Forty observations on the 2019 college football schedule — hardest, easiest, weirdest, toughest stretches and more:



1. For the second straight season, Notre Dame has scheduled itself into a serious pickle. Last year it was the November cross-country travel — a grind the Fighting Irish nonetheless survived on their way to an undefeated regular season. This year, it’s the alarming number of open-date disadvantages facing the Irish — exactly half the time, Notre Dame will be facing an opponent coming off more rest and preparation time.



Seven times, opponents will have an open date before playing the Irish. In six of those games, the Irish will not be coming off an open date. The list: Bowling Green on Oct. 5, USC on Oct. 12, Virginia Tech on Nov. 2, at Duke on Nov. 9, Navy on Nov. 16, Boston College on Nov. 23.



Yes, five of them are at home, and most of the opponents figure to be significant underdogs — but the setup could tilt the playing field away from Notre Dame’s favor. Potentially most important, four of those games are in succession in November, when injury attrition usually is a major factor.



Last time I can remember a schedule so littered with open-date disadvantages was Alabama in 2010, when the Crimson Tide faced six straight Southeastern Conference opponents who had a week off. In five of those games, ‘Bama did not have the prior Saturday off. Athletic director Mal Moore voiced his displeasure on the topic to the SEC office, as did approximately three million Alabama fans.



How did that turn out? The Tide lost two of the five where it was at a rest disadvantage, at South Carolina to begin the string and against Auburn at the end. That was also the last time Alabama lost three games in the regular season.



Notre Dame, of course, doesn’t have a league office to villainize, though it can at least make mention of the issue to the Atlantic Coast Conference, with whom it schedules five games per season. Three opponents with open-date advantages against the Irish are from the ACC.

View photos Which coaches have it easy and which have it the toughest this college football season? (Getty/Yahoo Sports) More

2. You may notice that the word “bye week” was not used in the above note. Because “bye” is an incorrect term. It refers to a team advancing in a tournament, and regular-season scheduling is not a tournament. Keep that in mind when people erroneously use “bye week” all fall in reference to Notre Dame’s schedule (and others).

3. Fans gearing up for the annual fight about schedule strength will want the following information. Power Five conference percentages of true road games, from most to fewest: Big 12, 30 percent; Pac-12, 27.8 percent; ACC, 26.8 percent; Big Ten, 19.1 percent; SEC, 10.7 percent.

True road games against other Power Five opponents:

ACC 11 (Clemson at South Carolina, Florida State at Florida, Syracuse at Maryland, North Carolina State at West Virginia, Boston College at Rutgers, Boston College at Notre Dame, Louisville at Kentucky, Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, Virginia at Notre Dame, Pittsburgh at Penn State, North Carolina at Wake Forest — yes, it is a designated non-league game this year).

Big 12 nine (Oklahoma at UCLA, TCU at Purdue, Oklahoma State at Oregon State, Texas Tech at Arizona, Kansas State at Mississippi State, West Virginia at Missouri, Kansas at Boston College).

SEC four (LSU at Texas, Texas A&M at Clemson, Georgia at Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt at Purdue).

Pac-12 three (USC at Notre Dame, Arizona State at Michigan State, California at Mississippi).

Big Ten three (Nebraska at Colorado, Iowa at Iowa State, Northwestern at Stanford).

4. Toughest schedule in America belongs to South Carolina. The Gamecocks play what appears on paper to be the three best teams in the nation: Alabama on Sept. 14, at Georgia on Oct. 12 and Clemson on Nov. 30. Don’t forget games against teams Phil Steele rates No. 10 (Florida), No. 17 (Texas A&M, on the road) and No. 29 (Missouri, also on the road), plus a neutral-site opener against North Carolina. Good luck, Gamecocks.

Story continues