Notre Dame Football: 2021 schedule has plenty of intriguing storylines

Marcus Freeman takes on his old team, Cincinnati

The Notre Dame football program hit an absolute home run already this offseason, as they landed their No. 1 target for the vacant defensive coordinator position. The position was left vacant by Clark Lea, who took the head coaching job at Vanderbilt, a promotion he more than deserved after the job he did in South Bend.

The hire of Freeman was an outstanding one, as he is not only an incredible coach but one of the more elite recruiters in all of college football. He was able to work wonders with a  G5 school in Cincinnati, and there is no telling what he is going to be able to do with all of the perks associated with working at Notre Dame.

It won’t take long for Freeman to take on his former players, as the Irish will take on the Bearcats one week after Coan attempts to defeat his former team against Wisconsin. Notre Dame will play host to Cincinnati in this one, and it is certain to be an emotional one for Freeman, who helped Cincinnati to an AAC title and a spoke in the Peach Bowl this past season.

There are other big storylines, including a matchup against North Carolina and Sam Howell, hosting USC at home, and the opener against Florida State. However, these matchups in back-to-back weeks are the highlight of the 2021 slate, especially if Coan is the starter under center.