Brian Kelly took over as the head coach of Notre Dame without a ton of
aspirations. Fans did not expect much from The Fighting Irish last
season and the start of the season further illustrated that. The Irish
came out of the gate at 1-3 and many figured it was another wasted
season. Notre Dame then won three straight to put them at 4-3 before
consecutive losses to Navy and Tulsa looked like it would destroy the
promise of the three game winning streak. But then Kelly and his crew
showed the life that many didn’t expect to see. The Irish knocked off
#14 Utah at home before traveling to New York City and defeating Army.
This gave Notre Dame a 6-5 record and made them bowl eligible. Kelly’s
squad then went to Los Angeles and ended their eight-game losing streak
versus USC with a 20-16 win. The Irish then turned El Paso, Texas into
their own party on New Year’s Eve with a 33-17 trouncing of The Miami
Hurricanes in The Hyundai Sun Bowl.
The sun always rises through the clouds to shine over the land and that
analogy best sums up Kelly’s first year in South Bend. Recently Notre
Dame head coaches such as Tyrone Willingham, Bob Davie, and Charlie Weis
had immediate success and once the expectation level rose, the success
on the field dwindled. Weis locked up a ten-year contract extension
during his first season for “nearly” beating USC. After two straight BCS
bowl game appearances in his first two season the thrill was gone and
so were his wonderful skills of coaching. There are many who are not ready
to jump on the praise bandwagon for Kelly, but I will throw my hat into
that ring. The mark of a good coach is not how your team starts a
season, it’s more about how they finish. Kelly was able to sell his
players on his uptempo offense and it showed dividends which will carry
over to this season.
When quarterback Dayne Crist was injured in the middle of the season,
Kelly turned to freshman Tommy Rees who did not miss a beat. Rees looks the part of a baby face, but he has the poise of a fifth year
senior in the pocket. Rees finished the season completing 61% of his
passes. Crist was on a pace to throw for over 3,000 yards before he ruptured
his patella tendon. Now Kelly has the luxury to having two good college
quarterbacks and whomever he picks will have success.
Big play receiver Michael Floyd should be back from his suspension to
add to his stats for his senior campaign. Floyd went over 100 yards receiving in four contests
last season. At 6’3″ it is like “child’s play” for him against smaller
cornerbacks, especially in jump ball situations in the red zone.
One of my main reasons for hope this season is Notre Dame’s favorable
schedule. The Irish only have two tough roads games when they travel to
Michigan and Stanford. The Irish have Michigan State at home this year
who pulled out an overtime win over Notre Dame last season on a fake field goal that
went for a touchdown in East Lansing. The fans are in for a real treat
on October 22nd when USC comes to South Bend for Notre Dame’s first home
night game in nearly twenty years.
Kelly’s teams have always been known for offensive prowess but the
defensive squad will get after you. Linebacker Manti Te’o is the leader
of the squad and the junior can bring the wood. Last season Te’o
recorded 133 tackles and if opponents get in the vicinity of this native
Hawaiian they won’t get much further. Te’o partner on defense safety
Harrison Smith had a breakout season last year with seven picks
including three in The Sun Bowl.
This team has the look and the feel of a squad that can win 10 games and
crash The BCS party. All The Irish need to do is finish in the top 14
of the final BCS standings to qualify for a BCS Bowl. We have said this
before and Notre Dame disappointed us, but 2011 will be different. In
January we should this team on Bourbon Street preparing for The Sugar
Bowl. If that is the case then Irish eyes will be smiling on Kelly.
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