Notre Dame Not Nearly as Dazzling as its No. 3 Ranking
So. . . Notre Dame is No. 3. In the nation. Seriously.
Based on what the Fighting Irish have shown and done, ask Cincinnati, SMU, Memphis and UCF if they would be No. 3 in the American, Ask six or eight SEC teams if they would like to settle that question on the field. Or four or five Big Ten teams, now that it’s going to join the fray this weekend.
ND might be No. 2 in the ACC. That is its current spot in the standings as one of two unbeaten teams in Notre Dame’s unprecedented for-one-year-only conference home, half a game behind Clemson.
At least we’ll find that out on the field. Thanks to the sheltering-in-place deal with the ACC, the Irish will will have an official finish in a conference race. A home game against the Tigers on Nov. 7 and a trip to North Carolina on Nov. 27 loom large. Never mind that the Tar Heels don’t look as imposing after their upset loss to Florida State on Saturday.
The point is, nobody really knows how good Notre Dame is.
In their 12-7 win over Louisville on Saturday, the Irish scored their fewest points in victory since a 10-6 slip past USC in 1990
``Winning is hard,’’ Irish coach Brian Kelly said after the game.
The way Notre Dame is going, that could not be more true.
I expected to learn that Ian Book had driven in six runs with a homer and a double, not that he passed for 106 yards and ran for a 13-yard touchdown.
The only team ND has crushed like a bug is South Florida, which is 0-4 against its FBS opponents.
ND has taken care of business against the ACC teams it has played: Duke (1-5 in conference play), FSU (1-3) and Louisville (0-4). Yawn.
Not only are those three a combined 2-12 in ACC play. The Irish have let all three hang around. Notre Dame is 0-3 against the Las Vegas spread in those three games. And it is, ``Oh well, we won,’’ with its fretting, cash-depleted Subway Alumni.
On the bright side. . . 4-0 is 4-0.
If Notre Dame is not making supporters and experts eager to see what it can do against stiffer competition, it remains in position to play for all the marbles.
The defense is pretty good. The running game can be good at times. Book is not spectacular, but he generally makes good decisions and he’s athletic enough—up to a point.
The problem is, Notre Dame hasn’t been making enough big plays on either side of the ball. It doesn’t seem to have enough playmakers. That’s especially at wide receiver and in the secondary. In both of those units, injuries and the schedule disruptions from Covid-19 problems have made it difficult to develop continuity.
Are the concerns about the way ND is winning real? Yes.
Does the schedule, which includes this week’s trip to Pitt and a trip to Boston College between the Clemson and North Carolina games, get tougher? Yes.
That said, is there time to correct the flaws? Yes. But that window is starting to close.
Here’s the question that looms most ominously: Does Notre Dame have the right stuff to start being the kind of team that can live up to its No 3 ranking?
For all the hype about Notre Dame’s big showdown with Clemson, the Irish sure look like a team that will have a Tiger by the tail on Nov. 7.
The Irish had better mind their business at Pitt this Saturday. And everywhere else. The Panthers and B.C. aren’t monsters. But they are very capable of pulling off a signature upset against the Notre Dame that has been bumping and grinding to a 4-0 start.
ND’s No. 3 ranking merely shows how meaningless rankings are in this pandemically disjointed year. In the coming weeks, though, the Irish will have a chance to prove they deserve their lofty status. And they will need to do that.