Notre Dame football schedule 2020: Predicting every Fighting Irish game

The Notre Dame football schedule gets considerably harder in October.

Oct. 3 vs Wisconsin

October gets kicked off with a bang as Notre Dame will face their toughest test besides Clemson on the season. They will travel to Lambeau Field to take on Wisconsin. Sure it’s a “neutral site” game, but is it really? The advantage that Notre Dame has is that they will be taking on a Wisconsin team without a solid answer at running back. Jonathan Taylor is gone, but it’s hard to believe that they won’t find a solid replacement. I mean come on, it’s Wisconsin. This will be the lowest-scoring game so far, but I think Wisconsin struggles to move to the ball more than Notre Dame does.

Oct. 10 vs Stanford

Stanford had been one of the most consistent programs in the country, but that took a hit last season. They went 4-8 due in large part to a host of injuries. This season though, the transfer bug has gotten to them and the depth just isn’t there. By this time some playmakers will have emerged for Book, making this a pretty easy victory.

Oct. 17 at Pittsburgh

This is a game that is ripe for a big upset. Notre Dame will be a top-10 team at this point going against an experienced Pitt squad who returns their quarterback, running back, and 4-of-5 starting offensive linemen. The defense also returns a lot from a squad that was the No. 15 defense in the country. Book struggles to find ways to score with an inexperienced cast around him, despite their impressive showing last week. The Pitt offense does just enough to pull off the upset at home.

Oct. 31 vs Duke

After a crushing loss ended their bid for an undefeated season the week prior, Notre Dame will come out angry against a lackluster Duke squad. It is a Duke team that went just 5-7 the year prior and still has a lot of questions coming into this season. The Irish won’t have much trouble taking care of the Blue Devils at home.