Notre Dame Football: Ranking Irish opponents by toughness

Looking ahead to the 2021 Notre Dame football season, here’s a look at where the opponents of the Irish ranking according to their difficulty. 

After one season in the ACC, Notre Dame football is back to its independent schedule and while there are still a bunch of ACC opponents, it looks like your typical ND slate.

Notre Dame football will play five teams from the ACC, as well as two from the Big Ten, two from the Pac-12, as well as two from the American and one opponent from the MAC.

Now that the Irish aren’t in the ACC, the only way they can assure themselves a spot in the College Football Playoff is by going 12-0. It’s possible with this schedule, but won’t be easy, especially with a new starting quarterback, although veteran Jack Coan, who transferred from Wisconsin, is plenty experienced.

So without any further ado, here’s a look at Notre Dame football’s 2021 opponents ranked by toughness.

To show you how difficult Notre Dame’s schedule is in 2021, Toledo, which is viewed by some as the favorite to win the MAC, is the easiest game on the schedule.

Toledo should have a solid team but it’s hard to see a MAC team winning at Notre Dame and this will be the home opener. The Rockets were 4-2 last season and return quarterback Eli Peters as well as a talented group of receivers.

That should allow Toledo to score some points, but I would expect Notre Dame to build a big lead and as one of just three non-Power 5 opponents on the schedule, the Rockets are right where they belong in the No. 12 position.