Notre Dame football has played 127 seasons, but for the purposes of determining the five best openers I'm going to limit my selections to the modern era. Here's the criteria I used: First, the game has to be against a quality opponent. Second, that team has to be from a major conference. Third, I cannot pick all the openers against Michigan. Fourth, it has to be a win. Fifth, the game has to be played after 1964, which I consider the start of the modern era. #5 Northwestern ...
Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire, left, runs with the ball against Texas defensive end Naashon Hughes during the first half of an NCAA college football game Sept. 5, 2015, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)