Exactly a year ago today my wife Karen was diagnosed with cancer — boy, has it been a wild ride since then in so many ways (7 hours of surgery and chemo week after week for her)— but thanks to so many of our friends and neighbors in both South Bend and Orlando we are still here!!
Tim passed away last night — he was a huge part of Notre Dame football game days for decades......
#Tim
McCarthy // Strong of Heart // University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame-LSU in Citrus Bowl earned 5.5 overnight rating (up 32% from last year's LSU-Louisville game) and better than 5.1 for UCF-Auburn in Peach and 3.1 for Michigan-South Carolina in Outback.
Purdue is playing Auburn and both athletic directors — Mike Bobinski and Allen Greene—plus Auburn associate athletics director Brant Ust are all former Notre Dame baseball players.
UCF in two games already has had 13 different players catch at least one pass. That compares to a year ago in 2018 when 12 Knights caught passes in the 13 games combined.
Saturday at the annual University of Notre Dame Department of Film, Television, and Theatre senior reception, the award presented to a graduating senior for outstanding work in television studies was renamed the Karen Croake Heisler Television Studies Award . . . Very proud!!
In 1992 I traveled with the ND MBB team to MSG where the Irish defeated Dean Smith and his UNC team. I thought John MacLeod might like to celebrate the win in NY. Instead, he invited me to accompany him to 5 pm Mass at St. Pat's Cathedral--and I did. That was John MacLeod . . .
Hard to believe, but considering the years I worked in sports information as an undergrad at Mizzou, this is my 50th year in college football . . . a little scary!
NCAA says UCF led the AAC in football attendance average per game in 2022, also ranking 54th nationally at 41,542 per game (5th highest avg. in UCF history)--ahead of 6 ACC teams, 4 from Pac-12, 2 from Big 10 and 1 from SEC. UCF avg. was up 2.75% from a year ago . . . .
Notre Dame finished its football regular season having played the second toughest schedule in America in 2017--with Irish opponents playing at .659 rate (81-42). Maryland was 1st at .667 (78-39).
Let's remember that Mikey Keene led 4th-period TD drives of 77 and 75 yds vs Cincinnati and then 61 and 50 yds
@Memphis
and UCF needed all 4 drives (263 combined yds) to win those 2 games--any "backup" QB anywhere ever done that in back-2-back games?
A year ago today we lost Karen—wife, mother, confidante and mentor to us all. It seems like just yesterday and it hasn’t been the same since. There’s a void that isn’t going to be filled. I miss her smile, her optimistic banter, her unfiltered on the mark advice ………
Javon Baker led Big 12 in receiving yds. and ranks
#3
in nation at 22.47 yds. per catch. Tre'mon Morris-Brash is
#1
in Big 12 in TFL at 1.5 per game. RJ Harvey is
#2
in Big 12 in rushing TDs. John Rhys Plumlee is
#2
in Big 12 in total offense at 282.9 per game.
UCF has scored more touchdowns in nine games than any other NCAA FBS team in the country so far in 2019 (with 56). Clemson is next (53), then Alabama and Ohio State (52 each). A year ago (13 games), UCF scored 75 and ranked 8th in that category.
Seven of Notre Dame's 13 football games in 2017 were against teams that finished in the final AP top 25:
#2
Georgia,
#12
USC,
#13
Miami,
#15
Michigan State,
#18
LSU,
#20
Stanford,
#23
NC State.
The UCF football squad just left campus headed to Georgia Tech -- a significantly smaller travel party from administrative standpoint, one extra team bus for distancing, extra ballroom space in team hotel for distancing, etc.
On behalf of UCF Athletics: We are aware of scheduling decisions announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference. We continue to monitor the landscape and consult with the American Athletic Conference regarding the 2020 football schedule.
Michigan Street in downtown South Bend became Fighting Irish Drive this morning, as mayor Pete Buttigieg (center), his chief of staff Laura O’Sullivan and John Heisler did the honors.
LSU's Paul Mainieri: "This whole weekend, we just totally were outclassed: playing, coaching, everything. They came down here very prepared, very tough. Everything they did, they did extremely well. I've got to give them a lot of credit. They came down here and took it to us."
According to ESPN, UCF's 45-3 win Saturday made Oklahoma State only the second top-15 team in the AP poll era (since 1936) to lose by more than 40 points to a sub-.500 team.
Notre Dame hockey is 8-0 in Big Ten play and has won 11 games in a row overall, the longest winning streak in the country and Notre Dame's longest in 30 years
When I was little, after dinner on Christmas Eve, I would sit in the living room, all by myself, and listen to Christmas music. And somehow it was perfect. This morning I did the same thing, with a black dog snuggled on either side of me. And it was still perfect. Merry Christmas
Among names on the 2021 ESPN Junior College 50 list are three players who have enrolled at UCF and will take part in spring football:
#31
WR Kaedin Robinson,
#37
DB Trevion Shadrick-Harris and
#39
WR Jaylon Griffin.
Karen so loved coming to Leelanau County with friends and family. So today we left some of her ashes in Lake Michigan — and Karen we all so wish you were still here with us instead……
Pro Football Focus rates UCF QB Dillon Gabriel
#3
among all returning AAC players for 2020 (
#1
is Cincinnati CB Ahmad Gardner,
#2
is SMU QB Shane Buechele).
My little buddy Art and I took an early walk and then sat out back on a nice cool Mother’s Day morning. He was unusually calm and finally decided to lay by my feet. I think he misses his mom. I know I do ……
No broadcaster lent more credibility to a CFB game than Keith Jackson. His very presence said, "This is a big-time event." He had a great way of making you feel like he was sitting next to you watching from your living room--and there was no better way to spend a Sat. afternoon.
81 degrees and sunny while watching finale of UCF opening baseball series today — safe to say that was never something to be said in South Bend in mid-February
As of today, Notre Dame has three
#1
-ranked teams: hockey, women's fencing and men's fencing. Has that happened before in Notre Dame athletic history?
Only 10 CFB teams have finished in the final AP top 25 each of the last three years (2017-18-19): LSU, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Penn State, Notre Dame, Boise State--and UCF.
This week in FBS football stats:
Total Offense
1. UCF (617.7)
2. Washington (614.7)
3. USC (580.7)
4. Oregon (579.7)
5. Syracuse (542.7)
Rushing
1. Air Force (320.7)
2. UCF (299.3)
3. UCLA (270.3)
4. Louisville (251.7)
5. two teams at 242.7
U
So, ICYMI, UCF baseball and softball teams combined to go 7-0 over the weekend, all the games away from home -- five of the wins came over top-12 SEC opponents and by a combined score of 41-8 -- and when's the last time anyone accomplished something like that?
UCF's Pro Day is April 1 -- tentative list of NFL attendees includes 25 individuals from 16 teams, three each from Cardinals, Dolphins and Bears--plus one CFL team rep.
LIndy's preseason CFB magazine lists UCF
#18
nationally, says Knights will meet LSU in Cotton Bowl and has Greg McCrae the
#16
running back, Jordan Johnson the
#6
center and Richie Grant the
#8
safety
UCF in 2021-22 now has won four AAC titles, all in women’s sports: volleyball, basketball, indoor track and field and today softball— two more opportunities yet this weekend for Knight women’s teams in outdoor track and field and rowing …..
RJ Harvey leads the Big 12 in TDs, Colton Boomer leads the league in scoring, Kobe Hudson leads the Big 12 in receiving yards and Timmy McClain is 2nd in Big 12 in passing efficiency and 1st in passing yards per completion
Tomorrow (Sept. 28) is the 100th anniversary of Knute Rockne's first victory as Notre Dame head football coach -- a century later he remains the winningest coach in college football history (.881 winning percentage).