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10 Things that will define the 2021 Notre Dame football season

By Daniel Morrison

Nov 30, 2019; Stanford, CA, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet sits behind the bench during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2019; Stanford, CA, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet sits behind the bench during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame football
SOUTH BEND, IN – OCTOBER 12: Notre Dame Fighting Irish players face off at the line of scrimmage against the USC Trojans during a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 12, 2019, in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated USC 30-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

10 Things that will define the 2021 Notre Dame football season

9. Rivalry Games

Notre Dame football has four of its traditional rivals on the schedule, Purdue, USC, Navy, and Stanford. These games, on their face, are going to be completely different matchups. Purdue has a good passing attack but is a bit of a pushover otherwise.

USC has a lot of talent, but there are also concerns about the coaching staff. Navy was terrible last season, but the triple option is always difficult to deal with. Then, at the end of the season, Stanford who has given Notre Dame problems in the past and will want to play a very physical game.

These four games, however, are going to be incredibly important in terms of setting the tone of the season. These are games that matter to teams and their fans, though, which ultimately have more impact than those games against a random ACC team.

So, no, winning these games probably won’t save Notre Dame’s season if other games go poorly. Losing them will make things worse, though. Beating a rival is a simple and impactful thing that you can do to make your entire season better.

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