Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 135 Notre Dame's line is ranked as the nation's third-best unit and the pass catchers were listed fourth, while six play- ers are rated by Lindy's among the best in the country at their position (see chart). Optimism is not as great for the Notre Dame defense. "New coordinator Mike Elko will have more talent in South Bend than he did at Wake Forest, but the expecta- tions also went way up with his relationship to the Mid- west," Lindy's noted. "Kelly can't afford a slow build." Lindy's praised Notre Dame's linebackers and its three returning starters, but questions were raised about the secondary and line. "Up front, it's a question of talent beyond rush end Daelin Hayes and tackle Jerry Til- lery," Lindy's explained. "The Irish aren't deep and lack natural pass rushers." Four Notre Dame opponents were ranked in the Lindy's top 25. USC was tabbed as the No. 2 team in the land and a pick to be in the College Football Playoff. Georgia was No. 12, Stanford came in at No. 18 and Miami (Fla.) was tabbed No. 19. Street & Smith's Street & Smith's is bearish on Notre Dame's chances at a significant bounce-back campaign. The publication has the Irish pro- jected to play in the Belk Bowl, but it was not overly positive regarding the direction of the program. The magazine listed Kelly as the top coach on the hot seat watch list, noting that Kelly must do significantly better than .500 for the Irish head coach to keep his job. Notre Dame was also ranked as the No. 1 overrated program. "Don't expect things to get better simply because it's Notre Dame," Street & Smith's stated bluntly. "Brian Kelly has another quar- terback competition and is breaking in two new coordinators in Chip Long and Mike Elko. Kelly can't afford this to be a transition year, so the Irish must have success against a September schedule that includes a visit from Georgia and a road trip to Michigan State." Notre Dame does not have a quarterback competition, but it does have to break in a new starter at the position in Wimbush. The publication is cautiously optimistic about the junior's ability to shine in his first season. "Wimbush has a strong arm and strong feet. All he lacks is experience," the magazine explained. "… Wimbush comes into this sea- son with three years of eligibility remaining. If he's as good as advertised, he might not use them all." Street & Smith's believes it will be up to Wimbush, the offensive line and the Irish of- fense to carry the team if Notre Dame is going to excel this season. Wimbush was selected as a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate by the publication, while McGlinchey and Nel- son were both chosen as preseason first-team All-Americans. "With a defense still seeking a dominating presence on the line, plus a cohesive, reliable secondary, the Irish will need all the offensive weapons they can muster," the publication noted. "Notre Dame collected just 14 sacks in 12 games last season, and most of those came from the linebackers. In other words, the de- fensive line was hardly disruptive." Mike linebacker Nyles Morgan was named the "difference-maker" by Street & Smith's, who noted this is Morgan's time to shine. Part of the magazine's pessimism about the Irish likely revolves around a combination of its poor 2016 season and what it perceives as a challenging schedule. Four Notre Dame op- ponents are in the magazine's preseason top 25 — USC at No. 4, Georgia at No. 14, Stan- ford at No. 17 and Miami (Fla.) at No. 19. ✦ Blue & Gold Illustrated Staff Predictions Lou Somogyi Bryan Driskell Regular Season Record 9-3 10-2 Bowl Game Cotton Bowl Orange Bowl Team MVP Brandon Wimbush Nyles Morgan Breakthrough Player Daelin Hayes Alizé Mack Most Anticipated Game Georgia Georgia Upset Alert North Carolina NC State Opponent on the Rise Miami (Fla.) Miami (Fla.) Opponent on the Decline Michigan State Michigan State Coach of the Year Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State CFP Championship Game Florida State vs. Alabama Florida State vs. Ohio State Corey Bodden David McKinney Regular Season Record 9-3 8-4 Bowl Game Citrus Bowl Music City Team MVP Brandon Wimbush Brandon Wimbush Breakthrough Player Daelin Hayes Greer Martini Most Anticipated Game USC Georgia Upset Alert NC State Navy Opponent on the Rise Georgia Navy Opponent on the Decline Stanford Michigan State Coach of the Year Tom Herman, Texas Tom Herman, Texas CFP Championship Game Alabama vs. Florida State Auburn vs. Florida State Crystal Ball: Notre Dame Predictions Publication Preseason Rank Projected Bowl Athlon Sports No. 20 Camping World vs. Oklahoma State Lindy's Sports No. 28 Lindy's projected major bowls only Phil Steele's No. 19 TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Louisville Street & Smith's Not Ranked Belk Bowl vs. South Carolina What They're Saying About The Irish Athlon — "If defensive coordinator Mike Elko can help scheme past some of the line deficiencies, the Irish should return to the eight- to nine-win range Brian Kelly achieved in his first six years at Notre Dame." Lindy's — "Notre Dame has two new coordinators, a new special teams coach and a new strength coach. So while Kelly is back for an eighth season, it will be a different Kelly in terms of the program's overall lead- ership … The Irish have a tough schedule and a new quarterback, but plenty of talent remains." Street & Smith's — "Any lingering residue from Notre Dame's 4-8 disaster last season has been scrubbed and sanitized. The Irish are counting on a clean slate." Irish Player National Rankings Player (Position) Lindy's Phil Steele's Josh Adams (RB) 16 27 Equanimeous St. Brown (WR) 4 14 Durham Smythe (TE) — 23 Alizé Mack (TE) 3 25 Mike McGlinchey (OT) 3 5 Quenton Nelson (OG) 2 21 Sam Mustipher (C) — 13 Jerry Tillery (DT) — 15 Nyles Morgan (ILB) 6 11