Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons the Irish will be contenders in 2018

5. Notre Dame’s strong schedule garners respect

One of the most significant hurdles the Irish face when competing for a high ranking is the lack of a conference championship. Since college football is a game of “what have you done for me lately?”, Notre Dame is often an afterthought during the excitement that surrounds championship weekend.

We saw the absence of a conference championship work out for Alabama this year, but what happened to the Tide is typically rare to see. To compensate for this issue, the Irish often have one of the strongest regular season strength of schedules. This year is no different as the Irish will face off against the likes of Michigan, Stanford, Florida State and USC to name a few.

Assuming Michigan and Florida State don’t witness the same falling-out that they did this year, a one or two loss season would demand respect from the selection committee. After all, the Irish were as high as three in this season’s College Football Playoff rankings despite their biggest wins coming against USC and NC State.

If the Irish were ranked so high in light of fewer big wins this season, look for them to easily make it into the playoff with one loss, and into playoff consideration with two. It’s way too early to predict which games the Irish will win and lose next season, but having a few tough ones doesn’t hurt when it comes to overcoming missing out on a conference championship.