The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have become one of the most polarizing teams in the sport of college football, sort of like the Dallas Cowboys or New York Yankees. This is still a college football program that has a massive following, but there are others who love when Notre Dame struggles.
Football fans that enjoy when Notre Dame is bad might want to tune things out this season because the Fighting Irish are far from bad. In fact, after just two weeks, you can easily say that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are going to the College Football Playoff.
It’s only been two wins, but Notre Dame has been so dominant on both sides of the ball. The defense was always going to be a strength this year, but Sam Hartman and Audric Estime have made this offense nearly impossible to stop.
Check out the full 2023/24 college football season odds over on Bookmaker
A Look at Some Futures
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are still listed at +2800 to win the College Football Championship this year, but that’s not the prediction that is being made here. Georgia and Alabama appear to be well ahead of the pack this season, and Notre Dame is not going to be a real threat.
Notre Dame is going to make it to the College Football Playoff this year, though, as the committee is not going to be able to keep them out of it. This team is going to go through the regular season with a maximum of one loss, and that’s something that can’t be ignored.
Running back Audric Estime is an absolute beast with the football, and he is going to be running over opponents all season long. While Notre Dame will continue to be a great running team, it’s quarterback Sam Hartman who will lead them to the CFP.
Hartman now has odds of +2500 to win the Heisman Trophy this season, but you should expect to see him getting the call as a finalist. He has already set records in the ACC during his career at Wake Forest, and he has been the player that has been missing for the Fighting Irish.
The Schedule Looks Tough
Many people like to argue about the fact that Notre Dame doesn’t play a strong schedule because they aren’t in a conference. That actually couldn’t be further from the truth, as this Fighting Irish team is going to have a tough road through the 2023 regular season.
The biggest game on the Notre Dame schedule is scheduled for September 23rd against the Buckeyes from Ohio State. This will be a top-10 matchup by the time the game is played, and Notre Dame is currently a 7.5-point underdog in this one.
Winning this game would obviously be a huge resume builder for Notre Dame, but even a loss isn’t going to hurt them much. Ohio State will either make the CFP as an undefeated winner of the Big Ten, or they will likely be left out if they suffer a loss to Michigan again.
The toughest road game on the schedule for Notre Dame is a matchup with the Clemson Tigers, but that game no longer looks that difficult. There is also a home tilt with USC in October, but the Notre Dame defense will take care of things in that one.
It’s now time to start taking this Fighting Irish team seriously, as they are absolutely loaded with talent, especially on offense.
