A message for all you Notre Dame football haters out there
By John Buhler
Notre Dame football is undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the nation but a lot of haters out there don’t think they are any good. So here is a message for you.
Notre Dame football is an excellent team, and all you haters need to accept this as fact.
Most teams in the age of the coronavirus are not starting out the year 5-0. Who cares if the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are playing essentially ACC cannon fodder? They are beating the breaks off every opponent they come across. Some people thought the Pittsburgh Panthers would upset them. Well, they were wrong, as Notre Dame stomped Pittsburgh to the tune of 45-3 on Saturday.
A defense, veteran quarterback and great head coach are on Notre Dame’s side.
Even though the Irish have not played any good ACC teams yet, they cannot control that. What they can is how they can beat every team they face. Entering play, they had the No. 5 scoring defense, a top 20 rush defense and pass defense and the No. 12 total defense in the nation. And they ran for 115 yards against Pittsburgh’s No. 1 rush defense that allowed 61.5 yards per game.
So even if every team the Irish have been has a sub-.500 record, the Irish are doing so with a phenomenal defense, competent quarterback play from a seasoned veteran in Ian Book and an outstanding head coach with plenty of big-game experience in Brian Kelly. The Clemson Tigers may be a totally different animal in the ACC, but Notre Dame is clearly No. 2 in the conference today.
In two weeks, we will see the Golden Domers host Dabo Swinney‘s Clemson team in South Bend. A classic rivalry game vs. the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech is the only thing in the way of Notre Dame’s biggest game of the season vs. the Tigers. Expect the Irish to get to 6-0 and 5-0 in ACC play by the time they host Clemson in what should be a 2020 ACC Championship game preview.
Clemson may be able to put up points on anyone, but this Irish defense is one of the very best in the Power 5. Book may not be able to keep pace with Heisman Trophy frontrunner Trevor Lawerence, but the emerging Notre Dame ground game gives the Irish a chance at pulling off the monumental upset. If Indiana can beat Penn State at home, why can’t Notre Dame beat Clemson?
The Irish are one of the four best teams in the Power 5 and you have to accept the truth right now.
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