New Year Means A New Opportunity For Notre Dame

Notre Dame has everything in place to make a run at a title in 2020

For the third straight season the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have won at least ten games, the first time that has happened since 1991-93. The back-to-back seasons with ten wins in the regular season hasn’t happened since 1988-89.

Head coach Brian Kelly deserves a great deal of respect and credit for where he’s brought the program, and there is a lot for Notre Dame fans to be happy about. This is the longest sustained success for the program in over 20 years. We can debate just how good this season was in relation to big picture expectations at Notre Dame, but at the end of the day 11-2 is at the very least a tremendous building block for future success as long as Kelly pushes the right buttons this offseason.

With 2019 now in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at what the encore might be for Notre Dame, or at least what it should be, why expectations should be so high and what needs to happen for the Irish to take that final step in 2020.

Following the Camping World Bowl victory over Iowa State, Kelly reiterated what the ultimate goal is at Notre Dame.

“We have not won a national championship, that’s the next step for this team,” Kelly told ESPN’s Allison Williams after the bowl victory. “But [the senior class] have put us in that position now that we can take that next step.”

There are certainly reasons for optimism about the 2020 squad. A strong offseason could put the program in position to make a run at a title in 2020. The roster and schedule both seem to be good enough for that to happen, assuming the offseason decisions and work go well.

THE SCHEDULE

Notre Dame has an intriguing schedule in 2020, and here it is:

The last time Notre Dame started a season in Dublin, Ireland it went on to go 12-0 in the regular season. Means nothing, but worth sharing.

If you look at this schedule it has exactly what Notre Dame needs to build a playoff resume. There are eight bowl teams from 2019, and the teams on the 2020 schedule combined to go 88-66 this fall. There is good depth on the schedule, which is important.

Notre Dame has two huge games away from home that should be great opportunities to build the resume. 

The Irish face Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay and they finish the season at USC. Wisconsin will finish the 2019 season in the Top 15 and USC should be a legit Top 25 team next season. If USC is as good as I think it can be that post-Thanksgiving matchup against the Trojans could be a chance for a huge statement.

The stretch that begins with Wake Forest (8-5) and ends with Pittsburgh (8-5) will be challenging, but the Irish get a bye week before hosting Duke after that set of games. There is plenty of time for Notre Dame to rest, recover and prepare for the biggest game of the year, and the biggest home game of the Kelly era.

There will be no bigger resume builder on the schedule than the Nov. 7 home contest against Clemson, who will look to win their second straight national title on Nov. 13. Clemson returns A LOT from its 2019 roster and the odds of them being a Top 5 team when they travel to South Bend are quite good.

This is year 11 for Brian Kelly. He also returns a lot of talent, and he gets Clemson at home. If you cannot win this kind of big game in year 11, at home, with an experienced roster, when is it going to happen?

That matchup against Clemson will be a program defining opportunity for the Irish ... again.

THE ROSTER

Notre Dame appears to be strong in areas where you need to be strong in order to make a run at a title.

*** Quarterback play is vital to success in college football, and while I have been very critical of senior Ian Book, Kelly seems to believe he gives the Irish a chance to play for and win a title. Kelly has been incredibly loyal to Book, and if the veteran rewards his head coach’s faith the Irish should get strong play at the most important position.

*** All five of Notre Dame’s starting offensive linemen return in 2020, and talented junior Joshua Lugg earned much-needed experience when right tackle Robert Hainsey went down with an injury. The Irish return 114 career starts, which is an incredibly high number. If the group is developed the way it should - something that hasn’t happened the last two seasons - this is a unit with the talent and depth to be among the nation’s elite, and that is a must-have ingredient for Notre Dame to make a legit title run.

*** Notre Dame lacks experience at the skill positions, but there is a lot of talent and a lot of speed coming back. If the unit is developed properly and they give the young players a chance to shine this group could make a huge impact. The addition of Northwestern transfer Bennett Skowronek gives the Irish a veteran with proven production and a big body. Continued growth from Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys III is vital, but the wild card could be junior Kevin Austin, who is arguably the most talented wideout on the roster.

*** Even if Cole Kmet leaves for the NFL the Irish have a lot of talent at tight end. Brock Wright can play and sophomore Tommy Tremble has game-breaking athleticism for that position, and his second season in the rotation could result in him making a big jump. Keep an eye out for rising junior George Takacs, another big and talented player that could see a lot of growth in his third year. Notre Dame also welcomes the best 2020 tight end tandem in the country when Michael Mayer and Kevin Bauman arrive.

*** Notre Dame welcomes arguably its best group of freshman skill players of the last decade. It is a group that will be very hard to keep on the sidelines.

*** Defensively, the return of coordinator Clark Lea is huge for Notre Dame. He’s proven to be one of the nation’s best as a play caller and game plan designer, but he’s also proven to be an outstanding developer of linebackers.

*** Defensive line is to the defense what quarterback is to the offense; it’s hard to compete for a championship if you aren’t elite at this position, and Notre Dame has the depth and talent to be elite up front. The return of veterans Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji give Notre Dame a tandem that has a chance to be special. The continued develop of current sophomores Ovie Oghoufo and Justin Ademilola give the Irish quality depth, and current freshman Isaiah Foskey might be the most talented lineman on the roster. Keep an eye out for incoming freshman Jordan Botelho and current freshman NaNa Osafo-Mensah in the spring.

*** Barring a transfer, which I don’t expect, Notre Dame returns every single defensive tackle from its 2019 depth chart. Line coach Mike Elston threw waves of interior players at opponents this season, and that should continue in 2020. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa is on the verge of truly breaking out, and sophomore Jayson Ademilola is arguably the most talented interior defender on the roster. Those two give the Irish a chance to get elite play from the three technique. I’m looking forward to seeing the talented freshmen (Jacob Lacey, Hunter Spears, Howard Cross III) develop in year two, and sophomore Ja’mion Franklin gives the nose tackle position a physical presence behind starter Kurt Hinish.

*** Starters Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Drew White return at linebacker, but Asmar Bilal must be replaced. I have no idea who will replace him, but if Bilal is capable of replacing Drue Tranquill the way he did I’m confident Lea and graduate assistant Nick Lezynski can get one of the many talented young players to step up in a big way. We know about Jack Lamb, Shayne Simon and Bo Bauer, who will be contenders for major playing time if healthy, but keep an eye out this spring for Marist Liufau.

*** Current freshman Kyle Hamilton is a star in the making, and this spring will be a major opportunity for sophomore Houston Griffith to finally grab hold of a starting role. The pickup of Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor gives the safety position a veteran presence and adds depth. Griffith holds the key to whether Notre Dame takes a step back at safety or maintains - perhaps even surpasses - what we saw the last two seasons.

*** Cornerback is the only question mark on the roster, which makes the spring important.

*** To compete for a title you need game changers. Notre Dame didn’t get enough of that in 2019, at least not in the big games. There are a lot of possible breakout players in 2020, but to take that leap at least two or three players must step into that kind of role on both sides of the ball.

KEY QUESTIONS

Coaching Staff Shakeup — Offensive coordinator Chip Long is already out, and Kelly must replace him. The current sentiment is that he will replace Long with 27-year old quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees. This could be the biggest decision of Kelly’s tenure. If this move works out then Kelly will look like a genius. If the intelligent Rees isn’t quite ready yet it could backfire on Kelly.

What does Kelly do with the offensive line? The reality is despite his pushback against public criticism of the line play and coaching, Kelly needs to accept the fact what we’ve seen the last two seasons isn’t good enough. Does that mean bringing back Harry Hiestand or being open to bringing in someone else from the outside? We will see, but if Kelly does after 2019 what he did after 2015 (stand pat) then the Irish will fall short of their potential along the offensive line, and that will drag down the entire offense.

Kelly said he's able to make tough decisions and he pointed to letting go some of his closest friends after 2016. That's all fine and dandy, but making tough decisions after going 4-8 isn't nearly as tough as making the needed decisions after your team goes 11-2. That's what separates the great coaches from the really good coaches.

Based on multiple sources, I don’t expect cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght to return in 2020. It will be interesting to see what Kelly does to replace Lyght, should this move happen. No matter how successful a coach is there are times when fresh blood can provide a spark, especially when there is so much youth at the position.

Will Quarterback And Offensive Line Play Be Good Enough? — This is just as big of a question as who Kelly hires to run the offense. If Book is as good in 2020 as Kelly thinks he can be the offense will have a chance to be special. But to truly take the next step and beat the Clemsons, Ohio States and Alabamas of the world Notre Dame needs Book and the offensive line to make big, big leaps next season.

Can Notre Dame Finally Win Against An Elite Opponent — Notre Dame has not won a game against an opponent that finished in the Top 10 since 2013. The Irish are 0-6 since then and just 2-14 under Kelly against teams that finish in the Top 10. If that doesn’t change the Irish will once again be very good in 2020, but they will also be an almost program, almost good enough to play with the big boys.

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