I mean there are a lot of schools ahead

That’s where ND must get to in order to have a consistently good defense. It starts up front. We simply do not get the horses. Georgia, Clemson, Bama, Auburn, OSU, LSU, PSU, OU, the list isn’t short . They are getting more high end interior DL and pass rushers on the outside. Not only do they get more talent they get more talented depth. These types of players at those positions are key to going in the road and winning against good teams. If you can control the line of scrimmage and cause problems for the opponents offense you can stay in almost any game, regardless of how dumb your offense is or how bad your QB sucks. A dominant defensive line will prevent embarrassments like Miami this year.