Notre Dame football season preview 2020: Record predictions, depth chart analysis, breakout players

Notre Dame football game-by-game predictions

Entering this season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the second-best team in the conference. Their biggest game against Clemson is in South Bend.

at Boston College Eagles

The Eagles are rebuilding under new head coach Jeff Hafley and are unsure if Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec is available to play this season. They do have a returning Kobay White but little firepower offensively.  Easy opener for the Irish. Prediction: Win 

at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 

Geoff Collins has the Yellowjackets trending in the right direction. Defensively, they should be pretty good, but Collins is still building the offense. The Jackets will prove to be a tough game, but they don’t have enough offense to score with Notre Dame. Prediction: Win

at North Carolina Tar Heels:               

 This contest is the first game of their toughest two-game stretch. It might be considered a 50/50 game. The Tarheels are the sexy pic to make noise in the ACC. Sam Howell will be tested against the Irish secondary and pass rush. Notre Dame in a close one here. Prediction: Win

vs. Clemson Tigers:

50/50 game here.  Yes, the Clemson Tigers have Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne. However, no Justyn Ross and four key players from the defense, including Isaiah Simmons and Tanner Muse. The Irish are introducing a lot of  Close ones, but the Irish knock off the Tigers. Prediction: Win

vs. Duke Blue Devils:

Chase Brice improves the quarterback room in Durham. He’ll quickly find out he does not have Tee Higgins or Justyn Ross at a wide receiver. Notre Dame won this game last season 38-7. It will be interesting to see how much the offense has improved for the Blue Devils. Prediction: Win

vs. Florida State Seminoles: 

The ‘Noles will be better on defense but have many questions on offense. Who gets the start at quarterback for FSU? Does new head coach Mike Norvell go with Justin Blackmon, who started many games last season? There are loads of questions along their offensive line as well. Prediction: Win

vs. Louisville Cardinals: 

The Cardinals have a shot if they can turn it into a high-scoring game. Scott Satterfield has found his quarterback and both Javian Hawkins and Chatarius Atwell return on offense. They do have some questions along their offensive line and Notre Dame’s D-Line looks to be solid this year. Louisville also has some issues defensively. Prediction: Win

vs. Syracuse Orange: 

The Orange are terrible on defense. Tommy DeVito needs to take a huge step forward for the Orange to have a shot against Notre Dame. Though they had a solid end to their season, the beginning and middle were not very good. The Irish are in a different class. Prediction: Win

at Pitt Panthers: 

This game is closer than the experts think. Pitt has arguably the best defensive line in the conference. The Panthers’ pass rush will test the Irish offensive line. However, they won’t be able to score enough points to stay with Notre Dame. They lack the offensive firepower necessary to threaten the Irish. Prediction: Win

at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (W): 

Sam Hartman takes over for Jamie Newman at quarterback this season. The Demon Deacons can’t run the ball and that puts all the pressure on Hartman. The defense is not very good and they don’t have any playmakers outside of Sage Surratt. Prediction: Win

Season Prediction: 10-0 Notre Dame has every opportunity to run the table in the ACC. Clemson has been the class of the ACC for the last five seasons. This season, however, the Tigers are vulnerable, especially with the injury to Justyn Ross. If there is a time that a team the caliber of Notre Dame to beat Clemson, it is this year. It’s up to them to play like the champions they want to become.