Notre Dame Football: Writers picks vs. New Mexico

The Notre Dame football home opener with New Mexico is tomorrow.. Here’s how some of our writers see it shaking out.

There’s nothing like a football Saturday in South Bend, and after a long wait, we’ll finally get one tomorrow when the 2019 Notre Dame football home opener against New Mexico kicks off.

Here’s what some of our writers are predicting for the game tomorrow.

Carlee North

Irish are coming off of Week 2 bye and are looking to get back to the basics against New Mexico after an up and down performance at Louisville. Because it’s the first home game and it’s New Mexico, I expect the Irish to cover and win handily before heading down to Athens the following week for one of the biggest games of the college football season. Expect Ian Book to quiet some of his critics and have a big game, while also gaining some much needed confidence. We’ll get to see the backups heading into the fourth quarter as the Irish win 52-13.

Chase Eyrich

Notre Dame simply has too many weapons for New Mexico to keep up in a game like this one. Ian Book should have no problem getting back into his regular form while attacking a secondary that fell apart vs. Sam Houston State. I also expect the size of Notre Dame’s offensive line to create many problems for New Mexico. Notre Dame cruises to a 49-17 victory.

Connor McJunkin

This game is eerily similar to Ball State from a season ago. Notre Dame should dominate from start to finish, and coming off a bye week with getting Cole Kmet back should mean this thing doesn’t stay close for long. Ian Book and the defense should have a bounce back, confidence-building game before their huge matchup vs. Georgia next week. Irish roll 52-17.

Daniel Morrison

The Lobos head to South Bend without their coach, Bob Davie, who formerly coached Notre Dame. That’s not a small distraction for a team heading into a unique and challenging environment for visitors. That’s before you take into account the huge talent gap between the two programs. There’s no reason it should be a close game. Notre Dame wins 48-10.

Jack Leniart

After a shaky start in their season opener and an extra week off, I expect Notre Dame to play very well on Saturday. Some Irish fans may be hesitant to think that way after Notre Dame’s performances against Ball State, Vanderbilt, and Pittsburgh last season. However, the circumstances heading into this game are different. The entire team and staff knows they did not play their best game against Louisville, and they want to get on track before heading into the meat of their schedule. I think the Irish cover the 35-point spread in this game and give the fan base a dash of hope heading into their game against Georgia the following week. Notre Dame wins 62-13.

Mason Plummer

Notre Dame comes out and stomps a team it should and covers the betting line. Big games from Ian Book, Chase Claypool and Tony Jones Jr. lead the Irish to victory. Expect to see backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec in at least for the entire 4th quarter if the Irish have a sizable lead. Notre Dame wins 55-10.

Nathan Erbach

This one is over by halftime and New Mexico scores one touchdown each half. Ian Book throws for over 300 yards and is taken out for Jurkovec early on in the third. Tommy Tremble catches his second touchdown in as many games, and shows Notre Dame fans why he deserves playing time even when Kmet is fully healthy. In the end, the Irish are simply way too talented for the Lobos. Notre Dame wins 55-14.

Sonny Martinez

New Mexico shouldn’t be a challenge, but if the Irish defense that played the first half against Louisville shows up, it could be Ball State all over again. Notre Dame should roll offensively. I see a few short Ian Book passes in the beginning as a confidence booster, and then the offense will open up. With the bye, they’ve had time to learn from their week one mistakes, which is bad news for a Lobos team without their head coach and starting quarterback. Notre Dame wins 55-10.

Matt Clark

The Irish O-line is too much for the Lobos right out of the gate and the run game for Notre Dame is dominant from the first snap. Ian Book regains his trademark accuracy with big plays to Chase Claypool and Cole Kmet, who sees limited action. The Irish are up big going into the second half and are able to rest their key players, and get much needed reps for depth players heading into their marquee showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs. Irish win 42-10.

Corbin Whitney

Notre Dame’s defensive line will be too much for New Mexico to handle. Book will come out and look much improved compared to last week, allowing the wide receivers to shine. Plenty of fresh faces out on the field in this game for the Irish, as Notre Dame’s overall talent will be to much for the Lobos. Notre Dame wins 45-13

J.P. Scott

I see Brian Kelly treating this game like a scrimmage, jumping out to a lead and working on a lot of stuff the Irish need to work on. Defensively, Notre Dame will be out to make a statement and log  shutout like we;ve seen some other heavy-hitters do already in 2019. I expect a sound, methodical beatdown with no repeat of some of those close wins from last season. Irish win 48-0.