Notre Dame Football 2012: 5 Issues That Could Blow Up the Season

As we begin preparing for spring practice, the college football season is right around the corner.

Well, we are still six months away from kick off, but every day that goes by inches us one day closer to another fantastic season of college football.

Notre Dame of course is going to be one those teams that will be watched very closely as everyone is eager to find out if this will be the year. Can the Irish finally rise back to the top of the college football world and reach a BCS bowl? They return a total of 15 starters and have a solid recruiting class coming in.

While this may look like a good year for the Irish on paper, here are five issues that could force Notre Dame to have another mediocre season.

Turnovers

There's good reason for head coach Brian Kelly to be so upset when his team turned the ball over as much as they did. In the last two years combined under Kelly, the Irish have turned the ball over a total of 53 times.

It doesn't matter how talented your team is, when you turn the ball over an average of two times per game, you're not going to win many games.

In all five losses last season, Notre Dame gave the ball to the other team at least three times. In order for Kelly's team to take the next step, his team must become more disciplined and hold onto the football.

Penalties

The Irish averaged 6.4 penalties a game last season; only 41 teams in the entire country averaged more. The 59.1 penalty yards a game was also ranked 87th in the country last year. And those statistics were with a veteran team on the field that included several upperclassman.

You combine the turnovers and penalties and you have a talented team that continues to shoot themselves in the foot. It's extremely hard to win games when you keep hurting yourself by turning the ball over or by moving backwards.

Punt Returns

Another department the Irish have struggled in the last two years is punt return yards. Last season, they averaged only 3.69 yards per return—112th worst in the country—and only had 48 punt return yards total.

Notre Dame lacks playmakers and speed, which must be addressed. Picking up Davonte Neal in the recruiting process gives the Irish an option at punt return and may be the difference in flipping the field position. 

Quarterback

This, of course, is the key position battle heading into the spring and will most likely be the key to a successful season. There are several talented options for the Irish to choose from, but the experience is lacking.

Do you go with the most experienced quarterback in Tommy Rees who is extremely careless with the football? The big quarterback with the strong arm in Andrew Hendrix? Or the dual-threat quarterback in Everett Golson who fits Brian Kelly's system perfectly?

Truth is, every quarterback most likely will see playing time this season, but somebody has to emerge out of the pack and play consistent ball for the Irish to be successful.

Schedule

Even if the Irish are able to fix all of those issues and play solid football, they still have to overcome an absolutely brutal schedule. They play teams like Michigan, Stanford, Miami and BYU, then have to go on the road to play Michigan State, USC and Oklahoma. All very strong teams that are capable of beating you even when you play your best.

This may finally be the year for Notre Dame, but they have several things to work on and one of the most difficult schedules in the country to overcome.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist that covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail].