Perennially overrated Notre Dame is actually underrated entering 2018
Notre Dame is often ranked higher than they should be entering the college football season. This year, the Fighting Irish are criminally underrated.
Expectations carry weight far greater than gold in South Bend. For the ultimate college football blue blood, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish carries the weight of the world so to say on their shoulders when they take the field each fall.
Whether it’s fair or not to a program, expectations are almost undeserved, to say the least. With a strong lineage and a past filled with success, it’s not uncommon for an elite program to be ranked higher than they should be or expected to do far more than they ultimately end up doing.
The term for that, of course, is referred to as “overrated” and it’s a label that has followed the Fighting Irish for some time now. Notre Dame hasn’t brought a home a national championship since 1988 and they haven’t competed for once since they got dropped big by Alabama in 2013.
The longer a title drought goes on for a program the caliber of a Notre Dame, it becomes that much tougher for a head coach. Brian Kelly’s tenure with the program hasn’t always been the easiest and he’s certainly flirted with the hot seat over the years, just as much as he has with glory.
This past season was a much-needed renaissance of sorts for the Fighting Irish. After the disastrous 2016 season that left some feeling the program should move on from Kelly, the team had themselves in the playoff picture up until the end of the season. To go from unranked at the beginning of their campaign to finishing almost in the top 10 was a hallmark for the Kelly regime.
It proved merit to not making any rash decisions after a poor campaign the year prior. It also has the Fighting Irish set up for a run at a college football playoff spot in the 2018 season, if everything falls their way.
While the Fighting Irish lost their two main offensive line cogs and their skill position players in the backfield and receiver, they have the players in place ready to take over and established starters across the defensive side of the ball that should have them favored in nearly every matchup this season.
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Offensively, the Fighting Irish are one of the toughest programs to defend because of the uptempo offense under offensive coordinator Chip Long. quarterback Brandon Wimbush flourished in Long’s system as a quarterback in 2017.
With his mobility, Wimbush not only excelled at passing but was a daunting running threat that exceeded over 100 yards multiple times and even recorded a 200-yard performance against Boston College in a blowout victory on the road.
One of the highlight games that stood out for the Irish in 2017 was actually a loss. A 20-19 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in South Bend proved to be one of the games of the season. Considering where Georgia went from there, it showed the Irish have what it takes to compete with the elite programs.
It’s fair to say they are tested and with Wimbush returning to run Long’s offense again, they might not be getting the respect that they deserve looking outside on the top 10 heading into the season. Right now, it’s easy to pinpoint five or six contenders for the College Football Playoff.
With a bit of transition and losing skill talent along with two stud lineman, it’s easy to see why Notre Dame might not be getting put in that conversation. Add in yet another defensive coordinator, and perhaps underrating the Irish can be justified, but perhaps not quite.
The Irish aren’t bringing in someone new from the outside. Linebackers coach Clark Lea has been promoted to take over for the great job that Mike Elko did in his first season as defensive coordinator. Elko has moved on to be the defensive coordinator under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M.
Still, With Lea moving up to take over Elko’s spot, the Irish shouldn’t see much change schematically on that side of the ball. Considering they return most of the players on their front seven, this is a very experienced group. With some transition on the offense, these guys will have to be the catalyst early.
Looking from the outside, it’s easy to point to some things that could keep Notre Dame making a run. As you look a little closer, they still have all the components necessary and a little more experience in key spots that should have the team into the discussion when the first College Football Playoff rankings come out later in the season.
Notre Dame has a rich history but has often been a bit of a seesaw in the past 30 years. Kelly’s done a good job of bringing consistency to a program and has only had one season where everything bounced the other way. He’s righted the ship and has promoted within key coaching positions. With a dynamic quarterback and a defense that returns most of its starters, the Irish aren’t getting the respect they deserve just yet.