Brady Quinn 'confident' Notre Dame can make College Football Playoff after Week 1 win

Coming off a season-opening win over Texas A&M — on the road, no less — former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn is as convinced as ever that his preseason prediction on the Fighting Irish was on the money.

That prediction?

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“I said before the season, even back when we thought Texas A&M and Florida State and the challenges those would be — and obviously they got past A&M — but even looking at Florida State right now, which it just seems like a mess, I still felt like the floor was 11-1 with this team,” Brady Quinn said on The Joel Klatt Show.

That record would obviously put Notre Dame in the thick of the College Football Playoff conversation, likely as a host of a first-round playoff game. It would be one heck of a season for coach Marcus Freeman and company.

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Of course, there are a whole lot of games still to be played. Three ranked opponents remain on the docket.

But after besting a ranked opponent on Saturday and showing what they could do in a hostile environment, the Fighting Irish certainly look the part.

“I felt like they’ve got one of the best defenses in the country,” Brady Quinn said. “Their offense with Mike Denbrock back and the way he can scheme things up to get the ball to the playmakers, and Riley Leonard who’s a veteran capable enough of handling all this, I really felt confident in their ability to at minimum go 11-1 if not 12-0. That’s how the schedule sets up.”

So what is the danger for Notre Dame? That all sounds a touch easy so far.

There are potential pitfalls, though, Quinn agreed on that front. He broke down the chief thing Notre Dame must avoid.

“So the next step for them is to not get tripped up by the Georgia Techs, the Louisvilles, who I think will both be ranked by the time they play them,” Brady Quinn said. “And not have those games where they stumble. Kind of like last year with Louisville and almost getting beat by Duke.

“That’s the next step, is now being able to be the hunted and being able to handle that as they move forward in maintaining that No. 5 spot. Because you said it, this thing sets up very easily for Notre Dame to be hosting a first-round playoff game, and I can’t wait to see what that environment’s going to be like.”

But if you’re a Notre Dame fan, you sure have to like the idea of being the hunted. Perhaps more importantly, the team seems capable of handling it, and that could mean a special 2024 season.

Notre Dame will be back in action on Saturday against Northern Illinois in a game that kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.