Notre Dame at USC 11/24
With so much of the emphasis on the Big Ten, SEC and ACC, the teams out west don’t always get the love they deserve. Washington, Washington State, Stanford, Oregon and Colorado will all join the two LA teams in the battle for Pac-12 supremacy. Yet the Trojans remain as possibly the most interesting team in the conference. Despite losing Sam Darnold, freshman JT Daniels has a chance to be the next great QB in a line of high profile passers to come out of USC. The Trojan defense should be among the best on the west coast, and their collection of underachieving offensive weapons still possess some of the most highly-talented recruits in recent years.
Despite all that praise, USC lost to Notre Dame 49-14 last year. The Fighting Irish were 8-1 and ranked No. 3 in the country heading into a November showdown with Miami. At the time, their only loss came by one point to Georgia early in the season. Notre Dame returns most of their talent and should count themselves in as contenders for a National Championship. They have a strong defense and ability all over the field. They need to replace Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey on the offensive line. But if Notre Dame stays strong up front, they could be among the best teams in the country.
