Notre Dame Football: Irish will be tested in second half

Notre Dame football enters their off week with a 5-1 record, but the going is only going to get tougher for the Irish in the second half of the season.

Outside of a one-point defeat at the hands of Georgia, Notre Dame has put together a string of successful performances in the first half of the 2017 campaign. You couldn’t have asked for much of a better beginning from Brian Kelly and Brandon Wimbush. 5-1 is 5-1, but if there is a fair critique of the Irish; it’s their schedule to date.

Notre Dame, so far, has wins over Temple, Boston College, Michigan State, Miami (OH) and North Carolina. That list pales in comparison to their final six contests of the year:

Notre Dame’s remaining schedule

• No. 13 USC – Oct. 21
• No. 20 NC State – Oct. 28
• Wake Forest – Nov. 4
• No. 11 Miami – Nov. 11
• No. 25 Navy – Nov. 18
• No. 23 Stanford – Nov. 25

The ranks of their opponents will fluctuate, but as far as things stand so far, that’s a daunting six weeks. Wake Forest is the only unranked team on the schedule and they proved to be a tough out for Florida State and Clemson.

Notre Dame has only faced one ranked team this season, No. 15 Georgia, who beat them at home. It was the Bulldogs’ defense that caused the Irish the most trouble. Their isn’t a defensive unit as scary as Georgia’s still on the schedule, but the front seven of NC State and Miami and more than capable of giving a run-centric Notre Dame offense some trouble.

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The jury is still out on Notre Dame. On the one hand, there is reason to be cautious. They haven’t “done anything yet”. However, they have enough pieces to make a run at the College Football Playoff. One thing is for certain, if they do manage to make it through the final two months of their season unscathed, they’ll have earned a spot in the conversation.