Notre Dame wrapped up Marcus Freeman’s first season as head coach in impressive fashion, beating South Carolina in the Gator Bowl (45-38) and winning six of his last seven games.
Notre Dame have faced a difficult 2022 campaign, and the Irish have failed to live up to expectations. Regular season opponents Ireland finished the season with a combined record of 85-69, making it one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Notre Dame’s 2023 calendar looks even tougher on paper. One bright spot is that Notre Dame’s schedule appears to be lighter up front, which should give the 2023 squad a chance to get into a bit of a rhythm before things pick up pace from the end. september.
Notre Dame 2023 timetables
August 26 – vs. Navy (Dublin, Ireland)
September 2 – State of Tennessee
September 16 – Central Michigan
September 23 – Ohio State
October 14 – USC
October 28 – Wake Forest
November 4 – at Clemson
November 25 – at Stanford
TBA – at Duke
TBA – in Louisville
TBA – to NC State
TBD – Pittsburgh
Midshipmen
Date: August 26 (Aviva Stadium – Dublin, Ireland)
The head coach: Brian Newberry (1st season)
Record 2022: 4-8
Result 2022: Notre Dame defeats the Navy 35-32
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 81-13-1
Long-time Navy head coach fired Ken Niumatalolo after his defeat by the army. It was the third consecutive losing season for the contenders, who now look to Brian Newberry, who has led the defense for four seasons. Navy’s athletic director said the team will remain a three-way team, but the Navy lacks talent on offense, and Newberry will have to work to rebuild that side of the ball.
Tennessee State Tigers
Date: September 2 (Notre Dame Stadium)
The head coach: Eddie George (3rd season)
Record 2022: 4-7
against Notre Dame: First meeting
Former Ohio State and Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George will enter his third season at the helm of the Tiger program. George led TSU to a 5-6 record the first year and went 4-7 last season. The Tigers started the 2022 season with four straight losses, but managed to go 4-3 after that rocky start. TSU ended the season with a 22-14 win over Texas A&M-Commerce, which is coached by former Rice head coach David Baliff.
Chippewas of Central Michigan
Date: September 16 (Notre Dame Stadium)
The head coach: Jim McElwain (5th season)
Record 2022: 4-8
against Notre Dame: First meeting
After going 9-4 in 2021 and 20-13 in its first three seasons, Jim McElwain’s Chippewa team has struggled in 2022. CMU went just 4-8 and won’t failed to make a bowling match, but that record may be a little misleading. Michigan Center lost three games by six runs or less, and they battled hard in a 58-44 loss at Oklahoma State. CMU is expected to return much of its production in 2023.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Date: September 23 (Notre Dame Stadium)
The head coach: Ryan Day
Record 2022: 11-2
Result 2022: Ohio State defeats Notre Dame 21-10
against Notre Dame: Ohio State leads 5-2
Ohio State was expected to be a title contender in 2022, and to some extent the Buckeyes lived up to that billing, making the College Football Playoff for the fifth time. Ohio State put Georgia on the line, but ultimately fell short and lost to Michigan for the second straight season, something that hadn’t happened before since 1999-2000. Ohio State will lose some very important plays, but the Buckeyes will remain extremely talented.
Southern Cal Trojans
Date: October 14 (Notre Dame Stadium)
The head coach: Lincoln Riley (2nd season)
Record 2022: 11-3
Result 2022: USC defeats Notre Dame 38-27
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 50-38-5
USC ended Notre Dame’s four-game winning streak in the series with a 38-27 regular-season ending win over the Irish. It was quite a turnaround for lincoln riley and the Trojans, which went 4-8 the year before he arrived. USC is bringing back Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams and plenty of offensive talent, and the transfer portal will once again be a key part of building the Trojans roster.
Demon Deacons of Wake Forest
Date: October 28 (Notre Dame Stadium)
The head coach: Dave Clawson (10th season)
Record 2022: 8-5
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 5-0
The very first meeting between these two programs took place in 2011, and the Irish won this competition and all four since. Clawson has built a very stable program in Winston-Salem, leading the Deacons to seven straight games. Wake Forest has gone 19-8 over the past two seasons and should once again be a quality ACC opponent despite some key personnel losses on both sides of the ball.
Clemson Tigers
Date: November 4 (Memorial Stadium – Clemson, SC)
The head coach: Dabo Swinney
Record 2022: 11-3
Result 2022: Notre Dame beats Clemson 35-14
against Notre Dame: Clemson leads 4-3
Notre Dame has now won two of the last three games against the Tigers. Clemson was the co-dynasty program from 2015 to 2020, making the college football playoffs each season and winning two national championships. Clemson has been good the past two seasons, going 21-6, but it has certainly slipped from its glory years. Swinney will be looking to lift the talent of quarterback Cade Klubnik to the top of the college football world, but the Tigers just aren’t the same program right now.
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Cardinal of Stanford
Date: November 25 (Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California)
The head coach: Troy Taylor (1st season)
Record 2022: 3-9
Result 2022: Stanford beat Notre Dame 16-14
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 22-14
Notre Dame’s most devastating defeat of the 2022 season was undoubtedly their 16-14 loss at home to the Cardinal. It was the only bright spot of the season for Stanford, which saw the longtime head coach David Shaw retire at the end of the season. He was replaced by Taylor, who went 30-8 in three seasons at Sacramento State. The Hornets ranked fourth nationally in offense and total offense in 2022, but Taylor inherits a badly depleted Stanford roster.
Duke Blue Devils
Date: TBA (Wallace Wade Stadium – Durham, North Carolina)
The head coach: Mike Elko (2nd season)
Record 2022: 9-4
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 5-2
Mike Elko did an outstanding job of transforming Duke in his first season in charge. The Blue Devils beat UCF (30-13) in the Military Bowl to cap off a 9-win season. Duke hadn’t had a winning record since 2018 and had only gone 5-18 the previous two seasons. Elko is an exceptional defensive mind, the Blue Devils went from 39.8 and 38.1 points per game in the previous two seasons to just 22.1 last season. We also saw the emergence of the second-year quarterback Riley Leonardwho passed for 2,967 yards, rushed for 699 yards and scored 33 touchdowns in his first season behind center.
Louisville Cardinals
Date: TBA (Cardinal Stadium – Louisville, Ky.)
The head coach: Jeff Brohm (1st season)
Record 2022: 8-5
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 2-1
Notre Dame returns to Louisville for the first time since 2019, a match won by the Irish 35-17. Louisville will be very different this time around, but there will be plenty of familiar faces. Louisville Elder Jeff Brohm returns as head coach after going 17-9 the past two seasons at Purdue. Brohm is known for developing highly productive passing offenses, and he will bring the quarterback Jack Plumer with him. Plummer has 25 career starts, including 13 for Brohm at Purdue.
NC State Wolfpack
Date: TBA (Carter-Finley Stadium – Raleigh, North Carolina)
The head coach: Dave Doeren
Record 2022: 8-5
against Notre Dame: NC State leads 2-1
NC State started the season ranked 13th in preseason polls and climbed to No. 10 after a 4-0 start to the season. The Wolfpack went just 4-5 in the next nine games, including three of their last four. This included a 16-12 loss to Maryland in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. NC State has been forced to play a lot of younger players due to injuries, which could help the Wolfpack put a quality team on the field in 2023.
Pittsburgh Panthers
Date: TBA (Notre Dame Stadium)
The head coach: Pat Narduzzi
Record 2022: 9-4
against Notre Dame: Notre Dame leads 50-21-1
Pittsburgh had a 9-4 quality season despite losing a bunch of their ACC title team in 2021. The Panthers went through a rough patch in October, losing three of four games but a five-game winning streak straight to finish the season allowed Pittsburgh to finish strong. That streak included an impressive 37-35 win over UCLA in the Sun Bowl, a 42-16 loss to Miami, and a quality 28-26 win over Duke.
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Content of the Irish distribution
Scholarship Table 2023
Notre Dame Scholarship Offers 2023
Notre Dame Scholarship Offers 2024
Recruiting Class of 2023 Grades – Offense
Recruitment Class of 2023 Ranks – Defense
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