Notre Dame football: Take a look at the 2022 Irish schedule
The Notre Dame football team will kick off their 2022 schedule on the road at Ohio State, starting what should be an exciting year of Irish football.
It seems like just a couple of weeks ago we were in the 2021 season, trying to figure out if Brian Kelly could get Notre Dame football into the College Football Playoff. Now, we know that Marcus Freeman will be coaching his first game for the Irish in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State.
Now, the 2022 schedule has been finalized and released, so we know what his first full season will look like.
2022 Notre Dame football schedule
- September 3rd-At Ohio State
- September 10th-Marshall
- September 17th-California
- September 24th-At North Carolina
- Bye
- October 8th-BYU (Shamrock Series)
- October 15th-Stanford
- October 22nd-UNLV
- October 29th-At Syracuse
- November 5th-Clemson
- November 12th-At Navy (Baltimore)
- November 19th-Boston College
- November 26th-At USC
The initial reaction to this schedule has to be that it’s going to be an insanely difficult first year for Marcus Freeman to navigate. Clemson may have some questions, with their offense regressing in 2021 and defensive coordinator Brent Venables leaving, but they still have more than their fair share of raw talent. USC just added Lincoln Riley, one of the game’s best offensive minds.
BYU has won 10 games for a couple of years in a row now. That’s before you consider starting the season in the Horseshoe to play Ohio State.
Speaking of Ohio State, that game is going to be a homecoming of sorts for Marcus Freeman. During his playing days, Freeman was a two-time 2nd Team Big 10 linebacker for the Buckeyes. Expect the emotions to be flowing in Week 1 of Freeman’s first season in charge.
Another notable homecoming is going to come on November 19th, when Boston College travels to South Bend. Phil Jurkovec recently announced he was returning to school, which means that he should be the visiting quarterback for the Eagles. That, naturally, comes with storylines that are going to write themselves.
This schedule also only comes with four true road games. They are Ohio State, North Carolina, Syracuse, and USC. The Navy game is technically a neutral site game, being played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. This is standard for every season this game isn’t played at South Bend, due to the small size of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. BYU, as the Shamrock Series game, will also be played at a neutral site at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Insert your religious jokes here.
With only eight Power 5 opponents, this schedule would seem like it should be easier than the average year when Notre Dame football plays at least nine P5 opponents. It’s just that several of those P5 opponents are beyond top-end talent, and BYU is only technically a Group of 5 opponent.
This is the year that Marcus Freeman will use to set the tone for his tenure at Notre Dame, and it won’t be an easy schedule. Still, Notre Dame should have the talent to make the most of it.