Evaluating Notre Dame’s path to the College Football Playoff in 2023

After a slow 0-2 start to the season last year, Notre Dame rallied, ending the season 9-4 in their first year under head coach Marcus Freeman. But can they take a leap in 2023 and insert themselves into the College Football Playoff conversation?

On3’s JD PicKell pulled back the curtain on the Fighting Irish, breaking down what a path to the College Football Playoff would entail for Notre Dame.

“Notre Dame, obviously independent, not in a conference. But even still they play Ohio State, they play USC, and they play at Clemson. So three teams you could very reasonably make an argument for are playoff teams in themselves,” PicKell said.

PicKell believes that the recipe for success this season for Notre Dame comprises of some old and new ingredients, as the Fighting Irish will need consistency from their highly touted transfer portal addition at quarterback and their defense that was dominant a season ago.

“So how that would happen, I think Sam Hartman would be as advertised. I don’t have a ton of concerns about him being as advertised, I think he’s gonna be a stud for you. The defense plays at the level they played at a season ago,” PicKell said. “Jordan Botelho, I keep saying it, I’m first team all Jordan Botelho stan right here. We love Jordan Botelho on this program and we think he’s gonna pop this year. Never like to lose Isaiah Foskey, but Jordan Botelho’s gonna be a guy. So the defense hold up their end of the bargain.”

The Fighting Irish definitely have some proven pieces on their team that should give their fan some promise. But on the flip side, they’ll need to find some newfound production in the passing game after losing their top target from a season ago.

“How this would happen is a playmaker on the outside steps up. Who that is?” PicKell asked. “I don’t know. Jaden Greathouse looked great in the spring game, Chris Tyree is a guy they’ve been buzzing about. There’s some pieces here at Notre Dame to be excited about, but we want to see them prove it on the field.”

Notre Dame definitely has their fair share of giants to slay next season if they want to insert themselves back into the College Football Playoff for the third time in school history. But how many of them will they exactly need to slay?

“But what would it mean if they were to be able to make the College Football Playoff? Well with that schedule, the assumption would be they have to win at least two of those three, more than likely probably have to beat all three of those teams, and be probably undefeated because you don’t have that last data point from conference championship weekend,” PicKell said.

PicKell laid out what Notre Dame will have to be one of four teams playing on January 1, but if they did in fact make it there, it would also be hard to deny their strength as a team.

“But if all that happens think about what it would say about Notre Dame,” PicKell said. “All three of those teams I think you probably have to beat them in different ways. USC it could be a shootout, Clemson they’re gonna be tough defensively, Ohio State’s kind of a mix of both honestly with how good they are on the defensive line, having Marvin Harrison Jr. to cover.”

There’s no question that it’s too early to jump to conclusions, but if the Fighting Irish did run the table and win their marquee matchups on the year, it would not be ridiculous to say that they’d have a legitimate shot of bringing a national championship back to South Bend for the first time since 1988.

“Like if Notre Dame is able to make the College Football Playoff playing all three of those teams they are a very legitimate title contender, because that means that Marcus Freeman has cultivated now a battle-tested group should they get though that gauntlet and make the playoff. And they’re a team that has seen elite competition consistently throughout the year,” PicKell said. “Now the SEC gets a lot of credit, and it should, but you play those three teams I mean that is a serious serious pecking order for them to go through.”