Notre Dame Football: How the Schedule Stacks up

5 of 5

TALLAHASSEE, FL – OCTOBER 18: Corey Robinson #88 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish catches a touchdown over Jalen Ramsey #8 of the Florida State Seminoles during their game at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 18, 2014 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Game 10: 2017 @ Miami vs 2018 Florida State

Our second of two all ACC matchups. Last year, Miami was dominant for most of their 10-3 campaign, especially in a 41-8 domination of Notre Dame. Miami ranked up to number 2 before a Black Friday collapse against Pitt that extended the rest of the season. Florida State had their share of issues last season also, mostly due to Deondre Francois injury that took the Seminoles from a popular Playoff pick to a 7-6 record. FSU definitely improved as the year went on. This year, Florida State loses a ton on defense, bringing back just three starters, although an offense lead by running back Cam Akers could be explosive. Due to the defensive losses, and the game on the road, 2017’s Miami game was definitely tougher.

2017: 6
2018: 4

Game 11: 2017 Navy vs 2018 neutral site Syracuse

As referenced above, Navy is always tough to play. Much like NC State,
their 7-6 record wasn’t an indication of how good they were, with 4 one possession games. Syracuse does have an quarterback I believe is underrated in Eric Dungey, although the talent level around him isn’t great. The Orange do appear to be on the upswing under Dino Babers, even if the wins aren’t there. Syracuse’s defense isn’t very good and they tend to turn the ball over whiter a bit. I say Navy will end up being the tougher game.

2018: 7
2018: 4

Game 12: 2017 @ Stanford vs 2018 @ USC

Two programs already mentioned, Stanford’s 9-5 record included four games decided by three points or less. A 38-20 victory over Notre Dame was a part of their 9 wins. USC does lose quite a bit, but by week 12 USC had better have the quarterback questions resolved, otherwise Notre Dame will be the least of their worries. It’s expected USC takes a step back with the loss of Sam Darnold, even if the step back is 9 wins instead of 11 or second place in the Pac-12 South instead of first. USC did beat Stanford twice last year by a combined 21 points. (Side note: USC beat Stanford by a combined 21, Notre Dame beat USC by 35, but Stanford beat Notre Dame by 18. College football is a weird place.) Because of the loss of Darnold and Ronald Jones, I’d lean Stanford, but this is the closest matchup so far. I think USC gets 10 wins this season. But because I don’t think USC goes to the Pac-12 Championship game (and even if they do, I think Washington would beat them,) and Stanford did, along with the Stanford loss and USC win from last season, I’m leaning Stanford as the tougher game.

Final Score
2017: 8
2018: 4

I’m kind of surprised at this, even though on the base this year looked a little better than last. I wasn’t expecting this wide of a margin.

Last year, even with a tougher schedule, Notre Dame managed 9 regular season wins. Even win the Notre Dame losses, especially on the offensive line, this schedule sets up for Notre Dame to have a potentially better season than last year.

Home/Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Football: How the 2018 Schedule Stacks up against 2017

By Sonny Martinez | Jun 11, 2018