Notre Dame football must avoid several potential trap games in pursuit of a deep playoff run this fall

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are entering a very, very important 2024 season under head coach Marcus Freeman . After two years, and growth both on the field, Irish fans are excited to see the team finally play up to their talent level this fall, hopefully.

Some will call this year “make-or-break” for Coach Freeman. While it’s very important to capitalize on the talented roster you have assembled, that statement does seem pretty hyperbolic. Notre Dame does have a generally easy schedule compared to recent seasons, making it potentially easy to navigate it.

There are several games like Texas A&M, USC and Florida State that will capture most of the fans' attention. Louisville is another, with revenge on everyone’s mind.

As is true of every schedule, Notre Dame will also have to navigate a couple games that could be deemed “ potential traps” on the season. For this exercise, it is loosely defined as a game that is going under the radar, but could cause a stronger team to struggle or even potentially lose.

For Notre Dame, there aren’t a ton of those opportunities in the 2024 season. There are, however, a couple of teams that need to be handled properly. There’s little question that the Fighting Irish should come out on top, but they also shouldn’t be taken lightly.

vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Notre Dame will travel down to Georgia on October 19th to take on Georgia Tech. Although it’s technically not a home game for the Yellow Jackets, it’s right in their backyard. While it won’t be a hostile environment, we have seen some struggles for the Irish on the road recently.

Georgia Tech also has something that can always make a team worry, and keep a game closer than it should be, speed. Quarterback Haynes King is prone to mistakes, but he is also a dynamic runner. He ran an impressive 737 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

King also has even more speed around him. Running back Jamal Haynes is one of the best in the conference, quietly rushing for over 1,000 yards last season. At wide receiver, Eric Singleton Jr. might be the fastest player on the field, having an impressive track and field background from his high school days.

It only takes a turnover or two, and a couple of big plays by the Yellow Jackets to make this a close football game. Notre Dame will have to handle their team speed carefully.

vs Virginia Cavaliers

The other extremely interesting “trap game” on the schedule is right after Notre Dame’s home matchup against Florida State, when they welcome Virginia to campus. Despite finishing the 2023 season with a 3-9 overall record, the Cavaliers did show a lot of signs of life in the second year under head coach Tony Elliot.

They had five games they lost by one score, including four they lost by three points or less. Virginia was a lot more competitive than the record indicates. That was a marked improvement from the year prior.

The Cavaliers quietly have one of the better offensive lines in the ACC, led by all-conference center Brian Stevens . They also have a couple of talented playmakers in Malachi Fields, and Irish transfer Chris Tyree. Their offense had a lot of moments last season, and can’t be slept on.

On defense, there is also some talent to work with. That includes linebackers Kam Robinson and James Jackson, pass rushers Kam Butler and Chico Bennett, as well as safety Jonas Sanker. With so much NFL talent, that unit should take a big jump in 2024.