5 things you should know for August 9, 2024

In just 22 days, the Notre Dame football team will return to the field as the Fighting Irish will be at Texas A&M for perhaps the biggest game of college football's opening weekend.

It's a highly anticipated season for Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish look to make the College Football Playoffs for the first time since 2020, as the playoffs will be expanded to 12 teams this year.

With just over three weeks left until the start of the Notre Dame football team's regular season, here are five things you should know about the Notre Dame football team on Friday, August 9, 2024:

Time for another update on NFL happenings for former Notre Dame stars. Last night, former Notre Dame safety Brandon Joseph recorded an interception for the Detroit Lions against the New York Giants. You can watch the highlight here and also see what the Washington Commanders head coach recently had to say about former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman.

As the regular college football season approaches, more and more preseason award watchlists are being released. On Thursday, Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was named to the Davey O'Brien Award watchlist. You can learn more about Leonard's college resume so far and Notre Dame's history with the award, although no former player has ever won it.

Notre Dame's regular season begins in just over three weeks. It begins with a game against Texas A&M, ends with a game against USC, and has just one real road game in between. On Thursday, I looked at Notre Dame's complete schedule and gave some thoughts on all twelve games.

There's a very good chance Notre Dame has an impactful linebacker as a true freshman this season. That doesn't always happen, but it's not unheard of either – on Thursday, we looked at Kyngtsonn Viliamu-Asa's impressive fall to date and some of the impressive performances by true freshman linebackers over the past 15 years.

2024 promises to be a season unlike any we've ever seen in college football. The Big Ten and SEC are growing while the Power Five is shrinking to a Power Four.

John Kennedy on Thursday took a look at some of the massive changes coming to college football this fall, but also how they largely play into Notre Dame's hands.

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