Each week in this space, we examine two things: Notre Dame’s strength of schedule (from USA Today‘s Sagarin rankings), and who Irish opponents are facing. For those of who want to scout future opponents, I’ll give you my recommendation for who to watch when you’re not watching Notre Dame Football.
Who To Watch
Miami vs North Carolina (Sat 3:30 PM ET ABC)
Credit: Miami Herald
The Irish have a late kickoff against Stanford, so here’s a good afternoon game. Notre Dame’s next coach Larry Fedora has the Tarheel offense clicking, but Miami’s defense has shown signs of life this season.
Will Miami’s offense keep up with UNC’s scoring? The winner of this game will be in good position in the ACC’s Coastal Division.
Strength-of-Schedule Rankings
Last week, ND opponents went 6-6. On the year, opponents have a combined record of 37-28 (56.9%) with an average schedule strength of 55.
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Weekly Change |
| 1 | Stanford | 3-2 | +1 |
| 5 | Southern Cal | 3-3 | -1 |
| 18 | Texas | 2-3 | +9 |
| 21 | Michigan State | 2-3 | +3 |
| 27 | Syracuse | 2-4 | +1 |
| 46 | Notre Dame | 2-4 | +12 |
| 49 | Virginia Tech | 4-1 | +25 |
| 63 | Duke | 3-3 | -3 |
| 67 | Miami | 4-1 | +45 |
| 70 | Navy | 4-1 | +33 |
| 91 | NC State | 4-1 | +24 |
| 130 | Nevada | 3-3 | -16 |
| 131 | Army | 3-2 | +1 |
Other Upcoming Opponents
- Army vs Lafayette (Sat 12:00 PM ET CBS Sports Network)
- Southern Cal at Arizona (Sat 3:30 PM ET Fox)
- Virginia Tech at Syracuse (Sat 3:45 PM ET ESPNU)
Past Opponents
- Duke at Louisville (Fri 7:00 PM ET ESPN)
- NC State at Clemson (Sat 12:00 PM ET ABC)
- Michigan State vs Northwestern (Sat 3:30 PM ET Big Ten Network)
- Texas vs Iowa State (Sat 7:00 PM ET ESPN3)
- Nevada at San Jose State (Sat 10:30 PM ET CBS Sports Network)
