Last weekend, while Notre Dame took its first bye of the season, college football just so happened to cannibalize itself. Ranked teams like No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 9 Missouri, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 USC, No. 22 Louisville and No. 25 UNLV all lost. No. 6 Miami (Florida) needed a remarkable comeback to avoid another upset at Cal. As a result of it all, Notre Dame rose into the coveted top 12 at No. 11.
With so much attention on the rest of the sport now, let’s see where Notre Dame’s dozen opponents stand right now.
Texas A&M
Lost to Notre Dame on Aug. 31 (23-13)
When Notre Dame faced the Aggies, who were ranked 20th at the time, in Week One, Texas A&M didn’t look all that impressive. Upon watching their offense struggle mightily against the Irish, people began to wonder whether the Aggies started the season ranked too highly.
Last week put that notion to bed.
Texas A&M was responsible for one of the aforementioned upsets, annihilating Missouri at Kyle Field. The 41-10 victory moved the Aggies to 4-1 on the season with additional SEC wins at Florida and against Arkansas at a neutral site. Their defense has emerged as a strength, allowing no more than 23 points in any game this season and sacking Missouri six times. Texas A&M also ran all over the Tigers, following the lead of running back Le’Veon Moss who has 609 rushing yards on the season and scored three touchdowns last week.
Now ranked 15th in the nation, the Aggies are back in the playoff conversation but have difficult home dates upcoming against No. 13 LSU and No. 1 Texas.
Northern Illinois
Defeated Notre Dame on Sept. 7 (16-14)
Remember when Northern Illinois spent two weeks in the AP Top 25 after beating Notre Dame? Well, the fever dream of playing Week Two’s Irish football disaster as a “quality loss” dissipated in a hurry. The Huskies lost to Buffalo and NC State by single scores in back-to-back weeks, swiftly handing the title of “mid-major team to beat” over to Boise State. Last week, Northern Illinois moved to 3-2 with a 34-20 defeat of UMass.
Basically, Northern Illinois is back to what it should be — a very, very bad loss for Notre Dame. Running back Antario Brown hasn’t been great since totaling over 200 scrimmage yards in South Bend. Quarterback Ethan Hampton, who held his own at Notre Dame Stadium, has thrown four picks in the last three weeks. Northern Illinois enters the thick of MAC play this week.
Purdue
Lost to Notre Dame on Sept. 14 (66-7)
The Boilermakers looked awful against the Irish and remain so. Purdue is 1-4 on the year and most recently lost another blowout at Wisconsin by a 52-6 score. This is a bad Big Ten team that won’t mean anything on Notre Dame’s resume in the long run.
Miami (Ohio)
Lost to Notre Dame on Sept. 21 (28-3)
The RedHawks, who entered their Week Four loss to Notre Dame at 0-2, also haven’t done anything of note since facing the Irish. Quarterback Brett Gabbert and the Miami offense have remained inefficient in a defeat of UMass and a loss to Toledo, matching their look at Notre Dame Stadium. Barring a strong run in MAC play, the RedHawks won’t offer much value on Notre Dame’s strength of schedule.
Louisville
Lost to Notre Dame on Sept. 28 (31-24)
Notre Dame’s recent victory, initially a top-15 win, has since diminished in quality. Louisville fell to 3-2 last weekend, losing at home to SMU with a defense that appeared staggeringly overmatched. The Cardinals did hit a few shot plays through the air, perhaps easing some concerns that may have surfaced when Notre Dame’s secondary allowed them to do the same.
Louisville has several chances ahead to both assist Notre Dame positionally and become a better-looking Irish win. The Cardinals will face No. 6 Miami (FL) and No. 10 Clemson, two teams ranked ahead of the Irish, within the next month.
Stanford
Visiting Notre Dame on Oct. 12
The Cardinal have been frisky at times (see their Week Four win at Syracuse) and can run the ball well enough to give Notre Dame some trouble. However, Stanford yet again has a revolving door at quarterback and has been kicked around in recent weeks. Stanford’s last two opponents, Clemson and Virginia Tech, have beaten it by a combined score of 71-21.
Georgia Tech
Facing Notre Dame at a neutral site on Oct. 19
Just over a month ago, when Georgia Tech defeated No. 10 Florida State in Dublin and started 2-0, the Yellow Jackets picked up steam as a legitimate threat on Notre Dame’s schedule. With more recent losses to Syracuse and Louisville, those talks have quieted down. However, the Yellow Jackets got to 4-2 last week with a 24-14 defeat of Duke and still carry a dangerous element of toughness. Haynes King is a dual-threat quarterback who went toe-to-toe for stretches against Georgia last year. When he and running back Jamal Haynes, who totaled 128 rushing yards last week, are finding space, Georgia Tech can get downhill and cause trouble.
Navy
Facing Notre Dame at a neutral site on Oct. 26
Wait. Is Navy actually the mid-major to beat? The Midshipmen, believe it not, are 5-0 and have been an offensive powerhouse, scoring 34 points or more in every game. Quarterback Blake Horvath has feasted on the ground (10 rushing touchdowns!) while giving Navy a legitimate passing threat. If he continues to play at his elite level, Notre Dame definitely won’t have a pushover game at MetLife Stadium two weeks from now.
Florida State
Visiting Notre Dame on Nov. 9
Florida State’s first half has been a surreal watch to say the least. In just six weeks’ time, the Seminoles have nosedived from a 10th-ranked College Football Playoff contender to a likely non-bowl-eligible team. They are 1-5 with only a 14-9 defeat of Cal populating the win column. That’s all you need to know about Florida State’s season.
Last week, the Seminoles made the change at quarterback from DJ Uiagalelei to Brock Glenn but put up less than 22 points for the sixth consecutive game. Will Florida State bring even a small piece of what it once was to South Bend next month? I suppose we’ll have a better idea of that after the Seminoles go to Miami and face the sixth-ranked Hurricanes on the final Saturday of October.
Virginia
Visiting Notre Dame on Nov. 16
Like Navy, Virginia has also looked better than expected to start. The Cavaliers are 4-1 with decent wins against Wake Forest and Boston College. They haven’t done anything extraordinarily well so far — they just find ways to win. When the passing game dries up, the rushing attack intensifies … and vice-versa. We’ll get a good look at exactly what Notre Dame’s Senior Day has to offer when Virginia goes to Clemson on Oct. 19 and Pittsburgh on Nov. 9.
Army
Facing Notre Dame at a neutral site on Nov. 23
It’s the year of the service academies — at least those on Notre Dame’s 2024 schedule. Army is also 5-0 and has looked even better than Navy, averaging 38.8 points scored per game and 9.8 points allowed per contest. Bryson Daily, who can hold his own as a passing quarterback, has 10 rushing touchdowns on the season and has run for 100-plus yards in four straight games. The Black Knights are playing great football and still have two bye weeks between now and the Notre Dame game thanks to the mid-December Army-Navy game.
USC
Hosting Notre Dame on Nov. 30
Like Louisville, USC looks strikingly different after taking a second loss this past week. The Trojans, already holding one quality win against LSU and an understandable loss at Michigan, went up to unfamiliar territory and fell to Minnesota on Saturday. Quarterback Miller Moss did not look good at all, passing for only 200 yards and two interceptions.
The Trojans have at least played a bit better on defense this year, although that’s a low bar to clear. That development may also come naturally with transitioning to the Big Ten. Being in the Big Ten also gives USC ample opportunity to rebound. The Trojans will have their first shot at doing that Saturday against Penn State.
