Notre Dame Football: Offseason Fact or Fiction

Fact or Fiction: Notre Dame’s defense will rank in the top-10 in points per game allowed.

Mason: Fact. According to teamrankings.com, Notre Dame ranked 27th in points per game allowed last season with an average of 21.5. With nine starters returning on defense in 2018, there is no doubt in my mind that the Irish defense will be a force to be reckoned with. In truth, the only direction for this Irish defense to go is up, and that is exactly what they will do in 2018.

JP: Fact. The Irish return All-American caliber players at all three levels of their defense. Additionally, none of the teams on their schedule have what you would call an explosive offense. Week in and week out, opposing teams will have to work pretty hard to score enough points against Notre Dame to come away with a win.

Nathan: Fact. Last year, Notre Dame’s defense finished 27th in all of college football in points per game allowed with an average of 21.5. That average rose in the final four games of the season. I expect the defense to be the strength of the team this season. The 10th ranked team in terms of points per game allowed had an average of 19. Notre Dame is well within reach of that.

Sonny: Fiction. Alabama and Clemson are pretty much locks. I think Michigan will be up there also. That leaves only seven open spots, and there are 8-10 defenses that I believe will be better than Notre Dame’s. With a new defensive coordinator the defense should be good, but not top-10 good.

Jack: Fiction. Notre Dame’s defense was ranked 27th in points per game allowed that season. While I believe they can improve that metric, I don’t think they have what it takes to crack the top-10. They will face some high-powered offenses in 2018 and are bound to find themselves in a couple shootouts. I don’t think it’s outlandish to say that there will be at least ten teams with better defenses than Notre Dame’s this season.