I wrote this post this time last year and back then things looked really promising for Notre Dame. Outside of the Virginia Tech and USC you could make the case that every other 2016 opponent didn’t meet expectations at the quarterback position, or at least most programs dealt with a host of problems and injuries at the position.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for the 2017 opponents just under 9 months from the start of the season.

*All eligibility discussed will be for 2016.

TEMPLE

Not only will the Owls have to rebuild without head coach Matt Rhule who left for Baylor but the school’s all-time leader in total offense and touchdown passes is moving on, as well. Philip Walker’s eligibility has been exhausted and he leaves behind him an impressive 20-7 record over his final two years in Philadelphia.

Redshirt sophomore Frank Nutile has played sparingly over the past 2 years but was a co-backup this past year with redshirt freshman Logan Marchi. The former is much larger than the Marchi which offers an interesting choice for a new coach.

A couple of youngsters might throw their hat in the ring, too. Freshman Anthony Russo (.858) was the second highest recruit for Temple in their 2016 class and current commit Todd Centeio (.847) is the highest commit of their 2017 class. It wouldn’t be too shocking if a new coach made a clean break and started over with young talent.

GEORGIA

The Bulldogs started out with grad transfer Greyson Lambert from Virginia last year but he didn’t last long as their starter–didn’t even make it out of the first game. Barring a huge upset it’ll be the Jacob Eason show (No. 5 overall recruit in 2016) for Georgia in the fall. He mostly struggled as a true freshman (55% completions, 6.5 YPA, 14 TD-8 INT) as the typical explosive Dawgs ground game offered little support this past year.

If Eason is unable to play there aren’t any great options currently on campus. Western Kentucky transfer (and Alabama freshman before that) Parker McLeod hasn’t been a factor since arriving in 2015 while former highly-touted recruit Brice Ramsey has been relegated to a gimmicky punter. Current commit Jake Fromm (.977) from a couple hours south of Athens might immediately become the Bulldogs’ backup quarterback.

BOSTON COLLEGE

Former Kentucky 4-star recruit Patrick Towles just finished up his career with the Eagles totaling 1,859 yards and 14 touchdowns on the year. For the entirety of 2016 BC managed just 3,459 yards, 2nd fewest in the country.

The Eagles have a 2-star commit for 2017 so the new starter likely comes from the current roster unless they pick up another grad transfer. Redshirt sophomore Darius Wade was the backup this past fall and has some starting experience from 2015. Redshirt freshman John Fadule also has some brief starting experience. If it’s not either of these players BC should turn to freshman Anthony Brown who was their second highest recruit from the 2016 cycle.

Troy Flutie was suspended in the beginning of the season following an off-season DUI and is officially listed as a receiver now while becoming the holder on special teams.

MICHIGAN STATE

Malik Zaire has shown interest in transferring to East Lansing which gives a clue that the QB situation for Michigan State isn’t in tremendous shape. Fifth-year senior Tyler O’Connor started the season, briefly lost his job, won it back again, and then lost it again but still played a lot overall. In total, all State quarterbacks threw for just 2,668 yards and 19 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.

It’s always seemed like redshirt junior Damion Terry was supposed to the The Guy but he was dreadful throwing the ball (47.8% accuracy, 5.5 YPA, 1 TD on 46 attempts) and hasn’t developed very much as a passer. Former 3-star recruit and redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke also got some time this past fall and was similarly ineffective.

The Spartans have a low 3-star recruit committed right now which doesn’t offer much hope, either.

MIAMI (OH)

Sophomore Billy Bahl played the bulk of the snaps in 2015 and found himself in an off-season competition with redshirt sophomore Gus Ragland until the latter injured his ACL during the spring. Bahl started 2016 playing reasonably well but went down with a shoulder injury forcing true freshman Noah Wezensky into action for a couple games. The Fort Wayne youngster really struggled (307 yards on 53 attempts!) but things were about to turn around for the Redhawks.

Ragland finally got healthy enough to start Miami’s 6th game……..and won every game to take the team from 0-6 to 6-6 while almost making the MAC Championship Game but lost out on a tie-breaker with Ohio. His production was awfully impressive (8.6 YPA with 15 TD and no picks) which should give Ragland a stranglehold on the job heading into the spring.

NORTH CAROLINA

Another school that Zaire was interested in as redshirt junior Mitch Trubisky has turned one year of starting into the top quarterback on Mel Kiper’s recent Big Board. The Mentor, Ohio native had a couple dud performances this past fall but dominated in many others to complete almost 3,500 passing yards, 33 total touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions.

Redshirt freshman Nathan Elliott (.842) was a lightly recruited player who backed up Trubisky in 2016. The Heels also have a couple freshmen who took a redshirt in Chazz Surratt (.894) and Logan Byrd (.877) which could offer a really intriguing spring and fall camp.

Recap

If recruiting rankings are your thing then there’s only one scary quarterback in the first half of the season in Athens. Even then, we have a continuing history of Nick Saban disciples bombing on the offensive side of the ball and Georgia could be losing both Nick Chubb and Sony Michel at running back.

Larry Fedora has a history of developing quarterbacks so we can reasonably assume he’ll have someone quality ready to go by the time they face the Irish. Likewise, it looks like Chuck Martin may have found himself a quality starter who could allow him to take the next step in the MAC.

Michigan State is a little more difficult to predict but I’d error on the side of caution that they’ll have a couple of their guys who haven’t shown much really turn it on next fall. I’m expecting Temple and Boston College to really struggle on offense–the Irish defense should really put the screws in on those teams. I said should!