Notre Dame Season Preview

Sep 4, 2011

Notre Dame Football:

An Overview

By Bishop

Summing up Notre Dame is not as easy as one may think. Last year Coach Brian Kelly went eight wins and five losses on his inaugural season at South Bend. He is known for his defensive mind both playing Linebacker in college and coordinating defenses throughout his coaching career. Kelly brought his offensive coordinator Charley Molnar with him. Both came from the University of Cincinnati to keep their successful philosophy intact. Last year’s eight and five record was probably as good as we could have expected but has definitely affected recruitment. Recruiting the last two to five seasons has plummeted, most notably the 2010 class had no five star recruits and the 2011class also lacked five star recruits. For a program like Notre Dame that is unacceptable and pretty much unprecedented! The Notre Dame that we have seen throughout the last three coaching changes has been a different Notre Dame. It has not been up to the standards in which this massive fan base has been accustomed to.

Coach Brian Kelly has seen his fair share of adversity with a couple of off field incidents. He was put in this position for one reason and one reason only, to rebuild and restore this program to its former self. At a glance, last year’s season showed mid range stats and even at times mid range talent on both offensive and defensive sides of the ball and yet this team always remains strong.

Critics cite ease of schedule and biased sports reporting. The ND faithful would say that key wins over USC, Pitt, Boston College and Miami (Miami has problems right now) put them where they are. Both sides have valid points.

Key Returners:

Wide receiver Michael Floyd did not disappoint 2010 with a great season. If we see the same this year, that’s all we can ask for. He’ll have to watch his off field behavior.
Linebacker corps is returning with key standout Inside Linebacker Manti Te’o. He has the tools to be on American this year with maybe a Butkus award to his credit. That would be nice to see.
Quarterback Dayne Crist’s persistent knee problems could put Notre Dame in the same situation as last season. Questions follow Crist as to his ability to complete the entire season healthy. He has to be consistent week in and week out.

Sophomore Quarterback Tommy Rees adds depth and is a proven winner. Some say he should be the guy. Wide Receiver Theo Riddick is a smaller sized receiver with a great pair of hands. He needs to close the lopsided receiving stats between him and Michael Floyd. A strong first couple of games could be the key to his season. The Offensive Line mostly returns with size and experience. In the writer’s opinion, O-line is the stronger part of the team.

Walk-on Kicker David Ruffer can hopefully remain consistent for the Irish again this season.
Notre Dame has committed some highly touted incoming freshman defensive ends. Let’s see what impact (if any) they bring.
Key losses:

Gargantuan Tight End Kyle Rudolph, workhorse Fullback Robert Hughes, and Tailback Armando Allen. It had been a pleasure watching them play their four years.

With last year’s 8-5 record the last thing this program needs is a Quarterback controversy. It’s seems as though the media, bloggers and fans alike are eating up this quarterback controversy. These types of situations are never good for teams on any level. To have a consistent and very good back up is great for a program and incredible shows depth and security. However to divide a fan base and coaching staff does no good for anyone. Generally in a neck and neck situation, the upperclassman would be given the Nod, but Tommy Rees’ strong finish last season, freshman Bowl victory and excellent stats make this one very hard to call. I would respectfully bow out and yield to Coach Kelly’s decision on that one. But it looks like the junior has the go ahead for now. One can conclude by looking at what we have, that the Michigan game should set the tone of the season. Fans will see what type of team ND is. Michigan is another program in transition and this could be a good indicator of what the Irish are made of. Realistically 10 wins will be very hard this year. I see nine wins or possibly an eight and four season in front of us. ND has had a couple of mediocre seasons, they have had three short term coaching tenures, Recruiting has suffered, and there have been some off field incidents. Yet The Fighting Irish remain a formidable team. The critics must agree…that shows program strength! Tomorrow should interesting.

Bishop