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Notre Dame Football: It’s time the nation starts taking the Irish seriously

By Connor Muldowney

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Drue Tranquill #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates with teammates after recovering a fumbled punt in the second quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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After a mammoth win over USC on Saturday evening, it’s time the rest of the nation takes Notre Dame football seriously.

Why has it taken us this long, football fans? Notre Dame has been putting on a show during the 2017 campaign, but we’ve written each victory off as “unimpressive” or “bland” but what we might not realize is that each Fighting Irish win looks better by the week.

The victories over Michigan State, now ranked No. 18 and 6-1 overall, and Boston College, which has won three of four games, have been gaining respect. With each Michigan State and Boston College win, the Irish look better. Top that off with a blowout win over USC on Saturday night and you might just have a playoff team.

Brian Kelly was on the hot seat to begin the season, but has led his team to a 6-1 record after missing a bowl game last year, going just 4-8. He’s added an emphatic victory over the No. 11 team in the country and the Irish control their own destiny.

Although Brandon Wimbush isn’t the best quarterback in the country, he knows how to lead the team down the field by any means necessary — usually his legs. He went just 9-for-19 on Saturday with 120 yards and two passing scores. He did, however, rush for 106 yards and two more touchdowns.

Not to mention the fact that Josh Adams might be the nation’s most underrated running back. He finished with 191 yards and three touchdowns against USC, and made it look easy.

The defense is back, too, holding USC to just 14 points and forcing Sam Darnold to turn the ball over a few more times. They also held the Trojans to just 2.5 yards per carry.

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You can’t sleep on this supremely talented Notre Dame team. The Fighting Irish seem to be gaining confidence, and that’s bad news for the rest of the country.

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