Notre Dame Football: Three Bold Predictions for the Irish against Louisville
By Chase Eyrich
Notre Dame football is finally back. Primetime under the lights the Irish will kick off the season against Louisville to cap off the Labor Day weekend.
Expectations from last year’s 12-0 regular season are following the Notre Dame football team into the 2019 season along with the hopes of another trip to the College Football Playoff. It’s no surprise that the Irish are heavy favorites over Louisville, but in the first game of the season, so much is unknown that anything can happen.
The Irish have seen it before.
Under Head Coach Brian Kelly, Notre Dame stand 7-2 in season openers. One of those losses was to USF in 2011, a game that the Irish entered ranked and heavily favored.
With uncertainty surrounding the opening game of the season, one thing Notre Dame has been able to rely on is their quarterback.
Ian Book comes in claiming the third-best completion percentage out of returning quarterbacks from a season ago. Now that he’s fully integrated into Notre Dame’s offense and the system has been built to accommodate him, we could see an even more impressive performance from the Irish signal caller.
But the Irish have plenty of reason to be excited about the start of the 2019 season. Even though many of the biggest names from a season ago have moved on to the next level, the window has opened for those hoping to showcase their skills. Coach Kelly may have one of the most complete teams he’s ever had during his tenure in South Bend.
The Irish has a deep receiving corps of young talent and and offensive line that’s looking to build on last season. On the other side of the ball, the defensive ends are as good as it gets and the back end of the secondary will follow suit. If the Irish answer questions on the interior of the defensive line and linebacker, Notre Dame will be one of the strongest teams they have been in a while.
If the Irish are going to be able to take their performance from last season up a notch, this is the team to do it. The only issue standing in their way is the difficulty of their road schedule.
But, Notre Dame will take it one game at a time and so will we. Here are three bold predictions for Notre Dame vs. Louisville.