The preseason rankings continue to roll, and Notre Dame continues to find itself near the top of the rankings. Sports Illustrated released their preseason Top 25 and the Fighting Irish were ranked No. 6.
Sports Illustrated has the Irish ranked high, but writer Pat Forde expressed questions about the Irish heading into the first year of the Marcus Freeman era.
“Is that too high for a team with a new coach and a new starting quarterback? Maybe. But everyone behind the front three has question marks. The proven products on the Fighting Irish’s roster include some major talent: end closely Michael Mayercenter Jarrett Pattersondefensive end Isaiah Foskeymiddle defender JD Bertrand and Northwest Transfer security Brandon Joseph. Receiver Avery Davis’ season-ending injury in preseason camp removes a big-play threat.” – Forde
Four of Notre Dame’s opponents also ranked inside the SI Top 25, including three in the Top 10.
Ohio State is Notre Dame’s highest-ranked opponent, ranked No. 2 in the preseason rankings. There is no doubt that the match of No. 6 Fighting Irish and the No. 2 Buckeyes will be the biggest opening weekend of the season.
“This is the best offensive team in the country, probably by a wide margin. There are potential first-team All-Americans in the passing game (quarterback CJ Stroud and recipient Jaxon Smith-Njigba), running game (TreVeyon Henderson) and trenches (treat Paris Johnson Jr.). The Buckeyes defense wasn’t great last year, especially at the point of attack, that’s why Ryan’s day caught the coordinator Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State and is paying him $1.9 million a year. Get better on that side of the ball and Ohio State can win it all.” – Forde
Notre Dame doesn’t play Clemson until Nov. 5, and we’ll have a much better idea of how good the Tigers are by the time the game starts. Despite struggling to a 10-3 record last season, Dabo Swinney’s The team is expected to bounce back and Forde has the Tigers ranked 7th.
“This is a new chapter for Dabo Swinney, who for the first time in a decade will not have trusted assistants. Brent Venables AND Tony Elliott on his staff. Swinney also needs to figure out if the quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is it the phenom who shined as a freshman or the disappointment we saw as a sophomore. This much seems certain: The Tigers should once again be a nasty defensive unit, especially up front, where the end Myles Murphy and treated Bryan Bresee you have first-round NFL talent.” — Forde
Southern Cal went 4-8 last season, and it was an ugly 4-8 that included a 42-28 loss to Stanford, a 45-27 loss to Oregon State and a 62-33 loss to UCLA. Notre Dame didn’t play very well against the Trojans, but the Irish still earned a convincing 31-16 victory.
A new head coach and plenty of transfers have Forde believing USC is primed for a big comeback. The SI writer ranks USC as the preseason No. 9 team in the country.
“No team did a more radical overhaul in the offseason than the Trojans. They got a new rock-star coach, a stellar new quarterback, new star running backs and plenty of new star receivers. Lincoln Riley is speaking boldly: “We didn’t come here to play for second place; we are not connected that way. We came here competitively to win championships, to win them now and to win them for a long time.” Excitement for USC football has grown appropriately. The hard part is fixing a bad defense and a weak offensive line – areas where quick turnarounds don’t happen often. USC’s 6.37 yards per play allowed was 112th nationally last year.” – Ford
Notre Dame heads to Las Vegas for an Oct. 8 game against BYU, which finds itself ranked No. 21 in Sports Illustrated’s preseason Top 25.
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“After back-to-back double-digit seasons, the Cougars are once again on the verge of becoming a top-25 program annually. Kalani Sitake’s the team has 15 of its top 16 forwards back from a year ago, plus quarterback Hall of years and an experienced receiving corps. NFL scouts are intrigued by Hall, a good athlete with a quick release who has yet to make strides in the read defense.” – Forde
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Contents of the Irish division
Notre Dame 2022 roster
Notre Dame 2022 schedule
Notre Dame Class of 2023 Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board – Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Board Committee – Defense
Notre Dame Scholarship Offers 2023
Notre Dame Scholarship Offers 2024
2022 Signing Rankings – Offense
2022 Signing Rankings – Defense
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