With the seasons set to begin in less than 100 days, there will be plenty of predictions about how college football will play out in 2020. Brandon Marcello of 247Sports made 20 bold predictions for this year’s action and his view of Notre Dame should be seen as very encouraging.
Marcello loves what he sees for the Irish this coming season. He expects that Notre Dame will “contend for a national title in 2020.” Marcello sees the season hinging on their biggest contest of the year, the home date against perennial title contender Clemson. “The Irish will need all the help they can get to knock off the Tigers, but if they do it they will be in the College Football Playoff. Can they do it? Sure. This Irish team has a better shot at knocking off Clemson this season at home than Brian Kelly’s crew last season against Georgia on the road.”
The Irish lost a close on to the Bulldogs last year, 23-17, showing they have the talent to play against the best in the country. Marcello does note that Clemson “might just have its most talented roster in the Dabo Swinney era.” That’s a scary prospect after 5 straight College Football Playoff appearances along with 2 titles in that span.
What is most interesting is that Marcello mentions “this is the year the Irish catapult on the national scene and stay there.” The Irish have long been seen as just behind the top tier of elite teams and if Kelly can maneuver this team to the CFP, then Notre Dame has a leg up on its competitors. Aside from playoff mainstays Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma there hasn’t been another school to get a second bid to the four-team playoff. Getting another bid would surely help the national perspective of the Irish and could see their rise into one of the top schools in the college football world.