Is the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a legit BCS national title contender? It’s a question that’s been on the minds of many after the team’s stellar start, in which the Irish have outscored Navy (50-10), Purdue (20-17), Michigan State (20-3), Michigan (13-6) and Miami (41-3) by 105 points combined.
Ultimately, it depends on how you define BCS national title contenders since in the end only two teams will be facing off for all of the marbles. The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Stanford Cardinal were ranked third and fourth last year, but only Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and the high-powered Pokes were contending with the Crimson Tide for a bid to the big dance.
Will the Irish be that team this season?
Notre Dame’s Remaining Schedule:
| Sat, Oct 13 |
|
3:30 PM ET NBC | |
| Sat, Oct 20 |
|
3:30 PM ET NBC | |
| Sat, Oct 27 |
|
TBD | |
| Sat, Nov 3 |
|
3:30 PM ET NBC | |
| Sat, Nov 10 |
|
TBD | |
| Sat, Nov 17 |
|
3:30 PM ET NBC | |
| Sat, Nov 24 |
|
TBD |
If the Irish runs the table, which will be easier said than done, the team will leap the Ducks or which ever team is in the second spot, but a one-loss ND team would presumably place third or fourth at best with such dominance from the SEC and the Big 12 offenses posting video game-like numbers.
A loss in the season finale to USC would drop the Irish out of the Top 5 regardless of their record entering the marquee matchup. While that game isn’t until after Thanksgiving, we do know that this defense can take them at least to a BCS bowl at the very worst if they can reach nine or ten wins.
Stephen Tuitt, Louis Nix III, Prince Shembo, Zeke Motta and Manti Te’o are all playing like superstars these days and the front seven is making this secondary look like a top notch unit.
The defensive line is their best in nearly a decade, and the linebackers are arguably the best they have ever been in the entire BCS era!
The same can be said for this defense, but that is largely in part because they are avoiding those costly mistakes on offense with consistent play from a ferocious running attack. The backs are filthy good with Cierre Wood, George Atkinson III and Theo Reddick playing as if they will line up in backfields during future Sunday’s.
The offensive line has turned into a top-five unit (had them top 15 before year), and everybody should be noticing. They can get four or five yards a pop early in the game, which eventually turns into long gains by the fourth quarter.
Shayne Skov and Chase Thomas are two fabulous linebackers that are tough to block, but tight end Tyler Eifert gives the Irish (alongside Everett Golson) a much more reliable downfield threat than previous seasons (Kyle Rudolph, Anthoyn Fasano).
Josh Nunes will also be without his star wide receiver Ty Montgomery (lower-body injury), which puts the majority of the onus on the tight ends (Zach Ertz, Levine Toilolo) and the running game.
Notre Dame tees off on teams that are one-dimensional as they have given up the fewest defensive TD in America (0 rushing, 3 total TD), and I expect more of the same in this fairly low scoring contest.
Network: NBC (College Gameday)
Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern
Experts Pick: ND by 8
Danny V’s Pick: Notre Dame 27, Stanford 17
