Notre Dame Football: Irish Halfway Through Brutal Stretch
Notre Dame’s 2023 schedule breaks down into three segments. Segment one is ensuring they were 4-0 heading into the Ohio State game. That mission was accomplished. Games 5-8 are where this season will be made or broken for the Irish. So far they are 1-1 with 2 very challenging games that lie ahead before reaching the bye. Segment 3 is ideally about closing out a playoff push.
This schedule looked daunting on paper in the summer. It looks even more so now. Notre Dame played undefeated NC State at their place. Undefeated Ohio State. Undefeated Duke at their place. Now undefeated Louisville awaits at their place before the Irish return home to face what will almost certainly be an undefeated USC team. Brutal.
Let’s examine this historic schedule stretch in more detail.
Unexpected Undefeated
Everyone knew this slate would be challenging. I’m not sure anyone foresaw almost every team on the Irish’s early schedule would be undefeated. Momentum and confidence are real, and almost every team Notre Dame has faced or soon will has them both. Tough sledding.
This is going to be a rough year for the “Notre Dame doesn’t play anybody” crowd. This slate is tough and the margin for error will be small throughout the year. For Notre Dame to survive this gauntlet, they must cleanup their operation moving forward. Thus far there’s been way too many missed tackles and penalties. Those will always catch up with you.
Heartbreak Hotel
Losing to Ohio State was going to make the trip to Duke an extremely tough one. Losing to Ohio State the way the Irish did only compiled the negative circumstances. For all the good vibes Notre Dame had entering last week’s game, Duke had them in their favor this week.
I feel that the emotional hangover from the Ohio State game is being understated in relation to Notre Dame’s effort at Duke. The loss last week was soul-crushing and physically and emotionally exhausting for everyone. Duke was a hornet’s nest just waiting for the Irish to feel sorry for themselves. But instead, they persevered. Great job salvaging the season.
Fighting Irish "After Dark"
I’d love to know the last time a team has had 4 prime-time night games in a row. This isn’t a complaint. It’s a compliment. Notre Dame matters. Love them or hate them, they move the needle. The Irish are still America’s team, whether opposing fans like it or not.
Night road games are a different animal. Even a place like Duke, which holds less than half the folks Notre Dame Stadium does gets rocking for a night game when the team is undefeated, has Gameday in town, and there are 12 hours to crack lids in the parking lot before kickoff. Notre Dame escaped a very tricky dynamic here.
Notre Dame Deserves Criticism
Football scheduling is not random. There is a correct way to set your team up for success and balance out games. To me, the fact that Notre Dame doesn’t have a bye until after their 8th game is scheduling malpractice. The fact that the last game of this brutal stretch is USC makes this mistake even more insulting.
It’s my understanding that the Navy game being played in Dublin is the reason why the bye situation is set up in this awful way this year, and it could burn the Irish. This is a classic example of Irish brass choosing a payday over what puts the team in the best playoff position possible. Nobody wants a cupcake schedule, that’s not what this is about. It’s about scheduling who you are playing wisely. And that’s a fair discussion to have.
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