Notre Dame Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2019

Notre Dame football made its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in 2018, but what can we expect from the Irish in 2019?

Brian Kelly had quite the year in 2018, being named National Coach of the Year and Notre Dame football made the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.

This program is on the rise and it’s hard to believe the Irish are just a couple of years removed from a 4-8 campaign. It looks like Kelly has saved his job for sure and the Irish are a force to be reckoned with — just as Michigan.

Can this team find a way to get back to the College Football Playoff in 2019 with a winnable schedule at hand — even though there are a couple of tough games against Michigan and Georgia looming.

The Irish have high expectations for 2019, and deservedly so. Will they live up to them?

The first year of Scott Satterfield will require plenty of rebuilding in Louisville. The Cardinals are moving on from Bobby Petrino after a rough season following the loss of Lamar Jackson to the NFL and Satterfield is the type of coach who could turn things around in a hurry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen in Week 1.

Notre Dame will come to town looking to set the tone for the 2019 season and Ian Book and Co. will do just that with a nice 40-point outburst on offense.

The outcome will never be in doubt as the Irish will hold a 2-3 score lead for most of the day until Louisville adds a late touchdown to make the final look slightly more respectable.

Book will have a nice start to the season with 350 yards and three touchdowns as the offense surpasses 500 total yards.

Final Score: Notre Dame 41, Louisville 20 (1-0)