2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Written July 17, 2008 by Jason Lowry
Professional handicapper Jason Lowry is at it again, and this time he is bringing you his 2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football predictions. The Irish are coming a very disappointing season going 3-9 failing to make a 4th straight bowl game. Head coach Charlie Weis is entering his 4th season, and fans don’t want to go through another season like last year. The Irish bring back 16 starters this season so they should have plenty of experience on the field this season. To get a good idea at just how good the Irish will be, lets take a look what they will be sending to the field on both sides of the ball in 2008.
Offense:
The Irish should be much better on the offensive side of things with 9 returning starters, and starting sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen who was the go to guy at the end of the season. The Irish also bring back 3 solid running backs from last season, and junior James Aldridge will likely get the bulk of the carries. The team will need some improvement in the receiving game, as they lacked a big time play maker last season. It looks like sophomore Duval Kamara, junior Robby Parris, and senior David Grimes will return to the starting lineup. The offensive line brings back plenty of talent as well with 4 guys coming back. The only spot that needs a new face is at center, where sophomore Dan Wenger is likely the go to guy as of now. Junior right tackle Sam Young is one of the best tackles in the country and should get plenty of the defenses attention.
Defense:
Here the Irish bring back 7 starters and this unit must improve if this team wants to get back to it’s winning ways. Running the 3-4 the Irish will have to find a new starting end along with two new starters at linebacker. it looks like senior Justin Brown will step in at the end spot, while freshman Steve Filer and sophomore Kerry Neal are the likely guys at linebacker. It looks like they should have plenty of talent to help the new guys in junior John Ryan at the other end spot, and senior Maurice Crum at inside backer. The secondary brings back all but 1 starter in the secondary, and it looks like junior Kyle McCarthy will be the new starting strong safety. Corners senior Terrail Lambert and junior Darrin Walls make one of the best corner combos in all of the country, while senior free safety David Bruton is a very solid guy at the free safety spot.
Prediction: 1st in Independent at 8-4
We like Notre Dame to return to the dominant force out of the Independent schools, the Irish really struggled last year after losing Brady Quinn to the NFL. The Irish usually play a pretty tough schedule, but they need to make sure they take care of Michigan, Stanford, and Purdue at home early in the season.
If you want to get a jump start on the up coming football season, head over to Bodoglife.com and get an account started today. Also be sure to check back for more team and conference previews as the season is just right around the corner.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- 2009 Notre Dame Fighting Irish NCAA Football Predictions
- Notre Dame 2009 Football Predictions
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- USC at Notre Dame Football Betting Lines
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