Where Would Notre Dame Finish in the Big Ten This Season?

Should Notre Dame be in the Big Ten? No matter where you stand on this, it would be interesting if it was in the biggest conference in college football.

How would the Irish do in the league if they were in this year? We try to answer this in the latest Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI Noon Question.

Notre Dame would be just outside of the Big Ten elite

Rich Cirminiello
@RichCirminiello

I’m gonna need a minute to compose myself after briefly drifting off thinking about the Irish as a Big Ten member ...

All those great rivalries. So much common sense and geographic logic ...

Okay, I’m back.

Notre Dame would finish anywhere from third to sixth in the Big Ten.

The Irish are a rung below Ohio State and Oregon, especially on offense. And depending on what happens at quarterback in Ann Arbor, Happy Valley, and Iowa City, ND could fall behind Michigan, Penn State, and Iowa, respectively.

All three schools have elite defenses, and varying degrees of concerns behind center. Let’s go ahead and put the Irish ahead of two of these guys and finish fourth overall and just outside the playoff picture.

Notre Dame would be deep in the Big Ten mix of others

Pete Fiutak
@PeteFiutak

As always with college football conferences, what's the schedule?

Do you have to go to Oregon, or do you get Purdue at home? Do you have to deal with Penn State, USC, Michigan, or ...

Ohio State.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Irish balled out against the Buckeyes last year and would be strong in a rematch this season, but this might be a one-team conference. Ohio State is the best of the best - it's National Title or Bust with this bunch - but Notre Dame is every bit as solid as Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Washington.

Overall, the Big Ten isn't that brutal after the first wave of top teams. Notre Dame in the Big Ten could absolutely get into the championship ... and then run into the Ohio State brick wall.

Notre Dame would be in the Big Ten Championship hunt

Nick Shepkowski
@NickShepkowski

Like in the SEC I only see two teams being better than Notre Dame at the start of the year.

Ohio State and Oregon would be in my preseason top-three right now if I were to put it together.

Outside of that, who is better in the Big Ten than Notre Dame? Depending on the location of the game, Notre Dame could certainly play with either of those teams as well.

Michigan will still be very good but lost a ton to the NFL and has a first-year head coach. Penn State is loaded with hype again but its had a limited ceiling during the entire James Franklin run. Even when it won the Big Ten in 2016 it lost a pair of regular season games and blew a huge lead to USC in the Rose Bowl.

The Irish would be in the mix for everything.

Notre Dame would be just outside of the Big Ten elite

Notre Dame would be deep in the Big Ten mix of others

Notre Dame would be in the Big Ten Championship hunt

More ND on SI Noon Questions