Notre Dame's Opponents: FCS foes dominate Irish opponents' weekends, aside from Wake Forest and Pittsburgh

There is an old disparaging quip in college football circles, “SoCon Saturday.” It was long a shot at the November weekend in which most of the SEC seemed to play FCS teams, often from the Southern Conference. The disparagement was aimed more at the overlap than the competition, creating an intrigue gap late in the season.

No such witticism can apply to Notre Dame’s opponents this weekend, but only because the seven FCS foes that seven Irish opponents are playing are from seven different conferences.

Yes, you read that right, seven Notre Dame opponents are hosting FCS teams this weekend, making it nine to date. By season’s end, 11 of the 12 will have done so.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE (1-0): The Wolfpack eased by Connecticut, 24-14, but on first glance, it seems the Huskies enjoyed great success on the ground, a worry for North Carolina State with Notre Dame next on the schedule (12 ET; ABC). But of UConn’s 170 rushing yards on 24 carries, 49 of them came on eight attempts on the first drive, the scripted drive. Another 71 yards came on a singular touchdown dash. So otherwise, the Huskies gained 50 yards on 15 carries.

Maybe there is hope for the Wolfpack defense, 7.5-point underdogs against the Irish with a combined point total Over/Under of 51 suggesting a 30-22 result on Saturday.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN (0-1): The Chippewas were routed at Michigan State, 31-7, with no bright spot to mention. Dual-threat quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. was hemmed in, gaining 59 yards on 14 carries (sacks adjusted) and throwing for 87 yards on 17 pass attempts.

Not to be presumptuous, but he should play a bit better against New Hampshire (1:30 ET; ESPN+).

No. 5 OHIO STATE (1-0): For a moment, it looked like the Buckeyes might lean into a quarterback competition. They were not scoring much, something that never changed in a 23-3 win at Indiana, and Devin Brown appeared behind center in place of Kyle McCord. But Brown made only a cameo, the day belonging to McCord, for better or worse.

And it was mostly worse. Despite having the best receiver corps in the country, McCord threw for only 239 yards and no touchdowns on 33 pass attempts, an average of 7.2 yards per attempt.

All that said, beating the Hoosiers was the only meager challenge for Ohio State before heading to South Bend on Sept. 23. Next up, Youngstown State (12 ET; BTN) before hosting Western Kentucky.

No. 21 DUKE (1-0): The Blue Devils offered the surprise of the opening weekend with a Monday upset, routing Clemson 28-7. The star of the show was quarterback Riley Leonard, already an NFL draftnik favorite but now also a national star among the college football ranks after rushing for 98 yards and a touchdown on eight carries while throwing for 175 yards on 17-of-33 passing. That was hardly an explosive passing attack, but what stood out upon snagging those stats is that Duke did not give up a single sack.

For all its flaws, Clemson still has one of the country’s best defensive lines, but Blue Devils head coach Mike Elko — the one-year Notre Dame defensive coordinator back in 2017 — had a scheme ready.

He can probably relax a bit this week with FCS-level Lafayette (6 ET; ESPN+) visiting.

RELATED READING: Ready or not, Duke is an ACC contender

LOUISVILLE (1-0): The Cardinals fell behind Georgia Tech 28-13 at halftime on Friday, in large part because two drives with first downs in the red zone led to only field goals for Louisville. A third would occur early in the second half. Jeff Brohm’s offense was misfiring where it mattered most.

But it was not truly Brohm’s offense. The pass-driven head coach ran the ball 34 times while quarterback Jack Plummer dropped back just 31 times. Brohm may be easing into the new offense.

He sped up that learning curve late in the game, needing to move the ball. In four drives across the third and fourth quarters, when Louisville scored three touchdowns, it threw the ball 10 times while running it six. And that surge carried the Cardinals to a 39-34 win.

Now they host FCS-level Murray State (7:30 ET; ACCN) tonight, favored by more than six touchdowns.

No. 6 USC (2-0): Defending Heisman winner Caleb Williams has now thrown for 597 yards and nine touchdowns this season. The stats will come, especially when running up the score, 66-14, against Nevada. More notable, Williams has rushed only 11 times this season for 40 yards. Some of that is the competitive nature of beginning the season against San Jose State and Nevada, but some of it is that Williams will try to protect himself until it matters most.

It will not matter most against Stanford (10:30 ET; FOX), not as 29-point favorites. But Williams will again score plenty, particularly with a pregame total of 69.5 suggesting the Trojans may flirt with 50 points.

And it will not matter for a bit yet, most likely not until USC heads to South Bend on Oct. 14. Between now and then, Williams and the Trojans will face the Nos. 83 (Stanford), 75 (Arizona State), 82 (Colorado) and 58 (Arizona) teams in the most-recent SP+ rankings.

PITTSBURGH (1-0): Pittsburgh had no trouble with Wofford last week, winning 45-7 as Phil Jurkovec threw for 214 yards and a touchdown on 23 pass attempts.

Life immediately becomes more difficult for the Panthers, hosting Cincinnati (6:30 ET; The CW) as 7.5-point favorites. Let’s reiterate, this game is on The CW, part of a new broadcast agreement for the ACC that will only serve to make more games more readily accessible for fans, even if the instinct is to laugh at the idea of football on The CW.

CLEMSON (0-1): Maybe the Tigers should not have won Monday night, but turning four first downs inside the 22-yard line into exactly no points will cost just about anyone a game. Clemson twice fumbled after first-and-goals from the one-yard line. It is not hard to argue the Tigers should have beaten Duke.

Not that there is not plenty to be concerned about.

That fitness should hardly be a concern against FCS-level Charleston Southern (2:15 ET; ESPN+).

WAKE FOREST (1-0): The Demon Deacons beat Elon, 37-17. Now they will host Vanderbilt (11 a.m. ET; ACCN) and Clark Lea as 10-point favorites.

STANFORD (1-0): Take a critical eye to the Cardinal’s 37-24 win at Hawaii to open the Troy Taylor Era and the conclusion is still encouraging. Stanford had a 32-yard explosive passing touchdown as well as a tally off a short field. Remove those, as well as the Rainbows’ garbage-time score, and the Cardinal would still have been ahead 23-17.

Such accounting may not be as favorable against USC.

NAVY (0-1): The Midshipmen enjoyed an off week after their transatlantic trek, and now things hardly get more difficult, hosting FCS-level Wagner (3:30 ET; CBSSN).

TENNESSEE STATE (0-1): The Tigers host Arkansas-Pine Bluff (7 ET; HBCUGo Sports).

FAVORITES: USC (-29) vs. Stanford; Pittsburgh (-7.5) vs. Cincinnati; Wake Forest (-10) vs. Vanderbilt.
UNDERDOGS: North Carolina State (+7.5) vs. Notre Dame; Stanford (+29) at USC.

THURSDAY
7:30 ET — Louisville vs. Murray State on ACCN.

SATURDAY
11 ET — Wake Forest vs. Vanderbilt on ACCN.
12 ET — North Carolina State vs. Notre Dame on ABC; Ohio State vs. Youngstown State on BTN.
1:30 ET — Central Michigan vs. New Hampshire on ESPN+.
2:15 ET — Clemson vs. Charleston Southern on ESPN+.
3:30 ET — Navy vs. Wagner on CBSSN.
6 ET — Duke vs. Lafayette on ESPN+.
6:30 ET — Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati on The CW.
7 ET — Tennessee State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff on HBCUGo Sports.
10:30 ET — USC vs. Stanford on FOX.

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