Are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the verge of being a consistent CFP participant? The road to the playoff is more difficult for a team with independent status, but the Irish proved last season that they can overcome that obstacle. Putting together a perfect regular season record, Notre Dame earned its first CFP berth only to get hammered by eventual champion Clemson in the Cotton Bowl semifinal. That loss didn’t look so bad when Clemson claimed the national title with a thumping of Alabama a week later.
Notre Dame caught a few massive breaks on its schedule in 2018. They had a few teams that looked to be better at the beginning of the season than they actually were, taking care of Stanford, USC, Virginia Tech and Florida State. Dispatching Michigan at home in the opener was also helpful. The Irish still had to win the games, and they did. But things won’t work out in their favor this year. Brian Kelly has the talent to put a very good team on the field, but I don’t see the Irish in the running for a playoff berth in 2019.
College Football Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Notre Dame Fighting Irish To Make 4-team Playoff
Yes +450
No -700
Kelly has found his groove leading the Irish to a 22-4 overall record while posting back-to-back double digit win seasons for the first time since Lou Holtz was roaming the sidelines in the late 1990s. And the Irish darted into the CFP last season on the strength of an unbeaten regular season. Being an independent has its perks, and it also has distractions. Notre Dame again has a favorable schedule, but the Irish need to go undefeated to have a sliver of hope for a return to the CFP, and that’s a huge task.
2019 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule
Week 1: at Louisville Cardinals
Week 2: OFF
Week 3: vs. New Mexico Lobos
Week 4: at Georgia Bulldogs
Week 5: vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Week 6: vs. Bowling Green Falcons
Week 7: vs. USC Trojans
Week 8: OFF
Week 9: at Michigan Wolverines
Week 10: vs. Virginia Tech Hokies
Week 11: at Duke Blue Devils
Week 12: vs. Navy Midshipmen
Week 13: vs. Boston College Eagles
Week 14: at Stanford Cardinal
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule Analysis
The expectations are always high for Notre Dame and the squad delivered with its first playoff berth last season. Many Irish haters said they didn’t deserve it with a soft schedule, but they still had to win the games. It was an I-told-you-so moment for those naysayers when ND was blasted by Clemson in the semis. Clemson was easily the best team in college football, though, as they finished off a perfect season with a romp in the title game.
USC and Virginia Tech should be better. Virginia could be a surprise in the ACC and Navy always comes ready to play. But the fate of the season rests on three critical road games. A Week 4 trip to Georgia offers up a battle of CFP hopefuls. The Week 9 matchup with Michigan is a revenge game for the Wolverines. And the season finale at Stanford will be a test. I don’t think Notre Dame is going to sweep those and another slip up along the way leaves them on the outside.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Season Preview
They didn’t win the national championship, but an early season quarterback switch jumpstarted the Irish offense and put them in a position to at least compete for the title. Ian Book took over as the starter in the fourth game of 2018 and the offense took off. Book completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 2,628 yards and tossed at least two scoring passes in every regular season start.
Book was aided in the passing game by Miles Boykin, who departed for the NFL. There is no proven receiver to stretch the field, though Chase Claypool is the likely candidate to inherit the role. The team strives for balance on offense and the run game will be impacted by the loss of Dexter Williams. Those key components led the Irish to over 37 points per game over the final nine regular season contests. Book proved he could handle the average defenses. However, when facing Clemson, Notre Dame was stifled.
Defensively the Irish were good against the pass and ranked 30th nationally in total defense. The group stepped up when it needed to, limiting opponents to 18.2 points per game. The group will have to be retooled after the loss of several athletes. The line will be a work in progress and the second level needs to plug a few holes. The secondary is strong, but the group can be picked apart if the front seven can’t apply pressure. There are too many unknowns to expect another perfect run.
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