Notre Dame Survives Pitt, But are the Irish Improving?

Entering the 2010 season, little was known about how Notre Dame football would look under first-year head coach Brian Kelly. Now at the midway point of the season, despite six games in the books, there is still a lingering feeling of uncertainty with this team, like looking at that 10-day-old pizza slice and debating whether or not that green spot is actually a pepper.

Notre Dame escaped Saturday's home game against Pittsburgh with a 23-17 win, playing very much like the Nondescript Irish, a virtual microcosm for season thus far. They played well enough to grab an early lead and then survived on Panther miscues and David Ruffer field goals to hang on at a close finish.

With those type of performances, it's not surprising that Notre Dame's first half of the season ends with a blase 3-3 record. Does this constitute improvement?

Unfortunately, there isn't a clear answer. The optimists look at the Irish win against Pittsburgh as the type of game that would have ended tragically with the 2009 team. That the Irish held fast at the end of the game and did what was necessary to win indicates that the team is crossing a critical threshold.

Kelly alluded to that after Saturday's game telling UND.com, "It's not a beauty contest yet for us. It's certainly not that. But my job is to get Notre Dame to win football games and we're starting to do that."

There are some clear areas of improvement. The defense has upgraded as a collective unit from last year, although that can largely be attributed to the fact that the 2009 Irish defense had nowhere to go but up. Special teams play has also been less inept, and Ruffer is arguably the team's most valuable player.

There are, however, some very glaring downsides, many of which were visible from space during the first game. Ineffective red zone offense, the absence of a killer instinct and questionable coaching decisions continue to plague the Irish going into game seven.

In particular, Kelly's choice to throw the ball on consecutive plays late in the game (on second- and third-and-four no less) allowed Pittsburgh to preserve all of their timeouts and could have been a tragic blunder. It is inexplicable why he would continue to dangle victories over the edge of a cliff. Making a point should not be at the expense of common sense when the outcome is still in doubt.

Additionally, Saturday's game has been the only turnover-free game of the season to date. Teams that don't return the turnover favors give Notre Dame fits as few Irish players have stepped up to be difference makers. Individuals will have good in-game moments but struggle to extend that consistently over the course of an entire game or to next game.

The Irish now are entering the cushier portion of their schedule with games against Western Michigan, Navy and Tulsa before a bye week. If there is more improvement to be made, this will be the time to do it before closing the season with two of the last three games at home against No. 11 Utah and at USC.

By that time, there should be a better idea of whether pizza slice of Irish football is worth reheating in a bowl or heading for the trash.