Notre Dame Football: 2019 BGI Staff Predictions

Notre Dame is entering year 10 of head coach Brian Kelly’s tenure, and the Fighting Irish will start this season off with its highest preseason ranking (No. 9) this decade. The Irish kick the season off Sept. 2 at Louisville, and the Blue & Gold Illustrated staff is ready to forecast what to expect in 2019.

We start our preseason series off with overall team predictions, which begin with the staff members making three bold predictions.

1) Notre Dame will finish 11-2 — The Fighting Irish have never had this final record, so I will go with that — although the preference would be to go 13-0 for the first time.

However, going unscathed (no losses nor ties) in back-to-back regular seasons has not occurred since Knute Rockne’s final two seasons in 1929-30. Plus, back then it was either nine- or 10-game regular seasons.

2) The 25-year drought without a major bowl victory will end — By my count, 42 teams have won a major/Big Six bowl since Notre Dame last did so on Jan. 1, 1994 in the Cotton Bowl. That is a mind-boggling stat.

In the ensuing 25 seasons from 1994-2018, the Fighting Irish are 0-8 in such outings, losing by an average of 20.8 points per game. My goodness, stop the madness!

3) Notre Dame’s current 11-game winning streak at home — its third longest since the opening of the edifice in 1930 — will be snapped — It’s supposed to be bold, right? I had bad vibes in the preseason about the road games at Texas in 2016 and Miami in 2017, and my upset special last year was Pitt at home.

For some reason, my gut instinct is to be very wary of the USC Trojans coming in off a bye Oct. 12

1) Notre Dame will beat Michigan on the road … soundly — Last year I used this space to predict that Notre Dame would finally take hold of the Stanford series and give the Cardinal a whipping. I got that one right, with the Irish dominating Stanford in a 38-17 home victory. I am not predicting that Notre Dame will beat Michigan by three touchdowns, but I do think the Irish will go into Ann Arbor and soundly beat the Wolverines.

I am not buying the preseason Michigan hype, and if you’re someone who likes “on paper” matchups the Irish stack up quite well against Michigan. I believe the game will start much like the 2011 game, but this time Denard Robinson won’t be there to rescue the Wolverines and the Irish put Michigan away.

2) The Irish will end two road losing streaks this season — The win at Michigan would end Notre Dame’s four-game losing streak in Ann Arbor. In fact, the Irish are just 1-7 at Michigan Stadium since 1993, but Kelly’s squad will turn the tide this season.

There is also another road losing streak that Notre Dame will end this season, and that is its five-game losing streak at Stanford.

Notre Dame has held fourth-quarter advantages in each of its last two games at Stanford Stadium — including leading in the final seconds in 2015 — but squandered both opportunities. That streak will end in 2019, although it will be a far more competitive game than the one in Ann Arbor.

3) Notre Dame will make it to the playoff, again … and win a game — I mean, this is a bold predictions article, right? After Notre Dame went 12-1 last season and made its first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff (CFP), how can any prediction that is titled bold not include another playoff berth?

This time, however, my prediction is that Notre Dame will actually win a CFP game. My playoff prediction is Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame and Ohio State. I have Clemson beating LSU in the Peach Bowl and Notre Dame beating the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl.

1) Notre Dame will be playing in the final game of the season — I think it is a real possibility that Notre Dame is playing in the national championship game. They tasted it last year and were a lot closer than people seem to remember against Clemson.

With a seasoned Ian Book, a veteran offensive line and the most athletic defense Notre Dame has had in a long time, I think the Irish are going to surprise some people.

2) Notre Dame will have a better team this year but a worse record — Overall, I think this team will be better across the board, especially on the offense. The scoring average will be higher, they will be more electric, and they will spread the ball all over the place. The defense is going to take chances and make plays we haven’t seen in a long time.

Unfortunately, the schedule is so much harder. All the “big games” are on the road. There is still untested talent that could get caught early. Hard to repeat another perfect record.

3) Special teams will win a crucial game for Notre Dame — One of the biggest question marks in 2019 is special teams. There's a new punter in freshman Jay Bramblett and new kicker in junior Jonathan Doerer. Spring and fall camp have not produced warm fuzzies throughout the media and the fanbase, but there have been flashes.

Bramblett was a quarterback in high school and the son of a coach; he will rise to the occasion. Doerer has a strong leg and has gotten consistently better in fall camp; he will surprise.

1) Notre Dame will beat Georgia and Michigan, but still lose two games in the regular season — Notre Dame will get up for their two most talked about games of the season, but lose nail biters against two of Virginia, USC, Virginia Tech, Boston College and Stanford.

Of those five teams, the preseason Associated Press poll only has Stanford ranked (No. 25), but I could easily see each of those teams having nine or more wins this season and proving to a be a formidable opponent, especially if the Irish have two emotionally draining wins against top-10 teams during the season.

2) Notre Dame will win a major bowl game — I predict Notre Dame will make it to the Orange Bowl and go up against the third-best SEC team (likely Florida, LSU or Texas A&M) and come out victorious.

This will give Notre Dame its first major bowl win since the 1993 season (when they beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl) and a second win over a highly regarded team out of the SEC.

3) Notre Dame won’t go undefeated in November again — To go 12-0 last season, the Irish had to accomplish a feat it hadn’t since 2012: win every game in November. Once again, Notre Dame has five games in November.

Virginia Tech is at home, but the Hokies are primed for a bounce-back season; Boston College should be solid and has a history of spoiling great Notre Dame seasons; and Stanford is undefeated at home against the Irish since 2007.

1) Notre Dame will go undefeated at home — With only two opponents (Virginia and Boston College) on Notre Dame's seven-game home schedule that had winning records in 2018, head coach Brian Kelly will go undefeated at home for the second straight season and the fourth time in his 10-year Irish career.

2) The Irish will make a New Years Six premier bowl game for the third straight year — With a bevy of talented players returning and a schedule that seems as manageable as any since Kelly arrived in South Bend, losing more than two games in 2019 would be a colossal disappointment.

Now, let's see if Notre Dame can actually win its first top-tier bowl game since 1994.

3) Notre Dame will win at Michigan for the first time in the last five tries — This important game Oct. 26 sets up well for the visiting team. The Irish travel to Ann Arbor off a bye week while Michigan plays at Penn State the previous Saturday.

Notre Dame has lost seven of eight and not won at Michigan Stadium since 2005.

Our staff’s predictions for the Irish and the nation:

RECORD PREDICTION (Regular Season)

Somogyi: 10-2
Driskell: 11-1
DeDario: 11-1
Mentock: 10-2
Burlage: 11-1

BOWL GAME PREDICTION

Somogyi: Orange Bowl
Driskell: Fiesta Bowl
DeDario: Peach Bowl
Mentock: Orange Bowl
Burlage: Cotton Bowl

TOUGHEST GAME

Somogyi: Georgia
Driskell: Georgia
DeDario: Michigan
Mentock: Georgia
Burlage: Georgia

TRAP GAME

Somogyi: USC
Driskell: Virginia Tech
DeDario: Virginia
Mentock: Virginia Tech
Burlage: Duke

OPPONENT ON THE RISE

Somogyi: Virginia
Driskell: Virginia Tech
DeDario: Virginia
Mentock: Louisville
Burlage: Virginia

OPPONENT ON THE DECLINE

Somogyi: Navy
Driskell: Navy
DeDario: USC
Mentock: Michigan
Burlage: Virginia Tech

PLAYOFF PREDICTION

Somogyi: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma
Driskell: Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State
DeDario: Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame
Mentock: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oregon
Burlage: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma

TITLE GAME PREDICTION

Somogyi: Alabama beats Clemson
Driskell: Clemson beats Notre Dame
DeDario: Clemson beats Notre Dame
Mentock: Alabama beats Clemson
Burlage: Alabama beats Ohio State

HEISMAN TROPHY PREDICTION

Somogyi: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama
Driskell: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin
DeDario: Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
Mentock: Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon
Burlage: Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

Somogyi: Scott Frost, Nebraska
Driskell: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
DeDario: Ed Orgeron, LSU
Mentock: Mario Cristobal, Oregon
Burlage: Ed Orgeron, LSU

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