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Notre Dame

Phil Steele explains why Notre Dame can contend for national championship

Stephen Samraby: Steve Samra07/09/23SamraSource
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Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman. (Photo by James Gilbert | Getty Images)

Phil Steele believes a return to the College Football Playoff for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish isn’t out of the question.

Previewing the 2023 college football season as always, Steele first prefaced his point by looking back at the Fighting Irish’s last couple campaigns, from the end of the Brian Kelly era to the start of Marcus Freeman’s reign.

“The Irish went from #98 on my Experience Chart in ’19 up to #43 in ’20. With Notre Dame playing in the ACC, they beat Clemson (QB Lawrence out) at home & were #2 AP at 10-0 but then lost to Clemson (ACC Title game) and Bama by a combined 65-24 finishing #5,” wrote Steele. “Most teams were experienced in ’21 but the Irish lost nine NFL draft picks and only returned nine starters. ND was 11-1 with only a home loss to Cincy. HC Brian Kelly then left for LSU & they finished #5 with the playoff committee.

“Under new HC Freeman, ND had a 28-7 lead in the bowl but lost by two and finished #8 AP. Last year ND had 15 returning starters but had to play at Ohio St and USC. They led OSU 10-7 3Q but lost 21-10, then lost at home to Marshail and Freeman was 0-3 and ND was not ranked for first time in 80 games. The Irish won the next three but lost to Stanford at home to fall to 3-3. ND won the next five including an impressive 35-14 home win vs Clemson but had their 19 game November win streak end at USC 38-27. ND won the bowl to finish 9-4 finishing #18 AP.”

While Notre Dame suffered some disappointing finishes in 2022, Steele is of the belief that Freeman’s sophomore season as the Fighting Irish’s leader could lead to fantastic success.

“They were +10 in TO’s and had 3 Net Close wins but Freeman has a stronger team in his 2nd year and they host both Ohio State and USC making them a legitimate National Title contender,” wrote Steele. “They have a top ten defense and with QB Sam Hartman and a dangerous run game, they are improved on offense and also have my #6 rated Special Teams unit.”

As Phil Steele mentions, the addition of former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman is a huge one, and it could get Notre Dame over the hump, but it’ll be interesting to see if the College Football Playoff is in their future or not.