The rich history of Notre Dame football is undeniable. Their nine national championships during the poll era rank second only to the Alabama Crimson Tide. But this program and its devoted fanbase do not care about that number now. They care that the most recent title came in 1988 and want to return to the top of the college football world. The NCAA’s recent expansion to a 12-team playoff has provided a better opportunity to do just that.
Former director of athletics Jack Swarbrick sat on the committee that created the playoff expansion and discussed at a public forum hosted by Irish graduate Maria Wainscott in late April why he believes it increases Notre Dame’s chances of going all the way. While the Irish would not have access to one of the top four seeds, which are reserved for conference champions, Swarbrick said that “everybody else plays 13 games to qualify for the playoffs, [and] we only play 12. So the way to address that, for me, was to say, “Okay, we’ll treat championship week, when you are all playing the conference championship game, as our bye week.”
Notre Dame would play the same amount of games as any other team en route to the national championship and could still host a first-round playoff game if it earned one of the 5-8 seeds. Under the new format, teams like the Irish, who have been on the outside looking in for a long time, now have newfound hope that a run is possible. With only four teams, the playoff felt nearly impossible to reach. And while the Irish have managed a national title appearance and two CFP semifinal appearances in the past decade, they were run off the field in all three games. With 12 teams in the mix, this year feels different.
Anything short of 10 wins will be a massive disappointment for the Irish this season, and 11-1 or even 12-0 with a playoff game in Notre Dame Stadium on December 20th or 21st is well within reach. But while Notre Dame’s strength of schedule ranks outside of the top 50, it is not without major tests, with arguably none more challenging than in week one. ESPN College Gameday will follow the No. 7-ranked Irish to College Station, where they face No. 20-ranked Texas A&M and the famous “12th Man” in Kyle Field, one of the toughest environments in all of college football. Setting a tone for the season with a road victory over a ranked SEC team would do wonders for the confidence of the group and its resume going forward.
The following week, Notre Dame plays its home opener against Northern Illinois before going back on the road to face Purdue. A three-game homestand featuring Miami (OH), Louisville and Stanford follows, with a bye week between Louisville and Stanford. The Cardinals, who crushed any lingering playoff hopes for the Irish last season, will be the first real challenge at home. They received the most AP Poll votes of any team outside of the preseason top 25. Georgia Tech and Navy on the road come next before the Irish return home for one of their biggest tests of the season, No. 10-ranked Florida State. They play their final home game against Virginia the following week before finishing up the season in the L.A. Coliseum against rival USC, who sits at No. 23 in the opening poll.
Even the toughest teams on the schedule have massive question marks, especially Florida State and USC, who lost two of the best quarterbacks in college football last season in Jordan Travis and Caleb Williams, respectively. With that said, a season-ending injury to starting left tackle sophomore Charles Jagusah in fall camp has left the Irish with questions of their own — and very little time to answer them with A&M only a week away.
Winners of the Joe Moore Award in 2017 and finalists in 2020, an award given to the best offensive line in the country, the Irish have historically been strongest at that position. The group enters 2024 in an unfamiliar position, looking shakier than it has in years. Notre Dame already expected a large turnover at the tackle position after losing Joe Alt and Blake Fisher to the NFL Draft, but the Jagusah injury only complicated things further. Graduate student Tosh Baker expected to slot into the position but has not convincingly won the job, with true freshman Anthonie Knapp taking many first-team reps in camp. Redshirt freshman Sam Pendleton has also received first-team reps at left guard.
Trotting out the freshman pairing of Knapp and Pendleton with center Ashton Craig, right guard Billy Schrauth and right tackle Aamil Wagner to face fearsome SEC pass rushers and an electric Aggie home crowd could be a massive concern. The group would have a total of only six career starts between them. In last Saturday’s press conference, head coach Marcus Freeman explained the thought process of the coaching staff as it prepares to decide on the starting offensive line in week one.
“You have some experience, [and] you have guys that aren’t as experienced or have zero experience but are really talented football players,” Freeman said. “What we decide is best for week one doesn’t mean it’s going to be the best for week five or six. And that’s something we’ve discussed as a coaching staff, but we’ve got to figure out what’s best for week one.”
Whether the Irish opt for experience or young talent, the performance of the group could make or break the outcome of the opening game.
Despite all of the uncertainty up front, the talent in the offense is undeniable. While no wide receiver has emerged as the number one guy, the coaching staff trusts the depth at the position and their ability to cater their strengths to the offensive system.
“I don’t know that there’s necessarily one alpha that has separated himself in that room. There’s a bunch of really talented ones and at times — they have flashed here, flashed there, and they have all had their collection of different guys making good plays,” offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “It’s [about] fitting the system to the players and fitting the positions within the system to the players’ abilities.”
There is excitement surrounding young talented sophomores like reigning Sun Bowl MVP Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse, who led the team in touchdown receptions last season. More experienced players like seniors Jayden Thomas and Deoin Colzie as well as graduate students Beaux Collins and Kris Mitchell are also primed to contribute. Mitchell, who arrived in the portal from FIU, comes off of an 1100-yard season and adds the valuable element of field-stretching speed.
However, the go-to receiving target may not be a wide receiver at all. After making a full recovery from a season-ending ACL injury, senior tight end Mitchell Evans is prepared to start in week one. He will look to build on what was a prolific junior season before the injury cut it short. In the backfield, sophomore Jeremiyah Love, who split touches with junior Jadarian Price early in the fall, has established himself as the clear RB1 in camp. While Price has the talent of a lead back, Love’s ability sets him up to be a breakout player for the Irish this season.
The surrounding talent is promising, but the ceiling of the offense will be set by the play of Riley Leonard. The senior transfer from Duke missed most of winter conditioning and spring ball with an injury. In the fall, however, he has regained full health and established himself as not only the clear top quarterback, but the leader of the offense.
“I think his overall understanding of what we want to eventually become offensively, I think he’s got a clear vision of that,” Denbrock said. “I think that the respect that’s grown for him within our locker room is pretty cool to be a part of.”
The fact that he was named the only captain on the offensive side of the ball even after joining only eight months ago and missing significant time says a lot about who he is as a player and a leader. With Leonard at the helm, the sky really is the limit.
The distribution of the other four captains reflects where the greatest strength of this team lies: on defense. Junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison, graduate safety Xavier Watts and graduate students Rylie Mills on the defensive line and Jack Kiser at middle linebacker all got the nod. Morrison and Watts headline an elite secondary. Watts is the reigning Bronco Nagurski Award winner, but Morrison has a case for the team’s most talented player and highly-touted draft prospect. Both were AP Preseason All-Americans, with Watts on the first team and Morrison on the second. Kiser will command the defense from the middle linebacker position, looking to build on a strong 2023 campaign where he tied for the team lead in solo tackles.
On the defensive line, Mills and graduate student Howard Cross III, a surprise omission from the captain selections, made the Lombardi Award watchlist, with Cross joining Watts on the Preseason All-American First Team. In his second season as defensive coordinator, Al Golden maximized the talent of his group, coaching the Irish to a top-10 defense in 2023. With so much of the core returning, the group is striving to be even better.
“People name systems whatever they want to name them. That’s immaterial to me. What’s important is: do we believe in what we’re teaching every day and trying to fight that chasm between goals and outcome,” Golden said. “The system isn’t the star, the players are the star.”
If Notre Dame comes out of week one with a victory, it will be behind a dominant defensive performance. With the returning talent playing fitting into Golden’s excellent system, the Irish defense looks prepared to answer the bell.
The success of head coaches at Notre Dame in their third season is well-documented. Parseghian, Devine, Holtz — all national champions in year three. Kelly a national finalist. Marcus Freeman has the opportunity to continue the storied legacy with the most talented and, in his words, the most prepared group he's been a part of. Take into account the manageable schedule and expanded playoff, and chances have never looked better for the Irish to return the long-awaited 12th national championship.
