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The Irish got this, or so people think.
Notre Dame will have another chance get on the board for the 2022 season Saturday. Against a program like Marshall, that shouldn’t be a problem. Then again, college football has seen crazier things happen.
Let’s look at what some college football experts, including fellow College Wire sites, are predicting for this game:
What’s your pick?
Notre Dame has a tough draw to open 2022 by playing at Ohio State. We don’t know if the Irish have an upset in them, but you better believe it would vault them even higher in the rankings than they already are. If there are any actual believers in the Irish for this contest, we’d be interested to know why because they sure aren’t many.
Let’s look at what some college football experts, including those on the Wire sites, are predicting for this game:
The new coaching staff is getting attention.
Marcus Freeman has spent much of his time recently rounding out his staff for his first official season at Notre Dame. The cherry on top came this week with the hiring of Al Golden as the Irish’s third defensive coordinator in as many years. With all of the full-time coaching positions filled, it’s time to find out when into making that happen. That’s what Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press does in his latest story.
Among the highlights of the story:
Much more ground is covered in the actual story, which highlights what happens when a major program suddenly is run by a young head coach. Irish fans will be interested to see the impact this will have.
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Everyone seems to think one thing on this game.
This weekend will be Notre Dame’s last chance to prove it belongs in the College Football Playoff. A blowout win over struggling Stanford would force the committee to really look at the Irish. Meanwhile, the Cardinal would like to have something other than their win over Oregon to hang their hats on for this season.
Let’s look at what some college football experts, including those on the Wire sites, are predicting for this game:
The Irish are a lock for this game, right?
Notre Dame has two games left in the regular season, and they figure to be pretty easy ones. The first of these contests come Saturday in its home finale against Georgia Tech. To see the Yellow Jackets win this one would be an upset unlike one the Irish have suffered in recent memory.
Let’s look at what some college football experts, including those on the Wire sites, are predicting for this game:
Who are you picking?
It’s a shame that Notre Dame and Navy couldn’t play last year. However, that’s in the past, and the present looks slightly better. Something just feels right whenever one of the oldest rivalries in college football gets renewed. Plus, it always is an honor when the Irish get to host future sailors at Notre Dame Stadium.
Let’s look at what some college football experts, including those on the Wire sites, are predicting for this game:
What do you think happens as this rivalry is renewed?
One of college football’s biggest rivalries will return Saturday after a one-year absence. On one side, you have Notre Dame trying to stay relevant as some experts believe it still has an outside shot at the College Football Playoff (yeah right). On the other, you have USC simply trying to get through the season after dismissing its coach. Neither side knows what’s next, so picking up a win is crucial.
Here’s what some college football experts, including those on the Wire sites, are predicting for this game:
If you have the chance to win a championship, you always want to do it the right way.
If you have the chance to win a championship, you always want to do it the right way. Notre Dame will have that chance when it battles Clemson for the ACC title.
But what if the game isn’t played?
Ralph D. Russo of The Associated Press has learned what would happen in that case:
From the ACC, if either Notre Dame or Clemson cannot play in the championship game, the game is a no contest and Notre Dame would be crowned champion by virtue of the regular-season standings.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 13, 2020
Naturally, the replies to this tweet were along the lines of Notre Dame players will purposely go out so they can get infected with COVID-19 and cause this game not to be played. After all, how many times in the history of sports have we seen teams change their approaches when a scenario in which they would be safe is in play? They don’t care about the integrity of competition as long as they get what they want.
One would think Brian Kelly will teach his team to be smarter than that. The last thing a program that takes a lot of criticism from outside its fan base wants is to have its first and possibly only conference championship come with an asterisk. More importantly, being reckless on purpose would compromise the health of the players and the community at large. It’s better to keep doing what they’ve been doing and go about this ethically, safely and correctly.
