🌅Personal Briefing - Sunday, April 26, 2026

Blue-Gold Game went down to a 43-yard walk-off field goal. Spencer Porath drilled it as time expired to give the Blue (offense) a 41-40 win over the Gold (defense) in front of 45,308 at Notre Dame Stadium - the second-largest spring crowd in program history. CJ Carr stayed firmly on the sideline as the unquestioned starter; the QB rep work Saturday was about the rest of the room. Blake Hebert had the cleanest day of the backups (7-of-11, 103 yards, 1 TD) and Noah Grubbs went 7-of-14 with a touchdown and a pick. The competition is going into summer unresolved.

Devin Fitzgerald cemented himself as a name to track at receiver - three catches for 54 yards and a 28-yard touchdown, building on the steady spring he put together as a Malachi Fields replacement. Aneyas Williams led the rushers (10 carries, 38 yards, 3 catches) and looked the part of the lead back. Cam Williams hit a 53-yard catch, the longest play of the day. On defense, Jaylen Sneed and Ethan Long both grabbed picks (Long returned his 20 yards), and the front generated three sacks and five TFLs - a positive sign for a unit replacing several starters.

The 2026 NFL Draft closed with Notre Dame at eight selections. Day 3 added three more after the four-pick Day 1-2 haul: TE Sam Roush to Chicago, G Billy Schrauth to Tampa Bay (Round 5, No. 160), and DE Gabe Rubio to Pittsburgh (Round 6, No. 210). Combined with Love (No. 3 ARI), Miller (No. 17 DET), Price (No. 32 SEA), Fields (No. 74 NYG), and Raridon (No. 95 NE), it's another headline draft class. Notably, Aamil Wagner went undrafted and is expected to find a free-agent home this weekend.

Upcoming:

• 2026 season opener (Week 1) - coming into focus through summer

Last Result: Blue-Gold Game - Blue 41, Gold 40 (Sat Apr 25)

Quiet day. Niele Ivey's incoming class - the No. 1 high school class with five top-100 commits, plus portal pickups Anaya Hardy (Louisville) and Madison St. Rose (Princeton) - is the offseason story now that the portal window has closed. The next news beat is summer practice and the early-season schedule release.

Upcoming: Summer workouts begin in late May.

Men: ACC regular-season title is sealed. No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 5 Syracuse 16-11 at Arlotta yesterday in front of a capacity crowd, with the Irish outscoring the Orange 5-2 in the third quarter to break a 8-7 halftime tie. Luke Miller had three goals, Will Maheras orchestrated the offense with 1G/4A, and the Irish locked up the outright ACC regular-season crown plus the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. They get No. 4 Virginia in the semifinals at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, May 1, in Charlotte (ACC Network), with a potential rematch with Syracuse or a North Carolina date Sunday in the championship.

Women: season ended quietly Wednesday. No. 6 seed Notre Dame fell to No. 3 Clemson 12-9 in the ACC quarterfinals, playing without leading scorer Kate Timarky. Emma Murphy and Meghan O'Hare each had hat tricks. With a 12-5 record (6-4 ACC) and a quarterfinal exit, the NCAA tournament path looks shaky - USA Lacrosse's bracketology had the Irish as one of the last teams in before the loss. The NCAA selection show is on May 3.

Upcoming:

• Men: Fri May 1 - vs. No. 4 Virginia, ACC Tournament Semifinal, 5:00 p.m. ET (ACC Network), Charlotte
• Women: Sun May 3 - NCAA Selection Show, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Last Result:

• Men: Beat Syracuse 16-11 (Sat Apr 25)
• Women: Lost to Clemson 12-9 in ACC Quarterfinals (Wed Apr 23)

• Softball beat Boston College 2-1 yesterday at Melissa Cook to clinch the series - three straight wins over BC heading into a midweek slate. ACC Championship at Virginia is May 6-9.
• Baseball hosts BC at noon today at Frank Eck for the series finale. ACC Tournament begins May 19 in Charlotte.