Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Upon Further Review todd D. burlage front seven that ranks among the best in the country. A talent edge at the skill positions will be the difference, but the Irish can't look past BYU to their date with Stanford the following week. ND 20, BYU 14 At Pittsburgh — Another traditionally tough opponent, Notre Dame had to feel fortunate last season after needing triple overtime to finally beat the Panthers 29-26. Expect more of the same drama this season in a matchup of two of the better defenses in the country. ND 17, Pitt 14 Vs. Arizona State (at Arlington, Texas) — The great unknown on the Irish schedule this year, the Sun Devils return a talented and balanced group that hit its stride with three straight wins to finish last season. ASU matches up well here and will keep things close in a shootout. ND 38, ASU 30 Southern California — In a rivalry that seems to swinging the way of the Irish, the Trojans come to town off of a Notre Dame bye week and right at the halfway point of the season. USC still has plenty of talent, but scholarship sanctions are beginning to take their toll on the program. ND 31, USC 20 Michigan State — Nothing flashy again in this rivalry game; may the best defense win. Home-field advantage has never meant much in this series, with Michigan State winning six of the last eight meetings at Notre Dame, though the Irish have won the last two games at home. ND 14, MSU 10 Oklahoma — A 10-3 record last year felt like a disappointing season with the way Sooners head coach Bob Stoops has his program humming along. Looking back now, the 30-13 thrashing the Irish put on Oklahoma last season may become the true launch point to the Kelly era at Notre Dame. Irish win another close one. ND 21, OU 20 At Michigan — Timing and home-field advantage undermine the Irish here. With Notre Dame still finding its way with many new faces on offense, playing in The Big House in prime time will be too tall an order for the second game of the season. Valliant effort? Yes. Winning outcome? No. U-M 20, ND 14 At Stanford — In a matchup that could end up being a play-in to the BCS party, and potentially even the national championship game, expect this series to take another big step to rivalry status with so much at stake. With almost identical teams, home-field advantage wins out. Stanford 17, ND 10 Notre Dame could lose to Michigan and still play its way back into the national title picture. With Stanford being the regular-season finale, though, that becomes a must-win for the Irish to keep title hopes alive. Circle those two games and the matchup with Oklahoma as three Saturdays that will define the 2013 season. ✦ Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com