Three-Point Stance: Irish bounce back, Nebraska-Indiana, Illinois surging

Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith has thoughts on Notre Dame recruiting, a surprising showdown in the Big Ten and Illinois‘ surging efforts on the trail.

It’s been a weird start to the 2025 season for coach Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame. The Irish lost to Northern Illinois, which seemed devastating at the time. However, they’ve bounced back on the field, winning four straight and looking good in the process. In recruiting, it seemed like the whole world knew that quarterback Deuce Knight wouldn’t end up with the program. That saga is finally over and he’s off to Auburn.

But the Irish bounced back in a big way this week by flipping four-star quarterback Blake Herbert from Clemson. The 6-foot-3, 214-pounder will ease the pain of losing Knight. The program also flipped three-star offensive lineman Cameron Herron from Iowa. He projects as a center for the Irish and has significant upside.

Things are looking up for the program as we hit the midpoint of the season.

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Indiana football is enjoying a renaissance season under first-year coach Curt Cignetti. His history of success has translated quickly in Bloomington and Indiana now finds itself ranked and in the national spotlight. The schedule has been soft so far but up next is another program hoping to turn the corner – Nebraska.

The Hoosiers will have their first sellout since 2021. The game will be televised as Big Noon Kickoff. Expectations are sky high in Bloomington now with fans talking about a path to the College Football Playoff. How will the team handle that weight building? Especially in a program not used to success? It’ll be fascinating to see it play out this weekend in what should be an electric environment.

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Illinois is putting together a strong season so far. It’s off to a great start, sitting at 5-1 after a narrow 50-49 win over Purdue. I give the Illini a lot of credit for trying to capitalize quickly in their recruiting efforts. That game against Purdue featured several high-profile recruits including four-star defensive back Elbert Hill, four-star defensive lineman Titan Davis and four-star inside linebacker Cam Thomas. All are in the 2026 class and live within the region. Those are exactly the types of players Illinois needs to land to be nationally competitive.

If the program can pair landing some of those types of prospects with keeping the elite talent from in the state home, we’ll really be looking at something special. It’ll be a tall order but coach Bret Bielema has his program in the fight. Up next, the Illini will take on Michigan in what can be a statement game for the program.

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