Notre Dame’s schedule is something that is heavily debated about as some are trying to decide how the Irish will finish this season. It really is hard to project, but what isn’t debatable is the difficulty of the schedule. Going 12-0 is obviously a possibility, but the most likely best case scenario is 11-1. As for worst case, while highly unlikely, 8-4 seems to be a more likely scenario in that regard. While it’s hard to get a gauge on what Notre Dame will finish this season as especially with all the unknowns and it being Marcus Freeman’s first year as the head coach, it should be interesting all throughout the campaign. Let’s break down the 2022 schedule to see what the most likely outcome will be.
Game 1: At Ohio State
Game 2: Vs Marshall
Game 3: Vs Cal
Game 4: At UNC
Game 5: Vs BYU (neutral site)
Game 6: Vs Stanford
Game 7: Vs UNLV
Game 8: At Syracuse
Game 9: Vs Clemson
Game 10: Vs Navy (neutral site)
Game 11: Vs Boston College
Game 12: At USC
Right off the bat, the games against Marshall, Cal, Stanford, UNLV, Syracuse, and Boston College are very likely to be wins. That’s six victories already. While Navy might be a bit hard to play against especially at a neutral site, that should also be a likely win. That’s seven victories now, already close to the worst case scenario and a winning season clinched. UNC will be a difficult away game as despite being an unranked side they are a very good team, but that being said it’s hard to imagine the Irish losing this one making it now eight wins. So it does seem likely it’s going to be hard to do worse than the worst case scenario unless there’s a lot of bad luck involved and injuries.
So that leaves four other games that are harder to predict. Ohio State (#2), BYU (#25), Clemson (#4), and USC (#14) are all teams in the Top 25 rankings. These will be the matchups that will be the most difficult for Notre Dame in 2022. The Irish will have to be on top of their game to win these. The bright side here is that if Notre Dame only has one loss, then their difficult schedule boosts their chances to make the College Football Playoffs. That being said, the Irish have four games here that could determine a lot. BYU is not going to be easy to play especially with it being played at a neutral site and the Cougars are a very good side. Playing USC away is also going to be difficult, however, while new head coach Lincoln Riley has done a great job at recruiting, they’re still an unknown. Those two particular matchups favor Notre Dame though, which means those could be two more wins right there bringing the total to 10 victories on the season. That puts them right in the middle of playoff contention. The two biggest question marks though are against Ohio State and Clemson. Ohio State is probably the better side between them and the Irish as the Buckeyes are favored to win, but with question marks on their defense, Notre Dame has a chance to win. Clemson is a toss up as they aren’t quite as dominant as they once were plus the erratic play from five star quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei didn’t help, but Clemson is still favored. That being said, the Irish have a great chance at beating Clemson. So that’s potentially a 10-2 or 11-1 season for Notre Dame. 10-2 sounds like the most realistic outcome and "safest bet", but don’t be shocked if the Irish finish at 11-1.
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