Notre Dame football: Irish take care of UNLV ahead of tough schedule
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team did what they had to do against UNLV in Week 8, and now, they turn their attention towards a tough slate of games.
After winning three straight following an 0-2 start to the season, the Notre Dame football team looked to have their season back on track. Strong wins against Cal, UNC, and BYU had them set up for a two-game swing against two programs that were headed in the wrong direction.
However, after losing to the lowly Stanford Cardinal at home in primetime, the Irish had some soul-searching to do before their game against UNLV. Sure, they were big-time favorites in the game, but as we have seen all year long with this year’s Irish team, nothing is a given win.
So on Saturday, the Irish had to go out and make a statement against UNLV and make a statement they did, as they were in control of the game throughout. They got strong play from the run game, something we figured would happen, and Drew Pyne looked more like the player he did against UNC and BYU than the player that struggled against Stanford.
In the end, Notre Dame football got the win, moving to 4-3, and gaining some steam heading into a very tough stretch of their schedule.
Notre Dame football to take on ranked teams in the coming weeks
From here, the Irish will take on two ranked opponents in Weeks 9 and 10, as they battle it out against Syracuse and Clemson. The Syracuse matchup will be on the road, while the Tigers come to Notre Dame Stadium, and at that point, could be a top-4 team in the country, making that must-see television for Irish fans.
Sitting at 4-3, the Irish have no chance of making it to the College Football Playoff, but they can still be a player as to which teams get in. Clemson has not been great this season, despite the undefeated record, and a loss to a three-loss Irish team could be just what the voters need to leave them out of this year’s four-team tournament.
The Irish have been a roller coaster to cover this season, and who knows, they could go into the Carrier Dome and beat Syracuse, and then throttle Clemson at home. To close the season, they head west to take on USC, so when all is said and done, the Irish will remain a team to keep an eye on for the playoff race.