Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Notre Dame will join the ACC for the 2020 season. Despite these weird times, life must continue on. Because of that, there will be a college football season. With there being a new season, there must be a preview as this article will take a look at the Irish for their 2020 season.
Ian Book Must Play Well
One of the key ingredients here is the quarterback play of Ian Book. When Book took over the starting job from Brandon Wimbush in 2018, Notre Dame took off as he led them to a College Football playoff appearance. Book is coming off a career year and he's an absolutely dynamic player. So, the Irish need Book to continue that same level of play if they want to be successful. However, Notre Dame will have to rely on Book more often because of the lack of elite skill players on offense. There is not much firepower there. If Book can play well, pick up the slack, and becomes an elite playmaker, then not only will he help the Irish to not only the ACC Championship game, but also a College Football playoff berth, and he could also be a high pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Players Will Need To Step Up
Losing players such as Cole Kmet, Chase Claypool, and Tony Jones hurts a lot, but some others will have to step up. Jafar Armstrong should be expected to be the main target for Book, but others will have to give Book more options as there isn't too much fire power on offense. C'Bo Flemister should help Armstrong in the two back set as he played admirably last season, but the recruit Chris Tyree might help improve the offense when he gets on the field. Braeden Lenzy should be the team's top receiver, but replacing Claypool's contributions is going to be tough and the hope is that Kevin Austin can give Book another option to throw to consistently. On the defensive side of the ball, the team lost Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara, and Jamir Jones, all key components to their defensive scheme, but the hope is that some players like Jacob Lace, Daelin Hayes, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, and Kurt Hinish all step up. Kyle Hamilton and Houston Griffith are great defensive backs, but they will have some depth there with transfers Isaiah Pryor and Nick McCloud.
Two Key Games For Notre Dame
In a previous article written about Notre Dame's chances this season in the ACC, there are two games that will be key for the Irish. While the Clemson game is the biggest on their schedule, the two matchups against North Carolina and Pittsburgh are all too important. A loss to Clemson won't dash any hopes of making the ACC Championship, but a loss to either North Carolina or Pittsburgh hurts those chances. However, that all depends on how the standings play out. That being said, Notre Dame can only take care of their own business and if they do that, they'll be fine.
Tommy Rees' Offense
The former Irish quarterback Tommy Rees is the new offensive coordinator, but the crazy thing about Rees is that he isn't even 30 yet. However, there's a lot of unknowns with his offense as no one knows what to expect. That's either a good thing or bad thing. While Book will be leading his offense, what will it look like? One can expect a two back set with Armstrong and Flemister, but is Tyree going to be featured a lot? How will Rees help make up for the losses of Claypool and Kmet? Which receivers are going to be getting the bulk of the receptions? Outside of knowing that they have a strong and experienced offensive line, there's a lot of questions here.
Key Players
On the offensive side of the ball, the key to Notre Dame's success is undoubtedly Ian Book. The team is going to have to rely on not only his arm, but his legs to pick up yards and score touchdowns. He is going shoulder a lot of the load on offense. If he can't cope with that pressure, the offense will suffer. Defensively, the team has Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and while he has a ton of potential, he is going to need to step up and be their best defender. While losing Owusu-Koramoah hurts and they can still win without him, the dynamism he provides will be hard to overcome in certain spots. He plays all over the field and having him play is huge.
Prediction: Second and a berth in the ACC Championship. Clemson is just too good and matching up with them will be hard. However, Notre Dame is clearly the second best side in the ACC and should get to the Championship game. Winning that contest is a different story though and anything could happen there.
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