Oct 29, 2011; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Theo Riddick (6) streaks down the sideline and stiff arms Navy Midshipmen cornerback Kwesi Mitchell (11) at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Navy 56-14. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

With this extremely tough schedule, Notre Dame is playing some great teams. Here’s the 3 games I am looking forward to the most.

3. vs Nay (in Dublin, Ireland) – Sept. 1, 2012

How many times does a college football game go overseas? Not very often, at all. It’s very fitting that the Fighting Irish are playing in the capital of Ireland. I’m just excited to wake up in the morning to a cup of coffee, some pancakes, and Notre Dame football (since the gametime is 9am ET). This is also a game where Notre Dame can win easily, if they show up and play. Starting the season off 1-0 would be nice, instead of a 23-20 loss to USF like in 2011.

2. at Oklahoma – Oct. 27, 2012

I don’t know what to say. This game gets me fired up on all cylinders. Notre Dame against a Big 12 opponent, potentially the ESPN GameDay crew at the game, top 25 opponent- all are reason to be pumped for this game. This game is one I want Notre Dame to win very badly, mainly because it would show the world that Notre Dame is in fact, back in the college football world.

Week One- vs Navy — win (31-14)

Sept. 3, 2011; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Michael Floyd (3) celebrates with tight end Tyler Eifert (80) after a touchdown against the South Florida Bulls in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE

Week Two- vs Purdue — win (24-20)

Week Three- at Michigan State — win (26-20 OT)

Week Four- vs Michigan — loss (24-34)

Week Five- vs Miami — win (27-23)

Week Six- vs Stanford — win (24-14)

Week Seven- vs BYU — loss (20-28)

Week Eight- at Oklahoma — loss (13-27)

Week Nine- vs Pittsburgh — win (14-10)

Week Ten- at Boston College — win (38-24)

Week Eleven- vs Wake Forest — win (30-20)

Week Twelve- at USC — loss (24-42)

Overall record — 8 Wins and 4 losses

This record would be a huge success for Notre Dame. They easily have the toughest schedule in the entire country and with quarterback controversy, you never know what could happen (good or bad), I think this would be a giant step in the right direction for ND. Some of the games I predicted could go either way, but 8-4 is a record that is not only manageable, but very good based on the strength of schedule.

offensive and defense players to watch are on the next page

Everett Golson stole the show yesterday. Throwing 11 of 15 for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns. Yesterday, people saw the potential he has. What was most impressive about him was the fact that he was the only 1 of the 4 quarterbacks to not throw an interception.

Apr. 21, 2012; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson (1) throws in the first quarter of the spring game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-US PRESSWIRE

Despite all of the positives, Brian Kelly thinks Golson has some work to do.

“Yeah, we come at it from different perspectives. The stats really don’t mean anything to me. What I didn’t like was that he’s got to get the plays in quicker. He’s got to recognize the signaling.

If I’m not out there getting guys set and making sure he knows what to play, we’re going to have flags thrown all over the place. So those things don’t mean as much to me as they do managing the offense. We’re making progress there, but we’re nowhere where we need to be.” -und.com

Tommy Rees played the first five series, throwing 7 completed passes for 84 yards. But, like Hendrix, who went 4-9 for 51 yards, he threw a bad interception. Brian Kelly had some things to say about their mistakes.

“You saw Hendrix can’t make that mistake trying to throw an overroute with a level one ball. That’s just the thing that I’m talking about. They can’t make those mistakes and be the starter. They just can’t.” -und.com

Gunner Kiel had the entire second half to himself. He made some mistakes and looked like a player who should be red-shirted. I won’t go into detail and critique him on his play because I believe he can develop with a year of learning.

Here’s the statistics on each quarterbacks play.

Running back George Atkinson III had a terrific game. He ran for 124 yards on 15 carries. However, he had 2 fumbles that were costly. Here’s what Atkinson had to say on his play.

“Basically all spring what I have been doing has involved high and low points. I have to eliminate mistakes. I plan on getting better over the summer and pay attention to details. It was fun just playing ball and reacting to the defense. I think last year I was thinking too much and now I am actually starting to learn the plays and where to go. Now I am just reacting and playing ball.” -und.com

Cierre Wood rushed for 52 yards on 5 carries and was very efficient in his play. The combination of Wood, Atkinson III, and Theo Riddick (9 yards rushing, 63 yards receiving) should be very deadly come next season.