Tessera

Chris W@rakesofmallow.bsky.social · 2mo ago

He’s like two steps away from going on fanduel TV to say it’s unfair to Sorsby and anyone who bet on him to win the Heisman

The Sorsby situation sucks for the sport but at least we won't have to hear about Cody Campbell as some sort of white knight by media members who like rich people anymore. Going on Dakich's podcast to make your case means it's going well.

treating the Brendan Sorsby situation like a normie treats recruiting, tuning in when it's "signing day" and skipping all the drama in between

Amanda Mull@amandamull.bsky.social · 2mo ago

After the Riley Leonard TD the first drive in Atlanta I let myself start think seriously about “what if we win” for like 3 seconds and nearly lost it

I hate people saying “act like you’ve been here before” to sports fans who get too excited or wound up about their team finally being good. Take it from someone who knows: it’ll never feel better than when you’ve never been here before. There’s nothing like it.

Bryan Fischer@bryandfischer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

we really went from John Jenkins threatening to create an educational league if NIL happened and NFT leprechauns to shooting the money cannons at a top level (and in a somewhat classy, under the radar way?) What a time to be alive

After nearly two hours complaining about money being spent by everybody, Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua: "The cap is too low right now."

Nicole Auerbach@nauerbach.com · 2mo ago

robbed of Dave Doeren having to shake hands and kiss babies in Brazil, we can't have nice things

News: The NC State-UVA football game that was supposed to be played in Brazil will be relocated to Charlottesville "following extensive review with operational partners and international stakeholders." The schools are working with the NCAA and ESPN to keep game on Aug. 29.

did not expect this given their respective length of stays and reasons for leaving ND, but Mike Elko over Clark Lea every day* *understanding its easier to root for Vandy than A&M, purely talking coaches here

Chris W @rakesofmallow.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The B1G, ACC, and unfortunately Pete Bevacqua are going to try to convince you 24 teams is good for the sport. Why this dilutes the stakes of the regular season, gives "access" that's false hope, and how P4 programs already are in the mix: spreadsheetsandtailgates.substack.com/p/a-24-team-...

A 24-Team College Football Playoff Solves a Problem That Doesn't Exist

Athletic directors and conference commissioners love the idea of expansion revenue and are selling fans false hope bigger is better for the sport

spreadsheetsandtailgates.substack.com

🏈 new pod 🏈 @jessicasmetana.bsky.social and @mbryan.bsky.social join for a special holiday weekend episode where we discuss so many college football programs. Sad ACC teams, SEC playoff teams trying to return, the new Pac-12, a demonic Big Ten contract + way more. open.spotify.com/episode/2B5w...

2026 College Football Offseason Respect Index

open.spotify.com

Bryan Fischer@bryandfischer.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It’s his job not to understand but last years final regular season week is an easy example. In 24 team set up Ohio State - Michigan only matters for seeding, Indiana is locked into a bye, Oregon locked into bye or hosting, Iowa beating terrible Nebraska is only “win” sneaking a mid team into CFP

Petitti: "I'm just in a very different place from those who feel like it [24 teams] hurts the regular season. I just have a hard time understanding."

this will be in your inboxes soon as part of an anti-playoff expansion post, but holy shit Stanford, get it together, you're gonna distract everyone from the main point here

the PGA championship is the Big 12 of golf

Going deep on the Notre Dame passing game - the complete transformation from '24 to '25, CJ Carr's profile and opportunities to raise his game, Jordan Faison comps, and the upside / downside of a deep but blurry picture with receiving threats open.substack.com/pub/spreadsh...

Offseason Deep Dive: The Notre Dame Passing Attack

CJ Carr provides the best returning starter at QB for the Irish since the Charlie Weis era - what receivers will emerge, can elite passing explosiveness continue, and where can Carr still improve?

open.substack.com

Pete Bevacqua advocating for 24-team playoff expansion sucks. More focus on the CFP and nothing else - bad. Is Illinois or Mizzou or NC State some random year going to feel any better about spending on football being a 20 seed and getting blown out? What are we rewarding at this point?

it's been a minute but the newsletter is waking up from late spring hibernation, prepare your brains for so many charts tomorrow morning

Chris W@rakesofmallow.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I have a very particular set of skills (with no real world value)

Shoutout @mbryan.bsky.social nailing Sparty Really Could Be A Night Game prediction in January spreadsheetsandtailgates.substack.com/p/january-ro...

Chris W@rakesofmallow.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I used to struggle to fill out the Top 25 Notre Dame players ballots for the annual fall countdown without dipping into a few reaches and part time guys. This year it would be no problem going 25 deep of awesome players just on defense

the number of players on the irish defense with a somewhat legit-to-actually legit chance at getting drafted is crazy rakesreport.substack.com/p/rakes-repo...

That’s thirteen people projected out to be drafted, which seems like way too many so let’s go ahead and say I was too rosy and lop it down to an even ten, assuming lack of development/regression/too many main character things breaking bad/injury/disappointing combine/etc. Heck, cut off a couple more and make it eight (8) if you want.

The thing is, there are way more guys who could go to balance that out! Considering his athleticism/pedigree, Keon Keeley is one good season from being on somebody’s board. I don’t want to get too aggressive projecting Rodney Dunham or Madden Faraimo but there is absolutely a world where they are major contributors in 2026 and end up not just drafted but drafted really high when eligible. Ethan Long doesn’t have their recruiting ranking but he could be on the path of “Fourth safety for Irish in 2026, fourth round draft pick down the line.” Contributor/Draft Pick could also potentially apply to Jayden Sanders, Dallas Golden or Mark Zackery IV. It’s not impossible to imagine someone falling in love with Jaylen Sneed. What if another one of the defensive tackles goes? What if they’re all really good or Armel Mukam/Christopher Burgess Jr. step up and yet another one of the defensive tackles goes?

I dream of the day my Hawks somehow advance to their first NBA finals and lose by the biggest margin in Finals history, it will be so beautiful

did I look up alt lines for the Hawks to lose by 30+ before the game? I did. Did I do anything with that or see this coming? I did not :(

MB@mbryan.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Among the top-10 projected teams, Notre Dame's lack of top opponents (and middle class P4 teams) stands out. If the Irish take care of business through mid October, BYU will be a big inflection point that makes November either a heartburn month or huge opportunity for revenge / CFP seeding

Pulling the charts I've been putting out here into a post on Notre Dame's preseason SP+ ranking, game by game projections, and how the schedule stacks up against the rest of the top title contenders: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Notre Dame's 2026 SP+ Projections & Schedule

The Irish check in at #3, their highest preseason ranking ever, in Bill Connelly's initial SP+ projections. Expected to be favored in every game, how does the ND schedule stack up vs. other top teams?

substack.com

MB@mbryan.bsky.social · 4mo ago

And how this translates into projected game margins and win probabilities:

Notre Dame and 2026 Opponents visualized with preseason SP+ projections:

Notre Dame and 2026 Opponents visualized with preseason SP+ projections: