Notre Dame’s offense showed a gear it has been looking for of late as it blew out Stanford on Saturday, the kind of gear that should add intrigue to what could already be an interesting bowl game.
Stanford is woefully overmatched on both sides of the ball against Notre Dame, even if the unique Cardinal offense could cause early Irish consternation.
Notre Dame will remain on NBC for the rest of the decade, the partnership announced before the Irish conclude their home slate this weekend against Wake Forest.
If Wake Forest can pop an upset in the next two weeks, it will elongate its season by a month. Toppling Notre Dame on Senior Day may be a bit far-fetched though, especially against former Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman.
Notre Dame comes back from its second idle week perhaps at its furthest from health, losing at least one offensive line starter for the season and amid continued receiver depth issues.
Preseason predictions serve to set a baseline of expectations for the season. Notre Dame may have disappointed on the whole through 10 games, but the causes of that were not unanticipated in August.
The 2021 coaching carousel remade the look of much of college football. But the biggest movers, Notre Dame, USC and LSU included, have yet to realize if they will be content with that or not.
If everything goes perfectly, Notre Dame is a great team. But that is neither life nor college football, and when things strayed from the plan Saturday, Irish flaws showed just how good Notre Dame is, not great.
Notre Dame failed to convert three scoring opportunities in the first half, mistakes Sam Hartman owned as the crux of Notre Dame’s critical loss at Clemson on Saturday.
Notre Dame’s offensive veterans’ mistakes give Clemson enough of a cushion to hold off the Irish on Saturday, likely ending any Notre Dame hopes of a New Year’s Six bowl
