What if Notre Dame really is that great?
Or what if Notre Dame is really, really good and a relatively light schedule paves the way for a monster season?
What is the ceiling for the 2024 Notre Dame football team? How good can this team be? And how high can they reach?
Every day at noon EST I will post my daily thoughts on the Irish, and today I will be pondering what will happen in today's ND for SI Noon Question: What is the best case scenario for the Irish this season?
Ricci Sirminiello
Rich Silmini Ero
They won their first playoff game and finished in the top ten.
The schedule is not too challenging, the roster is deep and talented, the manager is in his third season and the defense from front to back is one of the best in the country.
Now that the playoffs have been expanded, simply qualifying isn't enough to represent this team's potential: Notre Dame is built to host and win a first-round game and advance to the quarterfinals.
Can the Irish win two games in the playoffs? Absolutely they can, but it depends a lot on the lottery. They might have an advantage at neutral sites if they play against the Big 12 or ACC champions. If they play against the SEC or Big Ten, North Dakota won't have enough offensive consistency to beat teams like Georgia, Ohio State or Oregon.
Pete Fiutak
Pete Fiutak
They would be a No. 5 seed in the College Football Playoff, win a first-round home game, beat a No. 4 seed in the second round, make it to the CFP Final Four, and play well in the first half before losing by 157 points to No. 1 seed Ohio State or Georgia.
This is not a slam against the Irish, they will be great this season, I believe we are just killing time until the incredibly talented Buckeyes and Bulldogs face off for the national title.
That being said, look what happened the past two seasons: TCU and Washington. Michigan was much better than TCU in 2022 but lost. Texas was much better than Washington in 2023 but lost. It's entirely possible that something strange could happen on the right day and a #1 or #2 seed could fall.
So, if I'm answering this question correctly, Notre Dame did it They'd go on to play in the national championship game, but then lose to either Ohio State or Georgia by 157 points.
Nick Siepkowski
Nick Siepkowski
I’m not going to get into the details of how Notre Dame wins a title, even if there are incredibly complicated ways, but this team could be in the conversation.
A win over Texas A&M would give them a very favorable schedule.
Notre Dame could be 11-0 heading into USC, and with a win against USC they could move into fifth place, beat a team from the Group of Five and then beat the Big 12 or ACC champion to reach the semifinals.
It will be tough for Notre Dame to reach the same level as Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon, but a 14-1 record would be a year to remember.
