Notre Dame Football: Phil Steele Has High Hopes For The Irish In 2018
The most accurate college football magazine over the last 20 years is back again in 2018 with some good news for Notre Dame football.
Phil Steele’s annual college football preview is often regarded as the best preview out there. Year after year, the magazine lives up to its billing of “the book the experts cannot do without.” Those experts include us — the people who cover Notre Dame football.
Earlier this month, I took a dive into what the rest of the preview magazines say, but now it’s time to find out what the best says.
Irish representatives on Phil Steele’s preseason All American team include Alex Bars as a third team guard, Julian Love as a third team cornerback and defensive tackle Jerry Tillery and linebacker Te’Von Coney on the fourth team.
Between all four teams, Notre Dame will face three first team, five second team, seven third team and four fourth team All Americans.
When it comes to the unit rankings, the Irish have Phil Steele’s No. 22 quarterback unit, No. 22 running back unit, No. 46 receiving unit, No. 8 ranked offensive line, No. 21 defensive line, No. 13 linebacker unit, No. 13 defensive backfield. They are not ranked in the Top 55 for special teams.
Notre Dame is Phil Steele’s No. 1 surprise team this season. They will face five of Steele’s top seven surprise teams.
Steele’s Postseason Outlook
The best news of all is that Phil Steele projects Notre Dame to make an appearance in the Rose Bowl against his No. 1 Group of Five team, Boise State.
Steele says the 2018 Boise State Broncos could very well be Bryan Harsin’s best team yet. That is a scary thought, considering his worst record in four years as Boise State head coach is 9-4.
The Broncos have won 10, 11 and 12 games the other three seasons.
Additionally, Steele calls for Brandon Wimbush to be a Heisman contender, placing him in a group of players that believes could put up massive stats for teams in the College Football Playoff hunt.
Next: Our Writers Tackle Notre Dame's 2018 Over/Under Win-Total Number
Phil Steele’s magazine is on sale now for $13.99, and it’s worth every penny. If you’re a college football fan, it’s a must buy. You will not be disappointed.