Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2014 record: 8-5
2014 Bowl Game: Beat LSU 31-28 in the Music City Bowl
Head Coach: Brian Kelly (6th season)
Odds to win 2016 College Football Playoff Championship: 32:1
Returning starters on offense: 6
Returning starters on defense: 10
2015 Preseason Ranking: #11 (Coaches poll), #9 (AP poll)
2014 Season Overview:
Notre Dame started off well in 2014, coming out of the gate with six straight wins, which included a narrow 17-14 win over Stanford. But Notre Dame went way downhill in the second half of the season. After the 6-0 start, Notre Dame went 1-5 in the rest of their regular season games. The only team they beat in that stretch was Navy. The Fighting Irish suffered close losses to Florida State, Northwestern, and Louisville but were also blown out by Arizona State and USC. Notre Dame ended the season in a thriller, beating LSU 31-28 in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN.
On the offensive side:
Notre Dame averaged 443 yards and 33 points on offense in 2014, which ranked them in the top 40 nationally. Everett Golson was the starting quarterback. He struggled in 2014, throwing almost half as many interceptions as touchdowns (41 touchdowns, 20 interceptions). Golson’s struggles, especially late in the season, opened the door for Malik Zaire to shine. He outplayed Golson against LSU, completing 12 of 15 passes for 96 yards. Zaire also rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown en route to leading the Fighting Irish to victory. Along with Zaire, Notre Dame also returns all five of their starters from the offensive line.
To the defensive side:
Notre Dame returns an outstanding ten starters from last season. It’s actually almost like the Fighting Irish return all 11 starters; because star cornerback Kei’Varae Russell is back on the team after he missed the 2014 season due to academics. If this defensive group can play like they did in the first five games of 2014, Notre Dame could be looking at a College Football Playoff berth.
2015 Schedule:
Sept. 5 vs. Texas Longhorns
Sept. 12 @ Virginia Cavaliers
Sept. 19 vs. Georgia Tech
Sept. 26 vs. UMass Minutemen
Oct. 3 @ Clemson Tigers
Oct. 10 vs. Navy
Oct. 17 vs. USC
Oct. 24 OPEN DATE
Oct. 31 @ Temple Owls
Nov. 7 @ Pittsburgh Panthers
Nov. 14 vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Nov. 21 vs. Boston College Eagles
Nov. 28 @ Stanford Cardinal
Record Prediction: 10-2
Bowl Prediction: Capital One Orange Bowl
Final Ranking Prediction: #8
The prediction is that sophomore sensation Malik Zaire is going to have a breakthrough year and will lead the Irish to double-digit win season. The schedule is rather weak, a C+ (maybe B-) at best. The toughest games on their schedule are Clemson, USC, and Stanford. Clemson and Stanford will likely edge out Notre Dame, and USC will be a tough one. But being that the game against USC will be a night game in South Bend and on national television, Notre Dame will pull off the win. With a defense that returns essentially all starters and an offense that returns all offensive linemen starters and it’s quarterback, Notre Dame will be a force in 2015.