The 2022 college football season was an uneven one for Notre Dame in their first year post-Brian Kelly. So how’s the outlook for them heading into 2023?
In a feature for 247Sports, college football analyst Brad Crawford made the bold prediction that Notre Dame will be out of the preseason top 10 by midseason.
Crawford pointed to the loss of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and quarterback questions as big factors that could slow their momentum early on. He believes that Notre Dame’s games against N.C. State and Ohio State could knock them down early and their weak schedule at the end of the season won’t help them get any playoff buzz.
Via 247Sports:
“Losing Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator was an unexpected coaching casualty to say the least for Marcus Freeman this month heading into his second spring as Notre Dame’s head coach. Now, the Fighting Irish thought they solved quarterback questions in the portal with the addition of Sam Hartman and are now tasked with finding the perfect fit from a scheme and play-calling perspective. What does that mean on the field for a team that steadily improved as the season progressed in 2022? Notre Dame’s Week 3 tilt at NC State is a must-win, especially with a home bout against Ohio State looming two weeks later. The game against the Wolfpack is the first of three road trips to the Carolinas this fall for a team whose schedule does not appear to set up for playoff buzz by the end of the year.”
Expectations were quickly tempered for Notre Dame at the early part of last season. Back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Marshall to start the season dropped the Fighting Irish from No. 5 to unranked within nine days of the season starting.
But thanks to a huge midseason surge that included wins over the likes of BYU, Syracuse and mighty Clemson, Notre Dame secured eight regular season wins before beating South Carolina in the Gator Bowl.
Can Notre Dame avoid another letdown season this coming year?