Questions For Notre Dame This Season

To say last season for Notre Dame was crazy would be an understatement. It started off by losing back-to-back games against Ohio State and Marshall, a game in which Notre Dame should’ve won easily. On top of all of this starting QB Tyler Buchner hurt his shoulder in the fourth quarter of the Marshall game. This would cause him to miss the rest of the season. However, despite this rough start, Marcus Freeman was able to rally the troops and win nine of the next eleven games. They finished 8-4 and won the Gator Bowl against South Carolina. An overall successful season all things considered.

Now Marcus Freeman leads Notre Dame into his second season as head coach. The expectation for Notre Dame is that of a fringe national title contender. If everything breaks right, they could find themselves in the college football playoffs. However, that is highly unlikely. Here are a few questions that could make or break Notre Dame’s season.

How Will Sam Hartman Impact the Offense?

In one of the biggest transfer gets in the history of Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish were able to land graduate transfer Sam Hartman from Wake Forest. Hartman had an extremely successful career at Wake Forest. In five seasons, he threw 944 completions on 1597 attempts, for 12,967 yards, 110 touchdowns, and 41 interceptions. He should give something Notre Dame has been lacking for years, which is elite play from the quarterback position.

Now the question is: will this elite play continue while under center for the Irish? Hartman does have a few things working in his favor. The first is the running attack Notre Dame will have. Audric Estime will be the lead back for this offense. A returning junior, he had 920 yards on 156 attempts with 11 touchdowns. He’s inclined to break out in a big way this season. That combined with a rotation of Jadarian Price and Devyn Ford at running back should lead to a lethal ground game. He’ll also have a great offensive line led by Joe Alt and Blake Fisher. This is something that has become a staple for years at Notre Dame.

The issue will come from the lack of reliable weapons. Michael Mayer who had been the most reliable weapon in this offense, left for the NFL and leaving a glaring hole in the passing game. Sure, they have some interesting pieces. Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather both have a lot of potential. However, they are still unproven. It will be up to Hartman to try and make one of them a number-one receiver. The loss of offensive coordinator Tommy Reese doesn’t help this either.

Will The Defense Be Able To Take Another Step Forward?

Notre Dame’s defense made major improvements in 2022. They only gave up 329 yards per game, which was down from 2021. They only gave up 23 points per game. Overall: a pretty good performance for the defense. However, if Notre Dame wants to challenge for a spot in the college football playoffs, they’re going to need more from their defense.

A big sign that the defense is going to take another step forward is the linebacking corps. They are bringing back many of the starters that played great last season. JD Bertrand and Jack Kiser are both returning. They were one and two on the team in tackles. Pair this with Ohio State transfer Javontae Jean-Baptiste and returning nose tackle Howard Cross, and Notre Dame will be able to get some pressure up front.

Being able to apply pressure will help out the secondary a lot. Although, it’s not like they need all that help. The secondary is led by corners Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart. Morrison was a huge part of Notre Dame’s pass defense last season, picking off six passes. If he’s able to repeat that performance this season, it will make Notre Dame one of the best in the country. This along with the veteran depth at safety, and you’ll be beginning to see how this defense could be one of the best in the country.

Prediction For the Season

Now, as mentioned before, Notre Dame definitely has the talent to make the college football playoffs if everything breaks right for them. However, the biggest thing preventing them is how hard their schedule is. The narrative that Notre Dame doesn’t play anybody, definitely won’t apply to this season.

Notre Dame announces its 2023 schedule.

Sam Hartman’s Senior Day will be against Wake Forest on Nov. 18. pic.twitter.com/iCqG7MRZvp

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) January 18, 2023

That’s a very difficult schedule. They play three teams in the top ten: Ohio State, Clemson, and USC. They also play tough teams like NC State, Pittsburgh, and Louisville. Unless you’re a team like Georgia or Alabama you’re going to have a rough season when you’re playing teams like that. In the best-case scenario, Notre Dame goes 11-1 and with two wins against teams in the top 10, that’s more than enough for a college playoff appearance. Worst case, the team collapses under the pressure of the tough schedule and goes 6-6. Realistically they’ll probably go 8-4 or 9-3 and have a bowl appearance similar to the one they had last year.

Thanks for reading! You can find more college football content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter.