Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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86 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI F ootball schedules can be inter- esting studies on how what you perceive is not always what you get. Back in 2016, if you would have told Fighting Irish followers in the preseason that among its opponents Texas would finish 5-7, Michigan State 3-9, Duke 4-8, North Carolina State 7-6 and Navy would lose five times, a top-10 finish for Notre Dame — and maybe even a shot at the College Foot- ball Playoff — appeared doable. Instead, head coach Brian Kelly's team lost to all five of those contests to finish a mind-boggling 4-8 that re- sulted in much revamping. If the Irish were that bad in 2016, then looking ahead to 2018 appeared even worse, or it did on paper. After all, Notre Dame would have to play Michigan (Jim Harbaugh has Notre Dame's number), Stanford (so does David Shaw), at Virginia Tech (which it lost to at home in 2016), at Northwestern (which it lost to at home in 2014), plus powerhouses Florida State and at USC were in November. Instead, Kelly and Co., finished the regular season 12-0 and earned the school's first College Football Playoff berth in the five-year history of the event. The 2018 season was one where most of the opposition derailed col- lectively much like Notre Dame did in 2016. Prior to last fall, who could have envisioned that Virginia Tech, Florida State and USC would finish a combined 16-21, Navy would sud- denly plummet to 3-10 and Stanford would drop four games for the second straight year — while moribund Syra- cuse would finish 10-3? For that matter, who would have guessed that Ball State would lose only 24-16 at Notre Dame? A few years ago when it was re- leased that the 2019 season would feature Louisville, Georgia, Michigan and Stanford on the road, the original reaction was it was a classic exam- ple of suicide scheduling that would leave Notre Dame out of national title discussions. That might still prove true, but one learns through the years there are few absolutes. Here is an early cursory overview of the 2019 slate, with the opponents' 2018 record in parentheses. Sept. 2: at Louisville (2-10) When this game was originally an- nounced it was perceived as a "mar- quee" outing, which is why it moved to Labor Day. That was until deposed head coach Bobby Petrino left the operation in immense disarray after the Cardi- nals lost their final nine games last season. The scoring defense finished 127th out of 129 teams under for- mer Fighting Irish coordinator Brian VanGorder (more on him later), in- cluding allowing an astonishing 56.3 points per game in the final seven contests. Scott Satterfield, who had a 51-24 record from 2013-18 at his alma ma- ter Appalachian State, signed a six- year contract with the Cardinals in December that is reportedly worth $3.25 million per year. Sept. 14: New Mexico (3-9) Because the Irish opener is on a Monday night, there is a bye the en- suing Saturday (Sept. 7). Eighth-year head coach Bob Davie, the Fighting Irish defensive coordi- nator from 1994-96 and head coach from 1997-2001, was retained by the Lobos despite back-to-back 3-9 fin- ishes. That was partly because Davie did revive a crumbling program to consecutive bowls in 2015-16, high- lighted by a postseason win in 2016 for a 9-4 finish. Like Louisville, the defense is a sieve, finishing tied for 113th while allowing 36.2 points per game. The rushing attack also has plummeted in recent years, going from 235.6 yards per game in 2017 to 153.2 last year (88th in the country). Sept. 21: at Georgia (11-3) Despite ingesting humble pie in the 28-21 loss to Texas in the Sugar Bowl, the Bulldogs have recruited tre- mendously the past three years — an unprecedented eight Rivals five-star players in 2018 (although quarterback Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State) — and possess one of the top four or five most talented rosters in the na- tion. Jake Fromm returns as a third-year starting quarterback and D'Andre Swift ran for a team-high 1,049 yards this past season as a sophomore. Most of the Bulldogs' top receivers/tight ends did turn pro early, as did 1,000- yard rusher Elijah Holyfield. Georgia has taken Alabama to the wall two straight years, and the sting from the Texas game should aid their concentration. On paper, this is Notre Dame's most challenging game in 2019, where it could be a double-digit underdog as it was versus Clemson. Sept. 28: Virginia (8-5) Head coach Bronco Mendenhall's first three years have progressed from 2-10 to 6-7 to 8-5 in 2018 following an impressive 28-0 Belk Bowl victory ver- sus South Carolina. Bryce Perkins returns at quarterback after setting a school record in total Quarterback Shea Patterson and the Wolverines will try to avenge this past season's 24-17 loss to the Fighting Irish in the Oct. 26 matchup at Ann Arbor. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN SCHEDULE PLAN A challenging road slate earmarks the 2019 campaign