Our experts offer their season predictions
SOUTH BEND — As Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman enters his second year leading the Irish, we asked our experts to weigh in on what to expect from the 2023 season.
Can QB Sam Hartman toss his name into the Heisman Trophy race? Can Notre Dame claw its way back to the College Football playoff? Can the Irish win 10 games with Ohio State, USC and Clemson on their 2023 schedule
Here are the predictions on breakout players, surprises, final record, bowl destination and more:
Mike Berardino
REGULAR-SEASON RECORD: 9-3
POSTSEASON GAME AND OPPONENT: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. LSU.
FINAL CFP RANKING:
15
WHAT COULD CAUSE AN ND NATION PANIC?: First Navy Zero Blitz vs. Sam Hartman
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE
MVPS: Audric Estimé, Xavier Watts
THREE BREAKTHROUGH PLAYERS: Jaylen Sneed, Tobias Merriweather, Gabriel Rubio
FRESHMAN SURPRISE: Christian
Gray
ND’S STARTING QB FOR ITS REGULAR-SEASON FINALE, AT STANFORD: Sam Hartman
ND’S NATIONAL RANKING IN TOTAL DEFENSE AND OFFENSE AT SEASON’S END: 25, 30.
LEADING IRISH RECEIVER AT SEASON’S END AND TOTAL RECEPTIONS: Jayden Thomas (60)
LEADING IRISH RUSHER AT SEASON’S END AND TOTAL YARDS: Audric Estimé (1,492)
SACK LEADER AND TOTAL NUMBER OF SACKS BY ND AS A TEAM: Jaylen Sneed, Team: 36.
BEST MATCHUP: Ohio State (Sept.
23)
W-L RECORD vs. OHIO STATE, USC AND CLEMSON: 1-2
TRAP GAME: at Duke
BEST PLAYER ND WILL FACE IN 2022: WR Marvin Harrison, Jr., Ohio State
MOST OVERPLAYED, OVERDONE ANGLE ON ND’S 2023 SEASON: Sam Hartman, Sam Hartman.
MOST COMPELLING STORYLINE OF THE SEASON: Sam Hartman, Sam Hartman.
FOUR-TEAM FIELD IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF: Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Oregon State.
THREE HEISMAN FINALISTS?: Drake Maye, Marvin Harrison Jr., Audric Estimé. AND ANOTHER THING ..: Sorry, folks. Clarity equals velocity.
WAY TOO EARLY ... NOTRE DAME’S 2023 PRESEASON RANKING: 19
— Mike Berardino is the Notre Dame football beat writer for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com
Tom Noie
REGULAR-SEASON RECORD: 10-2
POSTSEASON GAME AND OPPONENT: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl vs. Oregon (Any chance you get to spend a few nights at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn, you speak it into existence).
FINAL CFP RANKING: 7
WHAT COULD CAUSE AN ND NATION PANIC?: Absolutely nothing. The Nation is about as level-headed and understanding as they come. Wait, they aren’t? OK, first loss, hide the women and children, and your eyes.
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE
MVPS: Duh. Sam Hartman (offense) and JD Bertrand (defense).
THREE BREAKTHROUGH PLAYERS: TE Holden Staes, RG Rocco Spindler, DT Rylie Mills
FRESHMAN SURPRISE: WR Rico
Flores
ND’S STARTING QB FOR ITS REGULAR-SEASON FINALE, AT STANFORD: Duh. Sam Hartman
ND’S NATIONAL RANKING IN TOTAL DEFENSE AND OFFENSE AT SEASON’S END: 19 and 26
LEADING IRISH RECEIVER AT SEASON’S END AND TOTAL RECEPTIONS: Jayden Thomas with 52
LEADING IRISH RUSHER AT SEASON’S END AND TOTAL YARDS: Audric Estime will run for 1,020 yards and run over about 20 would-be tacklers.
SACK LEADER AND TOTAL NUMBER OF SACKS BY ND AS A TEAM: Rylie Mills and 132 (what, too many?)
BEST MATCHUP: USC. Always. Home or Away. Always.
W-L RECORD vs. OHIO STATE, USC AND CLEMSON: 2-1 for sure, but don’t count out 3-0 or 1-2 or 0-3 too,
TRAP GAME: A nooner in Raleigh against North Carolina State. Uh-oh.
BEST PLAYER ND WILL FACE IN 2022: Clemson LB Jeremiah Trotter.
MOST OVERPLAYED, OVERDONE ANGLE ON ND’S 2023 SEASON: WWTD? (What would former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees have done in (fill in the blank) situation)? MOST COMPELLING STORYLINE OF THE SEASON: Notre Dame rides a pass-happy offense under the direction of a sixth-year, 24-year-old quarterback to a possible College Football Playoff appearance.
FOUR-TEAM FIELD IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Utah
THREE HEISMAN FINALISTS?: WR Marvin Harrison (Ohio State), QB Drake Maye (North Carolina), QB Michael Penix (Washington).
AND ANOTHER THING ..: Keep an eye on defensive coordinator Al Golden and this Notre Dame defense, which has a chance to be really good this season. If they are, Golden will take a long look at returning to the NFL, and probably jump.
WAY TOO EARLY ... NOTRE DAME’S 2023 PRESEASON RANKING: 10.
— Tom Noie is the sports columnist for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com
Austin Hough
REGULAR-SEASON RECORD: 9-3
POSTSEASON GAME AND OPPONENT: Citrus Bowl vs. Tennessee
FINAL CFP RANKING: 16
WHAT COULD CAUSE AN ND NATION PANIC?: Looking sluggish against Navy and Tennessee State, then losing to NC State comfortably. Being 2-1, but an “ugly” 2-1 would be far from ideal, especially with how the 2022 season started.
OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE
MVPS: Sam Hartman on offense (easy pick, I know) and Ben Morrison on defense (yes, another easy pick. But both guys need to be the MVPs if Notre Dame wants to be a serious contender this year).
THREE BREAKTHROUGH PLAYERS: TE Holden Staes, DL Howard Cross III and RB Gi’Bran Payne.
FRESHMAN SURPRISE: Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. As each fall practice rolls on, it seems Greathouse will be an integral part of the passing game for the Irish.
ND’S STARTING QB FOR ITS REGULAR-SEASON FINALE, AT STANFORD: Hartman.
ND’S NATIONAL RANKING IN TOTAL DEFENSE AND OFFENSE AT SEASON’S END: Defense will be 12th. Offense 26th. The defense has looked strong all camp, with the defensive line appearing better than we expected. Combine that with talented linebackers and defensive backs, and I could see ND having a legit defense. Inexperience at the wide receiver spot will hamper some of the offensive production early, but once everyone gets comfortable, they could be a high-octane offense by the end of the year.
LEADING IRISH RECEIVER AT SEASON’S END AND TOTAL RECEPTIONS: Jayden Thomas, 45 receptions
LEADING IRISH RUSHER AT SEASON’S END AND TOTAL YARDS: Audric Estime, 1,171 rushing yards.
SACK LEADER AND TOTAL NUMBER OF SACKS BY ND AS A TEAM: Jordan Botelho; team sacks will be 17. BEST MATCHUP: vs. Ohio State W-L RECORD vs. OHIO STATE, USC AND CLEMSON: 1-2. Feels like they pull an upset at home against either Ohio State or USC.
TRAP GAME: Duke, Sept. 30 in Durham.
BEST PLAYER ND WILL FACE IN 2023: Caleb Williams. Hard to pick against the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.
MOST OVERPLAYED, OVERDONE ANGLE ON ND’S 2023 SEASON: The inexperience at wide receiver, as well as with offensive coordinator Gerad Parker. Feel like that still might be coming up in November, even though they’ll have played 10 games by then.
MOST COMPELLING STORYLINE OF THE SEASON: Is Sam Hartman the real deal? He had a tremendous career at Wake Forest, but he was playing in a totally different system for the Demon Deacons. Hartman came to Notre Dame to play in more of a pro-style offense to help his draft stock. Can he adjust to it and become a potential Heisman favorite? Feels like however Hartman does, this team will do in 2023.
FOUR-TEAM FIELD IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF: Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Washington.
THREE HEISMAN FINALISTS?: Caleb Williams from USC, Michael Penix Jr. from Washington and Jordan Travis from Florida State. I’m going to pick Penix to win. I’m sure the Indiana fans in this state will react well to the win...
AND ANOTHER THING ..: This is not a make-or-break year for Marcus Freeman. Even if they go 8-4 again, that’s fine. It’s only going to be concerning if this team doesn’t show any improvement from last year. That being said, it feels like Freeman has a better understand of what it means to be a head coach this year and is embracing the process it takes to build a program into a national title contender. With a young roster in 2023 and a strong recruiting class coming in 2024, I plead that people don’t jump ship just because they go 8-4 or even 9-3 with losses in its “big three” games.
WAY TOO EARLY ... NOTRE DAME’S 2024 PRESEASON RANKING: 10th
— Austin Hough is a sportswriter for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com