Notre Dame opens its 2021 football season tomorrow night in Tallahassee , Flordia, against the Florida State Seminoles ranked 9th in the nation by the Associated Press. The Irish begin another quest for a place in the national playoffs, and Brian Kelly begins is 12th year as head coach and just three wins short of tying the great Knute Rockne with having the most wins as coach in ND history. He will surpass Rockne sometime during the season. Kelly’s overall record as a head coach is 273-96-2 in 31 seasons.

As the Irish begin another season the focus will be on the ND offense. ND’s defense should be its biggest plus this year with a number of key returnees. But the offense has a lot of holes to fill, and the top one is quarterback.

After that spot its the offensive line that must be completely rebuilt since the entire starting line from 2020 has graduated.

At the QB spot Wisconsin graduate transfer, Jack Coan, was named the starter by Kelly a couple of weeks ago. He brings experience to the position as the three backups are all underclassmen, including freshman Tyler Buchner, who is third on the depth chart at the moment, but reports say is the future starter.

Coan has already been named to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Watch List. At Wisconsin he played in 25 games while making 18 starts. He finished his career there ranked third all-time in completion percentage, 68.0 percent, and third in pass efficiency rating, 144.7 all-time and held a 12-6 record.

ND’s offense only returns running back Kyren Williams, wide receiver Avery Davis and offensive lineman Jarrett Peterson, who will be the center this year. If ND expects to challenge the other top contenders for a playoff spot, the offense has to improve by scoring more points. ND averaged about 33 points per game in 2020, while the national finalists all have over 40- plus per game averages.

Defensively the Irish return Myron Tagorailva-Amosa at defensive end; Kurth Hinish, at defensive tackle; Drew White and Shayne Simon at linebacker; Kyle Hamilton at safety; and Clarence Lewis at cornerback.

However, the Irish also return some offensive talent that played during the undefeated 2020 regular season. Michael Mayer returns at tight end with Chris Tyree second to Williams at running back. There is also C’Bo Flemister returning to the backfield.

Other receivers who saw action last year include Braden Lenzy and Lawrence Keys III. Backing up Mayer is George Takacs, who also saw action in 2020.

Defensively there is a lot of talent returning for new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, who has been a hit for ND in the recruiting wars.

On defense returnees with experience include Isaiah Foskey and Justin Ademilola at defensive end; Jayson Ademilola at defensive tackle; Kurt Hinish at nose guard; Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa at defensive end; Drew White and Jack Kiser among the linebackers; Cam Hart and Clarence Lewis at cornerback; Kyle Hamilton at safety; and nickelback TaRiq Bracy.

ND has experience returning in the special teams area including place-kicker and kick offs, Jonathan Doerer and punter Jay Bramblett.

Tyree, Keys, Williams and Matt Salerno all have shots at the returner and punt returner spots.

As we mentioned ND and FSU meet tomorrow with a 7:30 p.m. start on national television, ABC-TV.

The Seminoles were 3-6 in 2020 in an up and down season for college football due to COVID 19 . The Irish beat FSU last year, 42-26. Returning for the Seminoles include QB Jordan Travis. He is being pushed for the starting position by transfer McKenzie Milton ; running back Joshua Corbin and wide receivers Bryan Robinson, Ontaria Wilson and Andrew Parchment.

The game was close for the first half in 2020, but ND scored 21 points in the third to open the game up for a victory.

In two weeks, on Sept. 11, ND will play its first home game of the year. Toledo will be the Irish opponent. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. Toledo was 4-2 last year and are led by Eli Peters at QB; Bryant Koback at running back and Isaiah Winstes at wide receiver.

The game will only be on NBC’s Peacock streaming network, much to the dismay of ND followers. Some cable companies carry Peacock as part of their regular lineup, but many do not which means you would have to purchase the service to get the game on.

Since the FSU game is Sunday and the Toledo game is a short six days later, this column will serve as a preview for both matchups. Because of time restraints, I’m going to the Toledo game, I won’t have a column next week.

IRISH NOTES

: Kelly has named seven captains for this year. They are Avery Davis, Kyle Hamilton, Kurth Hinish, Jarrett Patterson, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Drew White and Kyren Williams....As usual all ND home game are on NBC, except Toledo. Games set for 2:30 p.m. starts include Toledo, Purdue, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech. Two games have 7:30 p.m. starts, USC and North Carolina, back-to-back; and the lone 3:30 p.m. game is Navy. Also, the Wisconsin game, which will be played at Soldiers Field in Chicago and is a Shamrock series game, has a noon start of Fox TV. Wisconsin and ND were scheduled to pay in Green Bay last year but COVID forced the schools to cancel the game....ND and Iowa State led the country with first-team selections on the AP preseason All-American team. ND selections included safety Hamilton, offensive guard Cain Madden and back Kyren Williams. ND’s Jarred Patterson was a second team selection....As we mentioned the offensive line is the key to any success the Irish have this year due to it being a brand new lineup. The expected starters tomorrow night are freshman left tackle Blake Fisher, junior left guard Zeke Correll, senior center Patterson; graduate senior left guard Cain Madden and grad senior right tackle Josh Lugg.....ND announced its policy for game-day activities due to COVID. No masks are required in the open stadium, but in the areas below the stands, masks were required. Also, ND will not require proof of vaccination in entering the game. No cash for the food stands, credit or debit card only. Masks must be worn inside any building on campus, not outside. Tailgating will be allowed for now and the pep rallies will be held, the first two outside, weather permitting. Those who are not vaccinated are expected to wear masks. Of course, these regulations could change if the COVID surge we are currently seeing gets worst....Notre Dame heads into tomorrow’s game at Florida State with 21 verbal commitments in its 2022 recruiting class and four in its 2023 class. The Irish have been No. 1 in the Rivals team rankings for the 2022 cycle and No. 2 in 247Sports team standings since Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei wide receiver C.J. Williams verbally committed to the Irish three weeks ago....Starting linebacker Marist Liufau is been lost for the season due to a injury. He had surgery to a break and dislocation of his right ankle earlier this week. He injured the ankle at the Aug. 25 practice. He was slated to be the Will linebacker. He will be replaced by junior JD Bertrand....Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons, who completed a grad transfer to Florida State following spring practice this year, was named the starting left guard for the Seminoles....Now from ND athletic department notes. Notre Dame has won 19-consecutive-regular season games against ACC opponents. Its last defeat against an ACC foe in the regular season came back in 2017 against Miami. Of those 19 wins, 15 were won by 10 points or more.....After having nine selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, the Irish have had 520 draft picks all-time. No other college football program has totaled more than the Irish. The nine selections this past draft were the most ever in the Brian Kelly Era....Notre Dame is 108-17-5 (.850) in season openers, with victories in 28 of the last 34 lid-lifters....The Irish are 9-2 in season-openers under Brian Kelly....Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 33-5 (.868). That Irish rank fourth among all teams who have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014. Among those teams, Notre Dame is one of just four teams that have totaled five or fewer losses since the beginning of 2018. The Irish are one of five teams who have made playoff appearances in multiple seasons....Now my annual prediction for the 2021 season. Irish open with win over Florida State (1-0); the Irish get their second win, in home opener with Toledo (2-0); ND gets a win over Purdue at home (3-0); ND travels to Chicago and gets a close win over Wisconsin (4-0); Cincinnati ends ND home win streak and current one with a win (4-1); ND rebounds at Virginia Tech (5-1); Irish beats rival USC (6-1); North Carolina invades South Bend, and beats the Irish (6-2); Navy no match for ND (7-2); Virginia falls to the Irish (8-2); a final season, home win over Georgia Tech (9-2)....The FSU game could be what they call a “trap game” for the Irish, going into South Florida against an upset minded Seminoles. Hopefully Kelly and staff has the team ready. You know his reputation for losing games he is suppose to win....My next column will appear on Sept. 18, for the Purdue game at ND stadium.