2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Preview

Welcome to Maddux's 2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish season preview. As usual we have taken the time to break down the team, while providing information about the university, and the 2006 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Schedule. If you are wagering on college football this season consider using Maddux Sports' College football picks for the added edge over the sportsbooks in 2006. In addition be sure to visit our college football odds line service for the upcoming season.

Coach: Charlie Weis (2nd year at Notre Dame)
Team Name: Fighting Irish
2005 Overall Record: 9-2
Returning Starters: 16

What a difference a coach makes. In his first year, coach Charlie Weis turned the offense into a scoring machine behind quarterback Brady Quinn. In 2004 the offense was eighty-first; in 2005 it was tenth.

Brady Quinn (292 COMP, 450 ATT, 3.919 YDS, 32 TDs, 7 INTS) led the charge and became a viable Heisman Trophy candidate for 2006. Quinn quarterbacked the fourth most productive air game in the nation. Senior wide receiver Jeff Samardzija (77 REC, 1,196 YDS, 15 TDs) will be a favorite target again this season. Rhema McKnight, who had to sit out most of last season with a knee injury, is back. In 2003 and 2004, he led the team in receptions.

Junior Darius Walker (253 CARR. 1.196 YDS, 9 TDs) is ready to tear up the field again, giving the Irish a balanced attack.

The defense had a tough time defending against the pass. The entire secondary returns, including the speedy and athletic Tom Zbikowski (5 INTS) at safety. The Irish need to be better than 103 of 117 against the air attack.

The defensive line, composed entirely of seniors, is lead by end Victor Abiamiri (8 sacks). The entire line possesses experience and talent; they should be a major factor in 2006.

Will Notre Dame finish undefeated? Two games in particular will probably determine this—Michigan and USC. Notre Dame has the chance to finish number one in 2006.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2006 Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Road
Sep 2	Georgia Tech	Road
Sep 9	Penn State	Home
Sep 16	Michigan	Home
Sep 23	Michigan State	Road
Sep 30	Purdue	Home
Oct 7	Stanford	Home
Oct 21	UCLA	Home
Oct 28	Navy	Neutral
Nov 4	North Carolina	Home
Nov 11	Air Force	Road
Nov 18	Army	Home
Nov 25	USC	Road

 

For more data on the 2006 Notre Dame football program, view the Fighting Irish team website or check out some more schools below.