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Notre Dame Football: Is College Football Playoff possible for Irish in 2018?

By Andrew Miller

EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Dexter Williams #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scores a second quarter touchdown a celebrates with his teammates during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Dexter Williams #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scores a second quarter touchdown a celebrates with his teammates during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium on September 23, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /
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Brian Kelly brought Notre Dame football to the brink of College Football Playoff contention in 2017. Can he do the same in 2018?

Notre Dame Football was on the cusp of the College Football Playoff field for much of the 2017 season. With a good amount of starters returning on both sides of the ball for the Irish, much of the same contention level is expected in the upcoming season.

If the Irish do get a good push at the beginning of the 2018 campaign, they’ll be in the Playoff picture entering a tough stretch of November matchups. Three tough contests against the Northwestern Wildcats, Florida State Seminoles, and USC Trojans looms large.

Hanging on through early season tests against the Michigan Wolverines, Wake Forest Demon, Deacons, Stanford Cardinal, and Virginia Tech Hokies requires Notre Dame to likely go perfect through. While the Irish had a difficult slate to deal with in 2017, it’ll be just as tough in 2018.

Defense can, and will, improve this year

The Notre Dame defense had some holes in it last year, and that needs to be fixed before the start of the regular season. Athleticism was added to the secondary on the recruiting trail, and breakout cornerback Julian Love returns to lead the defensive backs in 2018.

One of the bigger mysteries entering 2018 is the situation with the linebackers. Brian Kelly could shuffle around a few players in the linebacking corps, but he’ll mainly have to rely on Te’Von Coney (team tackles leader in 2017) and Drue Tranquill.

Moreover, the defensive line is the strongest portion of the defense, with Jerry Tillery, Jay Hayes, and Jonathan Booners all returning this year. There’s a ton of experience returning along the defensive line. And, although the line had its fair share of struggles in 2017, it’ll be the biggest area of development during the off-season.

Offense has some question marks that will be addressed

The first thought for Notre Dame fans along the offensive side of the ball always falls on the quarterback situation. Notre Dame is sure to have one of the most followed quarterback battles entering the fall. Dual-threat Brandon Wimbush does have the early edge over Ian Book and incoming freshman four-star signee Phil Jurkovec.

Losing a talent like running back Josh Adams is going to be hard to deal with. Standout wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown is gone too. Kelly did remedy the issue of running back depth for the Irish in 2017, as Dexter Williams and Tony Jones Jr. will carry much of the load.

At receiver, experienced players like Chase Claypool and Miles Boykin need to step it up. But, all the pieces are in place in the receiving corps, with a few talented freshmen coming into South Bend, to make opposing defensive coordinators sweat this year.

Next: 5 Notre Dame commits who'll make an instant impact in 2018

Dealing with one of the toughest slates in the nation is the main factor for Notre Dame’s CFP push in 2018. The pieces of the puzzle are in place for the Irish to compete on both sides of the ball, with any team they’ll face during the regular season. A maximum of one-loss will get them to that point of a berth in the Playoff.

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