Print Edition for The Observer for Friday, Sept. 15, 2023

C Y I INSIDER

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINA SAYUT | PHOTOS BY ARI DENNING

full potential no matter who the opponent is,” he said. “This game kind of gave us a test. We faced a lot of adversity, but we just had to respond. And this team showed that we’re able to respond well in times under pressure, and that’s something that we needed for down the line.”

Part of the work e stime does each week is physically writing down his personal goals. For the game against nc s tate, one off the list was to have a 60-plus-yard run, which he completed and then some. h e commented on the feeling of having that dedication pay off and how he can continue this practice throughout the season.

“It feels great. I have goals every week. I speak it into existence, but that doesn’t happen without the work. s o every m onday through Friday, we’re working as a team,” he said. “ o ffense is preparing the defense, the defensive preparing the offense and you just got to keep on working.”

That offensive coordination comes under the leadership of s am h artman, who had previously played against nc s tate during his time at Wake Forest. e stime commented on his quarterback’s experience in the stadium and how they added a win to his checkered record against the Wolfpack.

“ h e played great,” e stime said. “ h e’s a great player, a great leader for this team. h e’s a person who likes to share success with everyone on the team. h e likes to see everyone have success and everyone eat, and that’s something that is huge in a quarterback. h e’s a great leader, and he’s just leading us in the right direction. I’m really, really looking forward to it.”

With strong leadership and camaraderie, e stime has his sights set on the rest of the season and continuing that success. s hould his written goals continue to deliver as they have, Irish fans can expect great things from the running back.

“I’m gonna keep setting those goals. And I’m gonna keep on striving to reach it,” he said. “ b ut if I fall short, it’s alright. Just the next week, one game, one life.”

Contact Emily DeFazio at edefazio@nd.edu

The good, the bad and the boring: Notre Dame’s MACtion encounters

By J.J. POST Associate s ports e ditor

m A c tion. It’s a phrase every college football diehard is familiar with. And for good reason: the m idAmerican c onference represents so many of the things that make college football great. It’s remained geographically sound in the face of consistent realignment. A model of parity, it hasn’t had a repeat champion in over a decade. b est of all, it frequently schedules games on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. h ow can you not love it?

d espite its prized place in niche college football lore,

m A c tion has only come to s outh b end five times (not counting a 2015 matchup against um ass, who was m A c at the time but is no longer in the conference).

s aturday’s game between

n otre d ame and c entral

m ichigan will make it six, with the c hippewas attempting to break the Irish’s unbeaten record against m A c foes. h ere’s a look at n otre d ame’s five previous encounters with m A c opponents. s ome went easily. s ome didn’t.

2021: notre Dame 32, Toledo 29

The inaugural “Peacock game” for the Irish was not a contest that came without nerves. e ntering on the back of a thrilling overtime win on the road against Florida s tate, things started out easy enough for n otre d ame. It took just over two minutes for Jack c oan to lead the Irish down the field, finding m ichael m ayer for a four-yard score.

b ut after that surgical first drive, things got dicey. c oncern really set in

right before halftime, when Toledo defensive back c hris m c d onald jumped in front of a c oan pass and raced to the end zone with less than a minute left in the second quarter. An energized r ockets squad led 16-14 at the break.

Things didn’t get any less murky in the second half. n otre d ame would eventually retake the lead early in the fourth quarter thanks to a conversion by Jonathan d oerer. A 55-yard score by then-sophomore and thenrunning back c hris Tyree on the next Irish drive figured to set n otre d ame up well to run away with the contest.

b ut Toledo wasn’t done. g oing 89 yards in just six plays, Toledo scored their first offensive touchdown of the game to cut the Irish lead to two. Then, with n otre d ame driving on their next possession, a Kyren Williams fumble put the r ockets in position to win the game. s ure enough, with 95 seconds left in the contest, d eQuan Finn raced to the end zone for the visitors.

Finn’s touchdown would prove a costly mistake, however. h is opting to run into the end zone instead of kneeling the ball down at the goal line gave n otre d ame the chance to get the ball back and respond. And respond n otre d ame did. The Irish went 75 yards in three plays, culminating in another c oan to m ayer touchdown. n otre d ame left the stadium 2-0 on the year, with fans breathing a collective sigh of relief.

2019: notre Dame 52, Bowling Green 0 Toledo was the Irish’s closest call against a m A c

squad, but b owling g reen proved quite the opposite.

n otre d ame jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. The Irish had 35 before halftime.

Ian b ook was surgical under center for n otre d ame, completing 80% of his passes to go with five touchdowns. It was all good for the Irish, who nearly doubled the Falcons in total yardage. s even Irish players registered at least two carries as b rian Kelly went down the depth chart in the game’s late stages.

2018: notre Dame 24, Ball State 16

2018’s n otre d ame/ m A c tion crossover was more 2021 than 2019, much to the displeasure of heart rate monitors across m ichiana. The game was never truly in doubt. The Irish led by double digits for most of the contest, and only a late c ardinals field goal only brought the gap to one score until 90 seconds remained in the game. b ut it was far from a pushover.

The Irish didn’t play terribly. b ut they did play sloppy.

b randon Wimbush threw a trio of interceptions, an early red flag in a season where b ook would eventually take over as the team’s starting quarterback.

n otre d ame’s defense, to its credit, played about as well as could have been asked. b all s tate quarterback r iley n eal threw the ball 50 times, completing only 23. h e also threw two interceptions.

d espite the lackluster showing that s aturday, the b all s tate game turned out to be a part of one of b rian Kelly’s most successful n otre d ame seasons. The Irish followed up the win

with 10 more, earning the n o. 3 seed in the c ollege Football Playoff, where they’d eventually fall to the soon-to-be national champion c lemson Tigers.

2017: notre Dame 52, Miami (ohio) 17

This one got out of hand quickly. o n the second play of the game, Josh Adams broke free for a 73-yard run, setting the table for a rout. The score was 45-14 by halftime.

The Irish ground game rolled against the r ed h awks, with three players combining to rush for four total scores. n otre d ame had amassed 333 yards on the ground by the game’s conclusion, averaging a whopping 8.5 yards per carry.

2010: notre Dame 44, Western Michigan 20 n otre d ame’s first game against a m A c opponent featured a contest that missed the mark of a true blowout, but it was still far from a nail-biter. d espite a long touchdown from m ichael Floyd on the Irish’s first play from scrimmage, the b roncos kept things close in the first half. m ost notably, Western m ichigan quarterback Alex c arder engineered a 10-play drive in the final two minutes ending in a touchdown that cut n otre d ame’s lead to 10 heading into the break. b ut the Irish eventually pulled away with ease in the final 30 minutes. The Irish defense allowed barely 100 total yards in the second half as b rian Kelly earned his fourth win at n otre d ame.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

Zwiller: can hartman win heisman?

to make the top five if they can beat o hio state in two weeks.

s am h artman has changed notre d ame football. It might be an overreaction to say that after three games, but the change is palpable in the air. The graduate transfer from Wake Forest has transformed the notre d ame offense, elevating the talent around him. b y FPI, notre d ame was the 17th-best team in the nation in 2022. now, the Irish are ninth with the potential

Through h artman’s first three games, he has completed 75% of his passes, throwing for 731 total yards and 10 touchdowns. he also had a touchdown on the ground in the home opener against Tennessee state and has yet to throw an interception.

h is performance thus far had him in the national heisman discussion, with major shows like the c over 3 Podcast talking about his

chances of making it to new York as a finalist. d uring his media availability after practice on Tuesday, h artman was asked about his thoughts on the discussion.

h is answer? humble and sincere, he acknowledged that while he might be under consideration, the offense, coaching staff and team as a whole got him there.

“I think up front, our guys are playing really well, and I think the tight ends obviously had a huge day,” h artman said. “And obviously, Audric

opened that game for us, and outside, the receivers made a lot of plays … And that puts me into those conversations.”

h artman did not go so far as to say that he had not been paying attention to the media’s coverage. b ut he deflected the credit from himself to the other starters, and even the scout team.

“I have been in this situation before at Wake, and those different things, and you see it and hear it, but

coluMn

Tom Zwiller senior sports Writer

Energy Week inspires climate change talks

By GRACE TADAJWESKI

news writer

on wednesday, the cushwa center for the study of american catholicism hosted four panelists at their “confronting the climate crisis across the disciplines” event. as part of notre dame’s 17th annual energy week, the event aimed to encourage conversation about sustainable energy and climate change from an arts and letters perspective.

“we really want to raise awareness of important energy issues and especially make people aware of the fact that they’re interdisciplinary, that they’re not just for people in engineering and science,” said anne berges pillai, who works for education and outreach at nd energy. “some of it is [engineering and science], and it’s important, but we need

people from every major to get involved and know what the issues are and start thinking about these things.”

Local vendors sell art, pastries at farmer’s market

By KATHRYN MUCHNICK a ssociate news editor

student government hosted their own version of the south bend farmer’s market Thursday afternoon, featuring vendors from the south bend area.

anna Jang, student government’s director of community engagement, said the goal of the market is to expose notre dame students to local businesses.

“we did contact a lot of different businesses in the south bend area, and then these wonderful vendors got back to us. and they get to keep 100% of their proceeds,” Jang said.

in addition to local vendors, downtown south bend, a nonprofit organization that partners with the city to put on events downtown, had a booth to tell students about opportunities in the area. Quinn mcKenna, who graduated from notre dame last year and organized the first farmer’s market on campus, now works at downtown south bend.

ND student startup raises $300k

By MAGGIE EASTLAND editor-in-chief

a group of three notre dame students have raised $300,000 for a startup aiming to compete with uber and lyft on college campuses. racing to win market share, desi founders — juniors liam redmond, Zach brown and rob corrato — want to create a marketplace where college students who want rides can meet student drivers who are willing to give them. The goal is to make rides

safer and cheaper.

desi is slated to launch on notre dame, saint mary’s and holy cross campuses on sept. 30. The app is now available for download. a school email address is required to create an account.

“desi connects students to safe, affordable rides provided by their peers,” founder liam redmond said. “we’ve essentially eliminated strangers from our network.”

see desi PAGE 4

Spark Lab offers creativity space

By NATALIE SMITH news writer

i n m ay, the s park l ab at s aint m ary’s opened its doors on the first floor of the h aggar c ollege c enter for tri-campus students.

The s park l ab is a space for students to be creative in an academic or personal pursuit. i t was framed after n otre d ame’s i nnovation l ab that s aint m ary’s students were able to use.

“a lot of people were going to n otre d ame and spending a lot of time there, and it was not safe for

them to come back on campus late at night. s o they wanted to create a similar space here on campus,” s park l ab leader s hreejan s hrestha said. “ i t’s more focused towards women-led projects and women-led businesses, but it’s open for all of the public.”

There are different machines that everyone has access to at the lab.

“ we have a lot of resources available here like 3 d printers, laser cutters. we’re

see sparK lab PAGE 3

LEO studies antipoverty programs

“over the last like 15 years, we’ve just seen a ridiculous transformation in south bend and downtown south bend especially. it’s just a really vibrant city, a beautiful place to be,” mcKenna said. “and there’s so much that goes on that people don’t know about.”

w hile studying at notre dame, mcKenna said she noticed that students usually

engage with south bend in a service partnership.

“There’s so many awesome businesses, so many cool restaurants, coffee shops, that sort of thing. i think the goal of this student [government] department, in particular, is so awesome because they want notre dame students to engage with

By ANNELISE DEMERS news writer

Three professors from n otre d ame’s w ilson s heehan l ab for e conomic o pportunities, better known as leo, recently published an opinion piece in The h ill about solutions to the homelessness crisis in a merica.

b ill e vans, professor of

economics and co-founder of leo, has a dream for what leo will be one day.

“ i want us to be integral in the decision making of policies, based on our research,” he said.

leo is a research center that partners with local social service organizations

see leo PAGE 3

KATHRYN MUCHNICK | The Observer Student government hosted the second farmer’s market at Fieldhouse Mall. South Bend vendors sold art and pastries to students.

The panelists featured at the event all work in separate

GRACE TADAJWESKI | The Observer Panelists at Wednesday’s climate change event discussed sustainability and energy consumption through an interdisciplinary lens.

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Spark Lab

con Tinued from Page 1

are continuing to do all those individualized things as people ask for it.”

Market

con Tinued from Page 1 also in the process of adding more. We just added another resin 3 d picture a week ago, and i ’m also adding another fdm printer,” s hrestha said.

The lab also has a c ricut for making t-shirts, stickers or tote bags, a vinyl cutter for making signs and a button maker.

The s park Lab, while being a place where students can go and work on different projects for fun, is intended more for fostering innovation. Leaders of the lab want students to focus on educational projects for their classes or come to the lab with ideas for a possible business.

“ i f people are just coming here to have fun, that’s o K, but they are using a lot of resources and we are not sustainable like that,” s hrestha said. “ s o if someone has a solid or concrete business [idea] or ideas that have a direct or indirect impact on the society, that shows that we do something for the community that will help us get more grants and be more sustainable.”

The lab is open to anyone from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. m onday to f riday, but some classes also offer opportunities to use the maker’s space for different projects.

“There were a lot of individual professors who would be like, ‘ o h i ’ve got an idea, can i bring in my class to do a tour?’” faculty co-lead Jeff g reiner said. “a ll of the first-year s PLL ( s ophia Program in Lib Learning) classes have been coming in and doing tours and demos and learning how the space works. We

The lab faculty hopes to offer certifications that students can earn by taking classes in the s park Lab. Possible programs include credentials in b usiness 101, e ntrepreneurship 101 or the a dobe s uite.

“ o ne of the goals is actually having our students and people from the community get these industry-facing credentials so that they can build off their cv and get better jobs ... b ut all of those [credential programs] are in the works,” s hrestha said.

s paces like the s park Lab allow students to gain the ability to learn how to use the machinery provided and be able to create something on their own, g reiner said.

“ i think these spaces are important because it’s teaching people, especially given the abilities of modern technology, just how much they’re capable of doing on their own. We have gotten very used to as a society, hiring people to do things, and there’s some value in that, but there are a lot of things that aren’t horribly complicated that don’t require high levels of expertise,” he said. “There’s a lot of empowerment that can happen in a space like this where if you’ve got an idea. a ll you need is the training to see that idea come to fruition.”

Contact Natalie Smith at nsmith03@saintmarys.edu

the community in a non-service context,” she said.

for students looking to explore downtown, mcKenna recommended cloud Walking coffee or first fridays, an event for which the city blocks off the 100 block of michigan street to feature live music, dining, retail specials and more.

four other vendors, some of which also own booths at the south bend farmers market, sold food or merchandise Thursday.

Trudy mark bakes kieflies, a traditional hungarian pastry, for her south bend farmer’s market booth called mom’s Kieflies.

in 2015, after hearing that a few of the bakery spots were closing at the farmer’s market, she decided to start selling kieflies during the holidays.

“We took them in on a saturday, and we were sold out by 11 a.m. so we took them in again the next saturday … and we were sold out by one,” mark said. “ever since then, we’ve been just generally building over the years, and now i own a booth that i’ve had for five years.”

mark inherited the family

recipe for kieflies and runs mom’s Kieflies with her family.

“it means [a lot] for me … to have my family working all together,” mark said. “my daughter helps with the facebook, and she’ll roll dough. my son sells out of mishawaka farmer’s market, and he rolls the dough. my grandkids do the stickers and cards sometimes and help out too. so it’s just a family affair.”

Jenna Trethewey was also at the farmer’s market, operating her shop. The olive Tale sells handmade jewelry, and customers can order customized jewelry with lines from their favorite books.

“i started my jewelry business over three and a half years ago. i went sober, and i needed something to do to keep my mind busy and my hands off the bottle, so i started messing around with jewelry,” Trethewey said.

The olive Tale is a regular vendor at the new buffalo farmer’s market in michigan, and Trethewey also sells at art-focused events in south bend.

early in the afternoon, a grubhub robot on the way to deliver an order knocked over her tent, and it ripped while Trethewey was parking her car. despite the mishap, though, she

said the students were enthusiastic about her art and the music was “fab.”

shaina Poland was also selling jewelry and authentic gemstone accessories for her booth gems of Pride.

“i do sell at the mishawaka farmer’s market as well as the south bend one,” Poland said. “it’s actually been really fun selling to students because a lot of my styles are more geared towards a younger demographic, and so it’s nice to be able to do a pop-up where it’s a good fit for me and my artwork.” daniel Jung, student body president, said he hopes the market helped students realize how much variety south bend can offer.

“i mean, we’re all about community building at student government, and we see the south bend community as part of the notre dame community,” Jung said. “for us to be able to reach out to them and for them to be so gracious to come here, it really speaks volumes about this collaboration, this partnership and we’re really excited to continue going forward.”

Contact Katelyn Waldschmidt at kmuchnic@nd.edu

to measure the impact that their programs are having on the lives of their clients.

“What we try to do is use the tools that we have in economics to identify the successful programs, see which ones are working and delivering as promised, so we know where to place limited dollars that these organizations have to help out their clients,” e vans said.

L eo recently conducted research in c hicago and s anta c lara c ounty, ca They found that individuals and families on the brink of

homelessness who had access to funding were more than 70% less likely to end up homeless over the next year than those who did not receive financial assistance.

“The poor deserve programs that work. We don’t want to be wasting their time engaging in activities that are not helping them out at all. s o we think it’s a useful exercise to just go back and ask the basic question,” e vans said.

When thinking about practical solutions and policies to combat homelessness in a merica, L eo researchers have found that part of the difficulty in achieving

their goal of solving homelessness is that poverty is multifaceted.

“The one thing that we’ve spent a lot of time on is that there are a lot of different reasons why people are poor. o f those that are poor, they have a lot of barriers to success,” e vans said. “a nd so the programs that are going to be successful are going to be ones that are going to attack multiple dimensions of the problem, because poverty is multidimensional.”

h e went on to talk about an example of a single mom who had dropped out of high school.

“ s he’s going to have to solve the skill acquisition problem. s he’s going to have to figure out appropriate daycare for her children. a lot of cities have very poor public transportation, so she’s going to have to solve transportation problems to find an appropriate job,” e vans said.

e vans said he remains hopeful that L eo ’s work will be a tool to solve the problem. h e added that n otre d ame was integral to the success of L eo

“There’s just this enormous advantage that we’ve had because we started this at n otre d ame, and i don’t think we would have had the same advantage of this if we had been in some state school or some other secular private institution,” e vans said. “ i t’s a gift for us to be able to do this at n otre d ame.”

departments at notre dame: history, english, law and sustainable energy. Panelist bruce huber, who is a member of the law faculty, shared a view similar to Pillai’s.

“What we need in terms of citizenship right now is people who are capable of thinking clearly across disciplines,” huber said. “It means that you shouldn’t just think about fulfilling your distribution requirement in science as just sort of a throw-away. Your capability to think and understand the basic science is a requirement for basic citizenship in America today.”

Panelist emily Grubert, who is an associate professor of sustainable energy, said she grew up in an energy-oriented family which contributed to her interest in the topic.

“I just observed [the energy discussion] a lot as a kid and realized that this was something really, really significant,” Grubert said. “As

I had particularly started to recognize the climate crisis as a much more dominant factor than it has been historically, it became really clear that there’s a lot of different things that we need to do here.”

When called to consider how to move forward in relation to environmental issues, panelist roy scranton said that there are no easy answers. scranton explained that with these questions, one must first answer what the desired endpoint is.

“Is the goal to sustain this unethical system and keep progressing wherever we’re going, to keep chasing this idea of technology and policy and democracy all somehow creating a utopia here on earth?” scranton said. “or do we ask really deep-hearted questions about how we organize society as a whole, questions that may not be able to be solved in a room like this or in a seminar? They will be solved in very messy and unpleasant ways over a long period of time, but they are questions that need to be asked nonetheless.”

SMC Votes talks affirmative action

By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT

news editor

Associate

on Wednesday, smc votes hosted a session of their discussion and donuts series to talk about affirmative action and how it relates to the saint mary’s community.

Amelia moroney, a sophomore member of the smc votes team and organizer of discussion and donuts, said that smc votes exists to help saint mary’s students find their voices, foster dialogue and encourage students to register to vote. Part of helping students find a voice comes through activities such as discussion and donuts, a monthly talk held by smc votes to encourage friendly debates between students with different perspectives.

“basically, we’re going to provide coffee and donuts for students and a topic of conversation. Then we’ll lead a semimoderated conversation about something in the political or social world,” moroney said. senior and student organizer Jeanett ochoa called the series “an open space for students to share their own experiences, political stances or any other viewpoints based on what the topic will be about.”

The night started with a brief history of affirmative action, led by moroney and ochao. Affirmative action was put into place by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. The supreme court overturned affirmative action with its decisions in students for Fair Admissions v. harvard and students for Fair Admissions v. Unc on June 29.

moroney and ochoa went on to detail how affirmative actions affects college admissions

nd energy will be holding another sustainably-minded event Friday — “sustainastyle: Unthreading Fast Fashion.” The event is hosted by student government and strike magazine and will offer students points towards the sustainability cup for attending.

“I think students need to pay attention to the news and to events on campus,” Pillai said. “I know the news is depressing, but we can’t fix things if we don’t know what’s broken and why it’s broken … If students continue to ignore it, especially notre dame students who are future leaders, I don’t think we stand a chance, right? If people here can get excited and work together, then I think it’s very hopeful, the future is very hopeful. but if we can’t even get notre dame students to care about this stuff, then I worry.”

notre dame offers an energy studies minor which, according to nd energy, works to create leaders to move toward a “sustainable energy future.” senior Annie Lang

has a minor in energy studies.

“For me, climate change is a huge issue and just protecting the world we live in and the environment for future generations,” Lang said. “so, learning about clean energy, renewable energy, I think, is very important to make people aware of so that its more normalized and that people consider finding careers in those [fields], and we can find new energy sources.”

The minor requires students to complete 16 credits of coursework. classes in the minor focus not only on energy, but also policy and economics related to energy.

“The climate crisis is obviously a pressing issue for our future, and I think it’s important that I frame my academic experience around confronting issues of climate change,” freshman Katherine Lieberth said. “It’s going to be an important part of what our society will face in the years that I will be working.”

In 2021, notre dame committed to achieving a carbon neutral campus by 2050. To do this, the

University will focus on growing geothermal energy use, becoming more energy efficient, and utilizing solar projects.

“I would say [the climate crisis] is definitely relevant,” freshman Timothy barloon, who lives in dillon hall, said. “I would like to see more of an emphasis on like recycling, because, honestly, I don’t really know how the recycling in my dorm works or if there is any.”

sophomore Kate healey said that she noticed a heavy use of single plastics at notre dame, especially in the dining halls. healey noted that her high school heavily discussed the environmental crisis across all subjects, and she has not noticed the same emphasis at notre dame.

“It’s not the forefront of what I’m studying, so it’s definitely not something that I talk about on a daily basis, but I also just feel like it’s not heavily discussed here,” healey said.

Contact Grace Tadajweski at gtadajwe@nd.edu

and what differences will be seen in upcoming years now that the supreme court has overturned the order.

“With the supreme court decision just happening this summer, we thought this was a very timely matter to talk about affirmative action,” moroney said.

They then prompted discussion with questions regarding attendees’ thoughts on affirmative actions and how it might affect saint mary’s specifically.

“We had a pretty good turnout of students,” ochoa said. “A lot of people shared about their own experiences and what they thought.”

moroney also said she thought that the event was a success.

“I wasn’t anticipating the discussion to go into the direction that it did, but I’m also happy that it did because I got to learn a lot about other saint mary’s students,” she said. “I learned a lot about different intersectional identities, how that affects people and how they feel about college and the admissions process.”

The discussion lasted an hour, with conversation ranging from student’s experiences with admissions, experiences of racism and communities and belonging within saint mary’s. overall, orchoa and moroney were both pleased with the event but both expressed desire to see it grow as the semester continues.

“We’re hoping to see more students join us later on in the semester, just so we can start breaking down those barriers, breaking down that shyness of discussing or asking questions,” orchoa said.

Unlike big name competitors, desi restricts its platform to college students and generates revenue through driver subscription fees. desi does not broker transactions like Lyft and Uber. Instead, drivers make 100% revenue from each ride and pay a $19.99 per month subscription fee.

An idea that began when juniors Liam redmond and Zach brown started chatting in the dining hall stirfry line nearly two years ago has become a full-fledged corporation with investor backing.

Pivotnorth capital led the pre-seed round, and the Ide A center helped the students connect with potential investors and kickstart efforts with a $4,000 grant. before meeting their $300,000 fundraising goal in early september, desi conducted a closed-beta test that involved more than 450 students.

redmond said desi wants to use the money to “knock notre dame out of the ballpark” and expand to more college campuses. The pre-seed funds will help market the app, develop the technology, fund operations and expand to new campus locations.

“The big problem that we’ve really noticed is that the current options have lost their reputation for providing safe rides,” redmond said. In the last few years, students have also had to pay surge rates that often rise over $20 for just a few miles.

desi wants to solve safety and cost problems by setting up a college-exclusive platform that is open only to notre dame, saint mary’s and holy cross students — both those searching for a ride and those who want to make extra cash by driving their peers.

redmond predicts that ride

costs will be significantly lower than other options, in part because desi has a much lower cost to acquire customers. especially outside of urban areas, Uber and Lyft face difficulties recruiting and retaining drivers. desi’s initial tests suggest that finding drivers won’t be a problem.

“We really noticed how important these tight-knit social networks are, and how quickly word of mouth can spread,” redmond said.

drivers will make more than minimum wage and often more than the University’s $15 an hour rate, he added.

many tri-campus students are wary of driving for apps like Uber and Lyft. by restricting users to only college students, desi hopes to tap into a wider driver base. drivers can break even after two or three rides per month, redmond added.

“We’re able to unlock a whole new demographic of folks who are willing to provide these rides,” redmond said.

To ensure safety, desi conducts interviews with each driver and checks driving and insurance records.

once the platform launches, desi’s goal is to maximize the number of riders and drivers who sign up for what redmond calls the “no strangers, no surge” ride experience.

early stage investors say that though desi’s business model may change, they believe the founder will create a better solution for rides on college campuses.

“With startups, you have to focus more on the people who put it together than the actual business plan,” said Jeff racho ‘91, an investor and business-focused attorney who contributed to the pre-seed round. “I could just tell right off the bat that they were really thinking things through, especially for 19-yearold students.”

Through investment firm Wray-cho Investment company LLc, racho contributed to the

pre-seed round. A lawyer who often helps startups navigate legal considerations, racho has been working with the desi team for more than a year.

“Uber and Lyft are great if you’re in a high density area. but if you’re in an area like south bend, it’s a pain to get the rides,” racho said.

racho compares desi to ride boards, physical boards where student drivers and riders could find each other, that were used on campus before the 2000s.

“What’s cool about desi is that it’s replicating the ride board instead of replicating Uber,” he said.

Tim connors of Pivotnorth capital, an early-stage softwarefocused venture capital firm that works with many notre dame startups, agrees that desi is solving a problem.

“students spend a pretty significant amount of money on Uber and Lyft, and they don’t like the drivers,” connors said. “here’s a solution that allows students to get a safe, comfortable ride, and allows other students to make about twice the minimum wage.”

The notre dame venture capital club also put $5,000 into desi, the club’s first-ever investment in a student-founded startup.

desi’s founders don’t expect immediate profits, but they are optimistic that the model will scale on the tri-campus and other college campuses across the country.

“This thing is very exponential growth. We will certainly not be profitable right out the door,” redmond said.

In that process, founders Liam redmond, Zach brown and rob corrato are making desi their top priority.

“It’s basically two full time jobs plus overtime — being a founder,” redmond said. “It’s an incredibly difficult balance.” Contact Maggie Eastland at

InSIDE ColuMn

First impressions

Sofia CrimiVaroli Photo editor

A movie’s opening scene may well be the most important scene in a movie. o ftentimes it is overlooked, but it can carry just as much weight as the ending scene. It introduces key characters, frames the time and location and sets the mood for the entire movie. A great opening scene has to be a hook for the audience, drawing them in and giving them all the important information and dynamics without boring them. And yet, all too often we forget about these introductions. s o, today, I will be showing appreciation for what I believe to be some of the best opening scenes in movie history.

“Desperado”

I have this theory that s teve b uscemi can make any movie better, and the opening scene of “ d esperado” does nothing to disprove this claim. When b uscemi strolls into the cantina in this movie, greeted with threatening stares, he maintains his air of confidence and ignorance, graphically retelling events he’d witnessed in a shootout earlier. n ot only does it make for a fun scene, but it paints an intimidating picture of Antonio b anderas’ character, who we have yet to meet. b uscemi goes on talking for the entire scene, his incredible delivery and disposition selling his story to the bar patrons. I love a scene like this one. It is so simple and has potential to be great or ultimately forgettable based on the actor.

“Scream”

“ s cream” is a revolutionary movie in many ways. It completely revitalized the horror genre in the ‘90s, and it’s no wonder that “ s cream” has one of the most famous opening scenes in movie history. We must first understand that “ s cream” was marketed as a d rew b arrymore movie. As a famous actress, she was in the forefront of promotions and posters. As far as the public was concerned, she was the protagonist of the entire movie. s o, when the first scene plays and she is brutally murdered, it throws the audience in a complete loop. It shows right off the bat that nobody is safe and anybody, even the star, is on the chopping block. This is a marketing ploy that could never be successfully executed today.

“The Dark Knight”

e very audience loves a good heist, and “The d ark Knight” delivers. This opening scene introduces the Joker’s goons, displaying their hostility, greed and attitude towards others and within the organization. n ot only is it a beautiful, cinematic scene and a carefully thought out heist, but it is a classic Joker scheme straight out of the comic books — complete with henchmen, bombs, double-crosses, elaborate getaways and the infamous

clown masks. It also helps us understand the twisted, intricate mindset of the Joker and gives us everything we want in a b atman movie. Until the end, we don’t even know this scene is introducing us to one of the greatest movie villains of all time.

“Up”

n eed I explain why this absolute emotional roller coaster of a scene gets a spot on this list?

I don’t think any other movie has brought their audience to tears in such an immediate time frame. All in the first scene, you’re laughing at childhood nostalgia, smiling at a blossoming relationship, tearing up at the inability to start a family, dreaming of growing old with someone you love and then sobbing at the death of the one person who truly loves you. d reamWorks actually put a miscarriage subplot in the opening scene of their children’s movie. This scene is filled with all the whimsical nature of childhood and the adventurous spirit c arl and e llie had as children that fuels their desire to visit Paradise Falls, which will direct the entire plot of the movie. This is a super effective setup to the movie — we completely understand c arl’s motivation and relate to him before the five-minute mark.

h onorable mentions: o nce Upon a Time in the West, h ercules, Ferris b ueller’s d ay o ff, r aiders of the Lost Ark, Pulp Fiction

“Inglourious Basterds”

c oming in at number one is c hristoph Waltz’s incredible opening scene in “Inglorious b asterds.”

This is one of the most brilliantly performed scenes in any movie I have ever seen. Waltz brings an excellent delivery in every scene in “Inglorious b asterds,” always managing to feel three steps ahead of any other character. This scene rivals some of John c arpenter’s for the most intense, suspenseful six minutes in any movie. The entire conversation between c olonel h ans Landa and m onsieur LaPadite with e nnio m orricone’s score in the background is off-putting and discordant, bringing the audience to the edge of their seats. We know the LaPadites are harboring a Jewish family, but does the c olonel know? When he launches into a monologue about his nickname and how he got it, the audience is captivated, holding their breaths with the d eyfuses as Landa stares into the soul of m onsieur LaPadite. Ultimately, it is a breathtaking scene that I firmly believe no other actor could have pulled off and it sets up the tone of the movie and the fear we should all have for c olonel h ans Landa.

You can contact Sofia CrimiVaroli at scrimiva@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Put a ring on it

Moira Quinn Working Title

I love jewelry. From the moment I got my ears pierced at the ripe age of 7, jewelry has played an integral part in shaping the way I look and feel. Whenever an outfit seems incomplete, adding my favorite pair of hoop earrings or sliding on a stack of bracelets as a final touch usually fixes the problem. These dainty collectibles have the unique ability to elevate my style and mood on days I need it most. When it became clear that s aint m ary’s would be the place I call home, one tradition caught my attention immediately. It wasn’t the significance of The Avenue or the perks of living across the street from n otre d ame, but rather the renowned class ring.

o nce a b elle enters her junior year, she is officially given the go-ahead to purchase a class ring. We have to make the difficult choice of going for either silver or gold, a debate that I will happily go on a tangent about some other time. It is decorated with multiple features that are unique to the college — one being the French cross — and is overall so much more than an expensive piece of jewelry. o ur rings symbolize the sisterhood that is s aint m ary’s and the time we spend creating memories and friendships that will take us through the rest of our lives.

It is because of such reasons that I am so excited to get a class ring of my own sometime this school year. Jealousy isn’t the right word to describe my feelings toward those who already have one of their own, but let’s just say I am starting to get impatient. With the understanding that my pockets will hurt, my ring will without a doubt be worth every single penny. It is something I intend on holding onto and wearing confidently for the rest of my life, as it tells others something very important about myself.

Just like a good percentage of the tri-campus community, I grew up in the suburbs of c hicago. From my experience, if you are n otre d ameaffiliated, you are looked up to by your hometown to some degree. Whether your older sibling committed to going in the fall, or your grandparents met here, having insider information on what it is like to be a student living in s outh b end is considered a superpower. This place is, in some ways, the closest thing to heaven on e arth for Irish- c atholics.

n ow that I attend s aint m ary’s, I get to say that I am also privileged enough to be living right down the street from the one and

only University of n otre d ame. m any women of varying graduation years gave me advice on life as a s mick prior to move-in day two years ago, and it is because of their great persuading skills and me trusting them so easily that I am currently sitting in the library, writing this for you to read with tentative plans to take a leisurely walk with my roommates to the Grotto in an hour. While I understand that the concept of a class ring is nothing new, I don’t think I have ever been more excited about purchasing something. b eing a b elle is something that I am proud of and genuinely enjoy talking to others about. It is hard to wrap my head around the fact that I have only been in college for two years but have never felt more a part of anything else. The culture here is unlike any other I have experienced thus far, and I am grateful to be here.

I find it strange and funny that ever since deciding to spend my college years at an all-girls school, countless generations of b elles have been airdropping themselves into my daily life. The moment I step out of the house wearing something s aint m ary’s-related, women come out of the woodworks and soon enough, we end up in a lengthy conversation. The mall, my yoga studio and even my dog’s veterinarian office are constantly swarming with women wearing their class rings, asking me questions and making comments like “Which hall are you living in?” and “ m y daughter and her s micks just had a reunion over the summer.” For such a small college, I have been surprised by the amount of encounters I’ve had in a nonschool setting, the ring being a reminder that we all support one another and are united through a meaningful shared experience.

s o until the day comes when I get to join the thousands of s micks who wear their ring everyday, I guess I will have to scour through my jewelry collection for some hoop earrings. Which reminds me, I have enough room in this column to quickly vent about the debate that begs the question “Are you a silver girl or gold girl?” For the record, I am a gold girl through and through but will not throw shade to all you silver lovers out there.

Moira Quinn is a junior at Saint Mary’s College studying communication. When she isn’t writing for The Observer, she can be found with friends, watching a good romantic comedy or missing her basset hound.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

A case of the ‘Senior Scaries’

Yesterday was my last first game day.

Two weeks ago was my last first day of class. This semester is my last fall semester to enjoy as a n otre d ame student. The abundance of “lasts” as I begin senior year feels a bit overwhelming at times. n ot only do these “lasts” make me reflect on my years as a college student and the fact these days of having relative control over my schedule, eating meals with and having fun with friends, going to college parties, seeing familiar faces everywhere and being surrounded by people in the same stage of life as me are coming to an end, but they also force me to realize there’s a whole life to plan and live after this — not just another school year to fall into. s enior year, although it’s been great so far, feels like one long s unday: a sort of inbetween as one period of life is beginning to end and another is approaching from a distance.

Throughout my life so far, I’ve been lucky to have a general idea of what was coming next. From fall to spring, I would be in school and then be home for the summer and then start all over when fall came around again. Going to college was definitely a transitional stage of getting used to being away from home, but the general cycle remained the same: movein in August, game days in the fall, watch campus transition from green and sunny to orange-yellow-red and chilly to white and freezing, register for next semester’s classes,

come back in the spring and so on. Although each semester came with (a lot) of struggles, there was comfort both in being in a familiar environment with familiar people and in having the general next step laid out.

This year, it feels a little different. Today, I haven’t made a decision on what my job is going to be post-grad, I’m not sure what city or state I’m going to live in and I don’t have a clear idea of what life is going to look like a year from now. As someone who loves predictability (I’m one of those people who makes a daily schedule that plans each day down to the hour) and is generally averse to big life changes, it’s an unsettling thought I find myself trying to avoid. As much as I complain about homework assignments and exams and essays, what is life going to look like when they’re replaced by performance reviews and bonus incentives? e ven though s outh b end winters can be tough, what will winters be like without slipping on the way to class or seeing the Golden d ome gleaming in the snow on a quiet late-night walk back home? I’m not the biggest fan of the dining hall, but is it going to feel lonely to not have my weekly lunches and dinners there with friends anymore or to not see the friendly faces of the people who work there? It might be too early to worry about all of this, but knowing right now is the beginning of the end of college is a strange feeling.

h ow does one beat the s enior s caries and not allow this sometimes overwhelming feeling of uncertainty spoil senior year?

I think the way to make the best of this final year is to embrace it as it is instead of

worrying too much about what’s to come. I’ve always been someone who has trouble being in the present. Throughout high school and college, my mind has always been on the next step and my energy has been on preparing for what the future might bring. That’s not a bad thing, but it hasn’t given me a solid foundation to fall back on when the next step isn’t too clear.

s o, I think my sole goal for my senior year is to get better at being in the present and enjoying it too.

I’m going to take advantage of the opportunities that come with being at a place like n otre d ame — by going on more walks and runs around the lakes, enjoying the changing of the seasons and how each one highlights the beauty of campus, going to the s mith c enter because I probably won’t have access to such a nice gym a year from now and enjoying my classes and the chance to learn for the sake of learning. I want to continue to make happy memories with my friends, meet more people and enjoy this last year of being in this kind of sheltered adulthood before graduating into the real world.

s o, for the first time in my life, I’m not going to worry too much about the future. I think future me will be thankful for it.

Meg Tamura is a senior majoring in political science and minoring in data science and business economics. Besides writing, she enjoys spending time with the people she loves, riding on public transportation and listening to good music.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Breaking out from the Dome

Towards the end of my freshman year, I found myself looking at the next semester with extra time in my schedule. As a type-A neurotic freak, I immediately started scouring for ways to fill it. I found myself on J ob board, scrolling through listings. At the time, babysitting off-campus paid significantly more than the on-campus minimum wage. Throughout high school, I had worked as a babysitter and found it to be a well-paying job that was minimally taxing, offered a comfortable working environment and often afforded (thanks to children’s naps) paid free time. I decided to try it out, but this time, here in s outh b end.

I spoke with an enthusiastic and kind mom, and we arranged for me to come meet her family and go from there. At the start of the spring semester, I strapped on my helmet and biked over to their house. As a student at n otre d ame, there was never a need for me to leave: food, housing, classes, recreation and friends were all contained within campus. This bike ride was one of the first times I saw where the people that made my life on campus possible and what comprised the community surrounding it lived.

I quickly fell in love with the three kids, their parents, the fluffy, white cat and the small warm house that was home to all of them. In the chaos of academic life and sleeping yards away from where I would get tested, babysitting once a week felt like returning to some type of normalcy. Instead of writing papers, making my way through the dining hall line

or trying to understand my PL s books, I was coloring pages, making mac and cheese and reading nap-time stories. Landing among this family allowed me to see what normal life outside of n otre d ame was like.

This is not to say that actually getting out is by any means easy. I ambitiously staked my bets on making the three miles by bike. This move was a little bit terrifying considering my first attempt at biking in s outh b end. I ventured to d ick’s s porting Goods and quickly found myself on a busy street without a bike line or sidewalks. I pulled off to the side of the street for a pep-talk call with my dad, and he advised me to bike on the street and be careful. This strategy worked on the way there, but on the way back, my backpack was stocked full. h alfway through, it split open, scattering my things among incoming traffic and causing the road to be held up on both sides as I tried to gather my things.

d espite that whole affair and seeing the streets were not as busy as those to d ick’s, I proceeded with biking. This plan failed when powdery snow covered the street, a difficulty this Florida girl hadn’t foreseen. e ven when it wasn’t snowing, I learned that during winter, bike locks can freeze, leading the dad of the kids I babysit to very generously drive over to campus with a thermos of hot water and teach me the basic ways of hacking winter I never had to think about before. The grandmother of the kids, hearing of my qualms, bought me a little canister of de-icer.

d espite my aspirations, I often ditched the bike altogether and relied on Uber. This led to me meeting and talking with all sorts of people that I would have never gotten the chance

to meet in the realm of campus. I met people who worked in nearby manufacturing plants who had just finished their shift and were getting some drives in before going home to crash. I met someone who took up driving to help pay for the medical expenses of a loved one who had previously been the household’s sole earner. I met someone else who had just come to the United s tates after winning a slot in the immigration lottery. I also met many people who I didn’t talk to but shared time and space with.

As much as I love babysitting and getting to experience the community outside of n otre d ame, it’s not easy. Unless you’re splitting an Uber to go to one of s outh b end’s fine establishments like n ewf’s or s alsa’s, the people you know already have their center of gravity on campus. It’s time-consuming and, unless you’re taking the bus, walking or biking, it’s expensive. For students from around the world, there is little incentive to go beyond the bounds of n otre d ame.

e xcept, there is. b reaking the bubble is to be reminded that there is not one. o ur lives on campus couldn’t exist as they do without the community that surrounds us and sometimes it takes stepping off campus to see that.

Kat Regala is a junior studying the Program of Liberal Studies with minors in Computing and Digital Technology and Science, Technology and Values. She originally hails from Naples, Florida, but loves traveling. When not reading or writing, you can find her drinking coffee, practicing yoga or binge-watching reality television.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Kat Regala The Absurd-ver

Meg Tamura subject to change

Reclaim the idea of America

s wings, lawn chairs, benches, tables, blankets and anything else that could protect our bums from the prickly grass. It wasn’t a concert. It wasn’t a play. It wasn’t any old barbecue. s tuffed into every crevasse in the backyard of a small little southern church, we had all gathered for something crazy.

We were transfixed with a small frail women. h er dark curly hair framed her kind but firm face as the sun beat down upon her. A woman by the name of r itika or “bringer of justice,” every word from her mouth was crisp as if directly from the divine. h er words ricocheted between each of our ears as she told us, “America was born of original sin, but just like us, can be born again.”

In the b arnacle on the h ull of Liberalism, I argued that Patrick d eneen and others on the post-liberal right are vultures of opportunism. They see liberal democracies in peril around the world and have built “epic theory” around the expedition of its destruction not for a genuine concern for the working class (who d eneen is most certainly not part of), but because of their own frustrations with the expansion of rights for certain marginalized groups. Liberalism, and the United s tates born of it, is neither good or evil. h owever, the ideals of it are profoundly transformative. c lassical liberalism is an emancipatory political philosophy built on the rights of the governed, rule of law, individual autonomy and political freedom. A mix between the e nlightenment and romanticism, it opens the aperture of our dreams.

n othing has made me feel the power of the founders more profoundly that sitting in the back of a little b lack church in the middle of nowhere Arkansas. n ot any lecture, book or banquet. r itika wound up, like a baseball player at bat, beginning her sermon of the world as it is caught between what it ought to be. n ot a pastor, priest or politician, yet she believed her words had power and the ability to change the world around her. In the two-hour meeting, surrounded by religious leaders and sharing sacred stories of the lives we’ve lived, I found power through redemption.

r itika didn’t shy away from our original sins — chattel slavery, expansion of empire,

colonization and genocide of Indigenous peoples. s he also didn’t revel in them. s he didn’t think of America as a project that irredeemably sucks, but as one with abounding potential.

Those who believe in the ideals of liberalism continue to make multiple big mistakes that bend the propellers of our engines, weakening our own ability to stay in the air. Firstly, we rightly criticize what needs fixing, but at points we forget to emphasize that we are doing such because there is something good and noble worth saving. That our sins don’t define us, our actions and dreams do.

s econdly, we use the maps that have gotten us into these storm clouds to try and lead us out. A grind culture of working until you drop will not redeem a system built on the exploitation of labor. n ever-ending gauntlets of prestige will not erase a system built on hierarchies. Using the same logic as cold war liberals, who embodied a liberalism of fear, will not allow us to imagine beyond that fear.

Thirdly, we rightly push back on the bulwarks of progress. Yet we forget that those against liberalism are having their moment precisely because of our progress. d eneen and others who seek to tear liberalism apart do such because of how far we have come. d eneen is stuck in original sin too — in the sin of those who believed that the American project was too radical and that the expansion of who was considered human or worthy of grace was a step too far.

Forgetting these things, we become immobile. We tear down America. We believe her sell-by date has come. We make change sound impossible. We fail to remind people what we’re for, who we are and the world as it ought to be. r itika and I worked an entire summer to try to get these scrappy groups of leaders together. To provide a path for resurrection.

r itika and I had worked all of summer 2021 to bring together religious leaders to get them to share information about h I v prevention and to discuss what it might look like to push back against Arkansas’ earliest attempts to block gender affirming care. m ost did not agree with our goals. m ost believed such behaviors were baked in sin. m ost probably even voted for the very leaders who pushed the laws to block care. Yet they believed so much in this radical

experiment that they decided to hear us out.

r eclaiming the idea is not a capitulation to the sins of our past, but a call to reconciliation and redemption. r eclaiming the idea of America from the bigots and fools is how we get the progress we so dearly yearn. s preading ideas that America is done for or that it is a project doomed from the beginning, is a good way to never win over hearts and minds. You will lose every weird coalition partner. A purified tidal wave is not a wave, it is just a sad little puddle. Purity is a luxury only the privileged can afford.

n ot only is spreading the gospel of irredeemability bad political strategy, but also, it’s categorically untrue. Liberalism has always been a project in progress. o ne where emancipation is forever in contest and a dream. The country has always tried to get better like people do. To live more deeply by those values it claims to hold. To overcome its original sins.

If you’re in the camp that still believes in liberal democracy. That still believes in an evidence-based and empirical reality. That still believes that nobody is above the law. That still yearns for the ideals of freedom and justice for all. Then it’s time to reclaim the idea of America. o f a United s tates that was born of a radical dream that we could govern together, not under the singular rules or claims of a Pope or monarch, but through enduring ideals and anonymous trust in one another.

If you’re not in the camp that believes in liberal democracy, that’s o K, we’re recruiting. We’re building a highway with more on ramps then off ramps. Where we’re all able to hold our individual truth claims yet come together under larger communal ones. That’s the idea of America, an idea I believe is worth saving.

Dane Sherman is a junior at Notre Dame studying American Studies, peace studies, philosophy and gender studies. Dane enjoys good company, good books, good food and talking about faith in public life. Outside of The Observer, Dane can be found exploring Erasmus Books with friends, researching philosophy, with folks from Prism, reading NYTs op-eds from David Brooks/ Ezra Klein/Michelle Goldberg or at the Purple Porch getting some food. Dane ALWAYS wants to chat and can be reached at @danesherm on twitter or lsherma2@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Dane Sherman saints Among Us

By ANDY OTTONE scene Writer

First impressions are always important, and in the case of music that’s usually the opening track of an album. As I pressed play on olivia rodrigo’s sophomore album “GUTs” last Friday, I had some idea of what to expect. Quick yet light acoustic guitar and airy vocals were not in line with my expectations for the album, especially for a track titled “all-american bitch.” Fifty-two seconds into the track, though, my first impression of the album as a whole had been made: olivia rodrigo is putting a new spin on her old tricks.

This bait-and-switch technique is not at all new for rodrigo, with her debut album, “soUr,” having a similar opener: an orchestra leads in before the heavy, grungy guitar takes over and the track begins in earnest. The opening of “GUTs” is similar yet different. It plays with the duality of soft and harder movements — though in both styles rodrigo’s lyrics are consistently scathing — throughout the whole song, not just the track’s first moments. This is the feeling I had throughout the entire album; it is a clear sign that rodrigo knows what works for her and is looking to experiment with her successful formula. The question is, does she succeed?

The album as a whole is great, but that is more so on the strengths of the songs individually than how they work as a collective. The voice and style stay close to that of her debut, and that is to her benefit. returning fans will be pleased with the new material without it being too different from her usual fare, and it establishes rodrigo’s distinctive voice. That voice is rooted in poppunk and rock, and extends itself into rap-rock in the tracks “get him back!,” “bad idea, right?” and “ballad of a homeschooled girl.” rodrigo’s strengths lie predominantly in her lyrical work, and “GUTs” does nothing but reinforce this notion. her mid-album ballad “logical” is perhaps the best example of her lyrical prowess. With strings of obviously false realities followed by facts of her relationship, the song’s subject is a devastating punch. As any artist with a large fanbase can demonstrate, rodrigo’s lyrics have also led to a whirlwind of online speculation towards her interpersonal relationships. one of the album’s later tracks, “the grudge,” has especially caught the attention of rodrigo’s fanbase in speculation as to who the song’s focus is, detailing a story of a fallen idol and an unpleasant phone call. Whether fan culture obsessiveness is a positive or negative is a discussion for

a separate time, but the presence of it at least demonstrates the popularity of rodrigo’s work.

The album as a whole falls back on its collective parts rather than standing as a whole unit. That being said, these collective parts are incredibly strong on their own. The aforementioned opener “all-american bitch” stands out as one of the album’s best numbers, demonstrating rodrigo’s range of written and vocal style in a single track. before the album’s release, two singles were put out: “vampire” and “bad idea, right?” making these two songs singles proved prudent, as they stand out among the other tracks on the album. however, my personal favorites on the album are “ballad of a homeschooled girl” and “get him back!,” with the former skewing closer to ‘90s punk than modern pop, and the latter being rodrigo’s aforementioned experimentation with rock-rap, reminiscent of the likes of the beastie boys with catchy sungthrough choruses and talked-through verses. The album doesn’t necessarily hold up as a collective, but as a package the overall elements stand strong.

Contact Andy Ottone at aottone@nd.edu

By RYAN PETERS managing editor

notre dame has a certain mystique. The Golden dome, notre dame stadium, basilica bells, Touchdown Jesus, haunted buildings, the Grotto. Just walk around campus and you’ll feel it.

so it’s no surprise notre dame is a favorite choice of hollywood when it comes to colleges. “rudy” speaks for itself, and President Jed bartlet in “The West Wing” graduated from notre dame.

but there’s a movie that even more forcefully elicits that “only notre dame” feeling.

That movie is the 1965 cold War comedy, “John Goldfarb, Please come home!”

It takes a special level of offensiveness to get notre dame to try to block a movie that’s not really about notre dame. “John Goldfarb” does just that.

In the film, former college football star turned U-2 pilot John Goldfarb (richard crenna) crash lands in the fictional Arab country, Fawzia. meanwhile, strife magazine writer Jenny ericson (shirley maclaine) travels to Fawzia to go undercover in the king’s harem and report on it. before both of these instances, the Fawzian king’s son was cut from notre dame’s football team for not being Irish.

As a result, the train-and-women-obsessed king blackmails the U.s department of state into setting up a football game between an all-Fawzian team and notre dame on a field set up in the desert for the king’s son. The king threatens to turn “Wrong Way” Goldfarb over to the soviets if he doesn’t agree to coach the team. The nickname “Wrong Way” was coined by ericson after Goldfarb scored an own-touchdown during his college football career.

Goldfarb goes on to lead “Fawz U,” made up of Whirling dervishes, to a win after ericson scores the game-winning touchdown on the oil-soaked field in a game rigged against the Irish.

now, I enjoyed watching the movie. It’s entertaining and hilariously satirizes the cold War — at least at times. but by any objective measure, it’s an awful movie — even relative to ‘60s comedies – that offends just about everybody: muslims, women, notre dame football, government officials, you name it.

To put it concisely, Judge henry clay Greenberg, in his 1964 decision blocking the release of the movie following notre dame’s lawsuit (this decision was later reversed), called the movie “ugly, vulgar and tawdry.”

With music by John Williams (then “Johnny”) and a script by William Peter blatty, who went on to write “The exorcist,” this was no small indie joint notre dame tried to block. Adjusted for inflation, the budget for

“John Goldfarb” was about $11 million more than the budget for “rudy.”

While the University justifiably did not want to be referenced in the movie, its mere presence in “John Goldfarb” shows just how powerful notre dame’s mystique is. The Fawzian king’s son didn’t try out for bear bryant and Alabama or Usc no, he went to notre dame.

notre dame’s other major pop culture references are either actually about notre dame, involve a catholic jock or reference the Gipper. In “John Goldfarb,” notre dame is replaceable by any other legendary football program — which only makes it funnier. no serious person would change their view of notre dame based on this movie. The funniest part of the movie – at least for a mendoza college of business student — is when notre dame’s coach tells the state department he won’t throw the game against Fawz U because of “ethics.”

The long, storied history, quirks and traditions of notre dame make this such a special place to go to school. The existence of a major studio film where a fictional notre dame team plays a team of Whirling dervishes in a desert in a made-up Arab country only adds to that charm.

Contact Ryan Peters at rpeters5@nd.edu

By LUKE FOLEY scene Writer

The “mission: Impossible” films were the best hollywood blockbusters of the 2010s. “Ghost Protocol,” “rogue nation,” and “Fallout” were all deftly crafted spectacles, with jaw-dropping action set-pieces, riveting twists, endearing characters and an endlessly charming Tom cruise at the center of it all. There’s just something so wonderful about watching cruise nearly kill himself to entertain us in these movies. so I was very excited to see what director christopher mcQuarrie and cruise had in store for the most recent installment, “mission: Impossible — dead reckoning Part one.” They did not disappoint, delivering another excellent, enthralling action film.

“dead reckoning” centers on ethan hunt and friends trying to destroy a rogue AI software, ominously called “The entity,” before it takes over the world. They’re not the only people trying to get The entity. All the governments in the world, including the U.s., want to harness The entity’s capabilities for world dominance instead of destroying it. It’s ethan alone who views The entity as something evil that needs to be terminated, which pits him against both his own government and The entity.

The quest to destroy The entity is riveting and thematically rich. Although AI is exaggerated in the story, the film smartly recognizes AI’s real and terrifying

threat to society. AI is inherently soulless, devoid of emotions, ingenuity or compassion — the things that make us human. The AI sycophants who want to replace artists and writers with AI want a world without humanity or connection; they want life without the things that make life meaningful. ethan has always represented the indomitable human spirit in these films. he’s the perfect antithesis of AI like The entity, portrayed in the film as a cold, unfeeling algorithm operating based on pure efficiency and nothing else. The viewer quickly sympathizes with how alarmed ethan and the gang are about The entity. It’s the best villain the series has had to date.

In typical “mission: Impossible” fashion, the action sequences throughout are top notch. The submarine cold open is a perfect vignette to establish the tone of paranoia throughout the film. The Abu dhabi airport sequence is a wonderfully executed game of cat and mouse. The car chase in rome is a continually escalating endeavor with lots of solid humor layered throughout. And the whole train sequence that takes up the entirety of the film’s third act is incredible. The runaway european train functions both as a conduit for story drama to naturally escalate and as a setting for many spectacular set pieces. The motorcycle jump off the cliff is absolutely crazy; cruise is not only our last true movie star, but an insane daredevil with a death

wish. The fistfight atop the moving train is also great, and that final train cabin escape sequence is equally marvelous and stressful. It’s like “Titanic” but on a train, with ethan and Grace, the newest addition to the ImF squad, arduously trekking through train cabins falling off a cliff. And despite the film being a part one of two, it ends on a satisfyingly conclusive note.

The film is not without its flaws, though. The film kills off Ilsa Faust, an incredibly beloved character in the franchise, in a very poor, unceremonious manner. Furthermore, the film’s cinematography isn’t great. There’s an omnipresent digital sheen to everything, making the picture often look bland and artificial. some scenes are shot poorly, like the alleyway fight scene and even the epic motorcycle jump. And to make the problem of artificiality worse, there’s some not-great cGI in this film, a first in a franchise of consistently solid visual effects work.

It’s a tragedy that “dead reckoning” underperformed at the box office and became overshadowed by the barbenheimer phenomenon shortly after its release. With timely themes and expertly crafted set pieces, “dead reckoning” is another fantastic entry in the “mission: Impossible” franchise, despite stumbling in ways previous films in the franchise haven’t.

Contact Luke Foley at lfoley2@nd.edu

By COZETTE BROWN scene Writer

You might’ve been in your Taylor swift era this summer, but I’ve been in my “The Age of Pleasure” era since the album’s release June 9. Artist Janelle monáe — whose last album “dirty computer” was nominated for best music video (“Pynk”) and Album of the Year at the 61st Grammy Awards — might not take up as much space in today’s celebrity spotlight as comparable artists, but she’s just as deserving of a spot on your summer playlist as any other.

In “The Age of Pleasure,” monáe is unapologetically themself and unreservedly honest about who they want to make music for.

In an interview with Apple music, monáe said their music “centers around protecting [the] communities that [they’re] a part of, from the LGbTQIA+ communities to being black to all of that.”

The tracks “Float (feat. seun Kuti & egypt 80)” and “haute” showcase monáe’s

unmistakable confidence, while “champagne sh*t” and “The French 75 (feat. sister nancy)” give us a glimpse into who she is around her friends. speaking of friends — monáe collaborated with a whole entourage of other noteworthy artists to produce “The Age of Pleasure.”

With this new album, monáe unmasks their bowieesque persona in previous LPs to reveal a much more raw celebration of the self.

This revealing nature of monáe’s “The Age of Pleasure” might shock you. “The rush (feat. nia Long & Amaarae)” and “Water slide” provide some water metaphors that would have me turning red in the wrong crowd, but if you’re willing to embrace the unashamed sensuality of the album, you can melt right into a masterful blend of jazz and reggae rhythms. monáe fuses influences from the PanAfrican diaspora to create grooves that will play in your head on repeat all summer. It took me some time to get used to the provocative lyrics of tracks such as “Lipstick Lover” or “A dry red.” similar to getting into a pool, the

original shock lasts only a moment before you find yourself relaxing into a cool summer escape. After you get used to the shallows of suggestive lyrics and explicit imagery, you can swim deeper into themes of authenticity, finding community and creating safe spaces for the ones you cherish most.

so give it a try. Let “The Age of Pleasure” be your era of powerful vocals, smooth sounds and summer spirit. Like the little summer we have left, “The Age of Pleasure” is short. The LP is made up of 14 songs spanning only 32 minutes. If you only have time to dip your toes in the water, at least give “haute” a listen. You’ll thank me for it when you’re gassing yourself up for your first exams of the year. or, if 32 minutes of summer isn’t enough for you, I highly recommend checking out monáe’s music video for “Lipstick Lover” — and make sure to watch the clean version, too. Then, look up monáe’s mom reacting to said music video (it’s priceless). If monáe’s mom approves, I think you will too.

happy Birthday: Embrace life, go after your dreams and be satisfied, content and stress-free. Set a budget, define what’s important to you and design a routine that meets your needs. you control your destiny. Making decisions that help you reach your objective will make a difference to the outcome. Believe in yourself and put in the work that will keep you moving forward. your numbers are 9, 14, 21, 25, 32, 34, 46.

ArIES (March 21-April 19): The little things count, like being good to yourself. Putter around the house, go hiking or spend time with someone you love, and it will improve your frame of mind and help you sort through the changes you want to make.

TAuruS (April 20-May 20): Test your theories and see what happens. you’ll have an extensive appreciation of the possibilities regarding how to turn your thoughts into reality. Stop contemplating what to do next; initiate your plans. Don’t give anyone a chance to steal your thunder.

gEMINI (May 21-June 20): Too much talk and not enough listening will put you at a disadvantage. gather information, research and do your own thing. It’s what you master and present that matters. Don’t limit what you can accomplish because you are too busy trying to impress others.

CANCEr (June 21-July 22): Talk to an expert, attend a seminar or have a heart-toheart discussion with someone close to your life and any changes you face. look for alternative ways to bring in more money or lower your overhead. refuse to let frustration or fear hold you back.

lEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Make your way to the finish line. Don’t stop to chat or let distractions hinder your mission. Temptation and acting in haste are the enemies. look at your objective and put everything you’ve got into reaching your destination on time and intact.

vIrgO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): rethink your personal plans, partnerships and long-term goals. Consider how to make and improve investments, and adjust accordingly. Don’t fear being different or changing your direction. Do what’s best for your health and well-being. Simplify your routine to maintain happiness and peace of mind.

lIBrA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Pay attention to gestures and suggestions. Someone you can relate to will give you inside information about an investment or potential opportunity. Don’t be too quick to take the bait. Invest in yourself before you choose to get into a joint venture.

SCOrPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do your homework, verify information and consider any limitations a change may cause personally or professionally. A good workout will relieve stress and clear your head. Change looks promising, but your options need fine-tuning.

SAgITTArIuS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t get stuck doing someone else’s dirty work. listen carefully, ask questions and consider heading in a less complicated direction. Expand your talents, skills and knowledge. you’ll discover how to get the most enjoyment out of life.

CAPrICOrN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): An unexpected change will free up cash and allow you to take advantage of an opportunity. Don’t be a slouch or fall prey to someone’s scam. Think and do what’s best for you. Invest in something that offers financial stability.

AQuArIuS (Jan. 20-feb. 18): Increase your awareness, listen to experts and protect against tempting offers that sound too good. Stick to your budget and focus on looking and feeling your best by putting in the time to exercise properly. Be good to yourself.

PISCES (feb. 19-March 20): you’ll have plenty of unique ideas floating around in your head. Share your thoughts with someone you feel emotionally connected to and see what transpires. An opportunity to discover a better life path looks promising. Birthday Baby: you are outgoing, practical and revolutionary. you are novel and constant.

By TYLER REIDY

Associate s ports e ditor

o n almost any given week, college athletics offer us an infinite number of choices. With hundreds of games out there, locating peak entertainment windows is a challenge for any viewer — myself included. And in mid- s eptember, as fall sports conference schedules overlap with marquee first-month games, that challenge is heightened even further. s o, beginning this week, I’ll outline the best of the upcoming collegiate schedule. h ere are 18 games to keep an eye on over the next seven days.

Football

Ahead of next week’s loaded slate, week three does not feature a single ranked-on-ranked matchup. n o. 15 Kansas s tate visits m issouri at noon on s aturday in a meeting of 2-0 squads. Though m izzouri has traditionally owned the old b ig 12 series, Kansas s tate is 15-5 against the Tigers since 1993. That includes a 40-12 Wildcat beatdown in m anhattan last s eptember. While Kansas s tate has won its first two games comfortably, m issouri barely scraped by m iddle Tennessee last week. e xpecting their first non-conference sellout in 11 years, the Tigers seek a better performance on s aturday.

In their first meeting since a nine-overtime showdown in 2021, n o. 7 Penn s tate heads to Illinois at noon. The 1-1 Fighting Illini fell at Kansas last week in a game more lopsided than the 34-23 score would indicate. m eanwhile,

quarterback d rew Allar has passed efficiently for a n ittany Lion offense that is averaging 510 yards per game. The sophomore ranks seventh in college football with a 78.2 completion percentage.

Also at noon, n o. 14 L s U (1-1) opens sec play with its c ollege Football Playoff chances already on life support. c oming off a 7210 thrashing of Grambling s tate, the Tigers will visit m ississippi s tate. The game features a battle of highly capable quarterbacks who both played poorly in their duel a season ago. L s U’s Jayden d aniels has passed for 615 yards in two games, while the b ulldogs’ Will r ogers hasn’t yet broken out but has played interception-free football.

r eturning to the nonconference schedule, n o. 20 n orth c arolina hosts m innesota in a tussle of undefeated teams. b ut neither squad has totally impressed through two games. The Golden Gophers scored a combined 38 points in defeats of n ebraska and e astern m ichigan. And after passing a week one test at s outh c arolina, the Tar h eels needed two overtimes to beat Appalachian s tate at home last week. With league play looming, this 3:30 game is a prove-it opportunity for both parties.

m oving down to The s wamp, n o. 11 Tennessee and Florida have the first sec night game of 2023. d espite losing 16 of their last 18 matchups with Florida, the volunteers are favored to top the Gators for a second consecutive season. The undefeated visitors throttled v irginia in week one but were not

particularly sharp during their 30-13 defeat of Austin Peay last week. m eanwhile, 1-1 Florida hopes to avenge a season-opening loss at Utah with a ranked win at home.

And though both teams have a loss, I can’t leave the b ackyard b rawl off the list. After last year’s 3831 barnburner at Acrisure s tadium, Pitt and West v irginia set their sights on m organtown for a 7:30 kickoff. b oth teams have different quarterbacks this time around. Pitt’s Phil Jurkovec and West v irginia’s Garrett Greene have been fine in their first year as starters for their respective teams. b ut one must take a step forward in his third game to keep his team above .500 under the lights.

women’s Volleyball

A loaded weekend on the court begins with a battle of 2022 e lite e ight qualifiers on Thursday evening. Fresh off a split with two top-15 opponents, n o. 7 o regon makes the long journey to face n o. 8 Pittsburgh. s ince a seasonopening loss at b YU, the Panthers have outscored their competition 18-1 with contributions from backto-back A cc Freshman of the Week o livia b abcock.

n o. 6 Texas plays a tough pair of games this week. The defending champion Longhorns will host n o. 19

o hio s tate on Thursday, a day before welcoming n o. 11 Washington s tate. Last season, the Longhorns knocked off o hio s tate to reach the Final Four. The b uckeyes hope to avenge that game and halt a current four-game skid against top-11 competition. o n the other hand, Washington

ND meN’s socceR

s tate is riding high after its first top-10 win in two years on s aturday against b YU.

s unday afternoon features two top-five matchups. The first, n o. 5 s tanford at n o. 2 Louisville, is scheduled for 1 p.m. While the c ardinal ( s tanford) fell to fourth-ranked n ebraska on Tuesday, the c ardinals (Louisville) have yet to lose this season. The other marquee match brings n o. 1 Wisconsin and n o. 3 Florida together at 3 p.m. in Gainesville. The b adgers have won 25 consecutive regular-season games and the Gators already have three top-10 wins this season.

men’s soccer

As conference play begins this weekend, the s un b elt presents another topfive matchup, as n o. 5 U c F hosts n o. 4 West v irginia on Friday. b oth teams are unbeaten through five games, with the m ountaineers coming off a 1-0 takedown of third-ranked Portland. For the Knights, this showdown marks their first conference game as a s un b elt member.

s taying in the s un b elt, n o. 2 m arshall faces a road test in its conference opener at n o. 9 James m adison. h aving outscored its first six opponents 22-2, the Thundering h erd boasts arguably the top offense in the country. b ut the d ukes topped m arshall in the quarterfinals of last year’s conference tournament and have the upside to prevail again on s aturday.

Like the defending volleyball champion, the reigning men’s soccer king battles a difficult schedule this week. n o. 7 s yracuse

plays its first Acc road game s aturday at no. 20 Wake Forest. The o range and its top-tier defense looks to contain Wake’s roald m itchell, who has nine points over his last three games. Looking ahead to Tuesday, s yracuse also visits no. 25 c ornell in an nc AA Tournament rematch.

women’s s occer

A cross-divisional battle in the sec on Thursday night leads off the women’s soccer week. After an impressive draw at home with thirdranked north c arolina, no. 7 Alabama welcomes no. 23 Georgia to Tuscaloosa. needing a strong result to remain ranked, the b ulldogs have not defeated the c rimson Tide since 2010.

To the surprise of no one, the Acc provides the game of the week on Friday at 4 p.m. no. 4 Florida state pays a visit to no. 8 c lemson on day one of conference action. Though the s eminoles have won five straight in the series, c lemson is off to a hot start. The Tigers rank among the Acc ’s top two in both goals scored and goals allowed per game.

sunday night shifts the headlines to the West c oast for a b ay Area brawl between no. 12 s anta c lara and no. 3 stanford. The c ardinal has already defeated 10th-ranked d uke 4-0 as part of a 6-0-1 start. b ut for the 6-0-2 broncos, this trip to Palo Alto represents their first meeting with a ranked opponent.

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Irish start Acc play at U nc

By NOAH CAHILL s ports Writer

Playing away from home increases the difficulty of any match, regardless of the opponent. It takes some extra resilience to win in a hostile environment, especially on the first road trip of the season. That is exactly what the n otre d ame men’s soccer team will look to do against their next opponent, n orth c arolina. Playing in

their second A cc match and first away match of the season will be another key test for the Irish. n otre d ame will hope to respond after a disappointing 1-0 loss to m ichigan s tate.

After conceding a 34thminute counterattacking goal, the Irish were unable to crack a staunch s partan defense despite an 11-5 shot advantage. While it is easy to overreact to the first setback of the season, the Irish

should remain confident in the way they have opened up 2023. Following a down year, the Irish came out the gates 4-0-1 earning a n o. 10 ranking before slipping up against m ichigan s tate.

n onetheless, the n orth c arolina match will be a gut check for a n otre d ame team that experienced a number of firsts against the s partans: trailing in a match, failing see msoc Page 13

ROMina llanOs | The Observer Irish sophomore midfielder KK Baffour tries to pull away from the defense during Notre Dame’s 1-0 loss to Michigan State on Sept. 12.

to score and losing for the first time all season. d espite dominating possession and creating chances, the i rish were not clinical enough in the loss. They will have to be on Friday.

o n the other side, n orth

c arolina has opened up the year undefeated with a 2-0-2 record. They opened up acc play with a 1-1 draw against v irginia Tech.

Graduate student forward Quenzi h uerman is the team’s leading scorer with four goals, adding an assist as well. d avid

b ercedo, also a graduate student, plays a prominent role up front. h e has yet to hit the ground running this campaign with only a goal in 14 shots, but has proven in the past to be an elite attacker. The m adrid native finished with 14 goals last season, good for third in the nation. h e did that at Quinnipiac, though, before transferring to n orth c arolina this season.

The offensive creation of h uerman and b ercedi will be pivotal to n orth c arolina’s success as they face an i rish defense that has only allowed a 0.67 goals against

average. The Tar h eel defense has allowed exactly one goal in every match so far. They will have to be at the top of their game against a balanced i rish attack that has seen six different scorers through six matches. They will have to zero in on junior forward m atthew r oou, who leads the i rish with five goals this season.

Tar h eel junior goalkeeper Quinn c losson took up the reins in net for his first college appearance against vc U, replacing graduate student c ollin Travasos in the 15th minute. h e has since started in the draw against v irginia Tech. d espite making five saves through his two appearances, he has also let in two goals.

n otre d ame will meet n orth c arolina for the 13th meeting all-time, trailing in the series 3-7-2. This match will be a prime opportunity for the i rish to improve both their poor all-time record against the Tar h eels, as well as push their acc record to 2-0. They will go to c hapel h ill hoping to do that on Friday at 7:00 p.m. on the acc n etwork.

Contact Noah Cahill at ncahill2@nd.edu

be a point of interest for n otre d ame in its first conference test. n orman has experimented with a number of different midfield combinations over the first stretch of the season, with the most recent trio being sophomore Leah Klenke, junior s ophia Fisher and graduate student Kiki van Zanten. s ophomore midfielder Laney m atriano missed the last two matches

with injury but figures to be a factor as well upon return.

Freshman forward c harlie

c odd has also recently entered the starting lineup, playing as a wingback.

c odd’s emergence as a starter came in response to Klenke’s move from wingback to center midfield.

a strong result against

Wake Forest will likely be paramount to the i rish’s chances of qualifying for the acc tournament. n otre

d ame, who has excelled at home under n orman,

will play almost all of their toughest conference matches on the road this fall.

Picking up home victories will be a must for a team looking to build upon 2022’s third-place finish.

n otre d ame women’s soccer will be back in action this Friday against Wake Forest at a lumni s tadium. The match will kickoff at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on accn X.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

The Thomas H. Quinn Lecture is an annual event hosted by the Mendoza College of Business to honor the Notre Dame alumnus and former member and chairman of Mendoza’s Business Advisory Council.

saints end non-conference play on sour note against calvin

By ANDREW McGUINNESS s ports e ditor

A change of pace could not come at a better time for h oly c ross men’s soccer. After a strong 2-1-0 start, the s aints have fallen into a rut in non-conference play. o ver their last four games, they have been outscored 10-4, conceding multiple goals in three of those matches. That streak continued Tuesday against c alvin, as h oly c ross fell to 0-3-1 over its last four contests with a 3-1 loss to Knights.

It’s not that the s aints have been consistently getting blown out in games. Though a two-goal loss

ncAA gAMES To wATch

is significant in soccer, Tuesday’s match was tied deep into the second half. however, h oly c ross was behind the eight-ball for most of the game. It took barely 10 minutes for c alvin to take the lead, as h ans Pruis notched his first tally of the year on a feed from Jonah meyer- c rothers.

That goal would be a sign of what was to come in the opening 45 minutes. The s aints came out of the gates very sluggish, and the Knights were happy to take advantage. c alvin outshot holy c ross 7-1 and had the only two corner kicks of the opening half. If not for a couple of key saves from

junior goalkeeper Armin m ahmutovic, c alvin could’ve put the game out of reach before halftime.

b ut the teams went to break with the score still 1-0. Whatever h oly c ross head coach o mar Gallo told his team at halftime, it worked. The s aints outshot c alvin 11-5 over the final 45 minutes and went from generating zero corners in the first half to three in the second. e ven more importantly, the s aints found what it took to put a ball in the back of the net. Junior forward Juan Perez buried his first goal of the campaign just 5:45 into the half to bring

holy c ross level. however, c alvin was able to make the most of the opportunities they created in the second stanza. About 15 minutes after Perez’s goal, Jacob r yu found o liver Akintade for his team-leading third goal of the year to put c alvin back in front. Although the s aints kept pushing, the Knights’ defense and goalkeeper d aniel morgan held down the fort. A massive insurance goal by r yu on a penalty kick put the game out of reach with 5:42 remaining. With c alvin now behind them, the s aints will look for greater success as they

begin their conference slate. Last year, the team went 7-1-4 in conference play, finishing fourth in the standings. c alvin improves to an impressive 6-0-0 with the victory. The s aints kick off cc Ac play against the Governors s tate Jaguars, who should present an easier matchup as they currently sit at 0-6-0. Last year, though, they were a stellar 8-1-3 against cc Ac competition. The match begins at 2:30 p.m. on s aturday in n otre d ame.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@nd.edu

miller: Is colorado still ‘living a lie’?

All eyes on Boulder so far

By JAKE MILLER

s

enior s ports Writer

b ut While I don’t totally understand it, I love the hype around

d eion s anders’ c olorado

b uffaloes. The b uffaloes have won eight or fewer games in 19 of the past 20 years, with the average coming out to around

4.5 wins per season. s ince

2000, no Power Five program has seen less success on the gridiron than

b oulder. c olorado’s ath -

letic department continuously struggled to sell season tickets. b ut this year, they sold out in April. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the antics of

c oach Prime. If you follow

s anders’ YouTube (don’t call him d eion), you’ll quickly see that he records his motivational speeches, ends practice with games and brings in many different hall-of-fame players.

c oach Prime’s not impressing people with on-field strategy.

s o far, c olorado looks like a strong team. s hedeur s anders and Travis h unter are both All-American caliber players at their positions. Keep in mind, though, that c olorado has played two teams — T c U and n ebraska — that may not make a bowl game. Too much of T c U’s roster changed over, and n ebraska’s situation at quarterback is an absolute mess — Jeff s ims may struggle to find a starting job at any F bs school.

n evertheless, s anders and h unter played well in both games. b ut even with their flashes so far, no one really cares about the Xs and o s. The focus is on Prime.

This week, es P n ’s

c ollege Gameday heads to b oulder for their first visit since 1996. Fox’s b ig

n oon Kickoff pregame show also visits c olorado, even though their b ig

n oon game is actually in c hampaign, Illinois.

o n s aturday, the b uffs play a really bad c olorado

s tate team from the m ountain West. n obody cares about the game itself, but the hype around it is massive. The question becomes: what will happen if c olorado keeps winning?

A tough road ahead

As a whole, the sport needs c oach Prime. The c ollege Football Playoff is salivating at the possibility of hosting the b uffaloes in one of the three playoff games. Yet, c olorado is a shell of a team with a brutal offensive line and not much of a run game.

c olorado will play most of the Pac-12’s strongest teams: U sc , o regon, Utah, U c LA, o regon s tate and Washington s tate.

c olorado will be tested, and personally, I don’t think they’ll hold up. vegas doesn’t seem to think so either: the line on c olorado’s total season wins sits at 6.5. Gameday and b ig n oon Kickoff can’t follow b oulder every week. Two of c olorado’s games are on Friday nights, neither

of which are b lack Friday. This is significant, as the Friday night window is typically reserved for worse games or as a way for teams to get national exposure. This comes at a cost, as T v viewership is lower because many fans are at high school matchups.

Role of the college Football Playoff

Yet the question remains — what would the c ollege Football Playoff committee actually do if the b uffs end the season with two losses? es P n would surely see a huge ratings bump if the b uffaloes were in the Playoff. The very first line of the c FP c ommittee s election Protocol states that “ranking football teams is an art, not a science.” o f course, the protocol gives several clear criteria, but at the end of the day, is the role of the committee to be as fair as possible? o r to grow the game?

In 1989, Lou h oltz (thenn otre d ame coach) referred

to c olorado as a team “living a lie.” h oltz believed that c olorado hadn’t faced any real competition in the b ig e ight — what grew to the b ig 12. n otre d ame ended up de-crowning n o. 1 c olorado in the o range b owl, 21-6. This season, c olorado is definitely living something, but until they lose, it’s not a lie. It’s a beautifully intricate, sophisticated and purposeful plan to engage fans, challenge recruiting tactics and personify a game of Xs and o s. e ven if c olorado turns out to be a fraud on the field, the newly-embraced culture and openness with their now-national fanbase are “true” as can be. If c oach Prime can sustain the structure he’s built, c olorado may begin a dynasty living as college football’s crown jewel.

Contact Jake Miller at jmille89@nd.edu

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

the Peacock game? m ids eptember? That sounded more clever in my head. r egardless, every year n otre d ame has had a game streamed exclusively on Peacock Premium, that game has turned into a nailbiter for the i rish. Toledo in 2021 allowed a sigh of relief, m arshall in 2022 caused a recalibration of views on the entire season.

b ut i suspect the Peacock curse will end this season. s am h artman keeps ticking. d eland m c c ullough’s running back room continues to make its case for n otre d ame’s deepest unit. The defense allows a touchdown, but no more. The i rish are comfortably rotating in secondteam options on both sides of the ball by the second half. n otre d ame 52, c entral m ichigan 7.

Madeline Ladd, Associate

Sports Editor

c oming out of the mac conference, c entral m ichigan plays tough football but lacks the talent to beat out the i rish. Quarterback b ert e manuel Jr. can make plays with his legs, but a l Golden’s defense has had plenty of success containing a mobile quarterback so far this season. a s for the c hips’ defense, it is frankly just bad. i believe a shutout in n otre d ame s tadium is on the horizon.

i predict s am h artman will play an efficient first half with three touchdowns, but s teve a ngeli will take the reins for the second half. The i rish defense will have some fun collecting five turnovers including three sacks and two interceptions. n otre d ame

52, c entral m ichigan 0.

Matthew Crow, Associate Sports Editor

a fter a big road win at nc s tate, n otre d ame should not have much trouble handling c entral m ichigan at home.

The i rish offense started slow against the Wolfpack, and against Tennessee s tate, to a lesser extent — but i expect it to dominate from start to finish on s aturday.

c entral m ichigan gave up 493 passing yards against n ew h ampshire last week, and n otre d ame should be throwing the ball downfield early and often, especially as they look to rejuvenate a wide receiver group that was quiet last weekend. Jayden Thomas and Jaden Greathouse will catch two touchdowns apiece, and the i rish defense will shut the c hippewas out through the first three quarters. n otre d ame 52, c entral m ichigan 10.

Tom Zwiller, Senior Sports Writer

a fter getting to travel to r aleigh and experience my first road game, c entral m ichigan certainly feels like a bit of a letdown. cm U needed a 47-yard field goal as time expired to beat the powerhouse that is n ew h ampshire. s o i ’m not expecting a lot from the c hippewas.

The nice thing is that this serves as a soft bye in between the nc s tate road trip and o hio s tate. s o the i rish starters should get some rest later in the game, and more rotation players should get in on some of the action. The schedule from now until their next break?

o hio s tate, d uke, Louisville and U sc

it’s good the game is here, but give me o hio s tate already. n otre d ame 45, c entral m ichigan 7.

Paid a dverTisemen T

ND WoMEN’S SoCCER

Irish begin conference play against Wake Forest

By J.J. POST

a ssociate s ports e ditor

n otre d ame women’s soccer will look to start acc play strong on f riday night, when they welcome Wake f orest to a lumni s tadium.

The d emon d eacons should represent a considerable first conference foe for the i rish. They’ve gone unbeaten over their own seven-game out-ofconference slate, with six wins and a draw to their name. Those wins include victories against multiple Power f ive opponents, such as a uburn and Purdue. h owever, their contest with n o. 23 b rown, who would have been the first ranked

team Wake f orest faced, was canceled. n otre d ame will enter f riday’s matchup ranked n o. 13 in the country.

e xpect n ikayla s mall to help lead the way for the d emon d eacons in s outh

b end. The junior midfielder has started the season impressively, recording five assists in seven games. The former a ll- acc f reshman Team honoree missed the entire 2022 season with an injury but has been back with a point to prove in 2023.

Wake f orest’s defense has been one of the acc ’s best through non-conference play and should offer a stern challenge to the i rish

attack. The d emon d eacons have allowed just two goals this season, as well as a total of just 18 shots on target. The main story for n otre d ame will be who earns the start at goalkeeper. s enior a shley n aylor started the first six matches of the season for the i rish, but head coach n ate n orman opted for a change in net during the team’s most recent contest against b owling Green. f reshman a tlee o lofson got the start against the f alcons, playing her first minutes of the season. o lofson made a pair of saves in a shutout victory. The midfield should also

belles falter down the stretch against a nderson

By MATTHEW CROW a ssociate s ports e ditor

f or the first 80 minutes of their game on Wednesday, s aint m ary’s soccer appeared to be on track for a big non-conference win on the road against a nderson. a fter being held scoreless in their previous outing, the b elles tallied a pair of first-half goals. They were also able to blank the r avens deep into the second half.

s occer games are played in 90 minutes, though. i t was during the final 10 minutes that a potential 2-0 s aint m ary’s win suddenly turned into a 3-2 defeat.

The b elles were strong out of the gate and played a dominant first half. They had complete control of possession, outshooting a nderson 8-1 in the period and earning seven corner kicks compared to none for the r avens. s aint m ary’s was not able to turn their consistent scoring chances into a shot on goal in the early stages of an action-packed half but managed to break through in the 21st minute.

e arning a free kick in a nderson’s territory, the b elles lofted a pass toward a swarm of players in the box. The ball was deflected and bounced toward the left side of the field, where s aint m ary’s freshman midfielder m arina

c vasconcelos chased it down before firing a low shot past the r avens’ keeper. The goal was the first of her college career, and snapped the b elles’ scoring drought of more than 160 minutes.

s aint m ary’s was not content to take the 1-0 advantage into halftime, though. They continued to apply pressure on a nderson’s back line in search of an opportunity to double their lead. That pressure eventually forced the r avens into a costly mistake, as the b elles earned a penalty kick in the final minutes of the period. Junior forward i zzi Linus put the ball in the back of the net to make the score 2-0 at halftime.

The second half would not be as smooth for s aint m ary’s. They struggled to replicate the offensive rhythm they had during the first 45 minutes. i nstead, it was a nderson who began to control the flow of the game. The r avens attempted 11 shots in the second half, while the b elles managed five, a reversal of the first period.

d espite this, a nderson remained unable to get on the scoreboard. s aint m ary’s deployed a bend-but-don’tbreak defensive mentality in hopes of keeping a clean sheet until the final whistle. With less than 10 minutes remaining, still staring down a two-goal deficit, the

r avens finally opened the floodgates.

a nderson attempted a long shot that was deflected at close range. s t. m ary’s sophomore goalie c aroline m iklavcic could not corral the ball, and the r avens’ Kyndall f erguson was first to react, scoring off the rebound. Less than 30 seconds later, a nderson scored again. c ontrolling the ball in transition, Lauren b rown deftly maneuvered around a b elles defender and found the bottom right corner of the net to tie the game. h aving seen their seemingly safe lead slip away in a matter of seconds, s aint m ary’s attempted to regroup. They knew that they could hold on for a draw if they could stop the bleeding in the final minutes. b ut with less than 40 seconds left on the clock, a nderson completed their comeback. The r avens earned a free kick just outside of the box, and b ekah b lair scored with a perfectly placed shot to make the final score 3-2 in a nderson’s favor.

With the last-second loss, the b elles fall to 1-3 on the season. They will not have to spend much time stewing on their disappointment, though. s aint m ary’s will look to get back on track on the road against Lake f orest on f riday at 5:30 p.m.

Irish look ahead to weekend home-and-home series with Toledo

By J.J. POST

Associate sports e ditor

notre dame volleyball looks to continue their strong start to the season this weekend, facing off with Toledo twice. The Irish will host the rockets on Friday before traveling to ohio on sunday for a rematch.

Toledo will be looking to shake off a rough start to 2023 that has seen the squad amass a 2-7 record. The rockets will enter south bend on a threematch losing streak, having most recently been swept at the north dakota state tournament in Fargo, north dakota.

The senior duo of Taylor Alt and Jada bouyer will likely lead the way for Toledo, with the pair representing half of the four rockets who have played in every set this season. Alt and bouyer have combined to account for just over 40% of all Toledo points in 2023.

Fifth-year libero r yann Jaqua can be expected to

anchor the rockets defensively. Jaqua’s 162 digs lead the team by a significant margin. her serve receive percentage of .972 also leads all qualified players on the roster.

For the Irish, it looks likely Friday will be another display of the sydney Palazzolo show.

The junior outside hitter has been a revelation in south bend since transferring to notre dame from h igh Point.

she’s led the team in kills in each of the first six games. her kill total (114) more than doubles the second-highest total on the roster. she’s averaging more kills per set than any other player in the Acc Palazzolo has been efficient in her attacks as well, as her successful attack percentage of .256 is the second-highest on the team, trailing only graduate student setter nicole drewnick.

drewnick, the graduate student setter, has been another major success story in the portal for the Irish. Arriving

from Georgia Tech, the fifthyear player has thrived in her first year as a full-time college starter. she’s recorded 248 assists, good for eighth in the Acc on a per-set basis. behind the standout transfer pairing defensively is someone who’s been a mainstay in south bend for years, hattie monson. The libero hasn’t missed a start since arriving on campus in 2020 and has continued her successes in 2023. her 100 digs are the most on the team by a wide gap — no other player has more than 43. A vocal leader, her presence on the court has been a boon for an Irish lineup featuring several new faces.

If the Irish can sweep the rockets, they’ll be on pace for their best start to non-conference play since 2019. The first showdown between the two teams will begin at 6:30 p.m. in south bend on Friday.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

Irish men place eighth, women set for match two

By ANDREW McGUINNESS s ports e ditor

c omparing the n otre d ame men’s golf team’s performance through its first two events of the fall presents a dichotomy. o n one hand, the Irish regressed on the leaderboard this weekend at the Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Golf c lub in m aple Plain, m innesota. After kicking off the season with their first tournament win in two years at the Folds of h onor c ollegiate at American d unes Golf c lub in Grand h aven, m ichigan, the Irish placed eighth out of 14 schools in their second competition.

b ut it isn’t necessarily fair to say the Irish played worse. After all, they finished three strokes better, both in terms of net score and in comparison to par. n otre d ame shot an 857 that left them just four strokes shy of the proverbial podium.

r egardless of whether you view the team’s performance as a step forward or back, there were some positive developments for the Irish. Freshman Jacob m odleski showed his potential, finishing fourth in the entire field in just his second collegiate event. m odleski was consistently strong and improved as the tournament progressed, shooting 71-70-68 across the three rounds.

Four Irish golfers recorded a combined seven rounds of par (71) or better.

Graduate student Palmer Jackson bounced back from a rare opening-round struggle during which he shot 76. h e flipped the numbers around to record n otre d ame’s lowest score of the competition with a second-round 67. That score was tied for the second-best round of the tournament.

o nly Kansas’ Will King had a lower single-round score with a 66 that he also posted in the second round.

With the men’s team now two events into their season, the Irish women will head into their second event of the year in the upcoming weekend. The team will travel to Forest Akers West Golf c ourse in e ast Lansing, m ichigan, to compete in the m ary Fossum Invitational. The Irish women’s team previously competed in the b oilermaker c lassic, finishing fifth with a team score of 879 (15 over par).

Like the men’s team in m innesota, a familiar face and a freshman paced the team in its season opener. Graduate student Lauren b eaudreau finished tied for fourth in the competition, shooting five under par and finishing strong with a third-round 67. Freshman Anna h eck wasn’t far behind, tying for 17th at three over par in her collegiate debut.

Contact Andrew McGuinness at amcguinn@ nd.edu

FooTBAll PREDIcTIoNS

Observer predicts ND vs. CMU

By Observer Sports Staff José Sánchez c órdova, Assistant Managing Editor

I expect the Irish to look fairly comfortable against the c hippewas this weekend. c entral m ichigan’s biggest weapon is quarterback b ert e manuel Jr., but I believe n otre d ame will limit his mobility and force him to win from the pocket. I think this will lead to another big day for Irish turnovers, including their first fumble recovery of the year. Look for s teve Angeli to play some more snaps in the second half of this one. n otre d ame 56, c entral m ichigan 10.

Andrew Mc g uinness, Sports Editor

Two things I’ll be watching for in this game: n otre d ame’s offensive line and how quickly it gets to 14 points. It took 14 minutes against navy, 17 against Tennessee s tate and 29 against nc s tate. That’s not exactly an encouraging

trend. h artman having to scramble quite a bit early in that Tennessee s tate game and being sacked four times against the Wolfpack is certainly not ideal. The Irish will be underdogs against o hio s tate, and their biggest position gap between the b uckeyes probably comes at wide receiver. That screams run-heavy attack. b ut the Irish running backs are only as good as the holes created for them.

The fact that I’m talking about things to look ahead for o hio s tate already should give you a good idea about how much of a challenge c entral m ichigan should present the Irish. Let’s just say it should be less than the amount of difficulty the c hippewas had dispatching n ew h ampshire. n otre d ame 49, c entral m ichigan 7.

J.J. Post, Associate Sports Editor

b eware the ides of

allison abplanalp | The observer

Irish senior middle blocker Charity McDowell bumps the ball during Notre Dame’s 3-0 win over Illinois on Sept. 7, 2023. The Irish are 4-2.

again, there is no me in all those conversations without upfront, on the outside, those guys going to war for me. And shoot, even the scout team guys,” h artman said.

While h artman might not want to talk about his chances of being nominated for a heisman and his odds of winning the award, I absolutely do.

h artman has made following and covering this team an absolute joy. This team has been the most exciting to follow in my four years here at the tri-campus. It would be incredible for h artman to come in and win a heisman in his only year here.

s o, what does it take? Let’s find out.

Notre Dame

h artman does have one thing right. Team success does undoubtedly factor in. o f the seven heisman trophies notre d ame has won, six have been awarded during years of Irish dominance. The one outlier year was 1956 when Paul “the Golden b oy” hornung claimed the trophy (definitely worth a Google).

b ut “Golden b oy” aside, the average AP finish for a notre d ame heisman-winning player was 4.17, and the team averaged 1.08 losses (I am factoring in one tie as half a loss).

s o, we have our first two criteria. notre d ame needs to finish near the top of the c FP r ankings heading into bowl season, ideally at fourth but no worse than sixth. I say that mainly because c aleb Williams did not make the Playoff in 2022, but he was still the runaway favorite for the heisman.

notre d ame also needs to finish no worse than 11-1. In reality, the team must run the table to optimize h artman’s odds. however, dating back to 2016, five heisman winners played for teams with at least one to two losses. s o, it can be done. I think h artman might be punished for the team being independent, as the team is in the Playoff discussion. b ut 11-1 seems good enough to win the award.

I am going to set a sort of sub-requirement. notre

d ame cannot lose to Usc

b ecause Usc has a much worse defense than notre

d ame and the high-scoring nature of the Pac-12, I think Williams will outperform h artman on a statistical basis. h artman actually has a defense and does not need to carry the Irish like Williams will. s o, h artman is going to need the Usc win. If the Irish can avoid losing to one of the big three but has a close loss to d uke or Louisville, h artman’s resume can survive.

Hartman’s side

As I said earlier, on 64 attempts, h artman has 48 completions (75%), 731 yards, 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions. After the b lue-Gold game in April, I predicted that h artman would finish with 2,733 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 62.7% accuracy. s o much for that one.

Through the first three games, I accurately predicted s am’s completions and attempts, but I completely underestimated his efficiency. I also gave him much less credit against nc state and had his T d -I n T ratio at 1-1.

In the remainder of my projections, I really underestimated h artman’s efficiency and the boost in accuracy he would bring to the table. s o, I reworked my forecasts for the remaining nine games. Instead of building the schedule from a combination of h artman and notre d ame’s past, I used the three prior games.

d on’t get me wrong: it still wound up being a stitch work of estimates. I used T s U as a comparison for cm U (and in part for stanford). nc state became my baseline for d uke, Louisville and Pitt. navy and nc state were used for Wake Forest.

I will admit that o hio state, Usc and c lemson games remain very much an unknown. The best I could really do for those three games was increase the number of attempts s am would get. Then, I adjusted his accuracy and his yards per completion and tried to reflect this season’s numbers.

The results are much more impressive than I had forecasted in April. I now think s am can reach 37 touchdowns and will throw only six interceptions. o n top of that, I have him eclipsing the 3,750-yard mark with roughly 72% accuracy (245/335).

The bigger picture

s o, does h artman have a chance? o ne thing most recent heisman have going for them (that makes their statistical performance look a little better) is that they have their Playoff/b owl stats alongside their conference championship game included.

s o, h artman’s resume is certainly not out of place here. I think that the team aspect I mentioned earlier, that notre d ame needs to go 11-1 or better, is essential. And h artman needs the win over c aleb Williams, as I have him posting numbers as good, if not better, than last year.

b ut I believe that h artman is fully capable of being a heisman finalist. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Contac Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu

Keys to victory: Irish vs. Chippewas

By MADELINE LADD Associate s ports e ditor

The Irish are in a threewin groove as they head into their home matchup against the c entral m ichigan c hippewas this s aturday. Though the ‘c hips are not projected to be a difficult opponent compared to the likes of those on the Irish’s remaining schedule, now is not a time for the team to rest. n otre d ame has an opportunity to tweak some weaknesses and get their reserves more playing time. h ere are five keys to the game for the Irish to remember.

1. Don’t start slow

The Irish are coming off a major high after their road victory in the storm-delayed environment in r aleigh. h owever, they cannot start off slow and play down to their opponent at home, which happened last season against teams like m arshall, c al and s tanford. In general, the Irish have taken a quarter or two get going this season — a trend that cannot continue with the o hio s tate

game looming.

2. Speaking of o SU, don’t look ahead to 9/23

c oach Freeman and staff are on track to keep the team focused on the c hippewas and not looking past them to the b uckeyes. Freeman’s mantra for the team is “ o ne Play o ne Life,” and it’s never meant more than this week. c oming out flat or unfocused could spell doom. The last thing the Irish need is a repeat of last year’s m arshall game.

3. Establish the Run c entral m ichigan’s defense is objectively weak. In fact, their pass defense is ranked n o. 131 in the nation. The rush defense is slightly higher at n o. 71, and they’ve given up 36.5 points per game this year as a collective. n evertheless, the Irish need to establish the run and get the offensive line (especially their young guards) in sync early, something that has yet to happen this season. The o -line allowed a sack on the first series last week, conceding a total of four against nc s tate. e stablishing holes for e stime, Payne, Price and Love and protecting s am h artman is essential

for a dominant Irish win.

4. Prevent c hunk Plays

Quarterback b ert e manuel Jr. — the son of the former n FL pro — is a dual threat and can beat you with his legs. s enior linebacker m arist Liafau put the pressure on brennan Armstrong last week, but must continue his disciplined play this week to prevent e manuel from creating problems for the Irish. The secondary must keep an eye on the c hippewas’ leading receiver c hris Parker as well, as he is averaging nearly 30 yards per catch.

5. Stop the penalties

Though the Acc officiating crew had some questionable calls against nc state, the bottom line is notre d ame cannot commit 10 penalties and expect to win. Against any team. The Irish must remain disciplined so as to not commit costly penalties.

c atch the Irish faceoff against the c hippewas on s aturday, s ept. 13 at 2:30 p.m. at home at notre d ame stadium. The game will be broadcast live exclusively on Peacock.

Contact Madeline Ladd at mladd2@nd.edu

ARI DENNING | The Observer

Irish graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman smiles as he looks at the stands at Carter-Finley Stadum in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sept. 9, 2023. The Irish beat NC State 45-24 to improve to 3-0.

FREEMAN

FEATuRE Watts, Irish safeties lead with experience

By JOSE SANCHEZ CORDOVA Assistnt m anaging e ditor

d uring the 105-minute weather delay at c arterFinley s tadium, m arcus Freeman was game planning with his staff. Junior running back Audric e stime ate a single hot dog.

b ut senior safety Xavier Watts put in headphones and, in his own words, was “trying to stay locked in, just sit back, kick my feet up, relax.”

It worked.

Watts and the rest of the Irish secondary came to play after the break and put together a strong performance against an nc s tate aerial attack that posed the first significant threat of the season for the Irish.

All told, the Irish secondary held nc s tate quarterback b rennan Armstrong to a 46.8% completion percentage on just 5.5 yards per attempt. They also produced three interceptions against the former all-A cc signal caller. All of it came

ESTIME FEATuRE

against an nc s tate offense that tested the secondary often, throwing the ball nearly 50 times throughout the game.

“We knew they were going to take some shots, we knew that coming in,” Freeman said. “ e arly in the game, we weren’t winning those shots, but later in the game, our guys were really able to go, not just defend the ball, but take it away.”

o ne of those takeaways came from Watts, on a play that m arcus Freeman called “the turning point” of the win s aturday in r aleigh. An Armstrong bullet to the seam went off the hands of receiver Kevin c oncepcion, allowing Watts to pounce on the deflection and take it away for the Irish second’s into the fourth quarter.

“We fumbled in our own territory, right? The defense forced the missed field goal and then we go three and out,” Freeman said. “Then the defense has an interception, and that’s when we scored, and the game got out of hand.”

The turnover came just one play after Watts broke up a pass from Armstrong over the middle to c oncepcion. The o maha, n ebraska product later said the quick sequence gave him and the team a little added energy to keep making plays in a dominant fourth quarter for the Irish.

“It was really just an exciting moment for the team, to give us some juice,” Watts said. “It gave me some more confidence and to make more plays in the game. o bviously, it kind of set up the interception for me to able to read the play.”

The three interceptions came just a week after the defense forced two against the Tennessee s tate Tigers. All five Irish interceptions on the season have come from different players, highlighting the depth of the Irish secondary. m ore broadly, it signifies the aggressive mindset m arcus Freeman is looking for from his team.

“We’re going to be just as aggressive as any team we face,” Freeman said. “Let’s go out there and play ball and be aggressive as heck. That’s what I wanted.”

Freeman spoke at his m onday presser about the development of Watts and the rest of the safeties.

“You’re just seeing his [Watts’] confidence level continue to rise and give a credit c oach [ c hris] o ’Leary on the job he’s done with Xavier and that safeties room,” Freeman said. “We’re rolling three to four guys at the safety position and they’re all playing at a high level.”

It’s a group of safeties that features a lot of experience, with starters senior Watts and graduate student dJ b rown. Graduate transfers Antonio c arter II and Thomas h arper have also played significant snaps. s enior safety r amon h enderson has also played meaningful snaps, snagging a spectacular

diving interception against T s U.

It’s a level of depth and experience that give defensive coordinator Al Golden confidence in his backfield signal callers.

“They’ve been great,” Golden said about the safeties. “They can problem solve on the field and they communicate well. That’s a big part of being a safety … If you’re strong up the middle, you got a chance to be a really good defense.”

d espite the strong performance s aturday, Watts spoke about the lessons the secondary can take from the challenges they faced against Armstrong and the Wolfpack.

“ o bviously, there’s always things to clean up. s ome guys were left open,” Watts said. “ b ut we’re a group of competitive individuals. We just learned that we can compete with a lot of people.”

Contact José Sánchez Córdova at jsanch24@ nd.edu

Goals and glory: estime shines in rain, looks ahead to what’s next

ByEMILY DeFAZIO

Associate s ports e ditor

n othing, not even m other n ature herself, could stop junior running back Audric e stime in s aturday’s game at n orth c arolina s tate.

For the second consecutive game — and the fifth occasion in his career — e stime clocked over 100 rushing yards, most of which came from his show-stopping 80yard touchdown effort immediately following a nearly two-hour-long rain delay. It was the play that set the tone for the rest of the matchup, not only acting as a catalyst for his teammates, but also shattering his own record for the longest rush of his career.

h ead c oach m arcus

Freeman commented on this aggressive restart, noting that he has tried to

instill that drive into his team in the week leading up to the game.

“Just come out and go and do your job. Like, who cares how the game started? Who cares about the two-hour delay? Let’s go out there and play ball and you know be aggressive as heck,” Freeman said. “I wanted our guys with the mentality we’re not going to play passive. We’re going to be just as aggressive as any team we face.”

e stime certainly took this message to heart.

c ommenters jokingly attributed his success to the hot dogs served to the players during the break.

r egardless of whether the mid-game meal had anything to do with the running back’s success, the fact of the matter is that that success continuously proves to be a cornerstone of the n otre

d ame offense. e stime named his fellow teammates and coaches as vital to his ability to make those plays.

“[The touchdown] was just a result of everyone staying ready and our offensive line doing their job, and c oach Parker calling the right play,” e stime said. “We didn’t know when we were going to play, if we were going to be able to play … we just got to make plays like that happen.”

Looking ahead to even more daunting opponents on the schedule — namely o hio s tate and U sc — e stime is taking it one week at a time. h e noted that each week, regardless of who they face, is about reaching their individual and team potentials.

“We just focus on every week, reaching our