NFL
By: Greg Rector
While I was on The Last Word on Saturday night with Brock Vierra, we watched the Notre Dame Fighting Irish facing the Texas A&M Aggies. When the show ended, the Fighting Irish were tied with the Aggies at 13 points each. Then Notre Dame put the finishing touches on a 23-13 victory. While the game itself wasn’t pretty from the offensive side of the game, as I said in my season preview, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense came out and played wonderfully.
My question is, can the Notre Dame Fighting Irish win out the rest of this season? Here’s why they can win and two possibilities for when they might lose a game this season.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule
Northern Illinois comes to South Bend on Saturday. This game should be a walk-away victory.
Purdue then comes to South Bend and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and then Miami of Ohio. These three games should see the Fighting Irish sitting at 4-0.
Louisville then comes to South Bend, and you know Marcus Freeman doesn’t want a repeat of last season’s humiliating loss facing the Cardinals.
Then Notre Dame travels to face Georgia Tech, a team that might give the Fighting Irish some fits. The offensive line and their ground game might cause Notre Dame to have a long game. I fully expect the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to beat Georgia Tech even without a “Rudy” moment. Remember, Georgia Tech was the opponent that Rudy Ruettiger played against.
Then, the Fighting Irish face the Midshipmen of the Navy. This was last year’s Shamrock Series game, and yet again, the Fighting Irish will beat up the Midshipmen.
Here is one of two games that the Fighting Irish might lose, in my opinion. Florida State Seminoles come up to South Bend on November 9th. I pray for an early season terrible weather game, which should slow down the Seminoles.
If Notre Dame comes out of that game with another victory, the Fighting Irish face Virginia at South Bend and end the season with two road games. One is versus the Black Knights from West Point, and much like the game against the Midshipmen, Notre Dame will cruise past the Army.
Here is the unbeaten season when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to face the USC Trojans. Now, last night, the Trojans looked impressive against LSU. As long as the Notre Dame defense is healthy, they will beat Miller Moss and his weapons on the USC offense simply because the Fighting Irish defense will slow him down. I know my “Brother in Anger,” George Lopez, will be rooting hard for the Trojans, but with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish playing for an unbeaten season, I believe Marcus Freeman will accomplish as much as Lou Holtz did in his third season as the head coach. I’m not saying the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will win the national championship as Coach Holtz did in 1988.
I will say that after beating Texas A&M on Saturday, this schedule gives the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a huge opportunity to go unbeaten. Unlike last season, when Notre Dame played so many road games, with most of the most formidable opponents having to play at South Bend and facing one of the best crowds in NCAA football, I expect offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and defensive coordinator Al Golden to lead their charges to a much better outcome than in 2023.
Dear Coach Marcus Freeman, trust in the coordinators and leave them alone. Lead the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with your great speeches. Riley Leonard will be just fine, and when Mitchell Evans returns at tight end, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish offense can become a much better unit than they displayed on Saturday night.
#GoIrish Play Like Champions and you can become the best Fighting Irish team since the 1988 National Champions. That’s what Fighting Irish fans crave. No more time as an also ran.
As always you can find me on X @GregCowboys
