2023 Record Prediction thread

[AnTostal 765]

8 hours ago, ND_JACK said:

I think we are going to see A LOT of new young faces on the receiving end this year. I know it was only the spring game but Greathouse sure look good in the spring game. 

Great house is going to be a beast. 
ND has the horses on offense. The big questions remain: Can Parker be effective, can all the new offensive coaches be effective, and can they blend together a cohesive offensive unit?  If they can, the offense should be potent. 

[SpeedsterX 652]

Last time I did this we actually went undefeated. So, I say 12-0! Let's GO!

[cali_domer 295]

8-5

Losses to USC, Clemson ,OSU, NC state.

 

Lose the bowl game for number 5. 

[Show Me The Irishman 21]

13-0. Mama didn't raise no coward.

[coltssb 1,044]

On 7/6/2023 at 4:15 PM, cali_domer said:

8-5

Losses to USC, Clemson ,OSU, NC state.

 

Lose the bowl game for number 5. 

The drought is over in Cali. Why the pessimism?

[AnTostal 765]

3 hours ago, coltssb said:

The drought is over in Cali. Why the pessimism?

It's a fair question.

Recruiting class rankings:  2023/2022/2021

ND: 13/9/10     USC: 7/6/8

USC does have Caleb Williams and dynamic receivers.  ND has a good, but rental, QB and unproven receivers.
USC has a coach that has taken teams to the CFP multiple times.  ND has a head coach that has, we think, a very high upside but is unproven.

The rivalry to my eyes is trending toward USC, but it's not anywhere near a ridiculous mismatch either way.

  

[coltssb 1,044]

20 hours ago, AnTostal said:

It's a fair question.

Recruiting class rankings:  2023/2022/2021

ND: 13/9/10     USC: 7/6/8

USC does have Caleb Williams and dynamic receivers.  ND has a good, but rental, QB and unproven receivers.
USC has a coach that has taken teams to the CFP multiple times.  ND has a head coach that has, we think, a very high upside but is unproven.

The rivalry to my eyes is trending toward USC, but it's not anywhere near a ridiculous mismatch either way.

  

I’m not even just talking about USC. I’m talking about that 8-5 record. ND won 9 games with Drew Pyne as its qb. Now they are going to win one less with a better proven qb?  
Also, Freeman at least has shown that he can get his team up for some big games(Clemson, Ohio State). I’m sure they could pick off one of USC, NC State, Ohio State, or Clemson. 

[AnTostal 765]

5 hours ago, coltssb said:

I’m not even just talking about USC. I’m talking about that 8-5 record. ND won 9 games with Drew Pyne as its qb. Now they are going to win one less with a better proven qb?  
Also, Freeman at least has shown that he can get his team up for some big games(Clemson, Ohio State). I’m sure they could pick off one of USC, NC State, Ohio State, or Clemson. 

I agree that they'll pick off one of the big 3: Ohio State, USC, Clemson.  Don't know which one, but one of them.  ND has really good players all over the field.  Ohio State probably has better players at most positions, better depth, and possibly better coaching.  But, they had all those advantages when they lost to Purdue in 2018.  Not sure that USC or Clemson has better players at most positions, and not sure that they have better coaching staffs either. 

ND's potential is enormous this year.  No slip-ups.  Coaches gotta coach, players gotta play. 

[tneun89 978]

17 minutes ago, AnTostal said:

I agree that they'll pick off one of the big 3: Ohio State, USC, Clemson.  Don't know which one, but one of them.  ND has really good players all over the field.  Ohio State probably has better players at most positions, better depth, and possibly better coaching.  But, they had all those advantages when they lost to Purdue in 2018.  Not sure that USC or Clemson has better players at most positions, and not sure that they have better coaching staffs either. 

ND's potential is enormous this year.  No slip-ups.  Coaches gotta coach, players gotta play. 

I think ND can win 2 out of those 3. Even though I think OSU is the best of the bunch, that's the game I think ND can pull the upset. OSU has studs all over the field, but I think their coaching is subpar. They will also have an unproven QB (I still wish ND played them the first week of the season). Maybe it won't matter because of their WRs, RBs, DL, and DBs, but I think ND is going to come out guns blazing. It might not go as perfect as the game against Clemson went last season, but the stadium environment should be even better and I think Freeman knows he needs that win badly.

Clemson is the least talented of the big three, but Dabo has been virtually unbeatable at home. I also think their QB - Cade Klubnik - will have a monster year. But they don't use the portal, and I think their depth is lacking. Still, their DL is very talented, and I think that'll be a hard game to win on the road. USC has the reigning Heisman winner and a bunch of highly talented guys from the portal - they totally revamped their OL and DL. USC will be dangerous, but hoping it's similar to OSU in that ND is looking for some payback. I think ND's defensive game plan last year on defense was awful, so hoping Golden figures out how to limit Williams.

So, I think ND goes 2-1, with wins over OSU and USC, but a loss at Clemson. But I could see wins over any of those three and losses to any of those three. Just hope ND beats OSU. They need a huge win for momentum, recruiting, etc.

But I think ND will drop another game somewhere, probably in the first half of the season. The 8 game stretch to start the season is brutal, especially going from Ohio State to @Duke, to @Louisville, to USC. Then Pitt after a bye but before Clemson. Guessing ND loses to one of those ACC teams as well.

I really think the offense is going to have one of the best seasons in recent memory. Haven't been this confident with our QB going into the season in a while. The OL should be Top 10/5 in the country. Estime will be a beast. The WR room is much better than last year and will be even better than that with competent QB play.

My main question is the defensive front seven, specifically the DL. I actually like the secondary with Morrison, Hart, Mickey, Watts, and Carter. The LBs are experienced with Bertrand and Kiser being very underappreciated IMO. Just need to better utilize Liafua and Sneed as pass rushers. The DL is solid but doesn't have any spectacular player like an Isaiah Foskey, Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, Jerry Tillery, etc. I think Mills can be that guy, but he hasn't shown it. Hoping Bothelo breaks out like he did in the Gator Bowl. 

I think Al Golden really needs to improve. ND was atrocious in red zone defense last year, and I felt like a lot of guys were not playing up to their talent level (Liafau being the primary example). He needs to have a great year for ND to have a shot at the CFP.

[AnTostal 765]

4 hours ago, tneun89 said:

I think ND can win 2 out of those 3. Even though I think OSU is the best of the bunch, that's the game I think ND can pull the upset. OSU has studs all over the field, but I think their coaching is subpar. They will also have an unproven QB (I still wish ND played them the first week of the season). Maybe it won't matter because of their WRs, RBs, DL, and DBs, but I think ND is going to come out guns blazing. It might not go as perfect as the game against Clemson went last season, but the stadium environment should be even better and I think Freeman knows he needs that win badly.

Clemson is the least talented of the big three, but Dabo has been virtually unbeatable at home. I also think their QB - Cade Klubnik - will have a monster year. But they don't use the portal, and I think their depth is lacking. Still, their DL is very talented, and I think that'll be a hard game to win on the road. USC has the reigning Heisman winner and a bunch of highly talented guys from the portal - they totally revamped their OL and DL. USC will be dangerous, but hoping it's similar to OSU in that ND is looking for some payback. I think ND's defensive game plan last year on defense was awful, so hoping Golden figures out how to limit Williams.

So, I think ND goes 2-1, with wins over OSU and USC, but a loss at Clemson. But I could see wins over any of those three and losses to any of those three. Just hope ND beats OSU. They need a huge win for momentum, recruiting, etc.

But I think ND will drop another game somewhere, probably in the first half of the season. The 8 game stretch to start the season is brutal, especially going from Ohio State to @Duke, to @Louisville, to USC. Then Pitt after a bye but before Clemson. Guessing ND loses to one of those ACC teams as well.

I really think the offense is going to have one of the best seasons in recent memory. Haven't been this confident with our QB going into the season in a while. The OL should be Top 10/5 in the country. Estime will be a beast. The WR room is much better than last year and will be even better than that with competent QB play.

My main question is the defensive front seven, specifically the DL. I actually like the secondary with Morrison, Hart, Mickey, Watts, and Carter. The LBs are experienced with Bertrand and Kiser being very underappreciated IMO. Just need to better utilize Liafua and Sneed as pass rushers. The DL is solid but doesn't have any spectacular player like an Isaiah Foskey, Julian Okwara, Khalid Kareem, Jerry Tillery, etc. I think Mills can be that guy, but he hasn't shown it. Hoping Bothelo breaks out like he did in the Gator Bowl. 

I think Al Golden really needs to improve. ND was atrocious in red zone defense last year, and I felt like a lot of guys were not playing up to their talent level (Liafau being the primary example). He needs to have a great year for ND to have a shot at the CFP.

I agree with almost all of the above. The D line may not have any/many absolute studs, but I think they have a bunch of really good players that will form a strong rotation. Run ‘em in/run ‘em out situationally. 
Golden?  Has to be better. Wasn’t bad or terrible, but certainly there were some issues and some untimely-called defenses. 
As with your thoughts, I think ND will drop a game it should win. Hopefully not. 
I really hope Price stays healthy. Haven’t been as excited about a running back in a long time. 

[NYGoldenDomer 2,046]

On 7/6/2023 at 7:15 PM, cali_domer said:

8-5

Losses to USC, Clemson ,OSU, NC state.

Lose the bowl game for number 5. 

[NYGoldenDomer 2,046]

11-1 and a NY6 bowl.

I don't think we have any Marshall games this year.  We beat everyone we're supposed to beat.  I think we only lose to 1 of OSU, USC, Clemson.  I'm not quite sure which though.  I feel like, for ND's chances to get into the CFP, losing on the road to Clemson is probably best?  Especially if its a close loss.  I know I shouldn't have my sights set on the CFP with this schedule and so many unknowns but what can I say?  I am a glutton for punishment lol.  

I feel like, no matter what, I want that OSU win.  And I so badly want to smash Kaleb into the friging turf for the shit he pulled last year.  But I also don't wanna lose to Clemson.  Beating them in Death Valley would be yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge.

[Baldy 1,227]

I say 11-1 regular season, with the only loss being to Clemson.

But…still making it into the College Football Playoff at #4!

However, this time Notre Dame wins it all with an overall record of 13-1 and are 2023-2024 National Champs!!

Go Irish!!! 🍀🏈

[NDhoosier 1,229]

I believe they will finish the regular season 11-1 with a loss to Clemson on the road. They will be hyped to get revenge on the beat down ND gave them last year.

- I think OSU is going to have a drop off this year a bit, their QB saved them A LOT last year, if any other QB was playing for OSU last year, ND would have had like 4-5 more sacks.

- I think USC will be competitive, but with a better offense on our side of things and being at home, I think ND edges out a victory.

Whether or not they get into the playoffs at 11-1 will depend on what happens in the other conferences. I could see them getting in and being very competitive this year in the playoffs, but I do not feel as though they could win the whole thing this year. However, it depends on how strong UGA and Bama are this year with new QBs.