Notre Dame football: 3 keys to victory against Florida State

May 1, 2021; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Jack Coan (17) runs the ball in the first half of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2021; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Jack Coan (17) runs the ball in the first half of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame football
May 1, 2021; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Football quarterback Jack Coan (17) takes the snap in the first half of the Blue-Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

The Notre Dame football team opens up their regular season against Florida State on Sunday, and here are three keys to victory against the Seminoles.

The time has come for the Notre Dame football program to kick off their 2021 schedule, and they will do so on the road against a talented Florida State team. For the Irish, this is an important game, as they look to attempt to get to the College Football Playoff for the third time in four years, and Florida State will be their first step on that journey.

Defeating the Seminoles will be huge in them starting their trek to the postseason, and to do so, they will need to take care of these three things.

Notre Dame football: 3 keys to victory against Florida State in Week 1

Protect the football

It may sound simple, but this is the first game of the season, and when you play against a lesser team, then you have to make sure you do not give them opportunities to stay in the game. With a bunch of new starters on both sides of the ball, the Irish will have players in positions that have never been in certain situations, so it is possible Notre Dame football gets off to a slow start in this one.

If that is the case, the last thing they can afford is to let the Seminoles hang with them late, and then have a turnover turn the game on its head. Sure, Notre Dame is the better team, but we have seen upsets in the first week year in, and year out, so making sure they are not giving the Seminoles the ball back via the turnover is going to be paramount.