Notre Dame vs. Miami: Why the Sun Bowl Sets the Tone for the 2011 Season

When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish returned to the field versus Utah on November 13th, they were coming off of a much needed bye week after the brutal loss to Tulsa. What Irish fans witnessed the remainder of the season was a more mature team. A bye week is a time to heal bumps and bruises, but it is also a period that the team can focus on the tasks ahead without the distractions associated with a normal game week. There is no pep rally or luncheons, and the level of concentration is at it's highest point since August.

The period of time that the Fighting Irish are going through right now is almost an extended bye, although the opponent wasn't know until Sunday, practice started on Saturday, NCAA rules limit the amount of time that a team can practice while school is in session to 20 hours a week, but once final exams are finished there is no limitation. Coach Kelly has stated that there will be no practice during exam week, December 13-17, the Irish could technically practice from dawn til dusk afterwards. Although the Irish now know that they will face Miami on New Years Eve, this is also an ideal time to prepare for 2011. The product that we should see on the field for the Sun Bowl should be a much more fundamentally sound squad than what we have seen so far this season.

When December, 31st rolls around true freshman T.J. Jones and Tommy Rees will have almost a full calender year with the team, having been early enrollees. Rees, who has looked somewhat unsure of himself at times will have had almost a month of undistracted training, and his increased knowledge of the offense should be noticeable. While Tommy Rees probably will not be the starting quarterback in the 2011 season opener, the Sun Bowl will give us a chance to see a much more expanded offense.

There are some people out there who will say, "it's the Sun Bowl, who cares?" These people don't see the whole picture, it is a big deal in preparation for next season, with the limitations that the NCAA puts on programs, every extra practice will play a huge role in the future development of the team. The offense that we witnessed in 2010 was just the tip of the iceberg for Brian Kelly's offensive scheme. Kelly's offense is aggressive and fast paced, and although we did see traces of that this season, it was in the beginning stages, and although people don't like to admit it, it took longer than expected for everyone, coaches and players to get on the same page. Kelly was admittedly unimpressed with Michael Floyd when he took the job at South Bend, but it didn't take very long for him to retract the statement and heap praise on Floyd after seeing Floyd's work ethic. The same could be said about Irish linebacker Brian Smith, Kelly said that he wasn't a big fan of Smith when he took over, and Smith didn't buy into Coach Kelly's philosophy at first, but somehow the two made it work and Kelly would have been in favor of Smith returning next season if he had eligibility remaining.

Coach Kelly's offense has so many formations and variations that we haven't seen yet, the Sun Bowl will be the perfect time to slowly start to implement them into the game plan, this would also be a great time to work on some trick plays like a halfback pass or fake punt, there are those that will say trick plays are a waste of time, look at it this way; If Notre Dame were to run a fake punt against Miami, now the coaching staff of Michigan has to prepare for that play, and that is time not spent on other tasks.

The defense is riding an incredible wave right now, they have been improving every week coming off the bye, they believe in themselves and the rest of the nation really has no choice but to be impressed. By December 31st the defensive unit should be chomping at the bit to get out on the field and hit someone. This is how I look at it. Anyone who has ever had a great round of golf is already making a tee time for the next day before they get their spikes off. You just can't wait to get back out there. This is what is going on with Notre Dame's defensive unit right now, they are playing so well, that it almost feels un natural to not be playing. How will this translate to the 2011 season? Simply put a good portion of the defense is returning next year, and they have been improving right before our eyes since the Tulsa loss. Better understanding of a system translates into better play, making plays is starting to look like second nature to this unit, the way a unit reacts to a given situation tells a lot about that unit, and the defense has been reacting with three and outs, goal line stands and big time plays when they are needed most.

Notre Dame's preparation leading up to the Sun Bowl will be the foundation for the 2011 season, yes some of the faces will change, some players will leave and new ones will step in to fill the voids, it happens every year, but deeper than that we should see a team with a greater knowledge of the offense, we should see a much more mature team take the field at the end of this month. What else we should see is a glimpse of things to come.