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
Virginia Tech at Boston College (Sat 4:00 PM ET, ACC Network)
Aren’t animated GIFs great? This is what gets returned when I search for “Boston College” — not any actual sports or anything related to the university, but a mascot laughing.
This is the sort of gravitas that accompanies the 2019 Boston College Eagles, who are running in the bottom-third nationally in terms of offensive production. AJ Dillon returns to the backfield for his junior campaign and should be a legitimate bright spot, but is not really surrounded with any other weaponry that will coax opposing defenses to focus anywhere else.
On the other sideline, Virginia Tech has some unresolved questions as they embark on defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s farewell tour this year. The 2018 Hokies were porous against the run, but on the other hand they also surrendered huge chunks of yardage against the pass. Expect Virginia Tech’s rushing offense to be improved, especially in the ground game where they have returning experience in the backfield.
The first college football Saturday is wiiiiide open for y’all since the Irish don’t play until primetime on Monday night, so feast your eyes on these other teams that you’ll be seeing face off against Notre Dame later this year.
Other Upcoming Opponents
- Bowling Green vs Morgan State (Thu 7:00 PM ET, Watch ESPN)
- Duke vs Alabama (Sat 3:30 PM ET, ABC)
- Navy vs Holy Cross (Sat 3:30 PM ET, CBS Sports Network)
- Stanford vs Northwestern (Sat 4:00 PM ET, Fox)
- New Mexico vs Sam Houston State (Sat 6:00 PM ET, )
- Georgia at Vanderbilt (Sat 7:30 PM ET, SEC Network)
- Michigan vs Middle Tennessee (Sat 7:30 PM ET, Big Ten Network)
- Virginia at Pittsburgh (Sat 7:30 PM ET, ACC Network)
- Southern Cal vs Fresno State (Sat 10:30 PM ET, ESPN)
Schedule Strength Ranking
2018 Rank |
Team |
Record |
Change |
| 10 |  Georgia | 0-0 | — |
| 15 |  Louisville | 0-0 | — |
| 20 |  Michigan | 0-0 | — |
| 31 |  Notre Dame | 0-0 | — |
| 35 |  Stanford | 0-0 | — |
| 41 |  Southern Cal | 0-0 | — |
| 46 |  Duke | 0-0 | — |
| 55 |  Boston College | 0-0 | — |
| 59 |  Virginia Tech | 0-0 | — |
| 64 |  Virginia | 0-0 | — |
| 66 |  Navy | 0-0 | — |
| 81 |  New Mexico | 0-0 | — |
| N/A |  Bowling Green | 0-0 | — |
Powered by SC schadenfreude, husband to Mrs. IrishElvis (not pictured), rabble rouser. TCB.
- Opponent Watch: Ground Game Edition - October 24, 2019
- Opponent Watch: Royale With Cheese Edition - October 17, 2019
- Opponent Watch: Bee-Deviled Edition - October 10, 2019
