Mission 1 accomplished!

I remember September 7, 2024, sitting in my chair watching the final seconds tick down as the Irish had just lost to Northern Illinois, thinking I had a team other than Notre Dame that day watched while playing. But that day, the Fighting Irish were on the field, and they were a far cry from the team we had seen the week before and on Saturday.

It was certainly a depressing day as all the good momentum they had built last season and their first big win of the 2024 season had quickly evaporated, leaving most people wondering if this team would be six after this dismal season Winning games would be performance.

The Nov. 30, 2024 version of Notre Dame football still made some costly mistakes in Saturday’s game, like a fumble deep in its own territory that gave the Trojans seven points and a costly interception as the Irish extended their lead wanted in the game, which ultimately brought seven points for the opponent.

But this version of ND did what the September 7 team couldn’t. They moved the ball almost at will and stopped USC when it mattered most. And they did that against a very strong offense and a very good QB and a much better defense than NIU’s. Most importantly, on November 30, the team found the lead it needed to take control of the game. The Irish knew USC was there to play, so they had to play at a very high level, and the November 30th team rose to the challenge, drive-to-drive, touchdown-to-touchdown, and then made some very important stops on defense.

Make no mistake, USC is a very good team when they want to be, at least on offense, and they can make some play on defense. No other team scored more points on defense than ND, and let’s face it, the Irish left some points on the field Saturday.

This is how far this team has come since September 7th.

Saturday’s win wasn’t an easy win and the Irish didn’t play their best game, but against a pretty good team it didn’t really matter. While many other teams have had poor performances over the course of the season and the Irish have had some of them too, Notre Dame has done what almost everyone else has failed to do, win 10 games in a row, and that’s what got them into the Playoffs and probably host a first round game.

They say, “All’s well that ends well, all’s well” and that could well be the case when the final rankings are announced, as the Irish have a chance of finishing at No. 5, which would have been their highest ranking ever they could even achieve if they were undefeated at that point. A Penn State loss to Oregon and a Georgia loss to Texas in their conference championship game and Notre Dame is almost certain of the No. 5 seed. Who would have thought that this would even be possible on September 7th? There’s no way I did that.

It’s been quite a turnaround for the 2024 Notre Dame team, and it didn’t happen without a lot of hard work and a lot of great coaching. A lot of people blame the head coach for the result on September 7th and I can understand why because that team wasn’t ready to play that day. But it wasn’t the head coach playing that day. On the field that day were the 2024 Notre Dame Fighting Irish…players and coaches.

And because of that, the “team” aspect, they were all responsible for that loss and they all did something about it.

When Marcus Freeman was hired as the head coach of Notre Dame football, we all knew there would be a learning curve for the first-time head coach. Every new head coach has a learning curve. As the old saying goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Marcus Freeman put the entire ND football program on his back on September 8th, and he got them to this point. Sure it wasn’t just him, but someone had to do the heavy lifting that day and he certainly got the job done. To me, that is the sign of a potential great head coach.

There were some valleys, like September 7th, but also some peaks, like August 31st, 2024, September 28th, 2004, and November 30th, 2024.

Certainly great performances are a sign of great coaching, but I also think what you do after a bad performance means just as much, if not more. It’s easy to deal with winning. Dealing with a devastating loss is much, much harder. And what you do after that loss can really reverberate and impact your football team – ask USC.

I don’t know what will happen when the Irish play again, but make no mistake, there has been excellent coaching on this Irish team. And some impressive leaders have also taken over and made the Nov. 30 version of Notre Dame football so much better than the Sept. 7 version.

This season was fun to watch and the way they built this 2024 Notre Dame team was the right way. Brick by brick, they have built a very solid house, and it will take a very good team to beat this version of Notre Dame football. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Two-headed monster

I have watched a lot of Notre Dame football in my 56 years of life. I have never seen two better running backs play for Notre Dame than they currently have.

Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are truly elite players and it was an absolute joy to watch them both play. I really wouldn’t trade this tandem for any combination that college football has to offer. No college football team has two better defenders than this one. They are both outstanding and complement each other so well.

I would really hate to see Love miss this first playoff game. He deserves to be on the field because he was instrumental in getting them there in the first place. Notre Dame can win without him, but make no mistake, he is a special player and they really need him healthy to be at their best.

A time to heal

We’ve heard all year that Notre Dame doesn’t have to play in a conference championship game and what a huge advantage that is. And it’s an advantage, but not just for the reasons many think. Real ND could lose in a game like this and then lose their chance at a playoff or higher ranking, but the real advantage in my opinion is that the Irish get some time off to rest, heal and then focus strongly on theirs to focus on the next opponent. So much time to prepare with Al Golden and Mike Denbrock as coordinators will definitely be beneficial.

The Irish need to get some guys healthy. Jeremiyah Love, Howard Cross, Loghan Thomas, Mitch Jeter, Mitch Evans and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa – they need to get these guys healthy for this playoff run. Hopefully that happens. There is also an extra week to activate some younger players who may be needed later. Players like Loghan Thomas, Armel Mukam and Tae Johnson will be needed down the stretch, and ND will have time to work with and prepare these players. This time around should also allow ND to refocus and activate some players more, including Beaux Collins and Jordan Faison. They need to get both receivers playing with more confidence and better chemistry with QB Riley Leonard. This time off will allow the Irish team to really focus and get these players healthy and engaged as they prepare for their playoffs.

What we hoped for

Speaking of Riley Leonard, I sat there watching Saturday’s game and thought, “You know, Riley Leonard has really developed into the QB we were hoping he would be.” And he really has. I don’t think many of us thought he would be a 300-yard-per-game passer, but his throwing has improved tremendously. And he has become a real weapon in this offense.

He’s not a first-round pick playing for Notre Dame, but after looking at all the QBs that will play in the playoff games, I can’t name many that I think are better, and certainly not many who better suit them this offense.

Congratulations to Riley Leonard for fighting through the adversity and congratulations to Mike Denbrock and Gino Guidugli for finding the right way to coach him. He’s not Tom Brady, but he’s a damn good QB and the right QB they need to play to the strengths of this offense.

Final thoughts

We’re here, people! And if things go the way I think they will, Notre Dame will be in a good spot to make a breakthrough. They’ll be either No. 5 or No. 6 and I think either spot should give them a chance to get ahead.

I think the Irish are one of the most disciplined and consistent teams among the 12. They usually don’t make mistakes. They tend to protect the football (Saturday excluded). They tend to take the football away from them (like they did on Saturday). They have coordinators who adapt well in difficult situations and find immediate solutions to problems. And this team plays hard every time. They show up for the big games. They almost always have a good plan. Their head coach prepares them for the game.

Notre Dame will definitely be a tough opponent. If they get healthy and get more players clicking, it should be a fun ride to jump on!

Why not the Irish?