Fighting Irish Wired

Former Notre Dame great Justin Tuck joins Nick Shepkowski to discuss Fighting Irish football halfway through the 2023 season.

Why did he choose Notre Dame when he grew up in the heart of SEC Country?

What are his thoughts on Marcus Freeman a year-and-a-half into his tenure?

And should he have won at least one Super Bowl MVP instead of Eli Manning?

That and plenty more with one of Notre Dame's all-time best pass rushers.

Nick Shepkowski and Jeff Feyerer break down why Notre Dame's offense has more than just a chance to be really special in 2023.  The addition of Sam Hartman coupled with an elite offensive line and great backfield should make for a very happy Tommy Rees this fall.  Nick and Jeff discuss the highs and lows of Rees as offensive coordinator and why he's got to be one of the most excited assistant coaches in all of college football headed into next year.

Notre Dame has landed perhaps the biggest name in the transfer portal this off-season.  What does the addition of Sam Hartman mean for Notre Dame in 2023?  What does his skill-set help improve most on the Irish?  And what does it mean for Tyler Buchner and the rest of a steadily improving quarterback room in the months and years to come?

Nick Shepkowski and Jeff Feyerer can't help but get excited, OK really excited, about what's in store for Notre Dame's offense in 2023.

It was a thrilling Gator Bowl victory for Notre Dame over South Carolina.  The debut episode of the Fighting Irish Wired podcast breaks down the game and all of the crazy happenings in it.

What does it mean for Tyler Buchner long-term?

Tommy Rees called a perfect game.  Until he didn't.  But then he made up for that.

2023 offensive excitement.

Defensive concerns ahead but a great rebound effort as the game went on.

And a whole lot else in regards to Notre Dame football so check it out!

The eyes of Texas are upon us on the Thursday night of this recording.

Texas enters year four under Tom Herman with some big-time expectations, just like they normally are for the Longhorns.  In this episode you'll hear Nick Shepkowski's interview with Patrick Conn of Longhorns Wire as they cover:

Coronavirus wiping out the Texas locker room

What went wrong for the Longhorns in 2019 and how does that get fixed in 2020?

Joseph Ossai's coming out party last year and how sky-high his potential is for this year and what the defense has to do in order to fix their issues from a year ago.

What else is there to get excited about with the Texas offense in 2020 besides Sam Ehlinger and can one superb offensive tackle be enough to help out a talented backfield?

We also find out Texas's biggest issue on offense before discussing the pressure that's on Tom Herman in 2020 and how close these Longhorns might be to catching Oklahoma and before we say goodbye, I had to ask a Big 12 man like Patrick about whatever the hell is going on in Stillwater, Oklahoma right now.

Take a listen, subscribe if you haven't already and be sure to share with your college football and Texas Longhorn fan friends!

Good morning and happy Thursday! 

Episode ten is up and we discuss the dead period for recruiting being extended - will it cross over to fall now?

Iowa State has released their ticket plan for football in 2020 - will that be the norm in college football? 

And a Big Ten icon has disappeared - we share what is gone. 

All of that on this episode of the College Football Morning Announcements!

If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe, rate and please share with any college football fan in your life.  Thanks!

Welcome back to the work week and to a day closer to college football - whenever that may be. Episode 6 includes: 

Recap and thoughts on the Pac 12’s proposal for the 2020 season that would mean a few of the biggest non-conference games of the 2020 season would be cancelled.

A very strong southern program lands the highest rated recruit they've ever landed.

And Notre Dame gets instant relief at a position they desperately need it.

Listen for all of that and for plans for the rest of the week on the College Football Morning Announcements.

In the fourth episode of Nick Shepkowski’s College Football Morning Announcements:

Jim Harbaugh speaks and actually makes a lot of damn sense Thursday when he writes a letter to the college football world calling for drastic changes to the NFL Draft and NCAA eligibility.

Oregon and Oregon State appear to be headed towards a September where their home games will feature no fans...if those games are even played at all.

Who are the top 25 college football coaches today?  247 Sports did their list and I think for the most part, did it well. A few thoughts on it in here.

And finally, Notre Dame adds the 10th commitment to their 2021 recruiting class.  We give you the information on Jason Onye here.

Listen, rate, review, subscribe and share -- please and thank you!!

Have a great weekend. 

The first episode starts with me introducing myself to all of you. We then get into a few headlines:
5-star running back Will Shipley is set to commit (probably to Clemson) on Tuesday

ESPN 300 Rankings and Ohio State's dominance of that

Notre Dame/Navy to follow NFL lead in terms of cancelling games abroad? 

Don Shula coaching college? A crazy what-if I stumbled into Monday.

And the worst college football helmet belongs too....a really, really good program.

Check it out, hit subscribe and share with some of your college football loving friends —

Nick Shepkowski and Jeff Feyerer of Fighting Irish Wire are here to break down every Notre Dame player that was drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.  How do they fit in with their new teams, who landed in the best spots and which later picks/undrafted free agents have the best chance at making squads?  We break it all down as the 2020 NFL Draft has come and gone.

Listen for thoughts on:
Cole Kmet/Chicago Bears
Chase Claypool/Pittsburgh Steelers
Julian Okwara/Detroit Lions
Khalid Kareem/Cincinnati Bengals
Troy Pride, Jr./Carolina Panthers
Alohi Gilman/San Diego Chargers

Tony Jones, Jr./New Orleans Saints
Chris Finke/San Francisco 49ers

And everyone else Notre Dame related who signed free agent deals!

Listen and subscribe today - and be sure to share with your Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan friends!

The 2019 season has come and gone for college football and LSU walks away your 15-0 national champion.  Where do they fall in college football history in terms of greatest teams?  Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak discuss that and share other things they learned from the 2019 season that made college football great and where else this game may be headed.

Despite Mike Norvell taking the Florida State job and getting right to work, not coaching his Memphis squad in the Cotton Bowl, do the Tigers still have a real chance against Penn State?  Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak break down the first of the New Year's Six games and discuss how under-appreciated James Franklin is for what he's done at Penn State.

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back and ready to preview the Camping World Bowl between Notre Dame and Iowa State.  Will Notre Dame be motivated in this one and how close is Iowa State to becoming a force in the Big XII?

Nick and Pete also get into conversation about Notre Dame's now sudden search for a new offensive coordinator after Chip Long was let go on December 11.

Louisiana Tech takes on a very disappointing Miami team in the Independence Bowl while Eastern Michigan and Pitt play in Detroit in the Quick Lane Bowl on December 26.  Find out who Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak like in those contests here on the College Football News Podcast!

UCF takes on Marshall in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 23 while Hawai'i an BYU do battle in Honolulu on Christmas Eve.  Find out what Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak think about those match-ups in this episode of the College Football News podcast.

A whole slew of games comes your way on December 21 and Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are here to preview each and every one of them for you.

Find out who the guys like in the:
New Mexico Bowl
Cure Bowl
Boca Raton Bowl
Camellia Bowl
Las Vegas Bowl
and the New Orleans Bowl in this episode and be sure to subscribe to the College Football News Podcast so you get the guys bowl picks all December long!

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are here to break down all of your bowl games all December long.  They get started with previews of your December 20 bowl games:  The Bahamas Bowl and Frisco Bowls.

Find out who Nick and Pete think will win the games and what specifically to watch for.  Charlotte takes on Buffalo in the Bahamas Bowl while Utah State takes on Kent State in the Frisco Bowl.  

Find out the guys picks by listening here!

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back to preview the College Football Playoff and react initially to the group of four that was announced this past Sunday.  It's hard to argue the four teams, what about the rankings?

Nick and Pete break that down, offer why this on paper appears to be the best playoff yet and give picks to the first round match-ups.

There is a ton on the line this weekend in college football and no, it doesn't all have to do with the College Football Playoff.

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back with the latest edition of the CFN Podcast and ready to make their picks for the Group of Five championship games this weekend.

With that comes not only who wins but a few thoughts:

Would you hire Lane Kiffin if you're a power-five school?

Who gets the Cotton Bowl bid between Memphis and Boise State?

How can Appalachian State end up in the Cotton Bowl?

It's all discussed as winners are picked in the episode as well!

Clemson is a huge favorite in the ACC Championship and understandably so.  Will they cover the huge number against Virginia and can they possibly challenge for the number-one seed in the College Football Playoff?

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak break down "Little Old Clemson" and what will happen in the 2019 ACC Championship here.

No. 5 Utah is playing for their potential College Football Playoff lives Friday night when they take on Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship. 

Does Utah not only have to win the game but do so convincingly in order to make the playoff?  And if so, should that be the case?

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back to preview what we thought was going to be essentially a College Football Playoff a few weeks ago, but still has big implications for Oregon and Utah both.

Did the Big XII Championship turn into a makeshift national semi-final game after the latest College Football Playoff rankings?

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are on the case in that they break down the Big XII Championship and give their picks as to who wins, who they like in terms of the point spread and ultimately if the winner of this game gets to the CFP.

Check it out!

When No. 2 LSU and No. 4 Georgia meet up on Saturday there will be different things on the line as LSU can probably afford a loss and still make the CFP while Georgia has to win in order to make the CFP.  

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back and ready to preview the top-five matchup and discuss Georgia's chances to pull the upset while also trying to figure out what has gone wrong for Jake Fromm of late. 

Check it out and share with your college football fan friends everywhere!

When No. 1 Ohio State and No. 8 Wisconsin battle on Saturday night in Indianapolis the Buckeyes will have their big-three on display for the world to see as they try to make their final push for the number-one overall seed in the College Football Playoff.

Will the Buckeyes cover the 15.5?  That gets discussed as does the health and look of Justin Fields after his injury-scare in the Michigan game last week.  Check it out as well as what's at stake for Wisconsin in the 2019 Big Ten Championship.

After a long, crazy, busy and tiring Thanksgiving week the College Football News Podcast is back and better than ever.

Ok, so the second part of that may be a reach (although we don't think it is) but there is a ton to get to on the night the latest College Football Playoff rankings have been released.

Did the Big XII, Oklahoma and Baylor get done a solid and did Utah potentially get screwed this week?

Alabama hits a record low in this era and the Minnesota/Penn State rankings are each troubling.

The guys discuss why and how Notre Dame's ceiling at number-15 is frustrating for Fighting Irish fans but at the same time deserved.

The 29th episode of the College Football News Podcast is up and ready for your consumption.  Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back again to recap the freshly released CFP rankings.  A few things from them:

-Should Alabama still be 5 after Tua's injury?
-Who did Oklahoma tick off?
-Which front-runners need the most help?

We then have a conversation with Chris "The Bear" Fallica from ESPN and the brain behind College Gameday.  Who does he see as the team to beat, who is getting overvalued at this point and if you're the betting type - where might some value in a futures bet still be?  The guys also have a conversation about Georgia and how much you can trust Kirby Smart in the biggest of moments.

Nick and Pete then finish by previewing this weekend's rather lame slate of games and get into a discussion about the SEC and not that if it's great or not, but if it's that much better than everyone else because when you're looking for resume wins of late, they're not exactly loaded with them.

As always -- 

thanks for listening and if you haven't already - please rate, subscribe, leave a comment and share this podcast with any of your college football fan friends!

It has been a crazy week.  Nick Shepkowski is back after becoming a father since the last time you heard from him while Pete Fiutak is fighting off one of those famous midwest colds that pop up this time of year.

Despite all that going on the two were able to get together with a friend of the podcast, Ryan Fowler, to preview Alabama and LSU this weekend, the most hyped game of the 2019 college football season.

Who has the advantage?  Is it an elimination game for the CFP?  And what are the keys to Bama avoiding an upset or LSU pulling one-off?

We discuss it all before giving our picks to how Saturday's showdown in the SEC goes.  

Take a listen and be sure to subscribe, rate and share with a friend.  Enjoy Bama/LSU, the most anticipated game of the year.

Week nine in college football brought some big time upsets and huge games we react to.  

Does Oklahoma losing at K-State officially eliminate the Sooners from the CFP?

What does Notre Dame have left to play for and is Michigan suddenly a threat to upset Ohio State in a month?

What is Brian Kelly's legacy after another rout away from home?

And can a defensive player win the Heisman Trophy?  Pete Fiutak and Nick Shepkowski discuss why Chase Young very easily could be the best player in college football but why the storm isn't close to perfect enough for him to actually win.

All of that and conference championship game predictions a month out on this week's Power 5. 

If you haven't already - get subscribed to the College Football News Podcast and leave a review as well!

We're back with the week nine preview edition of the College Football News Podcast as Pete Fiutak and Nick Shepkowski break down the Wisconsin upset and some of the other takeaways from last weekend including what Oregon and Utah's wins meant out west.

The guys then get into previewing week nine and three huge games as Wisconsin travels to the Horseshoe to take on Ohio State, Auburn travels to take on LSU and Michigan hosts Notre Dame.  Nick and Pete offers thoughts on each of these three games and share thoughts on the state of various other teams including Penn State and Minnesota's undefeated starts and what hasn't looked right for Georgia going on a couple of weeks now.

The episode closes with the weekly "Power 5" segment where ACC awfulness, a potential Big Ten upset, Big XII CFP chances and Jim Harbaugh gets compared to another highly paid coach who also doesn't have any huge wins at his current school.  Check it all out right now on the Week Nine episode of the CFN Pod!

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back again for another episode of the College Football News Podcast.  Week 8 is upon us so the guys look at the four biggest games of the week while they try to find a potential Georgia-like upset.  In-depth previews are given to Michigan at Penn State, Florida at South Carolina, Oregon at Washington and Arizona State vs. Utah.

The show then continues with potential coaching changes, hot seats and who the perfect replacements for certain jobs may be.
Why would anyone ever leave the SEC for Rutgers?
How does Illinois fix the Lovie Smith flop?
Any chance of a change at Michigan State?
Who replaces Clay Helton, if not Urban Meyer?
And what is a better job - USC or potentially Oklahoma?

Finally the guys close this episode of the College Football News podcast with their mid-season awards.  Tune in to find out who walked away with trophies for being college football's:
Most Disappointing
Coach of the Half Year
Best Game
Best Player
and Best Team
for the first half of 2019.

And if you haven't already -- subscribe to the CFN Podcast anywhere you download your podcasts from, leave a review and pass it along to a college football fan friend!

Week 5 provided a scare in seeing Clemson have to stop North Carolina's two point conversion attempt in order to stay unbeaten, but great games, or at least highly anticipated ones were few and far between.  Week 6 sees that change with Florida hosting Auburn, Michigan trying to salvage it's season as it hosts #14 Iowa and perhaps the most impressive team to date, #4 Ohio State playing a tough defense in #25 Michigan State.

Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back to preview those games and discuss all of the biggest storylines in college football this week before welcoming in the master of the AP Poll, Ralph Russo.  They then cap the show with their weekly "Power 5", as some head-turning programs are off to impressive starts and are deserving of a lot of praise.

Ahead of week 5 we share with you part 2 of our conversation with Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times as the Big Ten as a whole gets discussed at length here.  Find out how long it will be until Nebraska is back to their great ways under Scott Frost, what exactly is wrong with the likes of Northwestern, Michigan and others in the conference and how great the divide from Ohio State and the rest of the conference in 2019 really is.

Nick Shepkowski flies solo besides that and shares with you his thoughts on the week 5 slate of games in the Big Ten and who he likes in the Notre Dame/Virginia clash as well.

Check it all out on episode number 21 of the College Football News podcast and be sure to rate it, review it and recommend it to a friend if you haven't done so already!

Week 4 was a fun one for pretty much anyone who isn't a Michigan fan.  Nick Shepkowski and Pete FIutak are back on this Monday night to recap the week 4 that was and share their grandest of takeaways after a month of games have been completed.

Notre Dame/Georgia, Auburn winning at Texas A&M, Wisconsin destroys Michigan and so much more to recap.

Also - are you like Nick and in your mid-30's or perhaps younger?  There was actually a time when Wisconsin football was awful, believe it or not.  Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times joins the guys to discuss what watching Wisconsin's last awful teams was like as a student and what a collegiate version of Pete Fiutak was like.

D'Eriq King isn't transferring from Houston (at least just yet), nor is he injured, but the star is not going to play the rest of the season.  Instead he'll redshirt the remainder of the season and says he'll be back for the Cougars next year.  Nick and Pete get into the latest possible change to the transfer portal that we may all be seeing come true before long.

Finally, the guys finish the show by spending time talking UCF's loss and what makes it different than one loss for everyone else and the episode finishes with the guys going over their power 5, a weekly look at some college football storylines that aren't getting the headlines they may deserve.

John U Bacon is the author of the newly released, "Overtime" a book that goes into detail about the 2018 Michigan Wolverines and how one of the traditional college power houses operates, but also gets into how there is a divide in teams that "do it right" and the ones that "do anything to win".  

John was kind enough to spend a few minutes with our Nick Shepkowski talking about the issues with the NCAA, how to attempt to fix them and how widespread many of these issues in college football really are before getting into discussion on the Michigan Wolverines as they hit the road to take on a tough Wisconsin squad this weekend.

Week 3 didn't have any huge upsets but it was an entertaining week.  Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back with the latest episode of the College Football News Podcast and recap that before getting into previewing a Week 4 of college football that should excite most college football fans.

Notre Dame travels to take on Georgia in one of the most anticipated games of the season and Bryan Driskell of Blue-Gold Illustrated joins the guys to preview the Fighting Irish's chances while also breaking down where they rank in terms of the most successful programs in recent years.  Find out more about the steps Ian Book has taken and if he can be enough to help Notre Dame pull the big-time upset Saturday night.

Michigan vs Wisconsin, Texas/Oklahoma State, Northwestern/Michigan State, Louisville/Florida State are all previewed as well before the guys get into their weekly Power 5 segment, where this week they discuss who the most underappreciated team is in each P5 conference, three weeks into the season.

Subscribe, rate and leave a review if you haven't already and by all means, please share with those college football fan friends of yours!

Week two was a damn thriller in college football with LSU getting a road win in Austin, Texas and Trevor Lawrence and company looking all the part of the #1 team in the nation as they easily got by Texas A&M.  Nick Shepkowski and Pete Fiutak are back for another episode of the College Football News Podcast and discuss all of that.

Is LSU the third best team in the country?  Is Joe Burrow really a Heisman front-runner after scoring at will in Texas?  And what went wrong for Texas A&M?  It's all discussed as Nick and Pete examine if anyone will play Clemson within two touchdowns again before the College Football Playoff.

Week 3 leaves quite a bit to be desired but the guys get a preview of one of the biggest games this weekend, as Iowa and Iowa State do battle for the Cy-Hawk Trophy.  What kind of game gives both teams the best chances at winning?  And what makes Kirk Ferentz and his Hawkeyes so damn consistent?  All is discussed in this interview with Herron of Sirius/XM's Big Ten Channel and Pac 12 Network.  Oh, and he used to suit up for the Black and Gold in Iowa City.

Nick did something gambling-wise this weekend that didn't end up a winner, but only because of a heart-breaker in the middle of the night.  Find out what it was and how Pete is helping to make sure that doesn't happen again this week.

And this week's episode concludes with the Power 5 as the guys look at some of the biggest stories and matchups around the country that might not be getting the national headlines that the guys think they so desperately deserve.