Take 5: Notre Dame Rankings, UNC's Potent Offense, Game Prediction

My final take five ahead of the Notre Dame vs North Carolina matchup.

1. How far can Notre Dame move up into the rankings? I’d say a College Football Playoff bid is unlikely. But if the Irish were to finish the season with just one loss, they’d be close. I’d expect them to move up at least one place in the AP poll with a win since Michigan and Michigan State play each other. Iowa, which is ranked No. 10, plays Wisconsin. The Badgers beat Purdue last week, and they’re playing better. That could be another place where they could make a move. Ohio State and Michigan will play at the end of November. A Michigan win would mean a second loss for Ohio State. There are way too many scenarios to account for but you get the point. Just keep winning. Jerry Palm of cbssports.com has the Irish playing Pittsburgh in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 30.

2. There is a decent amount of concern about playing North Carolina this Saturday because it was a team with top 10 talent at the season’s start, the Tar Heels, who are averaging 36.9 points and 471 yards of offense, can score in droves and the Irish are without star safety Kyle Hamilton. The other issue is that Sam Howell is a dual-threat quarterback who is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. Howell doesn’t just scramble. His number will be called to run the football. Also, the Tar Heels are desperate for a big win to kick start their season. The end of their schedule is brutal with games against Wake Forest and Pittsburgh coming next. This sets up poorly for the Irish. However, they're used to big games.

3. Notre Dame should be set at offensive tackle for the next two seasons when Blake Fisher returns from his knee injury in 2022. Some preseason projections had Fisher and Rocco Spindler, a 6 foot 5, 300-pound freshman starting. Joe Alt has been the surprise. Alt probably wouldn’t have seen the field if Fisher hadn’t been hurt and if Michael Carmody had worked out at left tackle. Notre Dame was desperate and Alt has made the most of his opportunity. Andrew Kristofic said Alt is a great communicator.

“Joe doesn’t keep any secrets on the field,” Kristofic said. “If he sees someone creeping, he’s going to let you know. He’s very vocal. It’s nice to have a guy out there that is communicating like that.”

4. Andrean High School (Merrillville, Indiana) linebacker Drayk Bowen, who is in the class of 2023, is going to announce his college choice on Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. EST. Bowen is s composite 5-star linebacker, according to 247Sports. He’s ranked as the No. 2 linebacker overall behind Anthony Hill of Denton, Texas. He’s considered a must-get for the Notre Dame coaching staff. Bowen’s final choices are Clemson, Notre Dame and Auburn. He plans to also play baseball in college. The last Andrean recruit to play for Notre Dame was Josh Barajas. Barajas played for two seasons before transferring to Illinois State.

5. PREDICTION: Quarterback Jack Coan continues to be a gunslinger and the Notre Dame rushes for over 150 yards again and the Irish need all their points in a 41-38 victory over North Carolina.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2021 Roster
Notre Dame 2021 Schedule

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content, our premium message board and gets you a FREE subscription to Sports Illustrated! Click on the link below for more

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @MikeHuttonPT
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google