33 days until Notre Dame football: Highest scoring Irish opponents

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 33 days until the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen kick off at Aviva Stadium.

Notre Dame will face some of the highest scoring teams in college football in 2023. That’s nothing new. The Fighting Irish took on two of the top three scoring offenses in the country last year.

Ohio State ranked second nationally at 44.2 points per game. Notre Dame held the Buckeyes to 21 in the 2022 season-opener, an 11-point road loss for the Irish. Similarly, the Irish lost to USC by 11 in the regular season finale but held the Trojans below their season average of 41.4 points per game. Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and USC beat Notre Dame, 38-27.

Clemson and Wake Forest are the two other teams Notre Dame will kick off against this fall that also averaged at least 33 points per game last season. Led by new Irish quarterback Sam Hartman, the Demon Deacons ranked 16th in the FBS at 36.1 points per game. That number figures to drop tremendously with the veteran signal-caller taking shots in Blue and Gold now.

Clemson ranked 30th nationally at 33.2 points per game. The Tigers managed to get over 33 despite quarterback DJ Uiagalelei eventually losing his job to five-star freshman Cade Klubnik, the projected starter heading into this upcoming season. Notre Dame saw both of those QBs in a 35-14 rout of Clemson in South Bend last November. This year, the Irish have to go to Death Valley on Nov. 5.

Duke was a sneaky high-scoring team last year. Quarterback Riley Leonard had a career year with 2,967 passing yards with 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He also ran for 699 yards and 13 touchdowns. Notre Dame goes on the road against the Blue Devils on Sept. 30, one week after hosting Ohio State in a massive September showdown on the 23rd. Ohio State will have a new starter at quarterback, likely class of 2021 five-star Kyle McCord.

Here is how each team on the 2023 Notre Dame schedule fared in scoring offense in 2022. For reference, Notre Dame was 42nd nationally at 31.8 points per game.

2023 Notre Dame opponent points per game scoring averages in the 2022 season

Ohio State: 44.2 (2nd nationally)USC: 41.4 (3rd)Wake Forest: 36.1 (16th)Clemson: 33.2 (30th)Duke: 32.8 (32nd)Pittsburgh: 31.3 (44th)Louisville: 26.9 (74th)Central Michigan: 34.8 (86th)North Carolina State: 24.3 (94th)Navy: 21.9 (105th)Stanford: 21.3 (109th)Tennessee State: 18.3 (n/a; FCS)

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