Notre Dame Football: The top 5 quarterbacks the Irish will face in 2020

The Notre Dame football team is entering the season with some high hopes, but they will not have an easy path back to the College Football Playoff. Here are the top five quarterbacks the Irish will face in 2020.

In addition to Ian Book, Notre Dame fans will get the opportunity to watch some very talented quarterbacks play during the course of the 2020 college football season.

Defensive coordinator Clark Lea led one of the best pass defenses in the country last season. The Irish held their opponents to just 5.7 yards per pass attempt in 2019, which was the fourth-best average in the country. They also only allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 54.1 percent of their passes, which was the sixteenth-lowest mark in all of college football.

The Notre Dame defense will have to replace some starters from last year’s team – specifically at positions that play key roles in pass defense. The Irish lost three of the four starting defensive backs in their secondary and both of their starting defensive ends.

Fortunately, Notre Dame already had quality depth at the defensive end position. They were also able to add two experienced defensive backs, Isaiah Pryor and Nick McCloud, via the transfer portal.

Both of those things should help Clark Lea’s unit to maintain their strong pass defense in 2020. The Irish might not finish the year ranked in the top five in yards per pass attempt allowed like last season, but top fifteen is definitely achievable.

In order to achieve that mark, Notre Dame will need to play well against the better quarterbacks on their schedule. Here are the top five signal-callers they will face in 2020.

Some honorable mentions that did not make the top five include Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh), Feleipe Franks (Arkansas), and Sam Hartman (Wake Forest).