Notre Dame Will Make a Deep College Football Playoff Run...

Notre Dame's College Football Playoff Hopes Rely on These Factors

Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman celebrates at the 90th annual Sun Bowl game against Oregon State on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, at El Paso, Texas. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA

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As Marcus Freeman prepares his third Notre Dame squad for the 2024 season and a critical week one matchup at Texas A&M, he knows that the only outcome that will be deemed acceptable for his team is to make the playoff and perform well once in it.

This feat is much easier said than done.

With the field expanding to 12 teams, there is more leeway in terms of making the field, but as for succeeding once in it, things have changed. Notre Dame will have to win four games against top 12 teams to reach the promised land as opposed to one game in the BCS era or two in the old College Football Playoff format.

Teams must be extremely well-rounded to survive this gauntlet. Weaknesses will be exposed. Let's take a look at what must happen for the 2024 Notre Dame football team to have a chance to make a deep run this holiday season.

Notre Dame's Specific Health Concerns for 2024

For the Irish to survive their 12-game regular season slate and make a playoff run, they must stay relatively healthy in key areas and with certain key players. This theory applies to every team, but some existing concerns with Notre Dame must be addressed.

As Spring football ended, three of Notre Dame's most important players were injured. Transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, tight end Mitchell Evans and standout cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Notre Dame cannot afford for any of these players to miss significant time this fall if they have any hope of making a playoff run. Each is just too important to what the Irish plans are on both sides of the ball.

For players not already mentioned, Howard Cross is an absolute must to stay healthy if this team is to come anywhere near reaching its full potential. The impact Cross makes on the defensive front has a significant impact at all three levels and perhaps no player is more valuable to Notre Dame entering 2024.

Notre Dame Quarterback Play for 2024

For Notre Dame to make the 12-team playoff field and then make a run once in it, they need a higher level of QB play than they have gotten in recent history. Notre Dame needs a player at this position they win their biggest games because of, not just with or not at all.

Coach Freeman hopes that Riley Leonard can be that player as a big-bodied dual-threat leader. Leonard is well known for his running ability and also won the Manning passing academy challenge this summer. If he can truly be effective through the air and ground, he could be the answer Notre Dame thought it was getting last year.

Notre Dame's Wide Receiver Room

Notre Dame has not had playoff-winning wide receiver play in some time for a collection of reasons. Whether it be poor recruiting, poor development, mundane offensive schemes and a lack of quarterback skill to get them the ball, this group has been a problem.

For the Irish to take the next step towards being College Football Playoff contenders, this group must take a big step forward. Perhaps new OC Mike Denbrock's scheme combined with a more effective quarterback will be all it takes to unlock this unit's potential. Notre Dame fans are desperate for this to be the case in 2024.

Notre Dame's 2024 Offensive Line

Had Notre Dame's tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher returned to South Bend rather than turn pro after last season, this would have one of the strongest offensive lines in the country. As it stands, the Irish will need to replace both bookends and must be confident in their lineup heading into a hostile environment week one against the dynamic edge rushers of Texas A&M.

If this group can survive the opener without any game-collapsing calamities, it should be able to grow from there and become a fully formed unit later in the year. This is certainly a tall task and August camp will slip by fast but there is much work to be done.

Notre Dame's Run Defense

Notre Dame's defense was very strong in 2023 and has been the backbone of the program for many years. They are not the reason Notre Dame lost three games last year. That being said, there is always room for improvement, even for an elite unit like this.

In each of losses last year, there was at least one huge, long, backbreaking run that came at the absolute worst time for Notre Dame. Should they be able to shore this up with better gap control and run fits, this unit will be even stronger than they were in 2023.

Add it All Together

Add it all together and you're looking at a Notre Dame squad that is capable of being top-five nationally.

Add only some of it together and you're still looking at a playoff-worthy team but one that will probably struggle to make much noise in December or January.

Have only a little or none of that come to the surface? Then you're looking at Notre Dame on the outside looking in of the expanded College Football Playoff.

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