College Football 2011: Predicting Notre Dame's 2011 Schedule Week by Week

With the season opener in South Bend just 72 days away, expectations for the 2011 Notre Dame football team are as high as they've been since Brady Quinn's senior year.  

Notre Dame was preseason ranked No. 2 in the nation in 2006 but lost to Michigan in Week 3, effectively ending its national title hopes. The Irish did manage to climb back up to No. 5 in the polls with a 10-1 record before losing to USC in the final game of the season.

Notre Dame still made it to a BCS game that year; unfortunately, the Irish were destroyed by LSU in the Sugar Bowl, 41-14.

Despite the fact that the Irish are 24-26 in their last 50 games, second-year head coach Brian Kelly has once again given Notre Dame fans a legitimate reason to get excited.

Led by All-American wide receiver Michael Floyd on offense and the best Irish defense since the Lou Holtz era, Notre Dame has BCS aspirations for the first time in five years.

Please note that all "preseason rankings" come from Athlon Sports.

Here's how I predict the Notre Dame football season will unfold on a week-by-week basis.

Week 1 vs. South Florida

With South Florida preseason ranked No. 35 by Athlon Sports, Skip Holtz (Lou's son) is expecting a breakout season from junior quarterback B.J. Daniels.

Although the Bulls are expected to compete for the Big East title, they will not win a road game in South Bend in Week 1.

Final Score: Notre Dame 34, South Florida 17

Week 2 at Michigan

You can bet Brian Kelly and his players have had this game circled on their calendars for a year now. The Wolverines (preseason ranked No. 40 by Athlon) have beaten the Irish four out of the last five meetings, including two extremely fortunate wins in 2009 and 2010.  

In 2009, Michigan benefited greatly from numerous calls in its favor, winning the game on a touchdown pass with 11 seconds to go.

In 2010, ND starting quarterback Dayne Crist was knocked out of the game after an opening TD drive and would not return until after halftime. The Irish still had the game in hand before losing on a Denard Robinson touchdown with 27 seconds left.

With Crist in the game, Notre Dame outscored Michigan 24-7; during the time he was out in the first half, it was outscored 21-0. Needless to say, this is the definition of a revenge game, as the Irish feel they should be on a three-game winning streak against the Wolverines right now.

Side note: This game will be the first night game in the 84-year history of Michigan Stadium with an 8:00 pm kickoff scheduled.

Final Score: Notre Dame 31, Michigan 20

Week 3 vs. Michigan State

Well, I guess the Irish will have back-to-back revenge games in 2011. Who can forget what happened last season in East Lansing? It still hurts to talk about it, so I'm just going to leave it alone.

The Spartans (preseason ranked No. 22 by Athlon) return quite possibly the best quarterback and running back in the Big Ten with Kirk Cousins (ranked No. 3 QB in the nation by Mel Kiper) and Edwin Baker.

Michigan State also has a projected top-10 pick in next year's NFL draft with Jerel Worthy at defensive tackle.

Despite all the talent, I look for the Irish to get their revenge in 2011 after "The Fake."

Final Score: Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 24 

Week 4 at Pittsburgh

Preseason ranked No. 41 by Athlon Sports, the Pitt Panthers have a new head coach in Todd Graham and will have to overcome the losses of Jon Baldwin (WR) and Dion Lewis (RB).

Graham will bring his fast-break offense with him to replace the pro-style offense run by former head coach Dave Wannstedt. Quarterback Tino Sunseri and running back Ray Graham will be counted on to get the Panthers back to the top of the Big East.

The Irish are in a much better place than a rebuilding Pitt Panthers team in 2011.

Final Score: Notre Dame, 30 Pitt 17 

Week 5 at Purdue

Finally a breather for the Irish. The Boilermakers enter the season ranked No. 64 by Athlon Sports.

Purdue hasn't been to a bowl game since 2007 and is suffering from a severe lack of talent at the skill positions.

The Irish will roll in this one...

Final Score: Notre Dame 41, Purdue 13

Week 6 vs. Air Force

After playing three of their first five games on the road, the Irish open up a three-game home stretch with Air Force.

I wish I could say this one will be easy, but the reality is the Falcons are preseason ranked No. 29 by Athlon Sports.

Led by quarterback Tim Jefferson, who runs an option offense that the Irish always seem to have trouble defending, this one has upset written all over it.

The Falcons had the No. 2 rushing offense in the nation last season, averaging 306 yards per game.

This game worries me more than any other game on the schedule.

Final Score: Notre Dame 33, Air Force 30

Week 7 vs. USC

At 6-0 and coming off their bye week, the Irish welcome the USC Trojans (preseason ranked No. 20 by Athlon) to South Bend for what I consider their second-biggest game of the season.

Brian Kelly is officially 1-0 against USC (boy, does that feel good to say) after ending the Irish's eight-game losing streak to the Trojans last year at the Coliseum.

This year's matchup falls exactly one day after the 10-year anniversary of the last time Notre Dame beat USC in South Bend—a 27-16 victory in 2001.

Matt Barkley is one of the three best quarterbacks in the country (the Irish face all three) and will be looking for revenge after sitting out last year's game due to injury.

Prediction: Notre Dame 27, USC 24

Week 8 vs. Navy

Preseason ranked No. 56 by Athlon Sports, Navy has beaten the Irish in three of their last four meetings.

With games against Air Force and Navy this season, Notre Dame better know how to defend the option offense by now or it will go 0-2 against the academies.

Thankfully for the Irish, quarterback Ricky Dobbs has graduated, but the Navy offense is a well-oiled machine where you can essentially just plug in new parts and it will continue to operate at a high level.

This is another game on the schedule that has me extremely concerned due to Navy's ball control offense that always limits Irish possessions. Notre Dame will have to be turnover-free to win this game.

Final Score: Notre Dame 35, Navy 28

Week 9 at Wake Forest

Finally, a breather on the schedule, as the Irish travel to Winston-Salem to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (ranked No. 83 by Athlon).

Wake Forest was 3-9 last year and likely won't fare much better this season.

Notre Dame will have the second string in by the third quarter in this one.

Final Score: Notre Dame 49, Wake Forest 10

Week 10 vs. Maryland

Another dangerous team. Notre Dame is playing a "home game" against Maryland in Landover, Maryland. Make sense? Didn't think so.

The Terrapins (preseason ranked No. 33 by Athlon) welcome former UConn head coach Randy Edsall into the fold in 2011. Name sound familiar? That's because Edsall led UConn to an upset win over the Irish in 2009, a 33-30 double-overtime win in South Bend.

Can we count this one as a revenge game as well? Thanks.

Final Score: Notre Dame 38, UConn 24

Week 11 vs. Boston College

The Boston College Eagles (preseason No. 45 by Athlon) visit South Bend for another version of the "Holy War."

After losing six straight to the Eagles, the Irish have won the last two matchups and will look to continue their winning streak on Senior Day in 2011.

Boston College doesn't have much to offer on offense, but it does have the best linebacker in the country on defense in Luke Kuechly.

Final Score: Notre Dame 34, Boston College 17

Week 12 at Stanford

Well, here we are: I have the Irish 11-0 and likely ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation as they head to Stanford Stadium to face the likely No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft, quarterback Andrew Luck, and the Stanford Cardinal.

I anticipate Stanford (preseason No. 13 by Athlon) to enter the game 10-1 and ranked in the Top Five or Top 10 with the opportunity to knock the Irish out of the BCS title game.

Unfortunately, I think the pressure gets to Notre Dame, and Stanford pulls out a close one in the end, giving the Irish their first and only loss in the season in their final game.

Final Score: Stanford 34, Notre Dame 31

Final Analysis

Although the finish to the 2011 season is a heartbreaker, Notre Dame fans will have to be pleased with an 11-1 final record, BCS bowl game and Top-Five final ranking.

I predict the Irish to win their first ever BCS game, finishing with a 12-1 final record and entering the 2012 season as the preseason No. 1 team in the country.

GO IRISH