Power Ranking the 2019 Notre Dame Football Schedule
![SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 09: Walter Grant #84 and Dominick Sanders #24 of the Georgia Bulldogs make a tackle against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter of a game at Notre Dame Stadium on September 9, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 09: Walter Grant #84 and Dominick Sanders #24 of the Georgia Bulldogs make a tackle against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter of a game at Notre Dame Stadium on September 9, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/dbfefec66b34d73a39ae04756164279943bc66c8576d1b4d95cae6889fbf464f.jpg)
3. Stanford
Bryce Love is heading to the NFL, and that leaves Stanford with a bit of an identity crisis. Their offense will need to find a new player to lean on. Look for KJ Costello to step up in a big way at the quarterback position. Of course, due to Love’s injury, they do have some experience playing without him, which should help a ton next year. Statistically, Stanford’s defense was fairly average last season, but I expect that to improve. Stanford has a strong recruiting class coming in, with seven ESPN 300 commits. They’re also very well coached, with David Shaw at the helm. Stanford was a 9-4 team in 2018, they should be stronger in 2019.
2. Michigan
In my mind, Jim Harbaugh has become a bit of an enigma for Michigan. He continually has set a high bar and has had his Wolverine teams playing at a very high level. However, they’ve continually come up short, and Harbaugh appears to be a big-game loser. Quarterback Shea Patterson has the ability to bring life to the offense, but it is a boring offense that won’t score a ton. On the other hand, the defense is incredible. Don Brown, the Michigan defensive coordinator, is like a mad scientist of blitzing. It’s honestly a surprise he isn’t a head coach at a P5 program now. Michigan should fit the same mold that made them 10-3 in 2018.