The Hey Horka! BlueandGold.com message board mailbag column originates each week with a message board thread titled “Hey Horka!” Subscribers are prompted to ask Blue & Gold beat writer Tyler Horka questions about Notre Dame football. He answers all of them in the thread and in an article that publishes later in the week at BlueandGold.com.

Every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET, Horka hosts a YouTube live show with coworker Jack Soble discussing in greater detail some of the most pressing questions from the thread. You can watch the show via the video player on this web page or by visiting Blue & Gold’s YouTube channel.

This week’s questions, from users whose Lou Somogyi Message Board names appear after the dashes, are …

Hey Horka! questions of the week

In this episode, the guys answer the following Notre Dame football questions from Lou Somogyi Board subscribers at BlueandGold.com…

-I feel like people aren’t talking about the Jordan Botelho injury as it relates to the Irish defense. How hard will he be to replace from a run defense standpoint? — Kcndmis97

-What is a scenario in which Notre Dame can run a two-QB system with Steve Angeli and Riley Leonard? — arrowfan624

-What is your impression of the team’s overall attitude / spirit after three games? — dcwflyca

-If NIU wins 10 games this year, does that do enough to give Notre Dame a plausible path to the CFP at 10-2? — arrowfan624

-Why does it seem every other program can have an elite receiver but Notre Dame can’t? — NightHawkNDfan69

More about this episode

• The guys begin by discussing a little bit about their experience covering the Purdue game in West Lafayette, Ind., and what they’re expecting from the Irish this weekend against Miami (Ohio).

• The Botelho discussion focuses mainly on what Notre Dame has behind him on the depth chart. Is sophomore Boubacar Traore ready to be a starter? Is he ready to shoulder as much of the defensive line duties as were placed on Botelho before he went down? And can junior Junior Tuihalamaka step into the role Traore was just playing so well and be a solid No. 2 rush end?

• The quarterback conversation is about more than just whether or not Notre Dame can successfully operate a two-QB system. It’s about the current state of the passing game, what senior Riley Leonard provides the Irish in all facets of quarterbacking and what the Irish have in junior backup Steve Angeli.

• What’s the mood in the Guglielmino Athletics Complex after such a rollercoaster start of the season? Is the playoff a possibility at 10-2? And why can other top-tier programs have elite wide receivers right away but Notre Dame cannot?

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