Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame Football And Recruiting

The Notre Dame schedule is best viewed in quarters, which is grouping games into threes. The first quarter of the 2018 Irish schedule has the team playing at home for three straight games. The biggest, of course, is the Sept. 1 season opener against long-time rival Michigan.

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell breakdown the first three games, with the initial matchup against Michigan being the main topic of conversation.

The BGI recruiting staff discusses the prospects visiting Notre Dame this weekend and discusses the 2020 defensive targets

It seems every year there is some team that jumps out and beats a top team they should. It was 4-8 Syracuse beating Clemson a season ago, or 8-5 Pittsburgh beating the Tigers the year prior when they went on to win the national title. Notre Dame has had its fair share of trap games in the past, and there are a few potential trap games on the schedule again in 2018.

Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell debate which game is the most dangerous trap game on the 2018 schedule.

Notre Dame's special teams took a small step forward in 2017, but they must get a lot better in 2018 if the Irish are going to make a playoff run. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss the Notre Dame special teams. They discuss record-setting kicker Justin Yoon and improvements from punter Tyler Newsome. Also discussed is the return game, which should see competition at the return spots in the fall.

The BGI recruitng staff discusses where Notre Dame stands with several targets at each position the class of 2020 and answers subscriber questions from the message board 

Notre Dame had the nation's best offensive line in 2017, and to be a playoff contender in 2018 the line must remain playing at a high level. For that to happen the entire unit must get better, but what player's emergence is most important to the unit's overal success? That is the topic that Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell debate in this show.

The Notre Dame secondary returns a deep and talented group of cornerbacks, but questions remain at safety. How well those questions get answered in the fall will determine the overall effectiveness of not only the secondary, but the defense. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss both position groups. Potential break out players, the emergence of younger players and the incoming freshmen are just some of the many topics discussed before the BGI staff answer subscriber questions.

The BGI recruting staff discusses the sage of TJ Sheffield, a LB target off the board, some upcoming visitors and answers questions from the message board 

Notre Dame has high expectations this season, and if it wants to reach those goals a number of coaches will have to perform well and their units will have to perform well. Blue & Gold Illustrated senior editor Lou Somogyi and football analyst Bryan Driskell discuss which Notre Dame assistant has the most outside scrutiny this season.