They might be
Despite Notre Dame not making the almighty Brandon Marcello’s Top 30 in his post spring rankings, the Fighting Irish come in at #5 according to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.
The Fighting Irish have high hopes heading into coach Marcus Freeman’s third season, and understandably so after they landed quarterback transfer Riley Leonard (Duke) and brought back former offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, the architect of LSU’s high-flying offense the past two seasons. Leonard missed most of the spring camp after undergoing a follow-up surgery on his right ankle injury. He’s expected to be ready for the start of fall practices. He’ll benefit from having transfer receivers Beaux Collins (Clemson) and Kris Mitchell (Florida International).
The Irish have to replace bookend offensive tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher; Charles Jagusah and Tosh Baker were working on the left and right sides, respectively, during the spring. Perhaps the biggest reason for the optimism around the Irish is the defense. Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills lead a salty defensive line, and cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts are stars in the secondary. The Irish will play only three true road games at Texas A&M, Purdue and USC this season. They’ll play Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Navy at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and Army at Yankee Stadium in New York.
I only grow more and more annoyed, however, at the lack of respect they put on Xavier Watt’s name — that’s Bednarik Award winner for best defensive player in college football Xavier Watts.
The Irish are sitting right in the middle of a very heavy SEC top 10 with the full rankings being:
1 — Georgia Bulldogs
2 — Ohio State Buckeyes
3 — Texas Longhorns
4 — Oregon Ducks
5 — Notre Dame
6 — Ole Miss Rebels
7 — Alabama Crimson Tide
8 — Missouri Tigers
9 — Utah Utes
10 — Michigan Wolverines
11 — Florida State Seminoles
12 — Penn State Nittany Lions
13 — NC State Wolfpack
14 — LSU Tigers
15 — Tennessee Volunteers
16 — Clemson Tigers
17 — Kansas State Wildcats
18 — Oklahoma Sooners
19 — Oklahoma State Cowboys
20 — Arizona Wildcats
21 — Virginia Tech Hokies
22 — Kansas Jayhawks
23 — Iowa Hawkeyes
24 — Miami Hurricanes
25 — USC Trojans
Obviously this is May. We still have about 3 months to go before we see the full scope of the AP and Coaches Poll — and then those become obsolete a couple of months later.
So, I guess it’s just nice to hear nice things. Still… do you think the Irish are really a top 5 team heading into the 2024 season?