Okay, so Notre Dame’s schedule has been called everything *but* tough for the last eight months. And honestly, it’s kinda hard to argue with that when you look at how they’ve handled business so far. They stomped Wisconsin 42-13 after a slow start, then sent Rice back to Texas with a brutal 52-0 shutout. Michigan State thought they had a shot, but the Irish still rolled ’em 27-10. They’re looking like national championship contenders, plain and simple. But what about the teams they’re playing? Are *any* of them gonna make this schedule live up to some of the chatter about it getting “trickier”?
The Early Stumbles from ND’s Opponents
A lot of the teams on Notre Dame’s slate are already looking a bit wobbly. Seriously, a bunch of them just couldn’t get it done this past week. The Purdue Boilermakers got lit up by UCLA, losing 52-38 and now sit at 1-2. North Carolina, another team ND will face, fell to Clemson 28-20, putting them at 2-1. Stanford got absolutely clobbered by Duke, 35-7, and they’re also 1-2. You even had Syracuse losing 27-13 to Pitt, dropping them to 1-2 as well.
Then there are the teams that had easier wins or just lost to ND already. Wisconsin barely had to break a sweat against Eastern Michigan, winning 54-10 to hit 2-1. Rice, already on the wrong end of an Irish beatdown, took another L to Western Michigan, 28-21, and they’re 1-2. Michigan State, well, we already talked about them, sitting at 3-0 but with that loss to Notre Dame already baked in. Boston College handled Maine 22-16 to get to 2-1. SMU dropped one to Louisville, 41-31, and they’re 2-1. Navy had a bye, so they’re still chilling at 1-1. It’s a mixed bag, but a lot of these teams are showing some early season struggles, which probably isn’t gonna scare the Irish faithful.
But Wait, Two Ranked Opponents Emerge
Okay, so while a lot of their schedule looks like it’s still playing out as planned, there are two teams popping off that ND will have to contend with later. The BYU Cougars are straight up balling. They dropped Colorado State 41-23 and are undefeated at 3-0, jumping all the way up to #9 in the AP Top 25. That’s a serious team right there, a top-10 squad that could definitely give the Irish a game.
And then you’ve got the Miami Hurricanes. They just took down Wake Forest 33-20, also staying perfect at 3-0, and guess what? They’re even higher, sitting pretty at #6 in the AP Poll! That’s another undefeated, top-tier opponent on the schedule. So while most of the teams are kinda whatever right now, ND has *two* legit, highly-ranked opponents on the horizon. That’s gotta keep things interesting, right?
Next up for Notre Dame? They’re facing the Purdue Boilermakers. Remember, Purdue just lost big to UCLA, so you gotta figure ND is gonna be a massive favorite there. Even with a couple of top-10 teams on the schedule, the general vibe is that Notre Dame is likely favored in every single game this season. They’re the popular pick for the national championship, and honestly, this strength of schedule stuff probably isn’t going to matter much in the long run. Still, seeing BYU and Miami light it up? That’s definitely something to watch for as the season keeps rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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