Advertise on podcast: Pod of Gold: Notre Dame Football

This week's Pod of Gold takes us back to rainy Chapel Hill, N.C., and Notre Dame's 37-26 victory over North Carolina that was close, but not as close as the final score might suggest. What did we like from that one? Dislike? What does it say about the Irish - really, the running game - moving forward. We also spend very little time previewing Stanford - for obvious reasons. Notre Dame opened as a 37.5-point favorite in what was once a competitive contest. We talk with guest Luke Stoddard, who created The Rooting Guide (therootingguide.com), which helps college football fans from coast to coast navigate their rooting interests as another College Football Playoff field rounds into view. This week's Pod closes with hot takes and predictions as the Notre Dame season nears the halfway point.

Another weekend of college football, another easy-does-it win for No. 3 Notre Dame, which moved to 4-0 with a business-like trip to West Lafayette and a 49-10 victory over Purdue. The South Bed Tribune trio of Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough review Purdue, preview what challenges North Carolina might offer with head coach Bill Belichick before spending 30 good minutes with former Notre Dame cornerback Troy Pride, Jr. What does this Notre Dame team have to be national championship-caliber that those Irish teams Pride played on could have used to have success? Pride's answer may surprise you. We close the show with three hot takes (think a big day on tap for Leonard Moore) and predictions.

And like that, Notre Dame football has hit the quarter ole of the 2026 regular season coming clear of the 27-10 victory over Michigan State. It was a weird night for myriad reasons at Notre Dame Stadium, but the Irish moved to 3-0 with a (relatively) easy night's work. We discuss the run game. We discuss the pass game. We discuss the offensive line and for good measure, we discuss CJ Carr and what more he could (should) do with this offense. There's way less concern on the other side of the football with one of the game's elite outfits. Our reader question this week centers on all the hubbub around the failed fake punt for Notre Dame. Was it good? Bad? Indifferent?  We also talk with Lafayette Journal and Courier writer Sam King and the chance Purdue has to make this a competitive contest at Ross-Ade Stadium. Our Pod closes with plenty of hot takes and predictions.

Hello, old friend. It's been a minute since Notre Dame and Michigan State last met on a football field, soemthing that will change Saturday, September 19 in what might be rainy Notre Dame Stadium when an old rival returns to the Irish schedule. Before a deep dive into Michigan State with Chris Solari of the Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, the NDI trio of Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough recap Notre Dame's 52-0 victory over Rice and some of the concerns that came out of that Week Two win. Specifically, what's up with the Notre Dame run game. Can it get better? Will it get better? Then it's on to Michigan State and all things Spartans before we touch on some breaking scheduling news - Nebraska in 2032! - and end our Pod with predictions and hot takes. Here's one - bring rain gear. Hopefully the wet stuff, and the thunder and lightning stuff, hold off.

The trip to Green Bay and game against Wisconsin is in the rearview. Time for No. 4 Notre Dame to turn the page (quickly) and focus on Rice. After no football for the better part of nine months, it's two games in seven days for the Irish. Our Pod staff of Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough discuss what happened at Lambeau Field - what we liked, what we didn't like and what may be cause of concern moving forward. We bring in our special guest, former Irish linebacker Mike Kovaleski for a discussion on a wide range of topics, including his time as a high school basketball player sharing the same floor as Indiana hoops legend Steve Alford. Want some hot takes and score predictions to close the score? We've got that as well.

Week One of college football is here. It's time for Notre Dame football to (finally) play an actual game. Against Wisconsin. In Green Bay. At Lambeau Field. The Tribune's Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough discuss the Notre Dame news of the week (captains named, depth chart released), before a few minutes with Wisconsin beat writer John Steppe of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. We answer reader questions and offer a hot take or two before closing with predictions. Will Notre Dame roll? Will it be close? Tune in and find out.

Notre Dame football is back, and so is the Pod of Gold to discuss everything Notre Dame football every Wednesday during what might be a very loooooooong college football season. Tribune writers Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough discuss what we learned (if anything) from our fall camp viewing windows. Who stood out? Who didn't? What are the position battles to keep an eye on as the opener against Wisconsin nears? We'll share some bold predictions for the 2026 season, answer reader questions and close with a quirky top five. Give it a listen.

He has spoken. It's been more than a minute since we last heard from Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman, so there was no shortage of topics to talk on when he stepped to the front of the Notre Dame Stadium interview room on Wednesday, January 15. Freeman talked of the end (for now) of the USC series. He talked of the NFL and his interest in maybe one day coaching at the game's highest level. He talked of the transfer portal. He talked of injuries. He talked of how the end of the 2025 season can fuel a deep run in 2026. We discuss all of it, and then end the Pod with a prediction for Monday's College Football Playoff championship game. Hint: It won't be close.

We'll try, but we may mirror the College Football Playoff selection committee and fail miserably. In our latest Pod of Gold, we attempt to make sense that like that, the Notre Dame football season for 2025 is officially over. No College Football Playoff run to a possible national championship. No bowl game. No nothing. All of it, over. Who's at fault? Should fingers be pointed? Our crew of South Bend Tribune columnist Tom Noie and beat writer Mike Berardino and WNDU sports coordinator Jackson Neill try their best  to figure out how what happened could happen and what it all means moving forward. Short answer - watch out college football in 2026, Notre Dame is coming.

We're done. With the regular season. With the College Football Playoff rankings shows over those four Tuesday nights in November and December. All that's left is Championship Saturday and Selection Sunday. What does that mean for projected No. 10 seed Notre Dame? Are the Irish comfortably in the field of 12? Do they need to sweat Sunday? Do they need help from a team here or a team there? We discuss what Selection Sunday might have in store for Notre Dame, which closed the regular season with 10-straight wins each by at least 10 points. We discuss (sigh) the case for Miami (Fla.) which handed Notre Dame one of its two losses. We'll also (briefly) review the Stanford game, touch on Notre Dame football's recruiting class on signing day and offer a Pod of Bold statement on whether Notre Dame will be in the 12-team playoff field, and what seed to expect. At that point, the Pod of Gold will be done. Except for the wondering. Have the Irish done enough?

We start this edition of Pod of Gold wondering exactly what's wrong with the Atlantic Coast Conference. Specifically, what the league has against Notre Dame of late with its "Team A vs. Team B" comparison nonsense, and then deciding that, yeah, it's a good idea for the game at Stanford to kick at 10:30 p.m. The Irish, in fairness, have remained quiet and calm and composed as they chase down another College Football Playoff at-large bid. We then spend time with former SMU running back Craig James, who has again teamed up with former backfield buddy Eric Dickerson to create the Pony Express Award, which is presented to “the most dynamic, selfless tandem in college football.” Notre Dame running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are up for the award. James talks what makes the two so dynamic, talks Irish football and talks CFP. He even talks a little "Pony Excess." We look back a little bit on Pittsburgh and look forward a little bit to Syracuse, then close with a hot take and bold prediction as Notre Dame looks to run its win streak to nine.

We're Notre Dame football heavy again in our latest Pod of Gold. The second College Football Playoff rankings are out, so what do they mean for Notre Dame? We review the Navy win, preview Saturday's game at Pittsburgh and spend some time with former Notre Dame offensive lineman Josh Lugg. What do our fans have to say in our Speak Up segment? How about our Pod of Bold wrap-up segment? Give it a listen. Now. Here.

If it's November, it means it's time for the College Football Playoff rankings roulette to begin. What do the guys think of Notre Dame opening at No. 10? Good? Bad? Perfect? We recap the sluggish win over Boston College, which didn't play like a 1-7 team and preview Saturday's prime-time matchup with Navy before spending some time with former Notre Dame All-American defensive back Mike Townsend, captain of the 1973 national championship team. We close this Pod as we do every one with one hot take and one prediction. Can Notre Dame get to 7-2?

Notre Dame football is back from an off week and right into a Final Five stretch to close the regular season. We preview (kind of) Boston College, review (kind of) the win over USC and debate several additional topics, including what the Irish need to improve on to stay College Football Playoff worthy and the future coaching aspirations of Marcus Freeman. Stick around for our Speak Up segment before we close with a Pod of Bold that includes hot take for Saturday's game and a final score prediction.

This week hits differently. Irish coaches and players can insist otherwise, but it just does. It's USC week. It's the biggest game on the schedule for Notre Dame, and the biggest game left in this season. Everyone knows the stakes, but nobody may know them better than former Notre Dame defensive back Tom Zbikowski, who played in this rivalry game and offered Irish fans one of the best moments of the last 25 years. You know the game. You know the play. We talked with Zbikowski about what it means to play USC and what life is like for him today as a high school coach in Chicago. We preview USC and what the Irish need to do to stretch their win streak to five straight. We close, as always, with one bold statement and predictions.