After surviving a close call against USC, Notre Dame stayed on the sidelines in Week 8 for their second bye week of the 2019 season. Sitting at 6-1 and No. 8 in the AP Top 25 entering the weekend, the Fighting Irish get a well-deserved rest ahead of another big rivalry showdown at the Big House against Michigan.
Brian Kelly’s team fields both a top-15 scoring offense and a top-15 scoring defense, and on average they defeat opponents by more than 22 points per game. They have also been great both at protecting the football and wresting it away from opponents; only San Jose State (!) has a higher turnover margin than Notre Dame at this point of the season.
After they wrap up the month of October with a trip to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines, the Fighting Irish turn their attention to a pair of ACC competitors in Duke and Virginia Tech. Navy comes to South Bend in mid-November for their rivalry game, and a visit from Boston College serves as the final home game before concluding the regular season at Stanford.