Don’t think that just because you have your head down at the back of the class that we’re not going to call on you Fighting Irish. We see you…now.
Scouring the college football landscape and going over notes, there was one thing that just jumped out: How did Notre Dame sneak into the Top Ten of the latest rankings and land themselves at number 8? The only blip that I can remember them being in this year was a beat down of the Brady Hoke’s in South Bend 31-0, but heck Utah did that to the Wolverines last week. I look at their schedule and see Rice, the aforementioned Michigan, and then Purdue 2 weeks ago. Have the Irish looked that good to warrant a number 8?
Maybe it’s that all the talk has been on the Power 5 conferences and Jameis Winston, and of course the SEC. By the time we start talking about the Irish it’s already the 5th week, we’re already at the reception. I personally think that it’s because 2012 is still fresh in everybody’s mind. 2 years is still not enough time to recover from Manti Te’o, his late catfish girlfriend, and the drubbing that the Crimson Tide put on them in the title game 42-14. I can tell you that I did catch the Gold Show in 2012 on the road and watched QB Everett Golson sling it around and put the football in places that it shouldn’t have. It’s rare when you get to watch a football game from one of the most storied programs in history and get a magic show at the same time.

With the First Pick
The Return of Everett Golson
You can pinpoint it right there and say that’s what was missing from last year: Everett Golson. In 2013, Golson admitted to cheating on a test and was not enrolled anymore at Notre Dame in May of that year. Everybody thought this was the end of the Golson days. But alas the QB came back to school in December of last year, even traveled and practiced with the team for their Pinstripe Bowl appearance, no added drama needed. No Tom Rinaldi piece on Saturday morning, although if Notre Dame keeps winning, it’ll surely come in November. Maybe even more important, a trip to New York in December for a piece of hardware. But before we get way ahead of ourselves, Golson has been brilliant in his return, looking the part with sharp passes but it begs the question: Are the Irish relying too much on Everett Golson to succeed this year as a team? Has Notre Dame even really played anybody this year? How good are they really? Enough to garner a number 8 ranking?
We’ll know something at the end of the night this coming Saturday as Notre Dame travels to East Rutherford, NJ for a primetime nationally televised (8 ET ABC) game against Syracuse. It should be a dandy. The Irish back in the greater NYC area. There they get to answer all the pundits and maybe score some points on those who think that they’re still a year away, or that it’s just a hype year.
Look at the schedule for Notre Dame though. In just a few short weeks they’ll have a ranked Stanford at home, North Carolina, and the big one, the number one team in the land: Florida State in Tallahassee on October 18th. So if you weren’t a Clemson fan last Saturday, or an Oklahoma State fan at the beginning of the year, I’m sure you’ll be a Notre Dame Fighting Irish fan that Saturday night. It should be a proving test. But are we overlooking the stats? In just mediocre opponents the Irish are MOR when it comes to what they’re putting up. 51st in passing yards with 260 per game. 76th in rushing yards with 160 per game. And 48th in the nation in points per game with a 36 average. Hence the moniker, Middle of the Road. Just average. But their most telling stat isn’t an offensive one. It’s a defensive one. 10.3. Average opponent’s score. Ranks them 3rd in scoring defense. Now granted, it’s been against Rice, Purdue, and Michigan, but it’s still a telling stat, enough for the naysayers to back off saying, ‘It’s just Everett Golson.’
The only problem I have with Notre Dame, as a football purist, is what’s with the FieldTurf synthetic grass in Notre Dame Stadium? If you made everybody wear leatherhead helmets to play in South Bend, I’d be okay with it, but I’m just not onboard with anything artificial in such a tradition rich football stadium where the Irish play. Go back to the grass ASAP. What’s next a huge video screen and a dome?
All that aside, if the Irish get it done this weekend for everyone to see in primetime, beat Stanford next weekend, and hold Jameis and Co. to the tune of 14 points and beat them in Tallahassee, only USC on the road in November would hold them back to maybe entering the FBS playoff. Are they good enough? I believe they are. So the real question I have for the Irish, yes you in the back with your head down trying to get through this season unnoticed, Mr. Notre Dame: Why not now?