The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are just a few short weeks away from their huge season opener against the Michigan Wolverines and we can finally begin to piece together a clear picture of things to come. With that in mind, today we dive into the 2018-19 Fighting Irish head first.

Filling the Gaps

The casual fan may be focused solely on the players the Irish lost to graduation and the NFL Draft last season. Impact players like Quenton Nelson, Mike McGlinchey, and Josh Adams have moved on from campus, leaving new faces to step up this season. It may seem like those are some nearly impossible shoes to fill but Notre Dame does have several players already on the roster that could be capable of filling the gaps.

Liam Eichenberg, Jr., LT, 6-6, 303

Eichenberg has been pegged as the replacement for McGlinchey and he shouldn’t disappoint this season. He enters the season with a new found confidence and motivation after losing out on the starting right tackle job last season. Eichenberg will undoubtedly be one of the biggest X-factors for Notre Dame.

Alex Bars, Sr., LG, 6-6, 315

Yet another big hole along the offensive line with the departure of Nelson, Bars looks like a lock to start at left guard. As a fifth-year senior Bars has participated in 31 games during his Notre Dame tenure and should be prepared to help pave the way for the offense.

Tony Jones Jr., Jr., RB, 5-11, 220

The biggest question mark as far as a replacement is concerned for Notre Dame has to be the running back position. After Josh Adams decided to make an attempt at the NFL the Irish are left with just Dexter Williams and Jones Jr. as their projected leaders in the backfield. Couple that with the rumors circulating that Williams may miss some time due to disciplinary issues and Jones Jr. could be left to carry the load. The good news for Notre Dame is that Jones Jr. is no slouch. In just 44 rushing attempts as a sophomore, he ran for 232 yards, three touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.

The Strengths

Notre Dame has one obvious strength heading into this season with a defense that looks terrifying on paper. The Irish return six of their top eight on the defensive line, four of six linebackers, and nearly every defensive back. Julian Love will likely continue his stellar play as well after recording 23 passes defended as a sophomore.

Schedule

Looking at the 2018-19 Notre Dame schedule, the Irish are favored to win in every game by at least 4.9 points according to SBNation. According to those same projections, the hardest matchups for Notre Dame come on Sept. 1 against Michigan, Oct. 6 at Virginia Tech and Nov. 24 at USC. These means yet another 10-win season is a solid possibility for Coach Kelly and Notre Dame this season.

Be sure to stay connected by returning to Blue HQ Media each week for a plethora of Notre Dame content as the Irish attempt to march towards another January bowl game.

My name is Dalton Tinklenberg and I am the Executive Producer for Blue HQ Media. I’ve followed sports for as long as I can remember and am a former Pacers’ fan zone member. I began writing a blog about the Pacers in early 2015 before moving on to cover the Colts for ProFootballSpot in late July of 2016. In September, fellow writers Aaron Coffey and Jeff Tibbins, along with myself, decided to found Blue HQ Media. We are extremely dedicated to top of the line content so without further ado, welcome to your new favorite news source.

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