AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 04: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on during the second half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Michigan vs. Notre Dame Is The Hottest Ticket Of Week 1 — And It’s Not Close

Michigan vs. Notre Dame Is The Hottest Ticket Of Week 1 — And It’s Not Close by J.P. Scott

Nobody is immune to trap games — not even Notre Dame football.

We’ve gone over all of the Notre Dame football opponents in 2018. We know who they are and what they’re about. We know the matchups and what teams look like on paper.

Now the Irish just need to play the games.

Speaking of games, there are three of them on the 2018 Notre Dame football schedule that we may be overlooking and prematurely penciling in as wins. When you dive below the surface of these matchups — one home, one away and one neutral-site game — you can make the case that these are not “gimmes.” Instead, any of them could be the game that unexpectedly derails Notre Dame’s season.

Here are the potential trap games for Notre Dame football in 2018.

September 22 at Wake Forest

These aren’t your daddy’s Demon Deacons.

Coach Dave Clawson is leading a resurgence at Wake Forest, coming off an eight-win season that included a bowl game victory over Texas A&M. They experienced personnel losses like everyone else, but the culture of the program has changed.

Winston-Salem will be rocking when the Irish come to town — one week before Stanford pays a visit to South Bend. The Irish can’t afford to sleepwalk through this one.

October 13 vs. Pitt

Pat Narduzzi’s Panthers come to town for a mid-October clash. They’ll feature a tough-as-nails quarterback and a seasoned front-seven on defense.

Narduzzi is a defensive wizard, and he’ll make sure nothing comes easy for Brian Kelly on offense. Pitt will have already seen Penn State, and will be playing with house money against the Irish.

In the meantime, Notre Dame will be coming off of an emotionally and physically exhausting matchup at Virginia Tech. They’ll be looking ahead to a bye week before traveling to San Diego to face Navy.

November 17 vs. Syracuse at Yankee Stadium

Like Clawson at Wake Forest, Dino Babers is in the process of installing a new culture at Syracuse. He is slowly stocking up on the right recruits to run his high-powered offense.

Not only are the Orange constantly in attack mode when they have the ball, they’ll have plenty of future NFL talent roaming the field on defense.

Syracuse will also have plenty of current students and alumni in town for the game, and the Orange will be feeding off of that support in this nationally televised tilt. This neutral site game — the second of the season for Notre Dame — is sandwiched between matchups with Florida State and Southern Cal.