Champs Bowl 2011: Dual-QB System Will Doom Notre Dame vs. Florida State

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish rebounded from a disappointing 0-2 start to the season to finish 8-4. Despite that, the Irish have plenty of flaws as a team. On offense, head coach Brian Kelly plans to rotate quarterbacks Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix, and that is a recipe for disaster against the Florida State Seminoles.

Big things, including an ACC title, were expected of Florida State prior to the season, but that didn't come to fruition as an early-season slump contributed to an 8-4 record. Although the Seminoles didn't quite live up to their lofty expectations, they did manage to boast the fourth-best defense in the nation.

When you consider the fact that teams like LSU and Alabama are ahead of them, the 'Noles finished in awfully good company. The Irish showed some great offensive potential this season with Rees throwing to the likes of Michael Floyd and Tyler Eifert, with Cierre Wood and Jones Gray running the ball, but Notre Dame is putting itself at a disadvantage before the game even starts.

While Rees has some ability, there is no question that he is prone to turning the ball over a bit and making some boneheaded decisions. Because of that it isn't surprising that Kelly wants to give Hendrix a look as well. Even so, that lack of continuity will really hurt Notre Dame.

Against a team as defensively gifted as Florida State it is important to get into a rhythm. The Seminoles only allowed roughly 15 points per game this season so a quarterback change isn't going to fluster them in the least.

The Irish are certainly capable on the offensive side of the ball, but they struggled to punch the ball into the end zone at times. Perhaps Kelly believes Hendrix can help in that regard due to his superior mobility when compared to Rees, but I have to believe that substitution at quarterback will only make things worse.

Notre Dame's defense actually had a solid all-around year, but against top-flight teams like Michigan, USC and Stanford, things didn't go so smoothly. Florida State doesn't have the offensive firepower of those teams, but massive quarterback EJ Manuel may prove to be too much for the Irish to handle.

Provided the Seminoles can put around 20 points on the board I believe they have a great chance to come out on top. I would like Notre Dame's chances much more if they simply went with Rees and stuck with him.

Without the benefit of an elite defense, I think the Irish's dual-quarterback system will prove to be a bust.