NOBODY Is Talking About This... | Daily Notre Dame News & Rumors

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]A good Friday to all of you as I welcome everybody to today's installment of Notre Dame Daily. I'm Pete Mroy and you may have seen this uh pretty big news.

[00:00:07]NBC Sports releasing its planned broadcast schedule for the upcoming season which is loaded with Irish and Big 10 football contest. NBC and its streaming service Peacock hold the broadcast rights to the Domers and Big 10 minus the Big 10 Championship which will be anchored by Fox. And this year's slate on NBC/ Peacock uh is certainly packed with loads of intrigue. You know, you expect that each and every year. Uh but when you look at this up and down, the first major game on tap for the network isn't the first game on the schedule, but it is the more prominent one. Notre Dame's season opener against the Wisconsin Badgers. the se September 6 showdown that'll be under the lights at the fame Lambo Field which will help truly kickstart the season with high levels of pageantry and importance. The Irish of course know they need to start hot and stay hot the first month of the season. Something has been a bit of an issue uh in seasons past. The non-ND showdown between Iowa and Iowa State is also a biggie for those who are keeping track of it as is Michigan State's arrival to South Ben September 19th.

[00:01:14]That'll also be a game played under the lights inside Notre Dame Stadium. And while NBC Peacock's anchoring of Notre Dame's bouts with Stanford, Boston College, long-standing rivalry, and SMU, all carry significance and/or a historical meaning. There isn't a bigger game, and perhaps no bigger game in the country this season, than the Saturday, November 7th game between Notre Dame and the defending national runnerup, Miami Hurricane, slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.

[00:01:39]Eastern time, anchored by both NBC and Peacock. This battle, as we know, is surely going to have postseason implications with Miami looking for a return trip to the title game under Mario Crystal Ball and Notre Dame eyeing another birth in the tournament in order to make a championship run of its own.

[00:01:55]Some of the Big 10 games, yes, they're going to be worth watching outside of the Sihawk Trophy battle between Iowa and Iowa State. But the marquee contests all center around the fight in Irish. We know how high expectations for the upcoming season for Marcus Freeman's bunch are. And NBC Sports once again is going to have each home game covered from top to bottom.

[00:02:17]It's always fun to see how this gets rounded out, especially now with NBC and Peacock teaming up to not only have the rights for Notre Dame football as they've had in for decades, but now the Big 10, which adds another layer to it.

[00:02:30]I mean, if you're a football junkie, specifically college football, you love it, right? You can get your CBS slate, you know, during the day, whatever games are anchored there. Then NBC will usually, in many cases, have a, you know, two games back toback. If Notre Dame's got a 3:30, there might be a a Penn State game at 7:30 on the network later on. We've seen a a lot of different games over the years that have really drawn and captured attention of the college football world. This year, no different. But when you look at that that slate there, it is Notre Dame heavy as to be expected with the Irish. um certainly in the conversation as as one of the favorites uh to go the distance uh this upcoming season. And today's freshman profile now as we highlight defensive lineman Tiki Ola. You all know how pumped I was when this commitment happened in December and for good reason. A four-star recruit by multiple outlets. Ola was easily one of the most efficient and productive lineman in the class. Though we did have a lower ranking uh some may have expected. Top 400 kid for sure. uh top 390 as a matter of fact if you're keeping score and you're into that sort of thing but a fourstar nonetheless and and and that is exactly those numbers are exactly why I don't invest too much in the in the three star fourstar fivear top 150 this top 100 that sort of thing. Uh it's it plays a role but it doesn't tell the full story because no one knows what the development process is going to be like.

[00:03:50]No one knows what these young men and these young student athletes are going to turn into once they get on the high division one level and go through that uh training and regimen. Another talent from the football hot bet of Texas. Ola arrived in South Ben as the type of player who could exactly be developed into a future star. And I mean that despite missing spring ball as he recovered from ACL surgery, 63, 310 pounder, still maintains loads of upside here as a member of this wildly talented Irish front, which I'm going to talk more about. uh in a few moments. In the past, Ola himself has touched on how Notre Dame fits his outlook from developmental and goaloriented mindsets.

[00:04:29]Tikki Ola's constant motor and unreal physical conditioning, the latter of which continues to help his recovery process from the aforementioned ACL injury. He's your prototypical run stopper. And while I say prototypical, I might also add that he presents as one of the more athletic runs stopping defensive tackles you'll find at this level, even as raw as he is coming from the prep level, adding another layer to his game, is the fact that he's probably an underrated pass rusher as well. And with the Irish bringing in guys like Rodney Dunham, Eberza Ewati and Elijah Golden along with Ola in this class, it was understandable that Tiki's ability against the past took a backseat to some of the more prolific players, if you will, Dunham especially. But that influx of young talent coupled with portal additions and Tyion Gray and Francis Brew. More on Francis in a moment, and returning veterans should allow for Ola to take a red shirt season as the ACL continues to heal. the opportunity to ingest the playbook while getting more of a feel how both Chris Ash and Charlie Partridge like to operate, which he'll be able to do over the summer and through fall ball are going to play undeniable dividends for him down the road. And if all goes well, we could very well see Tikiola competing for rotational time during the 2027 28 campaign. He's an incredibly talented football player, one who fits the mold of the University of Notre Dame on academic, athletic, and social fronts.

[00:05:54]This was a big get for the Irish in the 2026 cycle, even if it was a bit unheralded or it didn't get the glitz and the glam that some of the other Ewati, the Dunhams of the world, the Joey O'Brien's, Devin Fitzgerald, all wildly talented football players. We know that here for a reason. High recruits in their own right. But there should be good excitement for what the future holds for Tiki Ola. That at least to me is a certainty. I mean, this kid is a gifted football player. He's got the brains for it. Non-stop motor, which the fan base going to love. I mean, a lot of these Notre Dame guys have that giddy up and go and stay in go mode on this defensive front. Uh, which is going to be just absolutely tremendous to watch. And one of them I mentioned a moment ago, and that's Francis Brew.

[00:06:38]This young man continues to receive loads of attention the off seasonason and it's because of the high expectations many hold for this insanely gifted defensive tackle transfer from Pit. Of course, Brew registered a total of 51 tackles, two and a half sacks, and a forced fumble across two seasons with the Panthers. Numbers that were solid, but not totally indicative of the dominant force he was and will continue to be up the middle. named to the Pro Football Focus All Freshman team at the end of the 24 season while being listed as one of writer Bruce Feldman's freaks of college football in a good sense.

[00:07:10]Brew's arrival in South Ben was one of the most impactful additions of the January portal window and you could even include that as a piggyback to the 2026 class which was for Notre Dame perspective unprecedented. With multiple years of eligibility remaining, Brew really should be a mainstay uh up the gut of this Irish defense the next few seasons. the proven production he brings from the steel city coupled with incredible strength, pass rush quickness, sudden first step, he's the perfect fit along this Charlie Partridge front. 61, 285 pounder, moves incredibly well for someone his size. And that athleticism is something Partridge is going to lean on. he's going to take advantage of as his approach as defensive line coach prioritizes blowing up the opposition's backfield and applying pressure on a beyond consistent basis. Pairing him inside with the likes of Jason Onier, Elijah Hughes, Armell Mugham, and Gray should really do wonders for an Irish defensive line that wanted to improve its athleticism and ability to disrupt. We've seen this line evolve over the past couple of seasons through traditional high school recruiting and the portal and here we are going into this 202627 campaign with one of the most gifted units Marcus Freeman Chris Ash have had uh specifically Freeman in his time in Southbend for Brew. This is a kid who put up over 700 lb on a squat rack in in one try and almost 500 on the bench. So those are additional indications that he is as strong as they come. I mean those are some eyepopping numbers for a kid who's under 300 lb. Tireless motor and I mentioned this uh you know earlier about Tikiola. His tireless motor is going to help him quickly Francis Brew that is develop into a fan favorite. We know what Notre Dame has out on the edges but with guys like Brew up the middle you can't help but get jacked up when you think about how productive this group can be as a whole. and Francis Brew has a lot to do with that. So, it was it was a remarkable addition for Notre Dame in the portal. Notre Dame loves to major in high school recruiting and minor in the portal, if you will. Francis Brew, A+ across the board. And as we head into the month of June, we'll see the Irish ramp up their preseason prep once again with summer workout slated to begin soon. From a show perspective, from an NDDD perspective, that'll mean breaking down the different impact players expected to play prominent roles for the Irish next season as well as the positional groups and of course our usual schedule rundown which will start hammering away in the coming weeks with major games on this year's schedule including Wisconsin, BYU, SMU, and Miami, of course, among others. We'll have plenty of time to get into that uh moving forward. There's also going to be loads of recruiting talk as the Irish continue to do tremendous work in the 27 window with some intriguing offers out there and interest already developing in the 2028 class as we've seen over the past couple of days. Of course, if there's anything specific you'd all like to get into, please share your thoughts in the comments section the way you've continued to do in the first year plus of Notre Dame Daily. As always, you can continue to watch the program and spread the spread the word about subscribing to the Notre Dame faithful as Notre Dame Daily remains available across YouTube, Tik Tok, Facebook, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. On that note, I all hope you have a great weekend. I'll see everybody Monday. Keep the comments coming. Let us know what you want to hear and see. And as always, go Irish.