Notre Dame football schedule 2019: Game-by-game predictions

SOUTH BEND, IN - APRIL 13: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly runs out with all the players prior to game action during the Notre Dame Football Blue and Gold Spring game on April 13, 2019 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football reeled off a perfect regular season last year before faltering in the Playoff. Can they be even better in 2019?

It felt like college football fans across the country was just waiting for Brian Kelly and Notre Dame football to finally slip up in the 2018 regular season. However, they never did suffer the setback that many expected — at least in regards to their regular season slate. A perfect 12-0 record earned them a berth in the College Football Playoff but that run was abruptly thwarted by Clemson in a 30-3 semifinal rout.

Despite the final score of that matchup with Clemson, the calling card of Notre Dame last season was their defense. However, the 2019 rendition of the Fighting Irish will have a much different look on that side of the ball as key contributors such as Julian Love, Jerry Tillery, Drue Tranquill and Te’von Coney are all at the NFL level now.

While that may be the case, the Fighting Irish should feel confident on offense heading into the 2019 campaign as they finally have a stable answer at quarterback in the form of Ian Book. After Book took over for Brandon Wimbush, who’s now at UCF, Kelly’s team really started to show their prowess on offense. And while they also lost Miles Boykin, Alize Mack and Dexter Williams to the NFL, they still have weapons like Chase Claypool, Michael Young and Jafar Armstrong to keep the offense humming with Book at the helm.

The defense may take a slight step back in 2019 but they will by no means be slouches on that side of the ball. That unit will no doubt be led by senior defensive end Julian Okwara, who notched eight sacks in the 2018 season. However, they also have an experienced secondary with four seniors slated to start, which Kelly has to love.

That may all be true, but Notre Dame faces an incredibly tough schedule in the 2019 season. As such, repeating their perfect regular season will be a monumentally tough task. How will they fare in their plight to do so? Let’s go week-by-week through the schedule and take a look.

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