Last year for the Irish was painful, especially for a Head Coach who erected a banner in the training facilities after his first year that said “9 and 3 is Not Good Enough”.  Yet to many Notre Dame fans, players, recruits and their parents, Notre Dame is becoming great again in college football.  Could ESPN be getting this wrong?

While hearing rumors of a premature Irish demise, Notre Dame instead is expectant this year—rather like Charlie Weis’s first year.  The same, but different. 

Remember 2005?  An “offensive genius” from the New England Patriots and his hand-picked coaching staff with considerable experience in college and the NFL brought the Irish back from oblivion.  Oblivion is:

-         when the students and alumni were becoming disconnected about ND football

-         when high school coaches and recruits, especially in traditional ND recruiting grounds such as Chicago, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the East Coast are going elsewhere

-         when the offense is predictable and the defense is mistake-prone and the players

hang their heads 

-         when, in recruiting, ND could not attract a top 25 team for three years

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