Rakes Report: A Notre Dame Podcast

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish's win in the Sugar Bowl to advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Topics include but are not limited to: The tragedy in New Orleans and feelings going into the game, big plays in all three phases, Riley Leonard, the defense, Marcus Freeman and general postseason thoughts. Donate to the Center for the Homeless here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish dominating the Hoosiers to open up the first-ever 12-team playoff.  Donate to the Center for the Homeless here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

To close out Christmas Giving, we're revisiting an episode many of you probably (and understandably) deleted right away. Jessica Smetana joins for the post-NIU discussion, in which we talked about Marcus Freeman, transfer quarterbacks, stadium atmosphere, coaching searches and a lot more.  Donate to the Center for the Homeless here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Inside ND Sports' Eric Hansen joins to talk about the hype around the Indiana/Notre Dame game, the evolution of Riley Leonard and Marcus Freeman, the greatness of Xavier Watts, Hoosier history and much more. Donate to the Center for the Homeless here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

NBC Sports College Football Insider Nicole Auerbach joins to review what the expanded playoff meant for the regular season, what changes we might see to the bracket going forward, Notre Dame's independence and much more. Donate to the Center for the Homeless here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Irish Sports Daily's Jamie Uyeyama joins to talk about how Marcus Freeman performed in his third season, the improving Irish offense, a big question about the Irish defense, how Notre Dame matches up with Indiana and how to define a successful season. Donate to the Center for the Homeless here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport  

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/754gdw-rakes-report-christmas-giving-2024 Topics include assessing the playoff committee's work, SEC gaslighting, early look at the Hoosiers and much more. Sign up for the newsletter and/or browse merch here: https://linktr.ee/rakesreport

Jessica Smetana joins to discuss the Fighting Irish's very exciting and in no way nerve-racking win in Los Angeles to clinch a home playoff game.  Subscribe to the Rakes Report newsletter at rakesreport.substack.com.

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.