Sitting up in the press box at Notre Dame Stadium, awaiting the kick off to the season as the Irish play host to South Florida.

Some Notre Dame players are on the field right now, sans pads, on an extremely hot afternoon.

The temperature is currently 89 degrees, and because of the heat and humidity, coach Brian Kelly told reporters on Thursday that freshmen could be in the rotation earlier than expected.

In other words, we won’t have to wait long to see if Aaron Lynch can follow up his big-time performance in the Blue-Gold Game with a big game against a real opponent.

As for South Florida, the Bulls come in as the favorite by many to win the Big East and the slight advantage of having a coach who knows what Notre Dame is about.

Skip Holtz, the son of former Irish coach Lou Holtz, was a student, walk-on player and assistant for Notre Dame, and he is entering his second season with the Bulls.

This game is no walkover for the Irish, but if the defense plays three-quarters as well as it did to end the season and quarterback Dayne Crist can direct the offense as crisply as we have been told practice has been going, Notre Dame should open with a win today.

Prediction: Notre Dame 24, South Florida 17