Opponent Preview: A Look At Notre Dame's Final 6 Opponents

A look at how Notre Dame's final six opponents have fared up to this point in the season.

Notre Dame kicks off the second half of its season on Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines, a long-time rival coming off a tightly contested 28-21 defeat on the road against the No. 7-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.

Only one of Notre Dame's final six opponents is currently ranked, but that could change in the coming weeks. Let's take a quick look at where things stand with Notre Dame's second half opponents.

Quick Notes

*** Notre Dame's final six opponents are a combined 26-15. Only Stanford (3-4) has a .500 record or worse.

*** Navy is currently the best team - on paper - checking in at 5-1 but also posting the best combination of offensive and defensive numbers. The Midshipmen are the only opponent to rank in the Top 50 in scoring offense and scoring defense, and they actually rank in the Top 20 in both categories.

*** Boston College leads the nation in fewest sacks allowed (3), and Navy and Duke also rank among the top 11 teams in the country in fewest sacks allowed, which provides a test for the Irish pass rush.

*** Virginia Tech, Duke and Navy all rank in the Top 25 in red zone offense, which will be a challenge for Notre Dame's subpar red zone defense.

*** Five of Notre Dame's six final opponents rank in the Top 50 in sacks, with Michigan (15th) and Virginia Tech (12th) ranking in the Top 15. 

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (5-2)

The Wolverines are coming off a loss to No. 7 Penn State, falling behind 21-7 before battling back and almost tying the game late in the fourth quarter.

Michigan's offense has sputtered, but the Wolverine defense remains one of the nation's best. Michigan ranks in the Top 25 in seven different defensive categories.

VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES (5-2)

Virginia Tech has looked bad at times but it heads into its bye week with a 5-2 record, fresh off a 43-41 victory over North Carolina that went to six overtimes. The Hokies have won five of six games, with its most impressive being this past weekend and a 42-35 road win over Miami. 

The Hokies have struggled turning the ball over and forcing turnovers, but the offense has shown itself capable of moving the ball as it has gotten healthier.

DUKE BLUE DEVILS (4-3)

Duke has been the most erratic team on the schedule. It's four wins are by an average of 27 points, but it also has losses by 39 and 34 points. 

Its offense has struggled the past three games, topping 300 yards of offense just once, but when the Blue Devils are winning its because of a defense that has talent up front and on the back end.

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (5-1)

Navy has roared back after its disastrous 3-10 campaign a year ago. The Midshipmen are coming off a 35-3 beatdown of South Florida and face off against Tulane and Connecticut before traveling to South Bend on Nov. 16.

With QB Malcolm Perry staying healthy, the offense has been explosive on the ground and through the air, but the biggest reason for the turnaround is the defense. Navy gave up 33.5 and 426.4 yards per game last season, numbers it has dramatically reduced through its first six games.

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (4-3)

Like Duke, Boston College has been up-and-down this season, but when the offense plays well the Eagles are difficult to beat. Their pass game took a hit when QB Anthony Brown was lost for the season, but Boston College snapped a two-game losing streak this weekend by pasting NC State by a 45-24 score, rushing for 429 yards. BC has rushed for at least 228 yards in each of its last six games.

The defense has been average to bad this season, but it was at least solid in the win over NC State. Its inability to limit the opposition pass game has been its biggest problem area.

STANFORD CARDINAL (3-4)

Who would have guessed that Stanford would be the weak link on the Notre Dame schedule? Stanford started 1-3 but seemed to get things turned around, winning two straight games, which included a 23-13 win over then No. 25-ranked Washington. On Thursday night, however, the Cardinal were whipped (34-16) by a UCLA team that was 1-5 coming into the matchup.

Stanford is down to its third quarterback and its offensive line has been ravaged by injuries. The Cardinal currently have one of the nation's worst offenses.

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