Notre Dame Football: Irish's Biggest Roadblocks to Reaching Playoff in 2016
Though Notre Dame has College Football Playoff aspirations in 2016, its schedule and roster shortcomings could result in the program falling short.
Last season, Stanford crushed the Irish's dreams during their regular-season finale. Brian Kelly's squad will attempt to avoid a similar fate at the hands of this year's power-conference opponents.
Notre Dame doesn't necessarily have a weakness at any position because the coaching staff has regularly signed top classes. However, many expected key players—particularly on defense—spent a majority of the 2015 season on the sideline.
The Fighting Irish are capable of challenging for a CFP spot, but any potential run is contingent on their new starters performing well in key games.
5. Replacing the Receivers
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College football is essentially a never-ending cycle of showcasing talent for a year or two—three if you're lucky. Still, that doesn't make it easy to replace Will Fuller, Chris Brown, Amir Carlisle and C.J. Prosise.
The quartet accounted for 69.6, 74.8 and 80 percent of Notre Dame's receptions, yards and touchdowns last season. If Corey Robinson—who is currently debating his football future—hangs up the cleats, those numbers jump even more.
Good quarterbacks can shoulder a portion of the transition, but receivers still need to get open.
Again, the talent is there. Torii Hunter Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown, C.J. Sanders, Corey Holmes, Kevin Stepherson, Durham Smythe and Alize Jones could become a formidable pass-catching unit.
Aside from Hunter, we've only seen those athletes in limited action. Now, they must become featured players.
4. Miami
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Few if any teams have accomplished less with as much talent as Miami over the last decade. The U is hoping Mark Richt will change that.
And there's reason for optimism. The Hurricanes boast one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Brad Kaaya. He threw for 3,238 yards and 16 touchdowns last year, tossing only five interceptions.
Notre Dame struggled to force turnovers in 2015, and the Kaaya-led offense rarely gave the ball away. A dangerous visitor is one that protects the football, and Miami heads north on Oct. 29.
While the Irish will probably be favored, beating Richt and Co. won't be an easy task.
3. Stanford
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Two weeks before the Hurricanes storm into South Bend, the Irish will host Christian McCaffrey and Stanford.
Although the Cardinal must reload after losing several key contributors, they return the NCAA single-season all-purpose yardage record-holder.
As long as McCaffrey is healthy, we know the storyline will come down to one question: Can Notre Dame silence him again?
Last season, the Irish limited him to 3.5 yards per carry—his second-lowest mark of 2015—and just 19 receiving yards. Nevertheless, the Irish lost on a late field goal.
The Oct. 15 showdown will be a pivotal moment for both teams and their championship hopes.
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2. USC
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Stanford is the Fighting Irish's toughest opponent in 2016, but the timing of the annual clash with USC has greater implications.
The Nov. 26 battle will probably be the most difficult road game for the Irish. The Trojans might have a two-headed monster in the backfield with Ronald Jones II and Justin Davis, and strong rushing attacks might be Notre Dame's kryptonite.
And a loss almost certainly eliminates the Irish from contention.
Since Notre Dame won't have another game to atone for a shortcoming, other top-ranked teams will enjoy one final opportunity to impress the committee and earn what it values: a conference title.
1. Front Seven
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If the Irish survive McCaffrey and USC's tandem, the front seven will probably have earned a hearty "thank you." Otherwise, it could be the spot to blame.
Even with Jaylon Smith, Joe Schmidt, Romeo Okwara and Sheldon Day—who accounted for a third of the team's tackles and more than half of its sacks—Notre Dame had the nation's No. 72 rush defense.
As it is at other positions, the talent is there. Isaac Rochell, Jarron Jones, Nyles Morgan, James Onwualu and Te'von Coney are just a handful of expected contributors.
But are they exponentially better than what the Fighting Irish lost? Because Notre Dame needs vast improvement up front.
If not, it might not matter whether DeShone Kizer or Malik Zaire—the candidates in the nation's biggest offseason quarterback competition—is leading the offense.
All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report College Football Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
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