2023 Notre Dame Football Predictions and Season Preview

Notre Dame football finished the 2022 season with a solid 9-4 record in its first year under Marcus Freeman. Its losses came against Ohio State, Marshall, Stanford and USC. However, it also rattled off wins over North Carolina, Clemson and South Carolina, finishing the year strong.

DraftKings Sportsbook has set the price on Notre Dame’s win total at 9.0, with the under juiced to -160. Interestingly, the Irish are +2800 to win the National Championship, which ranks 11th overall. With another strong season expected from bookmakers, let’s dive into Notre Dame’s season preview.

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2023 Notre Dame Football Predictions & Season Preview

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Notre Dame now enters Year 2 of the Marcus Freeman era. Freeman already has Notre Dame recruiting at an elite level, and he boasts a 9-5 record when including his 2021 bowl game as interim coach. He did lose offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to Alabama this offseason, but he promoted Gerad Parker from within. Previously, Parker coached tight ends with Notre Dame in 2022, and before that he coordinated West Virginia’s offense. On defense, Notre Dame retains the services of Al Golden, who took over coordinating responsibilities in 2022. With Freeman seemingly making all of right decisions, expectations are high heading into his second year.

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Quarterback

Notre Dame landed the crown jewel of the transfer portal, with Sam Hartman coming over from Wake Forest. Hartman completed 270 of 430 passes (62.8) for 3,700 yards (8.6 yards per attempt), 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. Hartman also has serviceable mobility, with 129 rushing yards on 102 attempts last year. He took 37 sacks, so these numbers could have been even better. Hartman has an absurd 12,974 passing yards in his career and finished as PFF’s third-highest-graded quarterback in the ACC last year. With Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner both hitting the transfer portal, Steve Angeli has positioned himself as the backup behind Hartman. Angeli doesn’t have any pass attempts to date, but he joined Notre Dame as a 3-star recruit last year. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, and listed as a pro-style quarterback. Notre Dame also recruited a 4-star freshman in Kenny Minchey from this year’s class. Minchey is the 14th-ranked quarterback in the 2023 cycle and appears a little more athletic than Angeli. With such little experience behind Hartman, Notre Dame will bank on health at this position.

Running Back

Notre Dame lost Logan Diggs to the transfer portal and moved Chris Tyree to receiver this offseason. This should set up Audric Estime for a potential workhorse role. Estime is 5-foot-11, 229 pounds, and rushed 156 times for 906 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. He also caught nine passes for another 135 yards. Efficiency wise, Estime averaged 3.65 yards after contact per attempt and forced a missed tackle on 26.3% of his attempts. Behind Estime, Notre Dame now projects to rely on Jadarian Price as a change of pace. Price joined the program in 2022 as a 4-star freshman. However, an injury prevented him from playing at all last year. He is 5-foot-10, 197 pounds. Notre Dame also added Penn State transfer Devyn Ford in the transfer portal. He is 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, and rushed 139 times for 662 yards and six touchdowns in his four-year career with Penn State. He also has 20 catches for 103 yards. Efficiency wise, Ford has averaged 3.06 yards after contact and forced a missed tackle on 13.7% of his attempts to this point. Notre Dame also recruited a 4-star freshman in Jeremiyah Love in this cycle for depth. Behind an elite offensive line, the Notre Dame run game should be just fine in 2023.

Wide Receiver

The Irish lost two of their top three receivers in Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Braden Lenzy this offseason. However, they return their position leader in Jayden Thomas. Thomas is 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, and caught 25 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns last year. He played in the slot 73% of the time, and his 1.28 yards per route comes in below average. However, this may be a reflection on Notre Dame’s quarterback struggles in 2022 more than anything. The other two starters project to be some combination of Tobias Merriweather and Deion Colzie. Merriweather is 6-foot-4, 198 pounds, and only caught one of eight targets last year. He spent much of last year injured, but originally came to Notre Dame as a 4-star recruit in the 2022 class. Colzie is 6-foot-4, 211 pounds, and caught nine passes for 192 yards last year. He also battled injury last year after originally coming to Notre Dame as a 4-star recruit in the 2021 cycle. Mentioned above, Notre Dame also moved Tyree to receiver. Tyree is 5-foot-9, 197 pounds, and caught 24 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns last year. He also rushed 100 times for 454 yards and three touchdowns, giving this Notre Dame offense plenty of versatility. Finally, Notre Dame recruited three 4-star receivers this offseason by the names of Braylon James, Jaden Greathouse and Rico Flores Jr.. This depth chart is unsettled, so seeing one of these players make a year-one impact would not be surprising. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Notre Dame receivers make a jump as a whole under Hartman.

Tight End

Notre Dame will have massive shoes to fill following the departure of Michael Mayer, who led the team in receiving. This position is a little unsettled, with Kevin Bauman and Eli Raridon both injured. Bauman is 6-foot-4, 252 pounds, and played 77 snaps in three games last year before injury. He blocked on 78% of those snaps. Raridon is 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, and played 76 snaps in five games before injury. He blocked on 82% of those snaps. Both of these players should factor into Notre Dame’s plans assuming health. If those two cannot make it back, Notre Dame has been excited about Mitchell Evans and Holden Staes. Behind Mayer, Evans actually played the most last year with 326 snaps. Evans is 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, and blocked on 66% of his snaps. He only caught three passes for 39 yards last year, but his run blocking looked impressive. States is 6-foot-4, 226 pounds, and only blocked on 48 of his 83 snaps. He could be a more natural replacement for Mayer in the pass game. He now enters his second season after coming in as a 4-star recruit in the 2022 cycle. Finally, Notre Dame added 4-star freshman Cooper Flanagan in this year’s cycle. While it may not have an individual stud like Mayer, this group has plenty of high-profile bodies to man the tight end position.

Offensive Line

Along the offensive line, Notre Dame lost right guard Josh Lugg and left guard Jarrett Patterson. Despite the losses, this team should field an elite offensive line again in 2023. Starting at left tackle, Joe Alt makes his return after 887 snaps last year. Alt already has two years of starting experience and there is a good chance that he will be the first offensive lineman to come off the board in next year’s NFL Draft. Left guard has the most questions with Billy Schrauth expected to start. Schrauth did not play last year, but he entered Notre Dame’s program as a 4-star recruit in the 2022 cycle. So far, he has been the talk of spring ball, instilling hope at the left guard position. At center, Zeke Correll returns after 887 snaps last year. The Notre Dame veteran now has 1,451 snaps of experience in his four-year career with the Irish. Right guard should be Andrew Kristofic. He started for Notre Dame in 2021 and began the year as a starter before going down with injury in Week 1. He returned late in the year, but only played a depth role. He has been with Notre Dame since 2019 and can play either guard spot. At right tackle, Blake Fisher returns after 827 snaps last year. While last year was his first year starting, Fisher only allowed 17 pressures all season. At this point, the two deep has elite depth and plenty of high-profile recruits. Notre Dame added another trio of 4-stars in this year’s class, which should set them up for years to come. Ultimately, this is one of the best offensive lines in football.

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

Notre Dame ranked 41st on defense in 2022. This included the 49th-ranked run defense, 38th-ranked pass rush and 47th-ranked secondary. Despite losing a few key players, the Irish return starters at almost every defensive position. They also added three transfers at positions of importance to bridge the gap between last year’s starters and their 10 incoming 4-star freshmen.

Defensive Line

On the edge, the Irish lost Isaiah Foskey and Justin Ademilola this offseason. Foskey could be a particularly big loss after going to the NFL. To ease the loss, they added Ohio State transfer Jovantae Jean-Baptiste. While Jean-Baptiste never worked into more than a rotational role in any individual season, he has 929 snaps of experience over the last four years. Last year, he generated 14 quarterback pressures on just 251 snaps. On the other side, Jordan Botelho loos like the projected starter after 127 snaps last year. He spent most of the year injured, but still logged 18 pressures last year. Somehow, he logged 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, which Notre Dame fans should be excited about. They also return Nana Osafo-Mensah, who played 279 snaps last year. Even with its departures, Notre Dame’s pass rush should field a solid pass rush unit in 2023.

On the interior, the Irish lost Jayson Ademilola. They return 477 snaps from Howard Cross III and another 415 from Rylie Mills. Mills finished with 24 tackles, six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He played some off the edge last year, but projects to kick inside more this year. Cross finished with 34 tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as well. Despite his listing as an edge, Mills actually comes in with better size than cross at 292 pounds. This position doesn’t have the most proven talent, but the Irish did add four 4-star transfers on the defensive interior by the names of Brenan Vernon, Boubacar Traore, Devan Houston and Armel Mukam.

Linebacker

Linebacker should be a position of strength for Notre Dame with almost every notable name return. Marist Liufau led the position with 646 snaps last year. He ranked third on the team with 51 tackles. J.D. Bertrand also returns after 580 snaps last year. He led the team with 82 tackles, while generating 8.5 tackles for loss. Interestingly, both backers graded out well in coverage. Jack Kiser occupies the Rover position. With 338 snaps last year, Kiser logged 58 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. With two additional 4-star recruits joining the program, the Notre Dame linebacker room should be loaded again in 2023.

Defensive Back

At corner, Notre Dame lost just TaRiq Bracy. This leaves Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart still on the team with 611 and 658 snaps of experience from 2022. Morrison played particularly well last year with four pass breakups and six interceptions, along with 33 tackles. Hart broke up four passes himself and finished with 25 tackles. The nickel position should come down to incumbent Clarence Lewis or Oklahoma State transfer Thomas Harper. Lewis only played 384 snaps last year, but he broke up four passes and logged an interception. He also logged 29 tackles. Harper played 397 snaps with Oklahoma State last year before getting injured. He broke up two passes himself and added an interception. Notre Dame has some solid depth at this position with players like Jaden Mickey returning after 248 snaps last year.

At safety, Notre Dame returns D.J. Brown and Xavier Watts after 504 and 366 snaps last year. Brown broke up two passes and finished with 48 tackles for Notre Dame. He excelled more in the run game but brings experience here. Watts broke up four passes and finished with 39 tackles in relief of Brandon Joseph last year. This is another position with excellent depth. Roman Henderson remains on the roster after 319 snaps last year. The Irish added Rhode Island transfer Antonio Carter, who could rotate between safety and corner. They also have four incoming freshmen defensive backs for the future.

2023 Notre Dame Football Schedule & Predictions

Notre Dame Football 2023 Schedule

The Irish are independent and play a complete schedule of non-conference opponents. Their biggest games feature clashes against Ohio State, USC and Clemson. Luckily, only the Clemson game will be on the road. However, they also have North Carolina State, Duke, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest on the schedule. Ultimately, this is one of the more difficult schedules in all of College Football.

Notre Dame Football Futures Bet & Prediction

The Irish over/under 9.0 wins is juiced to the under at -160. it is clear which three games Notre Dame will not be favored in. However, the point spreads could be close in at least two of those. The Irish should be the clear favorites in all nine of their other games. With some decent push equity here, Notre Dame over at 9.0 at +135 looks pretty enticing here.

Best Notre Dame Football Futures Bet: Over 9.0 Wins (+135 at DraftKings)

You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!

2023 Notre Dame Football Predictions and Season Preview

2023 Notre Dame Football Predictions & Season Preview

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

2023 Notre Dame Football Schedule & Predictions

Best Notre Dame Football Futures Bet: Over 9.0 Wins (+135 at DraftKings)

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2023 Notre Dame Football Predictions & Season Preview

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense

Notre Dame Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense

2023 Notre Dame Football Schedule & Predictions

Best Notre Dame Football Futures Bet: Over 9.0 Wins (+135 at DraftKings)

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