Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/705594
UNDER THE DOME should rule. And they should go with the older guy. And hopefully they will in this case." — for- mer Notre Dame signal-caller Brady Quinn on the Irish QB battle (FOX Sports) "They're right back in the same situation at quarterback because both guys are going to think they should play, and one is going to be unhappy." — an anonymous opposing assistant coach on Notre Dame (Athlon) CHARTING THE IRISH AVERAGE PRESEASON RANKINGS Analyzing three preseason rankings from major publications and media outlets indicates that, on aver- age, Notre Dame is ranked higher than every team on its schedule entering 2016. The Irish were ranked No. 8 by Athlon, No. 11 by Lindy's and No. 19 by ESPN's Football Performance Index (which is based on prior years' efficiency, information on returning starters, recruiting and coach- ing tenure) as of July 13 for an average ranking of 12.7. Last year, Notre Dame entered the season with an average rating of 12.3. The averages were very close between Stanford and USC in determining which game will be the toughest for Notre Dame. Lindy's ranked the Cardinal No. 10 and the Trojans No. 17, while ESPN's FPI has USC No. 9 and Stanford No. 21. On average, Stanford holds a slight advantage at 14.3 to USC's 16.0. The averages play out to predict that the Irish could face just three top-25 teams this year, while eight of the 12 opponents on the schedule figure to be among the top half of the Football Bowl Subdivision. — Matt Jones Lindy's ESPN's FPI Athlon Average Notre Dame 11 19 8 12.7 Stanford 10 21 12 14.3 USC 17 9 22 16.0 Michigan State 22 33 13 22.7 Miami 27 30 27 28.0 Texas 40 23 43 35.3 Virginia Tech 43 41 29 37.7 NC State 61 40 59 53.3 Duke 55 54 53 54.0 Syracuse 78 59 75 70.7 Navy 63 76 76 71.7 Nevada 79 89 86 84.7 Army 120 97 111 109.3 OF THE MONTH @CoachBrianKelly: "We wanted to make this game happen. Since it's the season opener at Notre Dame, @CoachJim4UM may need to break out the khaki shorts." Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly on the 2018 matchup with Michigan