9/3 Notre Dame @ Ohio St.
Coach Freeman just might get his wish. While they won't go in as 21 point underdogs, it will be close. ND will show up to Columbus as 17.5 point dogs. They will shock the early CFB landscape being down 28-24 with four minutes to go. The Buckeyes tag on a late touchdown to make it worse than it was in a 35-24 win. (0-1)
9/10 Marshall @ ND
ND is notorious for slow starts to the season. There is a bit of a hangover here from an emotional week 1 and it takes the Irish a half to get going. They win comfortably 31-10. (1-1)
9/17 Cal @ ND
The Bears were better last year than their 5-7 record suggests. They lost 5 of those games by a touchdown or less. Not to mention beating our favorite Trojans by double digits to close out the season. They hang with ND for a while and are only down 13-10 at half. The Irish pull away with a few 2nd half scores in a 34-17 win. (2-1)
9/24 ND @ North Carolina
North Carolina was a team on the rise going into last year, but had a disappointing season. Mack has been doing some recruiting down there in Chapel Hill, however. The Heels have talent and will give ND a hard time on their home field. A few turnovers will keep this one close, but ND pulls it out in the end 38-31. (3-1)
10/8 BYU @ ND
After a bye week, the Cougars invade South Bend, IN. BYU put up a lot of points last year and have this game circled on their calendar. The Irish should win this fairly comfortably. 28-13 (4-1)
10/15 Stanford @ ND
Crazy to see a team fall on such hard times after being so good. Especially without a coaching change. ND rolls again here. 45-17. (5-1)
10/22 UNLV @ ND
This middle three game stretch will be a good chance for ND to catch their breath rolling into Clemson week. ND rolls easily. 48-3 (6-1)
10/29 ND @ Syracuse
The Cuse can't be completely overlooked. They had a four game stretch last year where they had consecutive three point losses to FSU, Wake Forest, and Clemson followed up by a victory over VT. Many superior teams have gone into Syracuse and left as an upset victim. Even if it being look ahead Saturday I don't think the Irish will be another one, but it will be more of a hair pulling Saturday than most of us will expect. ND 27 Syracuse 21 (7-1)
11/5 Clemson @ ND
What a great game the last time the Tigers came into ND. They entered the stadium as the top team in the country and left as the second best team in the stadium. This one has the makings of a classic. I think Clemson has a chip on their shoulder this year. The second top four team that the Irish will have faced already. This time the Irish pull the upset. ND 34-31. (8-1)
11/12 ND @ Navy
Coming off a huge win over Clemson, the Irish come out a little flat against the triple option. Navy keeps the ball away from ND and shortens the game more than what makes us feel comfortable. A couple fourth quarter scores makes this game look more convincing than it was. ND 28-13. (9-1)
11/19 Boston College @ ND
Another team that always has the ND game circled on their calendar. They will have some offensive talent and Phil will be looking for a big day. ND defensive front will be too good, however, and pressure Phil all game. ND 35-17. (10-1)
11/16 ND @ USC
I admit, I wish USC didn't hire such a high profile coach. They are going to be a problem again. I know what you are thinking, Grinch's defenses have been far more giving than his Christmas time counterpart. However, they won a lot of games while in Oklahoma. USC is going to be good right away. I wish we played them earlier in the year, not Thanksgiving weekend. This is going to be a barnburner, but our front is still better than theirs. We will put just enough pressure on Caleb Williams to pull out a 28-24 victory. (11-1)
This will be enough to, after a fierce discussion, get us into the CFB playoff with Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia, who loses a close one in the SEC championship. BK and LSU are furious that they are left out after an 11-1 season themselves with a 10 point loss to Bama being their only blemish. Rematches aren't ideal, so the parings are #1 Bama vs #4 ND, and #2 Ohio St vs. #3 Georgia.
Coach Freeman just might get his wish. While they won't go in as 21 point underdogs, it will be close. ND will show up to Columbus as 17.5 point dogs. They will shock the early CFB landscape being down 28-24 with four minutes to go. The Buckeyes tag on a late touchdown to make it worse than it was in a 35-24 win. (0-1)
9/10 Marshall @ ND
ND is notorious for slow starts to the season. There is a bit of a hangover here from an emotional week 1 and it takes the Irish a half to get going. They win comfortably 31-10. (1-1)
9/17 Cal @ ND
The Bears were better last year than their 5-7 record suggests. They lost 5 of those games by a touchdown or less. Not to mention beating our favorite Trojans by double digits to close out the season. They hang with ND for a while and are only down 13-10 at half. The Irish pull away with a few 2nd half scores in a 34-17 win. (2-1)
9/24 ND @ North Carolina
North Carolina was a team on the rise going into last year, but had a disappointing season. Mack has been doing some recruiting down there in Chapel Hill, however. The Heels have talent and will give ND a hard time on their home field. A few turnovers will keep this one close, but ND pulls it out in the end 38-31. (3-1)
10/8 BYU @ ND
After a bye week, the Cougars invade South Bend, IN. BYU put up a lot of points last year and have this game circled on their calendar. The Irish should win this fairly comfortably. 28-13 (4-1)
10/15 Stanford @ ND
Crazy to see a team fall on such hard times after being so good. Especially without a coaching change. ND rolls again here. 45-17. (5-1)
10/22 UNLV @ ND
This middle three game stretch will be a good chance for ND to catch their breath rolling into Clemson week. ND rolls easily. 48-3 (6-1)
10/29 ND @ Syracuse
The Cuse can't be completely overlooked. They had a four game stretch last year where they had consecutive three point losses to FSU, Wake Forest, and Clemson followed up by a victory over VT. Many superior teams have gone into Syracuse and left as an upset victim. Even if it being look ahead Saturday I don't think the Irish will be another one, but it will be more of a hair pulling Saturday than most of us will expect. ND 27 Syracuse 21 (7-1)
11/5 Clemson @ ND
What a great game the last time the Tigers came into ND. They entered the stadium as the top team in the country and left as the second best team in the stadium. This one has the makings of a classic. I think Clemson has a chip on their shoulder this year. The second top four team that the Irish will have faced already. This time the Irish pull the upset. ND 34-31. (8-1)
11/12 ND @ Navy
Coming off a huge win over Clemson, the Irish come out a little flat against the triple option. Navy keeps the ball away from ND and shortens the game more than what makes us feel comfortable. A couple fourth quarter scores makes this game look more convincing than it was. ND 28-13. (9-1)
11/19 Boston College @ ND
Another team that always has the ND game circled on their calendar. They will have some offensive talent and Phil will be looking for a big day. ND defensive front will be too good, however, and pressure Phil all game. ND 35-17. (10-1)
11/16 ND @ USC
I admit, I wish USC didn't hire such a high profile coach. They are going to be a problem again. I know what you are thinking, Grinch's defenses have been far more giving than his Christmas time counterpart. However, they won a lot of games while in Oklahoma. USC is going to be good right away. I wish we played them earlier in the year, not Thanksgiving weekend. This is going to be a barnburner, but our front is still better than theirs. We will put just enough pressure on Caleb Williams to pull out a 28-24 victory. (11-1)
This will be enough to, after a fierce discussion, get us into the CFB playoff with Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia, who loses a close one in the SEC championship. BK and LSU are furious that they are left out after an 11-1 season themselves with a 10 point loss to Bama being their only blemish. Rematches aren't ideal, so the parings are #1 Bama vs #4 ND, and #2 Ohio St vs. #3 Georgia.
