Andy Staples, Tyler Horka discuss underrated foes on 2024 Notre Dame football schedule

As part of his show on the On3 YouTube channel, Andy Staples welcomed Tyler Horka from Blue and Gold to discuss what looks like a pretty easy football schedule for Notre Dame in 2024.

The two discussed the opening matchup at Texas A&M, which is tough, no doubt, but may also be the team’s most challenging game of the season. If ND can find victory in College Station, the path to the College Football Playoff looks pretty easy.

However, Andy Staples believes there are some dark horses throughout Notre Dame’s slate that could wind up being tougher outs than expected.

“I think there are going to be a couple teams on the schedule that you’re like, wait a second, these guys are better than we thought. And I’ll tell you who I think they are.”

Staples went on:

“Louisville, who beat them last year, I think is going to be better this year than they were last year. So Louisville, I do think Jeff Brohm has a plan. They were excellent in the transfer portal.

“The other one, Oct. 19, Georgia Tech, they play at Mercedes Benz Stadium — that’s going to be a half-Notre Dame crowd. But I think Brent Key’s done a great job at Georgia Tech. They’re going to be a lot tougher than people realize.”

Horka admitted that he is no expert on the Yellow Jackets but commented he was “pleasantly surprised” by the program’s progress under Coach Key last season. He also agreed with Louisville being a sneakily scary game for ND.

“The Louisville one scares you for all the reasons you just said Andy. It’s a good football team. Jeff Brohm is a good football coach. They did well in the portal, like you said. That one should scare Notre Dame fans, but I think Notre Dame’s going to come into that one with a little extra themselves because of what happened in Louisville last year. You could make a case that was Notre Dame’s most embarrassing outing of the season. It was a no-show at Louisville. Sam Hartman threw three picks and that game was over in the third quarter.”

With the Cardinals coming to South Bend, and Marcus Freeman’s group having revenge on their minds, perhaps that game does flip. But of course, UL was a great surprise last year and could be a perennial ACC contender for the long haul under Brohm.

Either way, if games against Texas A&M, Louisville and Georgia Tech are the three hardest on your schedule, well, then you’ve got it pretty good.