Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2019 87 offense this season with 2,680 pass- ing yards and 923 rushing yards. First- team All-ACC cornerback Bryce Hall also announced he will return for his senior year. That has made it "Bryce Twice As Nice" in Charlottesville. Oct. 5: Bowling Green (3-9) Similar to Louisville and New Mex- ico, the defense ranked among the worst nationally (124th) with an aver- age of 40.0 points allowed per contest. VanGorder was hired by new head coach Scot Loeffler, the former offen- sive coordinator at Boston College, to help shore up that area. This school since the turn of century has produced head coaches Urban Meyer, Wake For- est's Dave Clawson and Syracuse's Dino Babers. Bowling Green, Virginia and New Mexico all will be first-time visitors to Notre Dame Stadium this year. Oct. 12: USC (5-7) Following their worst finish since the 5-7 mark in 2000, the Trojans retained head coach Clay Helton with the hope he can produce the turnaround Notre Dame's Brian Kelly did after the 4-8 fiasco in 2016. Both lines — where the Trojans are considered most "soft" and in need of a strength and conditioning coach after Ivan Lewis left for the NFL in mid-January — need to be shored up the most, especially on offense if quarterback J.T. Daniels and a potent receiving crew are to fulfill their vast potential. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Tyler Vaughns and Michael Pittman return after combining for 159 catches and 15 scores in 2018. Four staff changes were made, but one of the new hires, offensive coor- dinator Kliff Kingsbury, fired as head coach at Texas Tech, then accepted the head coach position for the NFL's Ari- zona Cardinals. As a result, the Trojans then hired North Texas offensive co- ordinator Graham Harrell, a record- breaking passer under Mike Leach at Texas Tech (2005-08), to facilitate the "Air Raid" attack. USC finished only 106th in rushing last season (133.5 yards per game). Oct. 26: at Michigan (10-3) Head coach Jim Harbaugh's first four seasons haven't been bad (38-14 for a .731 winning percentage), but 0-4 against Ohio State (most recently suffering an embarrassing 62-39 loss) and 1-3 in bowls (after a 41-15 loss to Florida this year) is getting the natives restless. There is major rebuilding on defense that lost a lot of star power, including juniors Rashan Gary, linebacker Devin Bush and cornerback David Long to the NFL Draft, plus tight end Zach Gentry. The offense returns quarter- back Shea Patterson, a seasoned receiv- ing corps and 85 career starts along the line. Notre Dame will be coming off a bye while Michigan will have a tough out- ing at Penn State that same week. Nov. 2: Virginia Tech (6-7) The 2018 campaign was one of those years where the Hokies couldn't get out of their own way, including a 45-23 loss at home to Notre Dame. Four top figures on offense have opted to transfer, including quarter- back Josh Jackson, who suffered a season-ending injury in the stunning 49-35 loss to Old Dominion. He was replaced by Ryan Willis (2,716 pass- ing yards), who returned with top re- ceiver Damon Hazelton. Wideout Eric Kumah has opted to take the gradu- ate transfer route, and Notre Dame is among the schools showing interest. What remains unchanged is Bud Foster returning for his 25th year as de- fensive coordinator and 33rd overall. Nov. 9: at Duke (8-5) Head coach David Cutcliffe will be entering his 12th season with the Blue Devils, where he has worked wonders, including a victory at Notre Dame in 2016. However, his two best players, quar- terback David Jones and All-ACC line- backer Joe Giles-Harris, both turned pro this winter. Nov. 16: Navy (3-10) Army has become the new acad- emy power with three straight wins versus the Midshipmen. The triple-option will remain a headache on the Notre Dame sched- ule, but more consistent play and star power at quarterback will be needed for Navy to be competitive again. Nov. 23: Boston College (7-5) Lightning cancelled their bowl game versus Boise State in which the Eagles were ahead early 7-0. The always-physical Eagles un- der now seventh-year head coach Steve Addazio (38-38 at Chestnut Hill) will be led by running back AJ Dillon (2,697 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns his first two years) and quarterback Anthony Brown. Hired as the new offensive coordinator was Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback coach Mike Bajakian, who replaced Scot Loeffler, the new head coach at Bowl- ing Green. Several top NFL prospects must be replaced, most notably offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom, defensive lineman Zach Allen, edge rusher Wy- att Ray and safety Will Harris. Nov. 30: at Stanford (9-4) Notre Dame has lost five straight on Stanford's home turf dating back to 2009. The Cardinal isn't quite the power it was earlier in the decade, but still a tough out with head coach David Shaw (82-26). Where they did lose some of its identity in 2018 was finishing 122nd in rushing offense with a 108.3 av- erage, and only 55 yards at Notre Dame in a 38-21 defeat. K.J. Costello returns at quarterback after passing for 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns last year, but the receiving corps was depleted when both JJ Arcega-Wh- iteside (63 catches, 16.8 average per catch, 14 touchdowns) and tight end Kaden Smith (47 catches) turned pro early, and Trenton Irwin (60 catches in 2018) exhausted his eligibility. Guard Nate Herbig also departed early for the NFL. ✦ Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder (2014 through the first four games of 2016) will hold the same title at Bowling Green. PHOTO BY ANDREW IVINS