Fansided

Notre Dame season preview: Best and worst-case scenario

By Cody Williams

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 11: Notre Dame Quarterback Brandon Wimbush (7) looks down on the field during the college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the University of Miami Hurricanes on November 11, 2017 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - NOVEMBER 11: Notre Dame Quarterback Brandon Wimbush (7) looks down on the field during the college football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the University of Miami Hurricanes on November 11, 2017 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are back in the national conversation in college football, but will they be able to stay there heading into the 2018 season?

Looking at the 2017 season through a broad scope might leave fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a bit disappointed. They were securely in the College Football Playoff picture heading into November and seemed unlikely to waver with how they performed to that point, having lost only one game on the year — a thrilling one-point defeat at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. However, late-season struggles that included a blowout loss to the Miami Hurricanes and a loss to the Stanford Cardinal sunk those chances for the Irish.

Overall though, Brian Kelly’s team ended last year with a 10-3 record, capping it off with a big victory over the LSU Tigers in the Citrus Bowl. While it’s not a National Championship, another 10-win season and finish relatively high in the polls (No. 11) is far better than the Irish were under any of Kelly’s predecessors.

Coming into the 2018 campaign though, Kelly will have a much different team to work with, particularly on offense. You can look at the losses at the skill positions and be astounded, starting with running back Josh Adams. Adams was a battering ram that gashed defenses consistently last year on the ground. Then there are the losses of wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown and Kevin Stephenson, who were two of the Irish’s leading pass-catchers from a year ago.

But the biggest losses for the Notre Dame offense are actually up front. For the past few seasons, Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey had been stalwarts up front for the Fighting Irish. Both are now in the NFL as top-10 picks in the draft. While Kelly has done a great job of recruiting on the offensive line, replacing two top-10 talents on that unit isn’t going to be easy, if it’s even possible at all.

The defense, however, is in much better shape. There were some minor losses, but as a whole, Notre Dame will have the majority of their starters and production on every level of the defense coming back for another season. Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, cornerback Julian Love and linebacker Te’Von Coney all lead their units coming into the season and could help to comprise one of the best overall defensive units in college football for the 2018 season.

As for replacing what the Irish lost on offense, Chase Claypool and Javon McKinley could be critical in the passing attack at wide receiver as both have flashed talent. And while neither Dexter Williams or Tony Jones Jr. is what Adams was as a runner, they should form a duo that can at least adequately replace the departed running back’s production. Replacing McGlinchey and Nelson will be much more difficult, but not impossible. The Irish have experience and more high-level talent to replace those guys, particularly on the interior with a unit anchored by Tommy Kraemer.

The catalyst for the offense and this Fighting Irish team as a whole in 2018 though will be returning quarterback Brandon Wimbush. Wimbush showcased his explosive and athletic talents as a runner last season but truly struggled to find any kind of consistency as a passer.

There has been much talk of him working hard to improve that this offseason, but that’s still an unknown. More than anything, what Notre Dame needs for him to do to succeed is simply be smart with the ball. Don’t give it away when throwing, and the pieces are there around him on offense and opposite him on the defense for the Irish to find immense success.

How much success? Here are the best and worst-case scenarios for how Notre Dame makes their way through their 2018 schedule.

Best-case scenario

  • Sept. 1 vs. Michigan – W
  • Sept. 8 vs. Ball State – W
  • Sept. 15 vs. Vanderbilt – W
  • Sept. 22 at Wake Forest – W
  • Sept. 29 vs. Stanford – W
  • Oct. 6 at Virginia Tech – W
  • Oct. 13 vs. Pittsburgh – W
  • Oct. 27 vs. Navy (In San Diego) – W
  • Nov. 3 at Northwestern – W
  • Nov. 10 vs. Florida State – W
  • Nov. 17 vs. Syracuse (game at Yankee Stadium) – W
  • Nov. 24 at USC – W

If everything goes according to plan for Kelly’s Irish, they will be in the College Football Playoff with an unbeaten record. That won’t be an easy task of course as they’ll be tested throughout the year. However, Notre Dame is favored in every game entering the 2018 season for good reason. This is a team with a defense that can keep them in every single contest to go along with an offense that indeed has potential to be quite good. If that combination fully realizes itself, it’s going to be tough to beat the Irish.

Worst-case scenario

  • Sept. 1 vs. Michigan – L
  • Sept. 8 vs. Ball State – W
  • Sept. 15 vs. Vanderbilt – W
  • Sept. 22 at Wake Forest – W
  • Sept. 29 vs. Stanford – W
  • Oct. 6 at Virginia Tech – L
  • Oct. 13 vs. Pittsburgh – W
  • Oct. 27 vs. Navy (In San Diego) – W
  • Nov. 3 at Northwestern – W
  • Nov. 10 vs. Florida State – W
  • Nov. 17 vs. Syracuse (game at Yankee Stadium) – W
  • Nov. 24 at USC – L

Let’s be honest about this Notre Dame schedule: It’s absolutely brutal. Not only do they have exceptionally tough road slates against both Virginia Tech and USC, but tilts at home against Michigan, Stanford and Florida State will all certainly put the Irish to the test this season.

Next. 50 greatest college football players this century. dark

In this worst-case scenario, they don’t fall victim to all of these games, but they hardly go through there unscathed, taking three losses and themselves out of the College Football Playoff picture. This, of course, will likely be the result of the offense simply not being able to find both an identity and new playmakers after all of their critical departures from a year ago.