Although spring practices and games have been canceled due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, NCAA.com released a preseason top 25 late last week. With so much uncertainty regarding the sports world, it is always nice to look forward to what could be and where Notre Dame is ranked.

The Irish are just outside the top 10, checking in at No. 11, which is just a bit lower than where we have seen Notre Dame ranked in other preseason polls. The Irish’s ranking was justified by “QB Ian Book’s return, Notre Dame should be potent on offense.” With every offensive lineman returning along with Book, the offense will have to find weapons on the outside, making the loss of spring practices loom large for the offense.

Defensively, the Irish “should be strong, though the secondary is the biggest question mark there,” is how NCAA.com sees the other side of the ball. Ohio State transfer Isaiah Pryor brings experience with Shaun Crawford, but the rest of the secondary is fairly green. Again, spring practice would have helped this unit out a ton.

Looking ahead at the schedule, the Irish will face No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 1 Clemson and No. 19 Southern California according to NCAA.com’s early rankings. The site also mentions the season opener in Dublin against Navy and the home date against Louisville as tough matchups, so the road to grabbing a College Football Playoff spot will not be easy, but it’s certainly attainable.