Notre Dame's Big Picture: Return To Glory Within Reach

How quickly things change.

Halloween night, everything looked different. The Irish football team had just suffered a blowout loss to Navy, the death of videographer Declan Sullivan, the loss of starting QB Dayne Crist and a home loss to Tulsa.

Sitting at 4-5 with games against then No. 5 Utah and at USC looming, a third straight 6-6 finish not only looked probable, but maybe optimistic. Bowl eligibility seemed realistically out of reach.

There were grumblings within the program that maybe the university should cut ties with Brian Kelly, and again change course.

The program may have, at long last, hit bottom.

But then something amazing happened. The team bought in. It rallied behind true freshman QB Tommy Rees. The defense began playing with intensity and passion not seen in a Notre Dame uniform since Lou Holtz stalked the sidelines.

After a much-needed bye week, Notre Dame welcomed top-15 Utah to South Bend. The Utes came in heavy favorites to hand the Irish a sixth loss.

But the Irish routed Utah, a 28-3 thumping that wasn't that close.

Next, Notre Dame played host to Army at Yankee Stadium, which offered not only a second chance in the New York metro area but a second chance against a well-run triple option attack.

The Irish defense proved that it had learned, and stymied the Black Knights en route to a 27-3 thumping.

Suddenly, the Irish were playing run defense, and went two consecutive games without surrendering a touchdown.

The now bowl-eligible Irish certainly felt better about itself, but still felt that a third consecutive 6-6 regular season finish was in store as the annual date with USC loomed to end the season.

Again, everyone in the world expected a ninth consecutive USC win, as on paper, the Trojans out-matched the Irish.

But on a very rainy evening in Los Angeles, the Irish defense held the Trojans to just 80 yards on 30 rushing attempts, as Notre Dame survived three Rees interceptions and blown coverage that allowed Ronald Johnson to drop a sure touchdown to win, 20-16.

Just a month after reaching a perceived all-time low, the world was a different place. Hope was back as the buzz word at Notre Dame. A 7-6 finish never looked so good.

Then, again, the football gods smiled on the emerging program, as the Notre Dame-Miami, Catholics vs. Convicts rivalry would be renewed in the Sun Bowl.

Again, Notre Dame entered the underdog, and emerged with a fourth consecutive dominating performance. The Irish led wire to wire, taking a 27-3 halftime lead and winning going away, 33-16.

More than winning, Notre Dame was dominating down the stretch. Without starters Crist and All-American TE Kyle Rudolph, the offense produced. Bob Diaco's 3-4 defense became a stout turnover-happy unit that dominated Utah, Army, USC and Miami.

It has been said that the night is darkest just before the dawn, and the same may be true for Notre Dame.

Looking back at the season as a whole, the only embarrassing loss was to Michigan. Of the other four Irish losses, three (Michigan State, 11-2; Stanford, 12-1; and Tulsa, 10-3) were to teams that won 10 or more games.

The other loss was to a good Navy team, and proved to be the only time this year that Notre Dame clearly wasn't ready to play.

Unlike in years past, Notre Dame did not drop a game to an opponent that it "should" beat. The Irish thumped a seven-win BC team on the road, held on against a seven-win Pitt team at home and simply throttled six-win Western Michigan.

The Irish also beat up 10-win and ranked Utah, seven-win Army, and eight-win USC, along with seven-win Miami.

In compiling the highest win total in five years, the Irish also began to look like a team that could credibly challenge for a BCS bid in 2011.

Also taking an upswing late in the season was Brian Kelly's recruiting. Extremely agile Texas running back Cam McDaniel chose the Irish, as did super athletic QB/Athlete Everett Golson.

Stephon Tuitt, who seemed to waiver slightly, is back among the Irish secured, and Notre Dame is still in the running for highly-touted back Savon Huggins.

Kelly's class is not only a nice collection of talent, but talent where it is needed.

Charlie Weis had a knack for pulling in very talented skilled position players, while almost completely ignoring the all-important interior and defensive backfield.

This year Kelly has recruited for need, filling several offensive line and defensive line slots as well as a nice group of linebackers and defensive backs.

For Notre Dame, finishing strong with three November wins and a bowl win is a feat not seen in many, many years. Momentum down the stretch has been hard to come by, as the Irish has tended to fall apart as the season progressed.

The reversal of this downward spiral is the best change for the Irish this season. To have something to build upon is key heading into 2011.

The new season will kick off with a home date hosting Skip Holtz and the South Florida Bulls. The Irish follows that with a trip to Michigan, hosting Michigan State, trips to Pittsburgh and Purdue, and back home for Air Force.

In the first half of 2011, the Irish has five opponents who played in a bowl, a team coming off an 11-win season, eight-win USF and nine-win Air Force. For any college team, this is a tough opening to a year. For the Irish, it is only the beginning.

The second half opens with USC and Navy at home, a possible break at Wake Forest, then Maryland at Fed Ex Field, Boston College at home and the season finale at Stanford.

USC and Navy, although weaker next season, will no doubt pose a challenge. Maryland won nine games in 2010 and will have former UConn coach Randy Edsall next year, Boston College improved as the season progressed, and even without Andrew Luck, Stanford will still possess speed and a huge offensive line.

Still, Notre Dame will be favored to win most of those contests. Should its momentum continue, it should win most. Should the Irish improve on what was seen at the end of 2011, a 10-win season is certainly possible.

Notre Dame took two huge steps toward its return to college football prominence this season. The last two wins over USC and Miami chased many demons away, and cleared the dark clouds that have been hanging over the program for years.

Next year, Notre Dame could be poised to not only wake up the echoes, but shake down some thunder as well.