In what many described as the best college football regular season Saturday in a decade, fans swarmed to stadia and bars and (where I was) a couch with multiple televisions to see an entire afternoon of ranked versus ranked across time zones, conferences, and powerhouses. Perhaps there was no bigger anticipation than the game in South Bend, Indiana on the campus of Notre Dame, the original college football Blue Blood and still only major independent. Coming to town was the nation's number 1 team, longtime rival Miami Hurricanes. The matchup glorified in the ESPN special "Catholics vs. Convicts" for the Fighting Irish matchup in 1988 that eventually gave Notre Dame a path to the National Championship. But I digress. The Irish were fuming over the last two college football committee rankings. The last one of 2025 leaving them out of the college football playoff. And the first of 2026 that took their loss to BYU hard and landed them outside of the Top 10 and behind several teams with 2 losses. The committee wanted a marquee win. And the Irish delivered. The Golden Domers surged early to a 24-7 lead on the back of two touchdown receptions for Micah Gilbert, the steady handed junior who caught 9 passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns from his partner in crime CJ Carr. A fellow junior, the chemistry building upon their 2025 campaign worked. But it's Gilbert we give the nod to, no catch for longer than 20 yards and the one that Carr could rely upon and did. For the huge Notre Dame victory 31-24. A huge step toward a playoff berth and a worthy Longhorndave Sportsman of the Week!
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