With 2023 in the rearview mirror we have a lot of time to look ahead to Notre Dame football in 2024.
Staff changes have been made while a new recruiting class has been officially assembled and the transfer portal has been used.
The Fighting Irish will enter their third season under Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman and are looking to improve on the team’s 10-3 record from 2023.
They will face teams from the Atlantic Coast, Southeastern, Big Ten, American Athletic and Mid-American conferences across locations that include Texas, Georgia, California, and the New York metropolitan area.
The team had wildly different expectations at the start of the season last year.
The rollercoaster season was neither of those things. Instead, it was a confusing 12 games with totally unexpected results.
Where does Notre Dame still need to solve problems in 2024?
The What-Ifs
Despite the fact that the Irish made some big additions to their coaching staff, there is still concern over the offensive line. Notre Dame's easy schedule could diminish most of those worries and help them climb up in the rankings, but judging a team by only on how well they perform in comparison to the rest of the nation is a far different matter.
The Irish have one of the weaker schedules in recent years, the Irish will potentially 11 wins to secure home field if they make the playoffs.
If the Irish go 12-0…
For starters, a lot went right for Notre Dame as well last year, and they are possibly one of the best teams in the country. The Irish should automatically make the playoffs and lock up one of the better seeds, like five or six.
It will be fascinating to see how the team's schedule holds up over time. Georgia Tech, Louisville, and Miami (Ohio) all finished better than expected this year. Notre Dame's strength of schedule may suffer if they falter.
Purdue and USC, meanwhile, also lost substantial ground. USC won't be a huge boost to Notre Dame's schedule since they will struggle in the Big Ten.
If the Irish go 11-1…
When it comes down to it, who the team plays and the severity of the loss matters. If they lose to 13-0 FSU by a significant margin it could be used against the team, especially if Texas A&M and USC have subpar seasons.
This situation seems likely that Notre Dame will play a playoff home game. It may, however, prove to be against a more dangerous opponent than the Irish desire.
If the Irish go 10-2…
With a 10-2 record, Notre Dame advances to the postseason, but the Irish still need to defeat USC or Florida State. The Irish could either face a difficult road game or miss the playoffs entirely if they finish 10-2 but lose to the toughest teams on the schedule.
If the Irish go 9-3…
Based upon current trends and a poor strength of schedule, the Irish will be left out of the CFP. It's too crowded.
Road Woes
Fixing the road difficulties seems like a smart place to start, especially since they start the 2024 season on the road against Texas A&M—possibly their hardest test.
In 2023, Stanford was atrocious, finishing 3-9 overall and just 2-7 in the Pac 12 title game. Even so, the Cardinals outscored the Irish 13–7 after one quarter to take an early lead against Notre Dame.
In the opening quarter of Notre Dame's final three away games of the season, opponents (Louisville, Clemson, Stanford) outscored the Irish 30 to 10. By the end of the season, Notre Dame had done little to avoid a sluggish start prior to the postponement at North Carolina State in September.
Home games are a different story. In 2023, Notre Dame had six real home games and won five of them. In all six games, the Irish led their opponents 114-27 by half after outscoring them 42-20 in the first quarter.
Notre Dame played just one home game against a team that finished the 2023 season ranked, and that was Ohio State. In that game the Irish and Buckeyes played to a scoreless tie through one quarter and Ohio State held a 3-0 halftime lead.
Notre Dame is never going to be a team that plays a true road game in a place like Tennessee State or Central Michigan. In the first quarter of those two games the Irish outscored the Tigers and Chippewas 21-10 with a combined half-time56-17 advantage.
Despite the fact that both of Notre Dame's games were played in neutral locations, the Fighting Irish saw plenty of fans in attendance in both. Both games saw Notre Dame dominate their way to resounding wins.
Notre Dame defeated the Navy Midshipmen 14-0 in the first quarter of their season-opening match in Dublin, leading by 28 points at the break. In the Sun Bowl, Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead and held a 14-0 halftime advantage.
What it Means for the Fighting Irish
Going on the road isn’t designed to be easy and it never will be for Notre Dame. For the vast majority of the teams the Irish play, the games becomes that team’s Super Bowl. When Notre Dame visits, it’s usually the biggest event that opposing teams have seen.
Even so, winning on the road doesn’t have to be as hard as Notre Dame made it in 2023. With the exception of the Clemson game, the defense was obviously prepared to play on the road, giving up less than a score every half in the other four contests.
It was a terrible showing, though, as the offense failed to score a touchdown in the first quarter in three out of the five away games. Maybe in 2024, instead of struggling to accomplish something, new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and new quarterback Riley Leonard, will start with looking for touchdown drives this season.
The catalyst behind these issues has to be resolved during the off-season. In 2024, Notre Dame hopes to make the playoffs and possibly host a first-round playoff game. It all starts with a win against the Aggies on the road in Week 1.
However, with the CFP expanding to 12 teams next year, maybe everything will resolve itself. The Irish have no more excuses. To make the playoffs, they no longer need to have a 12-0 season.
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