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Notre Dame Football: Week 1 showdown with Michigan will determine Playoff destiny

By Andrew Miller

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Only days remain until Notre Dame football opens its 2018 season with a massive home contest against the Michigan Wolverines.

Notre Dame football has the most intriguing matchup slated around the nation in Week 1 of the 2018 college football season. Once the Michigan Wolverines come to South Bend, IN, on Sep. 1 to face the Fighting Irish in front of a national audience and ESPN’s College GameDay, the fate of two of the most talented teams in the country this year will battle for a likely top 10 ranking the following week.

Michigan carries a No. 14 ranking in the initial releases of both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, Notre Dame is ranked at No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll. These two teams could not line up much more evenly in terms of ranking and talent.

Although, Notre Dame is coming off a high-note last season with a Citrus Bowl victory over the LSU Tigers. Michigan capped off the 2017 campaign with an Outback Bowl loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. This gives Notre Dame a bit more momentum entering this matchup. Jim Harbaugh is also on a much hotter seat than that of head Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly.

Since both Notre Dame and Michigan are ranked pretty high in every major preseason poll, College Football Playoff hype will follow to some degree. Michigan is set to hit the most grueling portion of its 2018 slate in Big 10 play when it has to face the Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan State Spartans, and Wisconsin Badgers all in the stretch run of the regular season.

On the other hand, Notre Dame has a pretty evenly spaced out schedule that is still one of the toughest in the nation again. You could argue that the Irish had the most difficult 2017 schedule in the nation. That could happen again since Notre Dame has what Athlon Sports considers to be the third toughest 2018 slate in the nation.

Notre Dame still gets the Stanford Cardinal, Virginia Tech Hokies, Northwestern Wildcats, Florida State Seminoles, and USC Trojans this season. There are more opportunities for the Irish to slip up even if it takes care of business against the Wolverines. However, this Notre Dame squad would have a real uphill battle to face if the Michigan contest results in a loss.

Projected 2-deep depth chart for Notre Dame football in 2018. dark. Next

Michigan is in a similar boat to Notre Dame here in the sense that it cannot afford a loss in the season opener if it hopes to make the Playoff given the toughness of the rest of the schedule. That adds another dynamic to what already promises to be the most entertaining and impactful game of college football’s true opening weekend.

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