Notre Dame Football: 2011 a Lesson in Symmetry

Boca Raton, Fla.— Although 2011 didn't turn out the way Notre Dame fans would have preferred, one could say it was a symmetrical masterpiece.

Notre Dame (8-5) started the season with two tough losses (USF & Michigan). Their season ended with two tough losses (Stanford and FSU).

Notre Dame's other loss (USC) was sandwiched between two four-game winning streaks.

It was a crucial turnover early in the first game that cost the Irish a win against USF, and It was a crucial turnover in the last minute of the USF game that cost the Irish a chance to win their third consecutive bowl game.

Their season began with the quarterback position being unsettled and ended on the same note.

One Shining Moment

A solid 31-13 drubbing of Michigan State in a September matchup was probably the only bright spot for the Irish in 2012.

Michigan State (10-3) finished the regular season ranked No. 13 in the Coaches Poll and plays Georgia in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 2.

The Seven Other Wins

Seven of Notre Dame's wins came against some of the weakest teams in college football: Air Force (7-6), Purdue (7-6), Pitt (6-6), Wake Forest (6-7), Navy (5-7), Boston College (4-8) and Maryland (2-10).

None of these teams came close to the top 25. Against teams from BCS conferences, they had a combined record of 18-35.

The Five Losses

Looking back, the USF loss  (23-20) was the most disappointing. The Bulls fell off as the season went on and finished 5-7 and last in the Big East.

The other four losses were to quality teams: Stanford (11-1), Michigan (10-2), USC (10-2) and FSU (9-4). Stanford is ranked No. 6 and headed to a BCS Bowl against Oklahoma State.

The Michigan and FSU games went down to the wire and both were four-point losses.  The Irish were never in the Stanford and USC games.

Why did Brian Kelly have more success at Cincinnati?

After two seasons as head coach of Notre Dame, some may be asking why has Brian Kelly had more success at his former school, Cincinnati.

After two seasons at the helm in South Bend, Kelly has lost 10 games. In three years at Cincinnati, he lost a total of six games and went to two BCS games.

Some may point to the schedule and make claims for the difficulty of Notre Dame's opponents. This is not a valid argument. Cincinnati played schedules as tough or tougher than the Irish.

During the Kelly years, Cincinnati played their Big East schedule and added non-conference opponents like Oklahoma, Oregon State, and Illinois each season.

If there is one identifying factor that allowed Kelly more success at Cincinnati, it was simply the quarterback position.

As the Bearcats leader, Kelly was fortunate to have worked with two of college's best quarterback talents: Tony Pike and Zach Collaros.

At Notre Dame, Kelly hasn't found a quarterback who can perform like Pike and Collaros did at Cincinnati.

So while the 2011 season didn't live up to the expectations of so may Notre Dame fans, it could still be considered a success. It was symmetrically outstanding!