Athlon Sports’ Preseason Rankings Have Notre Dame As A Top-10 Team
One of college football’s most well known preview magazines has revealed its preseason top 25.
Athlon Sports dropped its top 25 rankings earlier this week in advance of its upcoming magazine release and became the latest outlet to see Notre Dame a preseason top-10 team.
Athlon slotted Notre Dame as the No. 9 team in its ranking. CBS Sports (No. 10) and Pro Football Focus (No. 9) also listed the Irish in the top 10 earlier in May.
“The Fighting Irish are poised to contend for double-digit victories once again, but a trip to the CFB Playoff will require the program to knock off Clemson in South Bend in early November, as well as navigate a couple of roster concernz,” Athlon’s summary read. “Senior quarterback Ian Book is among the best in the nation, and all five starters return to form one of the top offensive lines in college football.”
Book is well regarded in Athlon’s preseason content. The outlet named him the No. 23 returning player in college football, with five quarterbacks ahead of him: Brock Purdy (Iowa State), Sam Ehlinger (Texas), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Justin Fields (Ohio State) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson).
“Book’s emergence helped Notre Dame reach the CFB Playoff in 2018, and the California native continued to develop with a solid all-around ’19 season,” Athlon’s Steven Lassen wrote in March. “Book became the first player in school history to throw for at least 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns and run for 500 yards. Book’s yards per attempt declined from 8.4 to 7.6 last year but he connected on 60 percent of his passes for 3,304 yards and 34 touchdowns to only six picks.”
There is, though, the matter of who Book throws to this season. No returning Irish wide receiver has more than 13 career catches, though Notre Dame brought in Northwestern graduate transfer Bennett Skowronek, who caught 45 passes in 2017 and 2018 before an injury forced him to miss all but three games in 2019.
The opportunities exist for breakouts from upperclassmen like wide receiver Kevin Austin and tight end Tommy Tremble. But they’re also present for some of Notre Dame’s highest-ranked freshmen, all of whom play current unsettled positions.
“Book’s supporting cast is under renovation this fall. Leading rusher Tony Jones (857), tight end Cole Kmet (43 catches), and No. 1 receiver Chase Claypool (66) all must be replaced,” Athlon’s summary read. “Incoming freshmen Chris Tyree (RB), Jordan Johnson (WR) and Michael Mayer (TE) will have an opportunity to make an impact right away.”
On defense, Notre Dame is well equipped to replaced drafted edge rushers Julian Okwara and Khalid Kareem with fifth-year seniors Daelin Hayes and Ade Ogundeji. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah posted the second-most tackles for loss (13.5) by a Notre Dame player in a single season since Brian Kelly arrived in 2010. Secondary is the area with the most holes after three starters and a fourth major contributor graduated.
“Despite losing a couple of key cogs, Notre Dame’s defense didn’t miss a beat on the stat sheet last year by holding teams to 17.9 points a contest,” Athlon’s summary read. “The 2020 version is led by standout linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and safety Kyle Hamilton, but coordinator Clark Lea is going to have a busy fall trying to restock at defensive end and in the secondary.”
Three of Notre Dame’s 2020 opponents appeared in Athlon’s top 25: USC (No. 19) Wisconsin (No. 12) and Clemson (No. 1). The Tigers continue to appear atop nearly every preseason rankings and are the betting favorite to win the national title.
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