2024 College Football Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

 Written By: Danny Albers 

This season is make or break for coach Marcus Freeman. Despite having one of the more talented rosters in college football, Notre Dame has fallen victim to shocking losses. Last year, after losing in a last minute drive to Ohio State, the Irish were left shocked when they lost to both Louisville and Clemson on the road. These weren’t as bad as the ugly losses the team faced against Marshall and Stanford the year before. This is a trend that Notre Dame has to end in 2024. They have a favorable schedule compared to some contenders who are dealing with new additions to their conference. Notre Dame wasn’t very active in the transfer portal, but still managed to add talent in areas of need on their roster. Senior Jayden Harrison comes over from Marshall after recording 410 receiving yards last year and a touchdown. Notre Dame also adds Beau Collins from Clemson, a big receiver who scored 11 touchdowns over the span of 3 seasons with the Tigers. The Irish said goodbye to Sam Hartman, and hello to former Duke star quarterback Riley Leonard who’s coming off an injury he suffered against this very team last season. Tyler Buchner transferred back to Notre Dame after a year playing for Alabama as well. But the most impressive transfer on offense is that of wide receiver Kris Mitchell, who had over 1,000 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns with FIU last season. On defense, Notre Dame added RJ Oben from Duke, a tackle who recorded 5 sacks, a lock down safety Jordan Clark from Arizona State who had 9 pass deflections, and playmaking safety Rod Heard who had 54 tackles and an interception with Northwestern last season. However, Notre Dame ranked in the top 10 in the recruiting class adding 15 4-stars recruits. This team has what it needs to win now. 

2024 Schedule 

  1. Aug 31- @ Texas A&M 

  2. Sep 7- Northern Illinois 

  3. Sep 14 - @ Purdue

  4. Sep 21 - Miami (OH) 

  5. Sep 28 - Louisville 

  6. Oct 12 - Stanford 

  7. Oct 19 - Georgia Tech 

  8. Oct 26 - Navy 

  9. Nov 9 - Florida State 

  10. Nov 16 - Virginia 

  11. Nov 23 - Army 

  12. Nov 30 - @ USC 

The Locks 

I’m going to start with the game that Notre Dame should win this season barring a monumental upset similar to the one we saw against Marshall in 2022. Week 2, the Irish host Northern Illinois. As an NIU alumni, it hurts when I say Notre Dame should win that game by 40 points. NIU has a below average offense if last season was a sign of anything, and they should pose any serious threat to Notre Dame. The same should go for another MAC team, Miami (OH), that comes to South Bend in the 4th game. Miami is a more productive offense than NIU, and projected to be a better team, but that shouldn’t stop Notre Dame from steamrolling them. The 3rd game could be a weird game when Notre Dame visits Lafayette to play Purdue. Purdue lost a lot of talent on offense, but Purdue always finds a way to develop a playmaker or two. I doubt that Purdue will be able to stop Notre Dame offensively. Purdue could put up a fight, but this should be an easy win for the Irish. Stanford is an improved team, and they often give Notre Dame problems. But playing them at home should help prevent any unmotivated effort. If Notre Dame plays to the level they’re capable of, Stanford shouldn’t be able to play with the Irish through 4 quarters. Georgia Tech will be played on neutral ground. The Yellow Jackets have been known to cause some chaos. But if there is a team to excel against the unique triple option offense of Tech, it’s Notre Dame because of their frequent games against Army and Navy. We’ve seen some lopsided beatdowns that the Irish have handed Navy the last couple seasons. Georgia Tech could be a bowl team this year with star QB Haynes King, but I don’t think they can create an offensive scheme to outpace the Irish. The Navy and Army football teams are at best 6-6 teams this year. Notre Dame has blown out Navy the last couple of seasons. We should see a similar result this season. The final lock is Virginia, a program still rebuilding after tragedy struck their school. This team likely won’t eclipse 3 wins this year. It should be an easy win for Notre Dame. 

Battles with the ACC

Notre Dame has two ACC tests at home that should dictate the success of their season. They will play Louisville and Florida State. Louisville is an interesting team this year that can breakout and shock a lot of people. Tyler Shough transferred from Texas Tech and could be a potential upgrade from Jack Plummer. Florida State lost a lot in the draft. DJ Uiagalelei is now the starting quarterback for the Seminoles. DJ played well with Oregon State last season, and looks to get back to the college football playoff with a former rival of his from his days with Clemson. It’s hard to think Florida State will be able to replicate their success from a year ago, especially with so many players leaving for the NFL. I think Florida State will still have a great season, but nothing like last season. At home, I like Notre Dame to beat Florida State, but I think Louisville will shock Notre Dame again.   

Road Tests 

There will be a little more room for error with a new 12-team playoff format, but Notre Dame still needs to win one or both of these games to pack the resume. I hate that last game where the Irish visit USC. Both Miller Moss and Jaiden Maiava (transfer from UNLV) look pretty good to start the camp. But can we really expect USC to be better than they were when they had Caleb Williams? Not to mention USC has jumped into the B10, so their schedule should be a bit tougher this season. The first couple weeks will be telling for USC as they play LSU and Michigan. This could be a win-and-you're in-game for USC given their schedule and expectations. I think Notre Dame will win the opener to Texas A&M, but drop the final game to USC to finish 10-2. 

Final Prediction 

  1. Aug 31- @ Texas A&M Win (1-0)

  2. Sep 7- Northern Illinois Win (2-0)

  3. Sep 14 - @ Purdue Win (3-0)

  4. Sep 21 - Miami (OH) Win (4-0)

  5. Sep 28 - Louisville Loss (4-1)

  6. Oct 12 - Stanford Win (5-1)

  7. Oct 19 - Georgia Tech Win (6-1)

  8. Oct 26 - Navy Win (7-1)

  9. Nov 9 - Florida State Win (8-1)  

  10. Nov 16 - Virginia Win (9-1)

  11. Nov 23 - Army Win (10-1)

Nov 30 - @ USC Loss (10-2)

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