Phil Steel recently projected Notre Dame to finish 7th and tabbed the Irish as a dark horse for the National Championship. Steele notes that the Irish have 15 returning starters and lost 38 starts due to injury last year (15th most in nation) on young team he thought would finish higher last season. Whether Steele is correct or not, anyone looking at the fundamentals of this Irish team has to expect dramatic improvement this year. Notre Dame this season can be the surprise that Penn State was last season.

The Irish special teams made a quantum leap last year showing that Brian Polian can do more than recruit (at which he’s one of the best in the country.) Our kicking game turned from putrid to very good. Punting was consistent and the return games finally showed signs of life.

On defense the Irish will have one the most talented backfields in the country. The linebacking corps finally has an influx of athleticism and the front four, while young, has a lot of talent. But it’s the coaching change upfront that and at the coordinator position that could have the most impact. Hart and Young give our young lineman a fighting chance. Oliver was not thought highly of by players or coaches. If they can staunch the run inside (and our defensive backs should allow us to overplay the run) this defense could be very good. Moving Tenuta to full-time defensive coordinator was a smart move. The two-headed approach to coordinating the defense was misguided. Ironically, known for blitzing, Tenuta’s teams have been very good run stoppers.

On offense Charlie’s taken control back and given his nature, this is a smart move. I expect Clausen to dramatically improve his TD to Int ratio this year, in fact I think he’ll have a breakout year. The line is finally matured and is receiving new coaching from Verducci who appears to be steeped in fundamentals. I love the idea of moving Olsen down to center as Wenger has been a weak spot. Having Trevor Robinson on the line will give the Irish another road grader type run blocker. Duncan, by all reports, is solid to very good. But it’s the skill positions that excite me the most. Along with Clausen, we’re going to have one of the best receiving corps in the country and there’s little doubt that Rudolph will join the long tradition of stellar Irish tight ends. Finally the addition of Tony Alford as running backs coach will pay big dividends. Armando Allen looked like a different running in the Blue-Gold game. If he can control 4.3 speed, I think he’ll finally start breaking longer runs and be much more productive in the Weis offense all-around.

As much as I’ve criticized Weis, it’s fact that the Irish were bereft of senior talent the last few years. I’ll trot out this graph one more time to show the dramatic upswing in older talent for the Irish.

Seems I’ve been equally attacked for being pro-Charlie and anti-Charlie and the truth is I’m neither. I want him to succeed, can see many shortcomings, but can also see where he’s come in with unusual circumstances.

More than a backer or anti anything I’m a trend follower and the biggest slacker who follows college football. All I do is watch popular opinion form and feed on itself until it over shoots the mark and then I write a contrarian article based on facts that don’t match with reality.

“Things are true, until they’re not.” A smart man once said this… okay it was me. We all aspire to improve, I seek humility.

Popular opinion is almost always wrong, simply because by the time a thought has permeated the masses, the assumptions that underpin that thought have almost certainly changed. If you’re looking for a college football indicator of this phenomenon, it’s this, by the time ESPN is on the bandwagon, the wagon is already at or near its apex.

And this long-winded introduction applies to Notre Dame football how? Because most experts are missing the mark on Notre Dame by looking at the last two years. The underneath fundamentals are strong, the schedule is favorable and despite Weis’s shortcomings as a motivator and in emphasizing scheme over fundamentals, it’s hard to see the Irish not going to the BCS this year. And if they build momentum and start believing in themselves, this team is talented enough to win every game.

As I posted on Rock’s House, expect the Irish to get a lot of love the next two months. There’s too much talent on this team for even Lee Corso to miss.