CHAPEL HILL, NC - OCTOBER 07: Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish rolls out against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the game at Kenan Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)Despite making the College Football Playoff last season, it appears Notre Dame is being overlooked this fall. Most predictions have the prestigious program missing out on this year’s postseason.
Although the Fighting Irish aren’t receiving as much attention as they did last year, Brian Kelly and his staff have to be confident about their roster.
The main playmaker for Notre Dame is Ian Book, who is entering his senior season at quarterback. Another strong year under center should keep his team in contention and boost his draft stock.
Not only do the Fighting Irish have a great quarterback to rely on, the team has a strong secondary and two standout pass rushers in Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem.
Pro Football Focus believes Notre Dame’s balance on both sides of the football will allow it to remain in contention for the Playoff.
From Pro Football Focus:
With Ian Book’s superb accuracy and having time to develop his pocket awareness alongside Notre Dame’s elite offensive line, edge unit, and secondary, the Fighting Irish have everything in place to finally dethrone the Power Five in 2019. Many are overlooking the Irish after their crushing defeat in the College Football Playoff and the losses on their defense (and it shows with their slight fall in the AP top-25), but don’t write off the Irish quite yet. All things considered, the Irish won’t have to wait long to prove their doubters wrong as they take on the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Week 3 in what could very well be one of the best college games of the season.
One issue for the Fighting Irish will be their schedule, which features a handful of tough road matchups, including fellow Playoff-hopefuls Georgia and Michigan.
Notre Dame fans – do you think another trip to the Playoff is in store for this season?
