Notre Dame Has A Major Opportunity To Change Its 2022 Narrative

Notre Dame's 2022 season certainly hasn't gone how most expected, as the Irish fell from 5th in the preseason polls to a 4-3 team that understandably didn't receive a single vote in the polls this week. It's been disappointing, to say the least, but the Fighting Irish have a chance over the next five weeks to change that narrative and finish on a very, very high note.

We've seen flashes of it, no doubt about that. Notre Dame went toe-to-toe with Ohio State and blasted #21 North Carolina. Those performances make the losses to Marshall and Stanford so much more hard to swallow.

If Notre Dame can put it together in the final five games and be the team it was against North Carolina, there is no doubt the Irish are capable of beating every team left on the schedule. All five opponents are beatable, but Notre Dame is also capable of losing at least two of the remaining games on the schedule.

That's what makes this season so maddening, but it's also why this stretch is so important.

Notre Dame plays three ranked teams in the final five weeks.

On Saturday, the Fighting Irish travel east to take on the 16th-ranked Syracuse Orange (6-1), who suffered their first loss of the season two days ago when they fell to 5th-ranked Clemson (8-0) in a game the Orange led 21-10 at one point.

Of course, Notre Dame returns home to host the Tigers the following weekend. Winning the next two games would mean Notre Dame ends the season by beating the three best teams in the ACC, with two of those games coming on the road.

After back-to-back games against a pair of 2-5 opponents (Navy, Boston College), Notre Dame then goes back on the road to take on Southern Cal. The Trojans are currently 6-1 and ranked 10th in both polls.

Running the table won't be easy, not anywhere close to easy, but I also have no doubt this team has the talent and potential to do just that. It's what is needed to salvage this season and regain the momentum that was lost during the first eight weeks. Beating Syracuse, Clemson and USC would mean the Irish likely end the season with four wins over ranked opponents, and it would position the team for a quality bowl game.

Most important, it would show that head coach Marcus Freeman can push all the right buttons to get his team on track. It will show he was able to recognize and address the flaws that led to the disappointing losses. It means the players are still invested, and the position coaches and coordinators have made changes as well.

That kind of success would also restore any recruiting momentum that was lost. It's similar to what we saw at the end of the 2010 season when the Irish won its final four games, including the bowl game. The difference here would be enormous, as it would come against much, much tougher competition.

So far this season Notre Dame has played up to the level of the best opponents and played down to the worst. If the former can continue and the latter subsides this team will finish on a very, very strong note and the Freeman era will get kicked into overdrive.

Do that and the narrative of this season will see a dramatic change.

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