Notre Dame's Incredible Rise from 2011 Champs Sports Bowl vs. FSU

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In a short but strong series between Notre Dame football and Florida State, the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl was something out of the ordinary.

The two marquee programs squared off in a decidedly non-marquee bowl game at the end of December in Orlando. Both teams were 8-4. In the six previous matchups between the two programs, there was usually something more at stake.

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In 2003—the last meeting—Florida State was ranked fifth in the nation. In 2002, No. 6 Notre Dame downed the No. 11 Seminoles. In 1996, the teams met in the Orange Bowl. And, of course, the so-called Game of the Century in 1993 featured No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 1 Florida State.

Yet here were two historic programs middling in mediocrity in 2011. The Seminoles scored 18 unanswered points to top the Irish, 18-14. The next year, Notre Dame stormed its way to an undefeated regular season and a trip to the BCS National Championship Game. In 2013, Florida State won the national title.

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“You could tell that both teams were definitely ascending, and then better things were definitely in front of us,” Irish head coach Brian Kelly said. “It was definitely going to be what's next for these programs moving forward in a positive way.”

And move forward they have. On Saturday, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 2 Florida State will meet at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Since the start of the 2012 season, the Irish are 27-5. Florida State (32-2) is one of just six other teams with more wins than Notre Dame during that span. The difference between a five-loss Irish team and the No. 5 national ranking seems significant, but is it really that robust?

“There’s a very fine line between that year and the team this year,” said Irish senior linebacker Joe Schmidt, who didn’t play in 2011 as a freshman walk-on. “We’ve won a lot more hard games.”

Close wins have become more commonplace for the Irish over the last two-plus seasons. In 2012, Notre Dame won five one-score games, including victories over Michigan and Stanford. In 2013, the Irish won one more one-score games, headlined by triumphs against Michigan State and USC. Even the last two weekends of this season—when Notre Dame toppled Stanford and North Carolina by a combined 10 points—are evidence.

“The difference is they believe they're going to win, and that's something that you build into your program,” Kelly said.

Now in his fifth season heading the program in South Bend, Kelly has his pieces, procedures and policies fully in place. Schmidt said it’s tough to put his finger on exactly why one team consistently comes through and why another doesn’t. But the middle linebacker said there’s been a continual growth in the program, from Kelly implementing new practice methods to developing strong leadership and communication.

Schmidt said Notre Dame’s progress is a product of “the little things.”

For Irish senior defensive back Matthias Farley, it’s small-scale factors that differentiate between good and great teams—the slight distinction between playing a few days before or a few days after the advent of a new year.

“It’s a focus,” Farley said. “You have to take things as they come. You can’t look far ahead. You can’t get bogged down with things that happened in the past. You have to continue to hone in on your craft and getting better each and every week and not get up or down.”

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Notre Dame dealt with the ups and downs in the 2011 loss to the Seminoles. The Irish grabbed a 14-0 lead in the third quarter, but Florida State stormed back and tallied 15 points in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame quarterbacks Tommy Rees and Andrew Hendrix combined to throw three interceptions and were sacked four times.

Asked about his recollections of the game, Schmidt is blunt.

“Bad memories,” he said. “I remember losing that game late and I remember their song.”

Irish graduate student offensive lineman Christian Lombard referred to the defeat as a game the Irish “gave away.” The tough loss, though, proved beneficial in the long term.

“It just gave guys confidence,” Lombard said. “Hey, ‘We just played Florida State and almost beat them.’ It just gave us that confidence that we could hang with anyone.”

Since then, the Irish have.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Mike Monaco is a lead Notre Dame writer for Bleacher Report. Follow @MikeMonaco_ on Twitter.