Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 SEPT. 13, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Izzy Engle — Soccer The sophomore from Edina, Minn., picked up where she left off last year, when she led the Irish and tied for second nationally with 19 goals. She found the back of the net twice in Notre Dame's 4-0 win over Cincinnati at Alumni Stadium Aug. 21. During a 2-0-1 start for the No. 7 Irish, the Engle already had 4 goals and 9 points to lead Notre Dame in both categories. Morgan Gaerte — Volleyball The sophomore outside hitter from Angola, Ind., was named to the 2025 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball team, one of 18 league play- ers and the only Irish stu- dent-athlete to be selected. Despite battling injuries as a freshman last season, Gaerte played in 16 matches, includ- ing nine in which she recorded at least 10 kills, and led the Irish with 3.14 kills per set. In total, she tallied 185 kills, 61 digs, 37 blocks and 8 aces. Blake Kelly — Soccer The second-year starting goalkeeper from Holt, Mich., helped Notre Dame salvage a pair of ties to open the season despite some offensive struggles. He stopped 3 of the 4 shots he faced in a 1-1 draw against Michigan Aug. 21. The next time out he recorded 4 saves in a scoreless draw versus IU Indianapolis Aug. 24. Kelly made 12 starts while logging 26 saves and allowing 14 goals during his freshman cam- paign last season. Jacob Modleski — Golf The junior from Noblesville, Ind., is the first Irish men's golfer to be selected to the Walker Cup Team. The biennial amateur event will pit 10 Americans against 10 players from Great Brit- ain and Ireland Sept. 6-7 at Pebble Beach, Calif. Modleski, who recorded a single-season school record stroke average of 68.5 last year, also was named to the watch list for the 2025-26 Fred Haskins Award, which goes to the best collegiate golfer in the nation. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE With Texas A&M coming to South Bend Sept. 13 to complete its home-and-home football series with Notre Dame, a quick peek at the Irish roster and its 2026 recruiting commitment list is a strong reminder that Notre Dame is big in Texas, again. Not big enough, however, to put the Lone Star State in the top five contributing states in the combined Brian Kelly/Marcus Freeman coaching eras (2010-25). But, with 21 recruits, Texas is No. 6 on that list and surging. The Irish currently have six Texans on the roster, none of whom have expiring eligibility after this sea- son, and four more coming next year — wide receivers Kaydon Finley and Brayden Robinson, running back Javian Osborne and defensive tackle Tiki Hola. So next year, the Texas contributions to the Notre Dame roster under Kelly/Freeman will reach 25, with 10 of them possibly in the fold for next season. The current group from Texas comprises wide receivers Jaden Greathouse and KK Smith, running backs Kedren Young and Jadarian Price, defensive end Loghan Thomas and cornerback Leonard Moore. Greathouse and Price are possible early entries for the 2026 NFL Draft. And speaking of the NFL Draft, Texas owned it in 2025. Thirty-seven players who went to Texas high schools were selected. The next closest was Florida with 26, Georgia with 22, California with 16, and Louisiana and Virginia tied with 10. "I think it's a good thing to be involved in Texas for the Irish," longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming offered. "Notre Dame has already offered 12 of the top underclassmen in the state. So, they're really hitting it hard. They're doing a good job. "It used to be really tough to get players away from Texas A&M and especially the Longhorns. But since the Longhorns recruit nationally now and A&M is moving in that direction, it's become easier for Notre Dame and some other people. "Notre Dame is the national brand of all national brands. And in every state. I think it really helps them. Being in the national title game really helped them. On top of that, Notre Dame has the best recruiting staff I've seen since the late '80s." — Eric Hansen CHARTING THE IRISH RANKING THE OPPONENTS By almost every predictive measure, the Notre Dame football team's toughest game in the 2025 regular season is the one it just put in the rearview mirror — Miami. But who's the softest spot on the schedule? According to The Athletic's preseason rankings of all 136 FBS teams, which had Miami at No. 13, Stan- ford narrowly edged out Purdue for that dishonor. The Cardinal checked in at No. 93, with Purdue — the first team ever to finish 18th in the recently enlarged Big Ten — one spot ahead, at 92. Of the Cardinal, The Athletic had this to say: "An interim head coach in Frank Reich and a roster that lost top pieces after the season and spring coaching change will make for a long year. This is the lowest- ranked Power Four team." The Irish host Purdue in Game 3 Sept. 20 this season and wrap up the regular season Nov. 29 on the road at Stanford. Last season, Notre Dame played both and won by a combined score of 115-14. In what could turn out to be the last scheduled meeting be- tween the Irish and archrival Southern Cal in their 99-year-old series, the Trojans offer less strength-of-schedule octane than Navy among others. That was the case last season as well, with The Athletic ranking the Mids No. 25 and the Trojans No. 43 in their final postseason pecking order for the 2024 season. The difference this preseason is one spot, with Navy No. 41 and Southern Cal No. 42. The Trojans come to Notre Dame Stadium Oct. 18. Notre Dame itself was No. 6, per The Athletic, to open the season. In between Miami and the Navy/USC bloc are No. 20 Texas A&M, the Irish's home opener Sept. 13, followed by No. 23 Boise State and No. 33 Pitt. Filling out the opponents' rankings are No. 47 Arkansas, No. 52 North Carolina State, No. 53 Syracuse and No. 56 Boston College all packed within nine spots of each other. — Eric Hansen NOTRE DAME'S TOP CONTRIBUTING STATES FOR RECRUITS 2010-25 Rk. State Recruits 1. California 34 Florida 34 3. Ohio 32 4. Illinois 26 Indiana 26 IRISH OPPONENTS FROM BEST TO WORST PER THE ATHLETIC'S 1-136 RANKINGS Rk. School (Ranking) 1. Miami (13) 2. Texas A&M (20) 3. Boise State (23) 4. Pittsburgh (33) 5. Navy (41) 6. USC (42) 7. Arkansas (47) 8. NC State (52) 9. Syracuse (53) 10. Boston College (56) 11. Purdue (92) 12. Stanford (93)