Notre Dame football last-minute predictions for 2024 season
The Notre Dame football finished the 2023 campaign with 10 wins and a blowout victory in the Sun Bowl over Oregon State. Ahead of the 2024 season, Notre Dame has lofty expectations and enters the year as a top-25 team.
The biggest question is whether or not Marcus Freeman can lead the Irish to a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff. They brought in Duke quarterback Riley Leonard in the transfer portal in a massive move and have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball.
The Irish begin the season with a showdown against Texas A&M in College Station in a top-25 clash, so it should be a wild atmosphere in Aggieland. With the season starting, let us examine some last-minute predictions for Notre Dame this year.
Notre Dame finishes the season as a top-five team
© MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK
After Brian Kelly left for the LSU job, Marcus Freeman took over as head coach. Now, it is time for Freeman to show he was the right choice in South Bend. With the Irish being one of just a few independent FBS teams, they have a pretty decent schedule in 2024.
Here is the way the schedule breaks down:
Texas A&M
Northern Illinois
Purdue
Miami (Ohio)
Louisville
Stanford
Georgia Tech
Navy
Florida State
Virginia
Army
USC
Besides the Texas A&M game, the other matchups to circle are Louisville, Florida State (although they lost to Georgia Tech), and USC. The game against Georgia Tech could be something to keep an eye on, and Desmond Howard even mentioned he thinks the Irish could get a Playoff spot if they beat the Aggies in Week 1.
If Notre Dame loses just one game, they could finish the season as the five-seed.
Riley Leonard posts career-highs
© MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Irish saw Sam Hartman leave for the NFL and then worked hard to lure Riley Leonard after he left Duke. In 2023, Leonard dealt with injuries and only played seven games for the Blue Devils. Once Mike Elko left Duke for the job at Texas A&M, it seemed that Leonard would end up elsewhere and he wound up coming to South Bend to replace Hartman under center.
However, he threw for 2,794 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2022 with another 636 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground. Those are exactly the type of numbers Notre Dame is hoping for out of its starting quarterback in 2024.
Leonard has a lot of talented pieces at his disposal on the offense, more than he had at Duke either season. Kris Mitchell transferred from Florida International after posting a 1,000-yard season, and the Irish also have tight end Mitchell Evans poised for a big season after recovering from a torn ACL.
Freeman is also excited about using Leonard’s running ability, per Tyler Horka of On3.
“To have the ability to have designed quarterback runs or truly read defenders with a quarterback that can pull it is something that’s going to help our offense have success.”
All in all, the pieces are in place for a career season for Leonard.
Notre Dame makes College Football Playoff semifinal round
With the newly expanded College Football Playoff, there will be many more teams that make it than in years past. The first four seeds get a bye, but Notre Dame will not be one of them since those spots are designated for conference champions.
However, Notre Dame should be one of the other seeds if they end up with 10 or 11 wins (or go undefeated). Back in February, ClutchPoints’ Shane Shoemaker had Notre Dame as the six-seed in his way-too-early projections, and that seems like a comfortable spot to place them.
“Marcus Freeman has had two rather successful seasons as the Fighting Irish’s head coach after taking over for Brian Kelly. He increased Notre Dame’s win total by one last season, going from 9 to 10 and looks to make an even bigger leap in 2024. Bringing in former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard and former LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will be two pivotal pieces in the Irish doing so,” Shoemaker wrote.
Notre Dame should be an interesting team to keep an eye on this season, and the game against Texas A&M should be a good indication of how dangerous they will be this year.
The post Notre Dame football last-minute predictions for 2024 season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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