#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Preview

  #1 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish 9-3 SU; 7-5 ATS   

 Fargo’s Take  When Notre Dame hired head coach Charlie Weis last year, many people were shaking their heads seeing that he had no head coaching experience with the exception of a high school gig back in 1989. The naysayers are pretty quiet now since he has brought his winning ways to South Bend, a program that was in dire need of spark. Since winning the National Championship back in 1988, Notre Dame is currently in its longest drought without a title since, well, ever. That could all change this season. Led by Heisman hopeful Brady Quinn, the Irish boast one of the most powerful offenses in the country. Defensively, the team needs to improve as there were simply too many big plays allowed last season. The good news is that nine starters are back on defense to go along with the seven coming back on offense. Even though the Irish won’t have the best defense in the country, it will greatly improve from last season based on experience alone. “Defense wins championships” is what the adage states but balance is the key and Notre Dame will have that in 2006. Getting through the brutal schedule is another story.

 Returning Starters on Offense – 7  Quinn put up a record season at Notre Dame, throwing for 3,919 yards and 32 touchdowns while tossing just seven interceptions. He flourished under the new offense that Weis installed as Notre Dame ranked 10th in total offense and 8th in scoring offense compared to 81st and 72nd respectively in 2004. Most of the significant pieces around him are back as well so another high-octane season is within reach. Wide receiver Jeff Samardzija is back after leading the Irish with 78 receptions and 1,274 yards. The loss of Maurice Stovall will be hard to overcome but 2004 leading receiver Rhema McKnight is back after missing last season. The running game is in excellent shape with Darius Walker coming back after rushing for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore. The offensive line could have as many as five senior starters who have a combined 91 starts between them. Overall, nine of the 11 starters are seniors so this is the year that the offense must really shine.

 Returning Starters on Defense – 9  As much optimism as there is surrounding the offense, the defense might actually have more. Nine starters are back along with nine seniors so the regression that took place from 2004 to 2005 should reverse this season. The passing defense was horrendous last year as it finished 103rd in the country, allowing 264.6 ypg. The secondary gave up over 300 yards on six different occasions last year including the final two games so momentum is not on its side. However all four starters, who are all seniors, are back which should ignite a huge turnaround. The entire two-deep is back led by strong safety Tom Zbikowski. The entire front four also returns and after finishing last season 34th against the run, better things are expected. The two starters that need to be replaced are at linebacker but the unit is deep and will benefit from the leadership of outside linebacker Maurice Crum Jr. The potential is there for a huge breakout season as there are no glaring weaknesses.

 Schedule  As usual, the Irish will be playing one of the toughest schedules in the country but the good news is that there are just four true road games on the slate. One of those is the opener at Georgia Tech, a game that Notre Dame cannot look past. Following that are four straight games against the Big Ten. Back-to-back home games against Penn St. and Michigan are truly tough tests followed by a revenge game at Michigan St. and then back home for a game against Purdue. Two more home contests follow against Pac Ten teams Stanford and UCLA. Up next is a trip to Baltimore to face Navy on a neutral field and then back home once again to take on North Carolina. Two of the final three games are on the road with the lone home game coming against Army. The season finale should be a classic as the Irish travel to the Coliseum to face the Trojans.

 You can bet on…  If Notre Dame can come out of its first three games with a 3-0 record, it should be undefeated heading to USC barring any upsets. Games against Michigan St., Purdue, Stanford and North Carolina were once easy but all four of these teams are going to be much better and all can beat the Irish if Notre Dame isn’t careful. The Irish were a perfect 5-0 on the road last season and are now 14-8 ATS on the road since 2002. This includes a 9-4 ATS mark as a road dog and we aren’t going to see that until the finale at USC. Notre Dame has dropped eight home games straight up and 11 against the number over the last three years so it obviously needs to get the moxie back at Notre Dame Stadium. Expect to see a rematch of Ohio St. and Notre Dame in the BCS Title Game on January 8th.

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