Notre Dame football has a rigorous schedule ahead of them in 2018. Which of the Irish opponents will be the toughest?
Notre Dame football fans might own the best season ticket in college football. While other teams are hosting FCS squads in September and November, Notre Dame is playing some of the most storied programs in the sport. From an entertainment perspective, that’s great. From a competitive standpoint, it’s extremely perilous.
The Irish once again have their eyes set on the College Football Playoff entering 2018. To get to that rarefied air they’ll need to navigate a schedule that includes several high-profile, dangerous games. One misstep and the Irish are out. Alabama was able to sneak into the Playoff with two losses last season, but the Irish won’t have any conference-affiliated boost to work in their favor.
Ball State, Pitt and Syracuse should all be relatively easy wins for Notre Dame. The Irish draw all three at home and hold a significant talent advantage over each of them. The rest of the slate is not so easy; here are five teams that pose the most danger to Notre Dame in 2018.
Navy isn’t the most glamorous name on this list. They don’t have the star power of some of Notre Dame’s other opponents, but they ought not to be overlooked. The option rushing attack the Midshipmen employ takes discipline and focus. If Notre Dame has an off day, which has happened more than once over the last several seasons, Navy can make them pay.
Four of the last five games between these squads have been decided by 10 points or less. The clock-control offense employed by the Midshipmen shrinks the clock and magnifies every possession. The Midshipmen beat the Irish in 2016 and the two teams were tied entering the fourth quarter of last season’s contest.
Notre Dame faced Navy last season when Zach Abbey was under center. In 2018 it will be Malcolm Perry. The offense won’t look any different, but the tendencies and decision-making of the man with the ball might change ever so slightly. No matter the score, this is going to be a close game. The Irish best not take their foot off the gas.
The loss of Sam Darnold cannot be understated. At the time, the future first round NFL Draft selection didn’t play up to his potential. He fell apart on the road against Notre Dame, all-but killing the Trojans’ College Football Playoff hopes. With him on to the NFL, USC is going to have to turn to a true freshman, JT Daniels.
By the time Notre Dame travels to the west coast to play USC the true freshman will have the vast majority of a full college football season under his belt. A 5-star recruit and the No. 2 quarterback in his class, Daniels is being billed as the next great USC gunslinger. If he’s as good as he’s supposed to the Irish won’t have the advantage at the quarterback position. That’s never a good thing when you’re playing on the road.
Whether its Brandon Wimbush, Ian Book or Phil Jurkovec the Irish don’t have a clear No. 1 entering the fall. The close race could force the Irish to play all three before they make a decision. Daniels has the starting job to himself all next season and has home field. That’s two significant advantages for the Trojans.
Florida State is one of the few teams that Notre Dame has never figured out how to beat, at least not consistently. The Irish have played the Seminoles eight times and can claim two wins, the most recent coming in 2002. A lot has changed since the teams last met in 2014, the most notable being Florida State’s new head coach Willie Taggart.
The departure of Jimbo Fisher, while not unforeseen, still hit the program hard. Players and fans are deservedly frustrated with how he left, but have already moved on to what promises to be a new era of Florida State Football. Taggart was the perfect hire. His recruiting connections, player-friendly attitude and innovative offenses will keep the Seminoles relevant in the years to come, but how fast can he orchestrated the bounce back?
The Irish will meet the Seminoles in the middle of one of their toughest stretches of the season. FSU hosts Clemson before playing back-to-back road games against NC State and Notre Dame. However, the Noles, even beat up over the course of a long season, are too talented to overlook.
What happened at Florida State last season was an outlier. Jimbo Fisher’s aloofness, the program’s decline and the injury woes were the perfect storm which knocked the Seminoles out cold. They’ll be ready to go in 2018.
Stanford is currently in the midst of their longest winning streak over Notre Dame in program history. The Cardinal have won three consecutive games and nine of the last 11 contests. Notre Dame has been strong over the past decade, but their inability to solve Stanford has been frustrating.
Notre Dame has the fortune of playing this game at home. Their last two wins over Stanford have come in South Bend. They’ll need the homefield advantage once again this season.
Part of Notre Dame’s struggles against Stanford has been the dominant rushing attacks of the Cardinal. Christian McCaffrey is gone, but Bryce Love isn’t. The senior-to-be surprised most when he elected to forgo the NFL Draft and return to school. Whenever he takes the field fireworks follow.
Love was nicked up down the stretch last season but still managed to waltz through the Notre Dame defense for 125 yards. While he ran free, quarterback K.J. Costello threw for four touchdowns. At that point, the Irish had already lost hope in their season. An earlier contest this year should keep them mentally engaged.
It’s hard not to overhype this game. The pageantry of college football doesn’t get much better than Michigan and Notre Dame. This dynamic pairing will see center stage in 2018 as the marquee game of Week 1 and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Michigan and Notre Dame both have coaches that, while not on the hot seat, will be trending in that direction if they don’t produce championship-caliber seasons in 2018. This game has the potential to set the tone for the entire season. A loss to Michigan in the middle of the year could be excused — Notre Dame plays an extremely challenging schedule — but losing the big game right out of the gate would won’t be overlooked.
Jim Harbaugh has the benefit of Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson at quarterback. If he does prove to be the missing piece for the Wolverines on offense the ceiling for their program in 2018 could be as high as the College Football Playoff. That would pose a problem for the Irish.
Next: Ranking every Irish position group entering 2018
It’s going to be a challenging road for Notre Dame football in 2018, but the same has been true for the Irish for a long time. If they can navigate the biggest tests and keep themselves in the Playoff hunt come November, Brian Kelly should be credited with a job well done.