Notre Dame Football: What would 11-1 mean for the Irish?

Many have projected Notre Dame football to finish the season 11-1, with the lone loss of the season coming September 21st at Georgia.

Notre Dame football is coming off an undefeated regular season. Though many would say that Notre Dame’s schedule wasn’t as daunting as many believed it would be when the season started, the Irish still navigated a very difficult schedule in 2018 on their way to a berth in the College Football Playoff.

This almost goes without saying, but the Irish get no reprieve from their historically difficult schedule in 2019.

The games worth mentioning as marquee matchups in 2019 are spread throughout the schedule. That’s the good news. The bad news is that all three games come on the road at Michigan, Georgia, and Stanford.

One projection, courtesy of 247Sports, projects Notre Dame to navigate an 11-1 regular season, losing only to the Georgia Bulldogs in September. In terms of understanding Notre Dame’s development, what would this mean for the Irish?

I’ve long said that Notre Dame can continue to take steps in the right direction as a program without winning as many games as a season ago. That’s especially true, given that Notre Dame’s schedule is likely more difficult this season, especially since 7 Notre Dame opponents play the Irish after coming off a bye week the week before.

An 11-1 season would be a success for the Irish, even if it doesn’t net them an opportunity to redeem themselves in the College Football Playoff.

If nothing else, an 11-win regular season would mean that the Irish have established a new level of consistency that they haven’t shown since Brian Kelly was hired as coach before the 2010 season.

Under Kelly, the Irish have had peaks and valleys. After two 8-5 seasons, the Irish won 12 games and made the National Championship game. The seasons that followed saw the Irish go 9-4 and 8-5, before going 10-3. Finally, Notre Dame’s 4-8 season in 2016 was part of the lead-in to back-to-back 10-win seasons.

If you’re keeping track, Kelly’s tenure can be assessed in three-year cycles, with the third year being Notre Dame’s “peak.” That said, Notre Dame should be due for a letdown, given their success a year ago.

But the Irish are looking to break that cycle, continuing their pursuit of a National Championship. If the Irish can show that they can break the three-year repeating cycle, it will be another indication that the program is continuing to build toward their ultimate goal.