Notre Dame football: 5 questions the Fighting Irish must answer in 2020

1. How will the Fighting Irish fare against a brutal schedule?

So even though there has been plenty of roster turnover, Notre Dame football should be in line for a season in which they have a ton of talent and should be able to compete with the best teams in the country. And in most years, it might be a likely outcome that they would be able to run through their schedule and make an undefeated run at the College Football Playoff.

This is not most years for the Fighting Irish, though. In the simplest terms, Kelly’s club has a bear of a slate before them this year. While the season-opener in Dublin, Ireland getting canceled does offer some relief, it’s still only so much. For an independent schedule, the Irish will be tested one time after another throughout the year.

The schedule includes playing an always-tough Wisconsin team at Lambeau Field, an early November matchup in which they host Clemson and the Irish must go on the road to play at rival USC — a team perhaps on the upswing after some questionable seasons — in the season finale. On top of all of that, the Irish only play two teams that aren’t Power 5 opponents, one of which is Navy.

To be sure, Notre Dame is the more talented team than every opponent on their schedule outside of Clemson. But for a team that has fallen short in some big moments, they’ll have the opportunity to prove that narrative false this season. And if the Fighting Irish does make it to the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years, there will be little doubt that they earned that trip.

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