SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 12: Julian Okwara #42 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in action on defense ... [+]

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As a guy who was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana, home of the University of Notre Dame, two things . . .

I bleed blue and gold.

I'm terrified before every Notre Dame football game.

Ever since the days of Knute Rockne and The Gipper in the 1920s, THE NOTRE DAME GAME has been the biggest one on everybody's schedule. To translate, the Fighting Irish have spent more than a century motivating both the mighty and the meek to knock the shine off the Golden Dome.

It's been profitable for the Irish, though.

Take it from Forbes: With a current value of $112 million, Notre Dame ranks second in college football behind Texas ($129 million) in that category, and the Irish were the only program last season to generate more than $10 million in additional spending per home game.

That puts a bull's-eye on Touchdown Jesus.

So, with the No. 8 Irish (5-1) still within a few punts of another $6 million payday by making the College Football Playoff, I'm not feeling so hot with their trip Saturday night to No. 19 Michigan (5-2).

I know the Irish have won three straight while jelling on offense, defense and special teams since they nearly rallied down the stretch during a hostile road game against a Georgia team ranked No. 3 at the time. I know the significant likes of running back Jafar Armstrong and Shaun Crawford return this week after missing Notre Dame games due to injuries.

I also know the Irish are favored against Michigan (barely), and I know the same goes for the other five games left on their schedule.

Which means, well, hmmmmm.

From a Notre Dame perspective, I'll go game by game the rest of the season, and I'll take emotion out it.

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines reacts to game ... [+]

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AT MICHIGAN
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  • The Bad: Notre Dame has a three-game losing streak in The Big House, and Jim Harbaugh is desperate. He denies rumors that he wants out at Michigan after four-plus seasons, which means he wishes to prove against somebody (you know, Notre Dame) that he isn't the most overrated coach in college football.
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  • The Good: Harbaugh is the most overrated coach in college football. He's 1-9 in games against Top 10 opponents.
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  • The Likely Result: Notre Dame wins (barely).
VIRGINIA TECH
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  • The Bad: The Hokies are so deep at quarterback that they used three of them during their last game - a 43-41 victory over North Carolina in six overtimes. They'll also have an open date before traveling to South Bend for a game against a Notre Dame bunch coming off an emotional trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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  • The Good: The Hokies can't find the definitive quarterback, and they needed six overtimes to beat mediocre North Carolina. Not only that, but Notre Dame's defense is impressive, allowing an average of 16.8 points per game (15th in the nation).
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  • The Likely Result: Notre Dame wins.
AT DUKE
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  • The Bad: Three years ago, Duke finished 4-8 overall and 1-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Still, since it was THE NOTRE DAME GAME, the Blue Devils won at Notre Dame Stadium, and that's the last time the two teams played. Now Duke is 4-3, and the Blue Devils have Notre Dame in Durham, North Carolina.
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  • The Good: This is Duke football, not Duke basketball.
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  • The Likely Result: Notre Dame wins.
NAVY
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  • The Bad: The Midshipmen are solid. They're 5-1, and they love to upset Notre Dame. Since their 43-season losing streak to Notre Dame through 2006, they've won four times. Worse, Notre Dame rarely/never sees a triple-option offense beyond the Navy game.
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  • The Good: Those five Navy victories this season? Holy Cross, East Carolina, Air Force, Tulsa and South Florida.
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  • The Likely Result: Notre Dame wins.
BOSTON COLLEGE
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  • The Bad: Boston College despises life as Notre Dame's little brother in football among Catholic institutions. So the Eagles did something about it 26 years ago in South Bend. On the last game of that regular season, they knocked the national championship out of Notre Dame's hands with a game-winning kick toward (I'm swallowing hard) Touchdown Jesus.
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  • The Good: Notre Dame has beaten Boston College six consecutive games, and the Eagles' best victory this season was against North Carolina State. Whatever that means.
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  • The Likely Result: Notre Dame wins.
AT STANFORD
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  • The Bad: There's something about Palo Alto, California that gives Notre Dame the creeps. Courtesy of a five-game losing streak, the Irish haven't won there since 2007, and they've dropped seven of their last 10 games overall to Stanford.
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  • The Good. Stanford is awful this season (3-4) after getting destroyed at home 34-16 by a slightly worse UCLA team.
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  • The Likely Result: Notre Dame wins (I think).

Here's why I'm not comforted by all of that.

The Irish still have to play those games.

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