Notre Dame Football: Best, worst, and most likely scenarios for 2021

Most likely scenario

Looking at Notre Dame’s schedule, I think the most likely scenario is that they win nine or 10 games. They don’t have any games that would be considered “unwinnable” but they have a handful of tough contests that could go either way.

So in the most likely scenario, I think the Irish start the season with a big win at Florida State and then beat Toledo and Purdue in the following weeks to improve to 3-0.

I think they’ll split one of the two games between Wisconsin and Cincinnati, most likely the former on a neutral field, so that will make the Irish 4-1 heading into a tough road game at Virginia Tech. Notre Dame beats the Hokies and hosts USC and North Carolina with a potential spot in the playoff race on the line.

Notre Dame is going to beat USC and lost to North Carolina as the Tar Heels exact revenge for last season’s loss in Chapel Hill and the Irish will fall to 6-2.

The remainder of the schedule should be penciled in as victories as Navy, Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Stanford don’t stand much of a chance. I could see an upset at Stanford to end the season in some scenarios, but I think the Irish go 4-0 in November to finish 10-2.

Most likely: 10-2