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Notre Dame Football: Bold predictions for each Irish opponent in 2019

By Sonny Martinez

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Clay Helton of USC Trojans hugs wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. #6 after they lost to Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 24-17, on November 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Clay Helton of USC Trojans hugs wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. #6 after they lost to Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 24-17, on November 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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PALO ALTO, CA – AUGUST 31: Head coach David Shaw of the Stanford Cardinal talks with K.J. Costello #3 after the Cardinal scored a touchdown against the San Diego State Aztecs at Stanford Stadium on August 31, 2018 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Boston College: Eagles start 6-1, only finish with 7 wins

Boston College is going to be competitive in most of its games this season. They have an elite running back in AJ Dillon, but they’re not great at anything else. The way the schedule sets up, the Eagles are going to have to do most of their damage before October 26.

A soft non conference schedule that includes Richmond, Kansas and Rutgers sets up nicely to get halfway to bowl eligibility. Other games against Wake Forest and North Carolina State at home, along with Louisville on the road, are winnable as well. Then comes October 26th, and a stretch that includes four road games out of their final 5: at Clemson, at Syracuse, Florida State, at Notre Dame and at Pitt. Pitt, the most winnable game on that part of the slate, won the ACC Coastal last season. Boston College will need a major upset that shakes up the College Football Playoff rankings in order to top their 7 wins from last year.

Stanford: Cardinals finish under .500 in conference play for the first time since 2008

This isn’t the Stanford of the last 10 years. Gone is the elite rushing attack, and here is the top 25 pass offense. Gone is the solid defense, and here is the “yeah, they’re good.”

By no means is Stanford a bad team. They’re still good, potentially very good. There’s just teams in the conference better than them. Oregon and Washington are better, and two teams it could be matched well with, USC and Washington State, are on the road. Add to that the #Pac12AfterDark scenarios, and games against UCLA and Arizona aren’t easy, either. Stanford could and should beat Oregon State, Colorado and Cal, but the other six? That could be a tough task that could prove too much.

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