Notre Dame Football: 5 reasons Brian Kelly can lead Irish to national title

A National Championship brought back to South Bend, IN, would ignite Notre Dame football into an era of unprecedented success starting in 2018.

Notre Dame football has, and always will be, one of the more hyped up programs in the nation. The blue blood status of the Fighting Irish gives it the ability to claim such a status. That leads to some title hype each and every year, which includes the 2018 season. Head Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly has a big task on his hands entering the 2018 campaign.

Last year, Kelly was very close to taking Notre Dame to new heights in the postseason since the College Football Playoff was first implemented. He did take the Irish to the BCS National Championship Game in a route at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2012.

However, this Notre Dame squad has a lot of key returning pieces on both sides of the ball and looks to be dangerous this year. When it’s all said and done in 2018, Notre Dame should have a top 10 or top five defense in the nation either way. The offense is what needs to make its mark this season.

As is usual with the Irish, the 2018 slate is one of the toughest in the nation. Even though Notre Dame is independent, it still schedules some of the biggest programs in the Power Five conferences year in and year out.

With all that said, Notre Dame is easily a top 25 team for the upcoming season and should be looked at as a Playoff contender too. The execution of that status will be the difficult part.

Here’s a look at five reasons why Brian Kelly can lead the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2018.