2010 College Football Predictions: Why Notre Dame Should Be BCS Bound

By now, everyone has heard about Brian Kelly's head coaching accomplishments at Cincinnati and at previous jobs that he has had. He has shown he can build a program from the ground up. Notre Dame fans are in dire need of someone to come in and do that right away.

When he was hired, he said that it's a "five-minute plan" rather than a five-year plan. These days, college football fans don't want to wait for their program to start winning. Whether it's good for the game or not, coaches are not given the same amount of time to start winning as they used to. It goes without saying that Irish fans are becoming very frustrated with the recent struggles.

However, Brian Kelly looks to be the solution to get them going right away. Dayne Crist is in his first season starting at quarterback, but the highly touted high school prospect soaked up everything he could while backing up Jimmy Clausen, one of the best quarterbacks in college football for the past two seasons. That said, having Michael Floyd, one of the best receivers heading into the season, to throw to doesn't hurt either.

The offense, even with a first-year quarterback, will be ready and will be powerful. Michael Floyd is an early Heisman candidate and Duval Kamara is another receiver worth noting. Theo Riddick can also make an impact in the passing game as he transitions into a receiver in this new offense. And to top it off, a great tight end like Kyle Rudolph can only help Crist in his development.

So, it appears the offense will be a very successful one. If the defense can hold up and prevent shoot outs like last year, Notre Dame can be on an easy road to 10 wins.

Coming into his second season, Manti Te'o will be a big contributor at linebacker. Last season as a freshman, Te'o started 10 of the games and appeared in all 12. His performance can only improve as he becomes more experienced and mature. With him, Notre Dame's defense brings back Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ian Williams on the defensive line. That said, the transition to a 3-4 defense from a 4-3 can help the defense and will play more to the players' strength.

All in all, Notre Dame has the talent to win 10 games and go to a BCS Bowl. The questions with the defense can only be answered when they go out and play, and I know the offense can bail them out of bad performances. Whether Dayne Crist becomes the next Notre Dame Heisman winner, or a good quarterback that just gets things done, it's obvious that he needs to be a leader for Brian Kelly to be successful.

This is going to be a tell-all year for fans in South Bend. I know it's hard to get your hopes up again after Ty Willingham and Charlie Weis completely let the Irish down. Luckily, Brian Kelly knows what he has to do.

A 10-win season to start off his reign over Irish football won't hurt. It's a great possibility too.