Due to the bizarre nature of Notre Dame’s schedule this year, the final 1/3 block of games set up for the Irish very well. After the bye the Irish hosted Pitt. They then travel to Death Valley to face Clemson before having another break before rounding out the year against Wake Forest at home and then a trip to Palo Alto. Notre Dame must have a clean sweep of four wins in this stretch to possibly reach an New Years Six bowl game, the biggest remaining attainable big-picture goal for the year.
Up next for the Irish is their trip to Death Valley. One that has been circled on the calendar forever. It’s the final of the “big 3” matchups this year and is a huge measuring stick game. But this Clemson team isn’t what we are used to seeing from Dabo Swinney. His Tigers are 4-4 and are truly struggling.
Let’s examine the opportunity that lies ahead for the Irish this week.