break down Saturday night's monster clash as we reach Round Four of Lincoln Riley vs. Marcus Freeman with playoff and contractual drama swirling. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish notching their fourth straight win via another great performance from the defense. Then we had to discuss James Franklin being let go by Penn State following the Nittany Lions' third straight loss. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Big games on Thursday and Friday night, the Big 12 race stays tight and a rare but needed Rutgers appreciation. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse the merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport