Opponent Watch: Wildcat Edition

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

Northwestern (4-3) vs Wisconsin ( 5-2), Sat 12:00 PM ET on Fox

via GIPHY

Notre Dame has the late game on the Left Coast, so you can settle in early and watch this B1G matchup you *definitely* had marked on your sports calendar preseason. But here we are: the Wildcats riding a three-game win streak as a 5-point home dog against a flawed Wisconsin team. The winner will be in the driver’s seat for Big Ten West consideration, and nervous Notre Dame fans can fantasize about Future Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald.

Also this Week

Other Upcoming Opponents

Florida State (4-3) vs Clemson (Sat 12:00 PM ET, ABC)
Southern Cal (4-3) vs Arizona State (Sat 3:30 PM ET, ABC)
Syracuse (5-2) vs NC State (Sat 7:00 PM ET, ESPN2)

Past Opponents

Ball State (3-5) at Ohio (Thu 7:00 PM ET, CBS Sports Network)
Virginia Tech (4-2) vs Georgia Tech (Thu 7:30 PM ET, ESPN)
Vanderbilt (3-5) at Arkansas (Sat 12:00 PM ET, SEC Network)
Wake Forest (3-4) at Louisville (Sat 12:00 PM ET, ACC Network)
Pittsburgh (3-4) vs Duke (Sat 3:30 PM ET, ACC Network)
Stanford (5-2) vs Washington State (Sat 7:00 PM ET, )

Strength-of-Schedule Rankings

Last week, ND opponents went 5-5. On the year, opponents have a combined record of 47-39 (54.7%) with an average schedule strength of 43.

Rank	Team		Record	Weekly Change
5		Southern Cal	4-3	+6
11		Stanford	5-2	-1
15		Vanderbilt	3-5	+17
18		Pittsburgh	3-4	-3
20		Michigan	7-1	+11
23		Northwestern	4-3	-15
36		Notre Dame	7-0	-2
41		Wake Forest	3-4	+9
54		Florida State	4-3	-15
59		Virginia Tech	4-2	+4
81		Syracuse	5-2	+2
85		Navy	2-5	+4
108		Ball State	3-5	+5