Opponent Watch: Sad VanGorder 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

Syracuse (7-2) vs Louisville (2-7), Fri 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2

via GIPHY

Syracuse is quickly becoming a force thanks to ~~future Notre Dame Head Coach~~ Dino Babers. This Friday night matchup won’t be close — the betting line currently has the Orange favored by three touchdowns, but Irish fans *will* get to drink in some sweet Brian “No Spaces In My Last Name” VanGorder as he (probably) wraps up his tenure as defensive coordinator for Louisville. While there’s still a slim chance Notre Dame will see Louisville head man Bobby Petrino when the season kicks off next year, this will probably be the closest we get to a BVG sighting.

Irish fans looking ahead to next week’s showdown in Yankee Stadium should look at Louisville’s offensive yards-per-play, as the Orange defense isn’t known to be too stingy.

Also this Week

Other Upcoming Opponents

Southern Cal (5-4) vs California (Sat 10:30 PM ET, ESPN)

Past Opponents

Wake Forest (4-5) at NC State (Thu 7:30 PM ET, ESPN)
Northwestern (5-4) at Iowa (Fri 3:30 PM ET, Fox)
Vanderbilt (4-5) at Missouri (Sat 12:00 PM ET, SEC Network)
Navy (2-7) at UCF (Sat 12:00 PM ET, ESPN2)
Michigan (8-1) at Rutgers (Sat 3:30 PM ET, Big Ten Network)
Virginia Tech (4-4) at Pittsburgh (Sat 3:30 PM ET, ESPNU)
Stanford (5-4) vs Oregon State (Sat 9:00 PM ET, )

Strength-of-Schedule Rankings

Last week, ND opponents went 4-7. On the year, opponents have a combined record of 56-52 (51.9%) with an average schedule strength of 39.

Rank	Team		Record	Weekly Change
6		Stanford	5-4	↑ 3
11		Northwestern	5-4	↑ 9
17		Pittsburgh	5-4	↓ 2
18		Michigan	8-1	↑ 5
22		Southern Cal	5-4	↓ 14
33		Vanderbilt	4-5	↓ 6
35		Florida State	4-5	↑ 3
46		Notre Dame	9-0	↓ 1
48		Wake Forest	4-5	↓ 1
51		Virginia Tech	4-4	↑ 10
64		Navy	2-7	↑ 9
74		Syracuse	7-2	↑ 2
90		Ball State	3-7	↑ 11