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Newsstand: ESPN FPI gives Wake Forest minimal chance of upsetting Notre Dame

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka11/16/23

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NCAA Football: Tennessee State at Notre Dame
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman and head coach Marcus Freeman. (Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s been a while since Notre Dame has played a game it’s expected to win by such a wide margin. Perhaps since the first month of the season.

The Fighting Irish have a 94.1 percent chance of beating Wake Forest on Senior Day this Saturday according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI). That’s even better than the 90.9 percent chance the Irish had of beating Pitt three weeks ago. Head coach Marcus Freeman‘s team ultimately walloped the Panthers, 58-7.

There’s one thing the Irish and Demon Deacons have in common; they both beat Pitt. Head coach Dave Clawson‘s team merely scraped by the Panthers at home, though, by a final score of 21-17. Since then, the Demon Deacons have suffered losses to Florida State, Duke and NC State. The Irish have victories over the Blue Devils and Wolfpack.

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If the home team is to take care of business Saturday, former Wake Forest quarterback and current Irish trigger man Sam Hartman will likely have something to do with it. Hartman suits up against the program he was a part of for five seasons in a day he won’t ever forget, win or lose.

Notre Dame tweets of the day

Hannah Hidalgo is from a different planet.

Here’s the play on which Irish guard Sonia Citron was injured Wednesday night.

And here’s the ovation Citron received when she was helped off the floor.

Quote of the day

“When I hear people giving him a hard time, where would they be without him? I know that the standard at Notre Dame might be to make the College Football Playoff, but I still think they’re a much better team because they have Sam than they would be without him. When people are critical of him, it bothers me. He’s one of ours and always will be. When you watch the tape as a coach and hear the criticism, it’s not justified. He’s a good player.”

Clawson on Hartman

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