Tough task ahead
Out of the remaining six games left for Notre Dame, five of their opponents are currently ranked.
It all starts next week. Coming off of the bye week, rival USC will be the first opponent in the way. The Trojans rank 13th in the nation with one loss on the season. That loss coming to No. 8 Washington State 30-27. USC also had a scary situation against Texas, a game that went the way of the Trojans 27-24 in overtime. If we’re being realistic it doesn’t matter how USC or Notre Dame has faired against other opponents. It’s a matchup we all look forward to every year. This year, they both just happen to be trying to keep playoff hopes alive.
No. 20 NC State and Wake Forest will come up as Notre Dame’s next opponents. NC State: a team who hasn’t lost since week one. Wake Forest: a team who played a similar opponent with a similar result. The Demon Deacons also played Boston College in a 34-10 blowout. The Irish caused similar damage en route to a 49-20 win.
Currently, Miami would be Notre Dame’s highest ranked opponent sitting at 11th. But the whole conversation about the Hurricanes might be changing course. Miami is coming off of a thrilling 24-20 win over Flordia State, but it came at a cost. Star Running Back Mark Walton injured his ankle which will lead to season-ending surgery.
It’s clear that the biggest drop in the depth chart for the Hurricanes is at Running Back with no one close to producing what Walton was. Multiple starters were injured during that game and this week many were seen conditioning rather than practicing to start off the week. This brings up some questions about where this team now stands, but still could be the toughest opponent for the Irish.
Notre Dame will round out the season with No. 25 Navy and No.23 Stanford. While Midshipmen haven’t quite played any big names, they have gotten off to a big 5-0 start. It’s never an easy battle when it comes to playing Navy and that pesky triple-option.
While Stanford is not what they were a couple years ago, they still are a strong opponent that won’t go down easy. The only two games Stanford has lost this season has been to No. 13 USC and No. 19 San Diego State.
The next six opponents for Notre Dame have a current 24-6 record. Is the road ahead tough? Extremely! But, if the Irish were able to march on to victory the rest of the season, they would have a great argument to make the playoffs.
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