34 days until Notre Dame football: How difficult is the 2023 Irish schedule?

BlueandGold.com will release a countdown article highlighting a significant Fighting Irish football statistic every day until the 2023 Notre Dame season opener against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 26. Today, there are 34 days until the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen kick off at Aviva Stadium.

According to SportsReference.com, Notre Dame had the 34th toughest schedule in the country at the conclusion of the 2022 college football season.

Just over a month into the campaign, the Irish had the No. 1 strength of schedule according to the same outlet. At that time, five Fighting Irish opponents were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. There were four in the final AP Poll of the season, including Gator Bowl opponent South Carolina. The others were No. 4 Ohio State, No. 12 USC and No. 13 Clemson.

Notre Dame once again faced those three foes, and they could all be ranked in the preseason top 10 when that comes out in August. That is enough for ESPN to predict Notre Dame to have the 19th toughest strength of schedule in the country as it stands just over a month before kickoff in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 26.

These are the team with the 20 toughest schedules according to ESPN.

ESPN’s preseason strength of schedule

Ole MissMinnesota Florida MarylandAuburnArkansasMichigan StateTennesseeRutgersIndianaSouth CarolinaTexasKentuckyPenn StateLSUTexas A&MPurdue AlabamaNotre DameMissouri

What happened to Notre Dame in 2022 illustrates the volatility of this metric. The Irish could either shoot up the rankings if Ohio State, USC and Clemson are as advertised and a couple of the other opponents — most likely NC State and Duke — make their way into the polls, or the SOS could plummet if any one of or multiple of those preseason contenders falters.

Ohio State and Clemson have been mainstays toward the top of the polls for years, but the Tigers have lost six games in the last two seasons. They lost six games in five seasons from 2016-20. The Buckeyes are coming off a one-point loss to national champion Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinals, but like Clemson they’ll have a first-year starter at quarterback. USC, meanwhile, brings back reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams as its signal-caller.

Here’s a look at the entire 2023 Notre Dame football schedule. Home games are bolded.

2023 Notre Dame football schedule

Aug. 26: Navy (Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, 2:30 p.m. ET)Sept. 2: Tennessee State (3:30 p.m. ET)Sept. 9: at NC State (TBA)Sept. 16: Central Michigan (2:30 p.m. ET)Sept. 23: Ohio State (7:30 p.m. ET)Sept. 30: at Duke (TBA)Oct. 7: at Louisville (TBA)Oct. 14: USC (7:30 p.m. ET)Oct. 21: BYEOct. 28: Pittsburgh (3:30 p.m. ET)Nov. 4: at Clemson (TBA)Nov. 11: BYENov. 18: Wake Forest (3:30 p.m. ET)Nov. 25: at Stanford (TBA)

The post 34 days until Notre Dame football: How difficult is the 2023 Irish schedule? appeared first on On3.